SPEAKING UP!

• Does speaking in public worry you?
• Do you feel tongue-tied in meetings?
• Would you like to be able to present and talk with more confidence?

Then Speaking Up! is the course for you!

Kathy Ennis of Envision Training, one of our guest speakers in 2010, is running a one day course in January with a special discount offered to London Women Mean Business.

What would it be like if you had more confidence and the ability to speak and present so that you could easily engage, influence and impact your listeners?

With Speaking Up! you will develop the skills to engage any audience, make more targeted presentations, speak more confidently, influence more persuasively and win more business. You will turn your fear into confidence and doubt into action and you will definitely avoid inflicting death by PowerPoint!

To learn more, or to book your place at the special discounted price, click here.

CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR OF NETWORKING IN STYLE!

Come and join us for our first event of the new networking year at the Swarovski Crystallized Store in central London.

If you are interested in meeting like-minded business women, wanting to make interesting connections and form new alliances, then come along and network with us in a friendly and supportive environment, while enjoying a glass of bubbly & delicious canapés.

We will be meeting at the Swarovski Crystallized Store opposite Liberty near Oxford Circus. Swarovski have very kindly offered all of our guests a 15% discount on all finished pieces in store on the evening, so come along early so you have time to browse (& purchase) something sparkly! Then join us in the fabulous event space above the store.

Some fantastic raffle prizes will also be on offer, with all ticket proceeds going to the charity Childreach International, so do join us in celebrating the start of 2011!

Just click here to book your ticket. And be quick to take advantage of the early bird price which ends on 10th January!



We look forward to seeing you there.

LADIES' STYLE COUNSEL - with Executorial

While away an hour or two, with a chance to browse and buy a selection of fashion items: either vintage, retro, designer or personal shopping stock.

Meet our consultants for assistance with your wardrobe dilemmas, and speak with our stylist, personal shopper, seamstress or (for a fee) a specialist bra-fitter.

Bring a much-loved item (which you no longer wear but can’t bear to discard!) and discuss options to customise it; or commission a new special outfit or costume (period and millinery a speciality).

Let us know if you have a vintage or retro clothing item you would like to try to sell too.

We look forward to seeing you:

Saturday 4 December : 1100 - 1700
£7.50 (includes a glass of bubbly!)

Beaufort House
354 Beaufort Street
Chelsea
London SW3 5UZ

To book click here

Or for further information call : 07553 406929 or email : enquiry@executorial.com

Athena Christmas Open Networking Event - for men & women!

Athena teams up with School of Booze!

A chance to have some fun whilst networking!

Let us introduce you to Jayne Peyton of School of Booze, and Julia Grinham, of Upper Street Shoes.

School of Booze will collaborate to present a fun opportunity for guests to design their own shoes, inspired by amusing descriptions of their colour, flavour and body qualities! And chocolate and booze? Yes! But what is a better match for chocolate – wine, beer, or whisky? That’s for guests to decide when they sample a wine, beer, and whisky chosen to be a perfect match for chocolate. Guests will taste exactly why the beer, wine, and whisky complements the chocolate and then cast their vote – which type of booze will triumph in the battle of the bottle?

The Athena City & West Essex Regional Networking Event takes place on Tuesday 14 December from 3 - 6pm at ‘Hat & Feathers’, 2 Clerkenwell Road, EC1M 5PQ. Click here to view map.

Cost: £15 (includes canapés, entertainment and the opportunity to network with Athena members and other like-minded men & women). A full list of attendees will be sent out after the event.

Advanced booking is required due to the nature of this event and expected high attendance. Places are limited.

To book email Stella Fehmi - stella@theathenanetwork.com or telephone 07889 923719.

CHRISTMAS SPARKLE! POSTPONED TO JANUARY

POSTPONED TO JANUARY

Due to the poor weather which is causing so many travel problems, we have taken the decision to postpone this event to later in January. Watch this space for further details!

JOIN US FOR OUR END OF YEAR CHRISTMAS PARTY!

Come along on Monday 6th December & join us at the Swarovski store in the heart of central London for the London Women Mean Business Christmas Party

You will have the opportunity to network whilst enjoying a glass of bubbly and some canapés, but in addition to this we will be fundraising for Childreach International, the charity working with children in developing countries to help them realise their full potential.

And that's not all!

We will be meeting at the Swarovski Crystallized Store, a fabulous concept, with the store downstairs and an amazing event space upstairs. And Swarovski have very kindly offered all of our guests a 15% discount on all finished pieces in store on the evening. Come along early so you have time to browse (& purchase) something sparkly!

It really is not to be missed!

Meet with the supportive, friendly and like-minded women that we usually have the pleasure of welcoming to our events each month, and have some fun at the same time whilst doing a little bit of Christmas shopping (or treating yourself!) at Swarovski.

To book tickets, just click here. Early bird tickets available until 30th November, so be quick!

We look forward to welcoming you.

Melanie & Dawn

"BACK TO BASICS" WITH THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

Back Pain, Posture and Stress Management Workshops for the 21st Century

Giselle Malawer, a London Women Mean Business member, has a special offer available to the LWMB group.

Giselle will be running the following classes:

Venue 1: The 52 Club, Bonham Carter House (Basement), 52 Gower Street, WC1E 6EB
Workshops will run weekly throughout 2010 /2011 on Tuesdays at 5.30pm – 6.30pm and Thursdays at 6.00pm – 7.00pm (see below link for dates)

Venue 2: The Finchley Alexander Studio, Flat 1, 33 Brownlow Road, N3 1YT
2010/2011 – The 2nd Monday of every month

To book your early bird discounted ticket(s) please go to: http://bit.ly/c45Mju

You are also welcome to pay on the door, on the evening. But do contact Back in Balance: 020 8346 6282 – to register your name as places are limited!


Special Offer 1
All workshop participants can redeem the cost of their ticket against a 1:1 lesson at a later date.

Special Offer 2
Giselle is currently offering complimentary 1:1 mini taster lessons in N3 and WC1- valid till end of 2010. To book your mini taster, please contact Back in Balance - Tel : 020 8346 6282

http://www.backinbalance.org.uk/

NETWORK NOUVEAU

Network Nouveau is a group of new and established small businesses meeting twice a month, who have a desire to leverage growth on the 3 Decades of the Founders' business experience and contacts, with a focus on the networker and his/her business, rather than the network. Full details can be found at http://www.network-nouveau.com/.

Their next Business Networking event is on 9th December at 6:00-8:30pm at the Rydges Kensington Plaza Hotel, 2-3 minutes from Gloucester Road tube station. The entry cost is £15 (non-refundable & non-transferable to another date), which includes all drinks and canapés for the evening from 6:00pm.

BRAINSTORMING WITH DRAGONS!

Would you like to be involved in an event with the aim of inspiring young people to see that starting their own business is a worthwhile option?

Southgate College is hosting an informal event which seeks to bring selected students and active entrepreneurs together for a 'brainstorming' session. The 'Brainstorming with Dragons' event between 10am and 12 noon on Saturday 4th December (registration and refreshments from 9:30am) will be in the College theatre.

The intention is to expose the students to the energy and creativity of typical entrepreneurs as a means to promote self-sufficiency and private enterprise as genuine career alternatives.

So where to find these inspiring business owners? The organisers immediately thought of the women at the LWMB monthly events! They are keen to give young people an opportunity of meeting women in various stages of their business development.

The plan is for 10 tables of 10 - each table comprising two entrepreneurs and six students, plus a facilitator and a note-taker - and to pose one of a set of 'challenges' to each table. There will be a half-time break for refreshments, after which the challenges will be rotated. The 2 hour event will end with a wrap-up session, followed by a networking opportunity.

Students will be encouraged to take some of these ideas and run with them, and it's already been suggested that this event could be followed by dinner later in the academic year to recognise the subsequent achievements of participating students. If it's as successful as we all hope, the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) has also hinted that there may be funding available to replicate this idea at other FE colleges.

Time is of the essence so if you feel able to offer help and advice and are available on Saturday 4th December, or have any ideas/suggestions, then please contact Jo at joanne@franklyconsult.com.

BECOME SUPER AT SELLING!!!

Special 1 day event on selling like a beast!

- Want more clients but hate sales?
- Get cold feet when it comes to asking for money?
- Hate networking, cold-calling and the nitty-gritty of sales?
- Lack the confidence to close?

Then this event is perfect for you! Click http://changetosucceed.com/superatselling.html to book now as space is limited.

Join me for this one-off event to get the mindset of a champion salesperson where you will learn:

- WHY you must promote and sell your product or service
- The 6 critical factors that affect your sales
- How to LOVE selling your stuff
- The mind, body and soul to sell with passion and joy
- How to have your clients WANTING to buy what you’re selling
- Ultimate close for selling from stage
- The one question you must use to close the sale!

This is only for people who are serious about getting results!


DATE – 27th November 2010

LOCATION – Central London (Zone 1)

TIME – 0900 – 17.30


FULL DAY SEMINAR VALUE £795 Bonuses worth approx. £2000

All yours for the insanely low price of £105

Plus your friend can come for only £75 (one friend per primary guest)


To BOOK NOW CLICK http://changetosucceed.com/superatselling.html

NOVEMBER NETWORKING WITH LONDON WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS

Come along and join us on Thursday 11th November for an evening of networking with a friendly, supportive group of business women. We host a monthly networking evening with a regular attendance of between 60-100 guests. No charge for attending, just pay for your own drinks whilst you network in the informal surroundings of The Embassy Club.

This month our guest speaker is the inspirational Atiti Sosimi of Distinctly Different. Having heard her speak twice before, we thought Atiti had such an interesting story to tell that we wanted her to come along and share it with our guests. Running a business isn't always easy, but listening to Atiti will make you believe that whatever setbacks you may face, you will get there in the end! Come & hear her speak, and have the chance to chat to her personally.


What you need to know:

Venue : We meet at The Embassy Club, 29 Old Burlington Street, London, W1S 3AN

How to get there : Nearest tube is either Piccadilly Circus or Green Park. There is a car park on Old Burlington Street if you're planning to drive. See map http://bit.ly/9QwR3C

Time : Registration begins at 6pm, and we finish at 9pm


There is plenty of time to chat, make some new alliances, meet some friendly, helpful, encouraging women, and possibly also learn a thing or two.

Do join us! We look forward to meeting you.

Dawn & Melanie

SORT OUT YOUR GIFT PROBLEMS WITH WRAPLY.COM

Following our last event, we asked one of our guests, Kamila Miara, if she would like to write something for the LWMB blog as we thought she had a fantastic new idea with her business Wraply.com. Here's what she had to say (a glowing testimonial for LWMB!); do take a look at Kamila's website as it's such a simple but really great idea.

Ladies,

Last week I attended my second LWMB meeting - for the first time ever I was representing my brand new business - Wraply.com. I just want to say thank you so much to you all - everyone I met is an expert in their field and you have given me greatly encouraging feedback as well as many valuable insights.

By way of thanks, I've listed just a few of the women I met below, along with how they helped...

Maaike of Let's Just Create is the person I spoke to first about my business, Wraply. She welcomed the idea with so much genuine enthusiasm, that straight away I felt really pleased that I'd chosen LWMB as the first ever event for Wraply. Many of you followed with just as much great enthusiasm, but it's not only the fantastic feedback I got from you that made it really special (though it did make it special I must say :-)). LWMB know how to ask the right questions!

Lena from One's Company has asked me about why she should use Wraply and how I am going to convey to people the fact that it solves the problem of unwanted gifts and creates the perfect ones (I am a member of One's Company now by the way, so she had her sales pitch sorted!).

Karen from 73dpi Multimedia immediately came up with new revenue streams; and I will always bear in mind Kathy's four V's! Also, through talking to you, I have realised that it's us, the women who know what we want, who will use Wraply.com to get the gift we really dream of, or to club together with friends to get what we know our friends really want.

So in short - networking with you has been both fun and educational - the best combination. I'm looking forward to more!

For those I haven't managed to meet yet and who are wondering what I mean by Wraply... Wraply.com is a website that makes group gifts so much easier to organise - so you can club together with friends to get the perfect present. No more smelly candles!

I would like to finish by saying how much I appreciate Melanie and Dawn's work that gives me such a fantastic oportunity to meet strong, wise and inspiring women.

See you all soon!
Kamila
Wraply.com

COULDN'T MAKE OUR OCTOBER EVENT? THIS IS WHAT YOU MISSED.

Thank you to all of the fantastic ladies who attended October's London Women Mean Business meeting. A great atmosphere once again, lots of good connections being made in the room, and for those of you who were unable to attend, this is what you missed:

The fabulous Kathy Ennis of Envision Training who talked to us about the secrets of The 4Vs Principle©, her method of creating a strong personal brand for business growth. Some great tips and advice on building a personal brand which made us all think about our brand names, colours, and how we communicate both verbally and in writing. Kathy runs Personal Branding Masterclasses with small groups of up to 10 people, in addition to offering Personal Brand Individual Mentoring and Presentation Skills training. Click here to learn more.

We then had 3 ladies talking passionately about what they do in our 5 minute slots:

Lena Benjamin of Ones Company - Lena talked to us about unleashing your power, how important it is to think positively and then great things will happen! Lena runs Onescompany.co.uk, the one stop shop to personal and business development for women (events, products, news, business advice and coaches/mentors). Women can join free by clicking here while Coaches/Mentors can also join free here (men also welcome!!). Promote your services on onescompany.co.uk, join the coaching/mentoring community, increase your exposure and attend networking events. Lots of other fantastic benefits can be found online.

Piya Khanna of Change to Succeed - Piya spoke about how it's imperative for us to communicate our offers so that people who need our services can find us and benefit from them. We need to love selling and see it as communicating our value & offer and become comfortable with sales. Piya helps women to get more clients, make more money, get promoted in their organisation and achieve balance in their lives by helping them become more confident, better negotiators and excellent sales people. Piya is offering all LWMB ladies a no obligation, FREE 90 minute strategy session. Interested? Email Piya directly at piya@changetosucceed.com

Temitope Obasa of TT Denim - Temitope arrived armed with samples of her fab jeans on which she has spent several years perfecting the design. They are made to suit all shapes and sizes, with no gaping at the back and with several different leg lengths. Perfect for those of us who are vertically challenged! TT Denim jeans will be available online initially, and if anyone has a contact within small boutiques or indeed large department stores (Selfridges, Harvey Nicks, Debenhams etc), then Temitope would love to hear from you!

There are a few events coming up soon which we thought may be of interest to you:

Sunday 17th October - Akua Deaba is hosting a charity dining event in aid of Eat So They Can. Details of this event and more info on the charity can be found here. We realise it's short notice and diaries are busy, but if you're not able to attend it's still possible to make a donation.

Tuesday 19th October - Bella of RareWorld is hosting a networking event at Jewel Bar in Piccadilly, beginning at 6pm with a drinks reception followed by a workshop on networking skills at 6.45pm. For more info click here.

Wednesday 20th October - City Business Library - "Under One Roof" networking event. 6-8pm. An opportunity to network, speak to library staff, sponsors & exhibitors, and listen to speaker Stephen Jones OBE. Click for further information.

Thursday 21st October - London Women Mean Business and Innovate London are hosting a joint evening of networking. This will be an opportunity to hear guest speakers and to speak to Innovate London about how they can assist your business to be more innovative through helping to engage with London’s world class knowledge base. Although we now have our limit of 30 people signed up to this event, please still let us know if you're interested as we may be able to offer some additional places. Email us to register your interest.

So if your diary was looking empty for next week (unlikely!), then one of these events might appeal.

Next month's LWMB meetup takes place on Thursday 11th November. Hope to see you there.

Until then, happy networking!

NEXT EVENT - THURSDAY 14TH OCTOBER

Don't miss our next evening of networking at The Embassy Club which takes place on Thursday 14th October 2010.

In addition to Kathy Ennis of Envision Training who will be speaking to us about personal branding, we have our 5 minute slots for 3 lucky (!) people in the group to talk to us in a little more detail about their business. And if you attend on Thursday you too will have the opportunity to be chosen to speak at next month's event.

Registration is from 6pm, with the presentations beginning at 7pm followed by further networking until 8.30pm.

Venue is The Embassy Club, 29 Old Burlington Street, London, W1S 3AN

Entry is free, you just pay for your own drinks.

If you'd like to join us, RSVP to londonwmb@googlemail.com.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Dawn & Melanie

IF YOU COULDN'T MAKE OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING, HERE'S WHAT YOU MISSED!

It already feels so long ago since our last networking evening as winter seems to have suddenly arrived. The summer evening that we enjoyed last week is but a distant memory!

Another amazing evening, with over 70 women enjoying the surroundings of The Embassy Club - thank you once again to everyone who came along and made it such a wonderful evening.

Sarah Pennells from SavvyWoman, a well known personal finance journalist and broadcaster who is regularly seen on the BBC was our guest speaker for the evening. Sarah made what can be either a daunting or boring subject sound interesting! Finance for women was the topic , and through asking several questions it appears that the London Women Mean Business guests are above the national average and are indeed financially savvy! Always more to learn though, so look out for Sarah's post on this blog coming soon with notes of her talk, or indeed visit her website.

We then had our 5 minute slots for guests attending the meetings, and this month's speakers were:

Angela Coulson from London Brokerage talking about the opportunities available to small businesses in terms of business support and training. Do contact Angela for further details as this is a valuable free service.

Jenny Lamski of JRL Coaching who spoke about the importance of time management, something that we all need to exercise when running our own businesses. For more information about Jenny, take a look here at her website.

And finally, the lovely double act of Natalie & Hayley Bystram from Bowes-Lyon Partnership. Bowes-Lyon is an exclusive introduction agency specialising in matching high calibre individuals that just don't have the time to find that special person. Bowes-Lyon are offering a free consultation so if you are alone and don't want to be, why not contact them - more information available here.

So, September is almost over and hopefully business is going well, you are well and truly back in business mode following the summer break, and we hope our meeting was one of many networking events you attended throughout the month to help promote and grow your business.

Your feedback and comments are always very much appreciated, so if you have anything you'd like to tell us, what you'd like to see happen at the LWMB meetings, who you've met at the meetings and perhaps worked with or have built an alliance with - anything at all, then just let us know. You can post a comment on this blog, or send us an email.

See you next month!

A CELEBRATION OF DIVERSITY

Tomorrow's Generation invites you to a celebration of diversity on Saturday 30th October 2010 at Wandsworth Civic Centre.

The event begins at 5pm, running through until 1am as in addition to hearing some great speakers (some of you may remember Usha Penumuchi and the very engaging talk she gave at LWMB a few months ago) and the opportunity to network, there will also be a collection of drama and dance performances plus a dining experience with cultural food tasting.

If you have a product or service to promote, tables can be booked but be quick as the booking deadline is 30th September.

Below is the line-up of guest speakers and drama & dance performances you can enjoy on the evening:

Speakers

• Genny Jones (Confident Queen) has been selected as one of the top 100 businesses by the Barclays Bank Trading Places award
• Usha Penumuchi, Commercial Services Directorate, Houses of Parliament
• Diane West- Management Consultancy / Training (specialising in the voluntary & community sector)
• Conrad Sackey (Chief Operational Manager, Windsor Fellowship)

Drama & Performances

• Daintynik South Africa and Uganda group
• Kabaslot EN Kotoku) – From Freetown, Sierra Leone (West Africa)
• De Champ & His Dance Group
  

For more information or to book a stall, click to contact Ellen Davies via email and she will be happy to assist with any questions you may have.

A DATE TO REMEMBER!

21st-28th October - the dates to remember!

Jamaica - the place to be!

The Caribbean Personal Development Retreat is taking place at Pimento Lodge Hideaway Hotel in Jamaica.

• Do you dream of having more time?


• Do you want to redress your work/life balance?


• Reduce stress?


• Gain clarity of thought?


• Or do you need time to identify and plan your next steps, define your goals in terms of career and personal life?

Then why not devote a week just to you?

Take your own Personal Development Retreat with personalised 1-2-1 coaching, massage, daily personal fitness training and much much more!

Run by Personal Development Coach, Dionne Edwards, for full details, click here or call Dionne on 07899 801118.

We promise you will return feeling more focused, energised, fitter in mind and body!

RE-SCHEDULED SEPTEMBER NETWORKING

We decided that the tube strike won't beat us and we are still going to hold a networking evening in September. We've now re-scheduled the event from earlier this week to Tuesday 21st September.

Details as before - see earlier post.

Please email londonwmb@googlemail.com if you'd like to attend.

We look forward to seeing you there!

CALLING ALL CHOCOHOLICS!

Did you know that it's National Chocolate Week from 11-17 October? An excuse to eat chocolate, yippee!!

To celebrate, why not come along to Chocolate & Booze - The Rivals. For those chocolate lovers amongst us who also enjoy a glass of wine (or beer!), this is an evening of fun and learning not to be missed!

Taking place on 15th October in central London, School of Booze will be hosting an entertaining tasting session where you will sample different beers and wines chosen to be a perfect match for chocolate. Taste why the wine or beer complement the chocolate and then cast your vote - which will triumph, wine or beer, in the battle of the bottle?

What better way to round off National Chocolate Week?

Tickets are £25 and it's easy to book, just click here.

WOULD YOUR COMPANY BENEFIT FROM COMMUNICATION SKILLS TRAINING?

If so, Knowledge Transfer may be able to help with some free training with the Central School of Speech & Drama. They have just 3 places available, so if you're interested please email londonwmb@googlemail.com and we will put you in touch with them. There is some qualifying criteria, for example you need to employ 4 or more people, but if you're unsure if your business will qualify and are interested, then do get in touch as you never know!

INSPIRATIONAL WOMAN? OH YES SHE IS!

We are absolutely delighted that one of our LWMB attendees, Sue Scott-Horne of EGAR, has been nominated for not just one, but two business awards.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure yet of meeting Sue, she is the founder of EGAR, a company offering educational games & resources to help get teenagers talking about their lives. Becoming increasingly concerned by the rise in youth on youth murders, Sue designed the Let's Get Talking card sets which are now used by schools, youth clubs, parents, Barnado's and the NSPCC.

In the Inspiration Awards for Women, Sue is nominated in the Most Inspirational category, an award for the "individual who has conducted themselves in such a manner that has inspired others and has had a creative influence on others". The awards take place on 6th October 2010, and you can vote for Sue here. But hurry, as the voting closes on Wednesday 22nd September.

Sue has also been nominated for a Barclays Business Award, so again fingers crossed that she is triumphant.

Well done Sue!

BUILD A BUSINESS THAT WORKS WITHOUT YOU

If that sounds appealing, the idea of building a business that will run without your constant attention, then this free seminar could be exactly what you need.

The Infinite Group have teamed up with Regus to provide a series of monthly talks from industry experts on key aspects of business success.

Business Success talks are designed for directors of established businesses who are ambitious to take their business to the next level. Each event will tackle a different aspect of business and provide food for thought to help you take the right actions to accelerate the growth of your business.

The London launch event takes place on Wednesday 15th September with registration from 8am and ending at 9.30am, leaving the day free for you to focus on your business and perhaps implement some of the ideas learned from the session.

To learn more or to book your place, just go to http://bit.ly/cUtbIl

CANCELLED - COME & JOIN US ON 7TH SEPTEMBER

We have taken a decision to cancel this meeting due to the tube strike. We hope to re-schedule during September, so please watch this space as we will post the new date here.

Having taken a break over the summer, hopefully you are feeling refreshed and ready to go! The "term" begins again, with our next networking event taking place on Tuesday 7th September.

We will be back at our favourite venue, The Embassy Club in central London. Details below:

Venue The Embassy Club, 29 Old Burlington Street, London, W1S 3AN

Time 6-9pm

Cost Free, guests just pay for their own drinks

Tube Green Park or Piccadilly Circus

Car Parking Car park on Old Burlington Street, or free street parking at 6.30pm

Map http://bit.ly/9QwR3C

Our guest speaker this month will be Sarah Pennells, a personal finance journalist and author and the founder SavvyWoman.co.uk which is aimed at women who want more from their money. Sarah will be speaking about "Why finance doesn't have to be frightening", talking of the different attitudes that women and men have to money, why women can be great at managing money (it's all about not making reckless decisions) and sharing some money saving tips. Sarah is an expert in her field and is often interviewed by BBC Breakfast TV and radio.

In addition to Sarah, we will also have our 5 minute guest speaker slots, and there will be the opportunity for you to be picked to speak at our next meeting.

If you'd like to join us on the 7th, please RSVP to londonwmb@googlemail.com to confirm your attendance.

We look forward to welcoming you on the 7th.

PRESENTATION SKILLS PERFECTED!

A group of London Women Mean Business guests came along to the free Presentation Skills Workshop hosted by Amanda Wright at the Central School of Speech & Drama on 23rd August 2010 and had a fabulous time while learning some valuable skills.

The session was very interactive, with all of us taking part in various breathing exercises in addition to a little bit of acting and culminating in presenting a poem to the group. It could have been daunting, but with everyone in the room getting into the spirit, there was no need for anyone to feel embarrassed.

With only an hour to get through quite a lot of content, Amanda did a great job in giving us an overview of certain skills we can use when presenting to an audience. Even if presenting isn't a key part of your job, the skills learned can even be put into practice when presenting your 1 minute elevator pitch.

Central School of Speech & Drama offer some excellent courses in communication skills, with a different approach to many business training courses as they are using drama techniques. Funding may be available so take a look at the business courses on their website http://www.cssd.ac.uk/content/central-business

Thank you to the LWMB women who came along and made the evening such a great success with their enthusiasm, and a special thanks to Amanda for hosting the evening (we hope your audition went well!).

NEED TO BRUSH UP ON YOUR PRESENTATION SKILLS?

If so, join us at our workshop on Monday 23rd August.

We are delighted that Amanda from the Central School of Speech & Drama will be running a complimentary workshop for us on 23rd August, 6-7pm, on Presentation Skills.

This will take place at the Central School of Speech & Drama in Swiss Cottage. You can find directions and further details about various business courses & workshops the School runs, here

http://www.cssd.ac.uk/content/contact-us

Places are limited to 25 people, so if you are interested please send an email asap to londonwmb@googlemail.com to register your interest. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Could you benefit from some business advice?

Debbie Bakare of Makeway4 is offering a special discount to LWMB during the months of August and September.

Makeway4 (MK4) is an independent business advisory and accountancy firm. Catering for SMEs and Charities in various ways, MK4 is a one-stop solution centre for all start-ups and growing businesses. Their method of working with clients is through implementing strategies for practical and effective solutions that bring results.

Because Makeway4 is small like most SMEs, they are able to build close relationships with their clients and understand their needs for implementation of solutions which bring positive results.

Makeway4 is a supplier for Business Link in London and also on the "expert team" of Barclays Bank plc. They run business seminars in London, Essex and Kent.

Services include:

• Book-keeping, accountancy, tax and internal audit etc.
• Business advice in the areas of start-up, finance, marketing and management
• Life plan, business plan, marketing plan and action plan for growth
• Business compliance, risk/change management and controls
• Training - staff and management team
• Recruitment solutions
• Project management

During August and September 2010, benefit from :

• 30% discount on all services
• Up to £100 paid for referrals
• Free solutions focused chat on business challenges (30 minutes)

If you're interested, send an email to : info@mw4enterprise.com quoting ref: GP001

www.mw4enterprise.com
www.makeway4.com

5 STEPS TO PROMOTING YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE- CANCELLED - TO BE RESCHEDULED

Melanie Berenblut of Berenblut IT Training & Consultancy is a Computer Trainer and consultant, who is an inspirational trainer, approachable with excellent communication skills. She is supportive and adaptable to individual training needs within groups . This includes Microsoft Office, Clinical Systems, Social Media and bespoke systems.

Usha Penumuchi of Dare to Dream is an international speaker and training and development consultant, who is addictively inspirational and speaks with humour, passion and grace to people in all stages and walks of life.

Melanie & Usha have joined together to bring you the best of Soft Skills and IT.

Please join Melanie and Usha for their launch event

Date: Thursday 29 July

Time: 6.30pm - 9pm

Title: 5 Steps to Promoting Your Business Online

Target Audience: Everybody

Venue: The Embassy Club, 29 Old Burlington Street, London W1S 3AN

Nearest Tube: Green Park or Piccadilly Circus

Car Parking: Car Park on Old Burlington Street, or free street parking
after 6.30pm

Price: £20.00 price includes a soft drink.
£17.50 for London Women Mean Business Members

Contact: Melanie 07787 858714

To book please go to:
https://www.eventelephant.com/5stepstopromotingyourbusinessonline

To access discount for LWMB Members, please type Member discount in code box

Summer Networking at The Embassy Club

Another wonderful evening of networking took place at The Embassy Club on Thursday 8th July, with a great turnout as ever.

We were pleased to invite several people to speak on this occasion, and in spite of our main speaker pulling out at the last minute, the evening was still a great success.

Ann Byrne, Chief Executive of the Women's Therapy Centre, talked about the good work the Centre does in supporting women by offering low cost therapy. If you would like to help support the Centre, either by taking part in the Adidas 5k race in Hyde Park on 5th September on behalf of the charity, or making a donation, details can be found here http://bit.ly/c2uI0h. If anyone would like to participate in the run but is new to running & doesn't know where to start, contact Dawn Gomes on the londonwmb@googlemail.com address. As a keen runner, Dawn competed in 3 marathons last year and may be able to offer some tips!

We were due to have Amanda Wright from the Central School of Speech & Drama to speak for us, offering tips on presentation skills so we can wow our audience whether we just need to improve our short elevator pitch, or speak in front of larger audiences for longer. Sadly Amanda was unable to make it but has very kindly offered a free 1 hour workshop to our guests. If you're interested, please email londonwmb@googlemail.com.

By a stroke of luck, Mark Fuller, the owner of The Embassy Club, happened to walk in at just the right time! We were thrilled when he agreed to give a short talk about his life in business. Mark is a very successful businessman, having been in the nightclub and restaurant industry for some time, and has now opened several hotels including the Sanctum Soho.

Mark gave an entertaining account of his life in business - and shared some secrets from the nightclub world! Mark set up Sugar Reef & Red Cube, before forming Concept Venues which now has various Embassy Clubs around the world, Geales fish restaurant and Sanctum Hotels in London & Berkshire Having survived several recessions his message to us was, in spite of the tough times we've been going through, there is some light at the end of the tunnel, and if you are passionate about your business keep going, keep working at it, and you will be a success. A huge thank you to Mark for giving up his time before rushing off to speak at another event and also for buying us all a drink for, as he put it, having to listen to him speak! http://www.conceptvenues.com

Next up were the 5 minute slots offered to our guests and we heard from:

• Nicola Smith from The Revival Co – www.revivalarepa.co.uk
• Dee Amin from Moot Media – www.mootdesign.com
• Usha Penumuchi from Dare to Dream – www.dtod.co.uk

Usha & Melanie will be running a course later this month, 5 Steps to Promoting Your Business Online, and full details will be posted on the blog shortly.

We'll be taking a break over the summer, with the next evening networking event on Tuesday 7th September. Please do feel free to contact us between now and then if you're interested in posting any offers on the blog or offering any feedback.

Have a fantastic summer!

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DOS & DON'TS WHEN USING TWITTER FOR BUSINESS

Following our event in June, Claire Boyles, our speaker on the evening, has put together some points for you to bear in mind when "tweeting". Which presumably you are now all doing following her talk!

Some Dos & Don’ts when using Twitter for Business.

By @ClaireBoyles http://www.twitter.com/ClaireBoyles

Number 1 Golden Rule:
Before tweeting ask yourself 2 questions:
1) Would I be happy if this tweet appeared on the front page of a national newspaper?
2) Do my customers & potential customers really want to read this?

Do:

• Do be yourself - be honest, open & transparent. [This doesn’t mean you have to share intimate details about yourself!].
• Do be friendly, join in conversations, this is what Twitter is for, you don’t need to wait for an invitation to @reply anyone!
• Do help others - answer questions, RT questions for others if you don’t know the answer, generally be a good neighbour in Twitterville.
• Do share information, if you’ve learned something new on Twitter, share it so others learn too.
• Do use twitter to expand your network, connect with people who you wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet otherwise (I’ve had conversations with Duncan Bannatyne recently that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to, without Twitter).
• Do share interesting, valuable information & keep it relevant to your customers/potential customers.
• Do share things about your own life, people can relate better when they understand the person behind the tweets.
• Do check your spellings before you tweet - this is your public image, you want to be showing your best!
• Do upload an avatar of yourself, people connect better when they can get a sense of the person behind the tweets.
• Do complete your bio & use it wisely to share with people what you want them to know about you/your business.
• Do engage, don’t just tweet special offers.

Don't

• Don’t spam tweople, spamming is constant tweets about what you’re selling/links to your website.
• Don’t set up automated tweets that go out constantly without you being there to converse.
• Don’t go following 100’s of people, then unfollow if they don’t follow you back. Twitter is NOT about numbers of followers, it’s about quality!
• Don’t criticise competitors in public (Yes twitter is public!) it just makes you look bad.
• Don’t share highly personal information - remember the Number 1 Golden Rule - Would you be happy if this appeared on the front page of a national newspaper?
• Don’t attempt to be something you’re not, you’ll get found out in the end.
• Don’t, Don’t, DON’T tweet when you’ve had a few drinks/are drunk. This is self explanatory & is a really BAD idea!
• Don’t Broadcast, broadcast broadcast broadcast broadcast broadcast broadcast broadcast, Twitter is a 2 way communication tool!

In summary, remember the Golden Rule: Ask yourself: "Would I be happy with this tweet appearing on the front page of a national newspaper?"

And secondly, remember this is a SOCIAL media site - people use Twitter to socialise, they're not on Twitter to buy your stuff, they're on Twitter to connect with other friendly, like minded people.

And thirdly- have FUN :)

SAVE THE DATE!

We have now scheduled the meetings of London Women Mean Business through to the end of 2010 so that you can save the dates in your diary now to ensure you don't miss any of these great events.

• Thursday 8th July
• Tuesday 7th September
• Thursday 14th October
• Thursday 11th November
• Thursday 9th December

We will also send you a reminder prior to each event.

We look forward to seeing you at a future meeting, where you can listen to some inspiring speakers, have the opportunity to promote your own business, and meet some amazing ladies.

BACK PAIN? TAKE A LOOK AT THIS SPECIAL OFFER

Giselle Malawer of Back in Balance would like to offer all of those who attend London Women Mean Business the opportunity to take part in one of her workshops. Details below:

"BACK TO BASICS” with The Alexander Technique
An Introductory Group Workshop (1.5hrs)
with Giselle J. Malawer MSTAT
(Back pain and Posture Specialist)

Do you suffer from Back Pain? Would you like to improve your posture and have a healthier back? Have you heard about the Alexander Technique but not quite sure what it is?

We invite you to experience this interesting and interactive workshop. In an informal setting, Giselle will share practical tools, top tips and expert knowledge on how to alleviate back pain, reduce stress and release muscle tension.
With an increased awareness you can:

 Be poised, without stiffness
 Move gracefully, with less effort
 Be alert and focused, with less strain
 Breathe and speak more easily
 Be calm, confident and relaxed
 Be effective and energised in your daily activities
 Restore your natural health, poise and vitality

Choice of Dates:

Monday 21st June, 2010 or Tuesday 29 June 2010
(12 places available per workshop for maximum results)

Time:

7.30pm for 7.45pm start (till 9pm approx.)

Cost:

£15pp to include refreshments plus a complimentary 1:1 Alexander Consultation, with Giselle, at a later date

Venue:

The Finchley Alexander Studio
Flat 1, Jay Court
33 Brownlow Road
Finchley, London N3 1YT

Questions will be invited at the end of the workshop.

So come and join us for this fabulous workshop and rediscover the balance of body and mind!

To reserve your place, please contact Back in Balance: 020 8346 6282
Please specify date of the workshop you wish to attend

For more information about Giselle and The Alexander Technique, please visit: www.backinbalance.org.uk

ANOTHER HUGE SUCCESS!

Thursday 10th June saw another successful evening at The Embassy Club with the London Women Mean Business.

Attendance was as high as ever, with over 80 women enjoying each other's company, making new connections, doing business and supporting each other.

Guests arrived from 6pm, with open networking until 7pm when our guest speaker, Claire Boyles (AKA the Twitter Queen of Ireland!), gave an interesting and informative talk about Twitter. Claire had just 30 minutes to share as much information as she could about how Twitter has worked for her gaining new business, optimising her website, building business contacts, and gaining trust as an expert in her field. It seemed 30 minutes was just not long enough, with plenty of questions being asked at the end. If anyone would like to learn more about Twitter, Claire holds workshops in London, the next one taking place on 29th June. Click here to book http://bit.ly/aYVdvE

In addition to hearing from Claire, we offered the opportunity for two of our guests to share a little more about their businesses with us.

Nicoletta Adda from Pinkananas Image Consultancy - a natural born speaker, even in her non-native language (Nicoletta is Italian for those of you who missed that bit!). Incredibly inspiring, beautifully stylish, so if you need to update or change your image, we're sure a day with Nicoletta would be a fabulous experience full of fun & learning http://www.pinkananas.com/main.htm

And Kelly Chester, who spoke about an amazing retreat she is running in July which will include not only pilates lessons, but also look at how we fuel our bodies and how we treat them mentally and physically with the aim of introducing lifestyle changes to restore balance. The Elite Retreat takes place in Zakynthos, Greece from 23 – 30 July 2010. And remember, for any referrals to the Elite Retreat in July, there will be a £100 referral fee! http://www.dianapowley.com/?page_id=20

We'd like to thank all of our speakers for making the evening so interesting.

And after pulling out business cards at random from the Champagne bucket, the following people were chosen to speak next month:
Usha Penumuchi of Dare to Dream Ltd, Nicola Smith of The Revival Company, and Natalie Bystram of Bowes-Lyon Partnership. So we look forward to hearing your 5 minutes next month ladies!

Finally, a big thank you to our hosts, The Embassy Club, with a special thank you to owner Mandy Fuller who joined us on Thursday evening.

See you all next month!

LAUNCH AT THE EMBASSY CLUB

The launch of the London Women Mean Business networking group took place on Thursday 13th May 2010 at The Embassy Club in Piccadilly. Almost 100 women enjoyed the opportunity to meet with like-minded business women in an informal atmosphere.

The format for the evening was open networking, and we explained that future events would include guest speakers, and the possibility for guests to pitch their own business to the audience. We're very keen to gain feedback from everyone who attends, as we'd like to create an event which offers the type of networking that guests would like to see. Feedback forms were distributed on the evening, and it seems that the majority of you were keen to hear guest speakers in various subjects.

In addition to this, we also have lots of budding speakers amongst us! Five minute slots will be offered, and we will try to make this available to as many of you as possible.

We're now planning to make this a monthly event, so watch this space!

THE BEGINNING

Following a Business Link conference in February 2010, many of the women that attended were inspired to keep in contact and build on the networking which took place that day.

Melanie Berenblut set the ball rolling by posing the question on LinkedIn "Would anyone like to network following the conference"? And what a response!

The first meeting took place with approximately 12 women in attendance, with no set venue (although we found a great place at St Pancras), no set agenda, simply an opportunity to meet with fellow business owners to share ideas, collaborate and generally have a good evening whilst gaining something, be it business, learning or friendship. From this small beginning, the group has grown with now well over 100 women expressing interest in attending the networking event.

Dawn Gomes came on board to run the group with Melanie, and they now plan to host monthly events with interesting speakers and opportunities for guests to present their businesses.

If you're interested in attending, just email us at londonwmb@googlemail.com.

We look forward to seeing you soon!