Tuesday, 12 July 2011

JUNE ROUND-UP

June saw us back at The Embassy Club where we invited back our previous guest speaker, Francesca Lubenko of East Wind Business Development who gave us some ideas on how to optimise our connections. Even the most seasoned networkers can always pick up a tip or two. It's all very well attending networking meetings regularly, but do you allow yourself enough time for follow up? We had an interesting interactive session with Francesca with contributions from everyone in attendance - it was great to hear the stories everyone had to tell, good & bad!


Here are Francesca's top 5 tips:

1. Have fun

2. Show up - and keep showing up!

3. Focus on them

4. Prepare - have a strategy/make a plan

5. Keep them warm

Don't forget that attending a networking event is just the beginning.  Following up is key to building and maintaining those relationships which then leads to future business.

MAY ROUND-UP

A change of venue this month saw us at Red Bar near Carnaby Street, with a small intimate group which gave the opportunity for everyone to circulate and meet everyone else in the room.  Great for really building on those relationships and finding out a little more about what we all do and how we can all help each other.
 
Our guest speaker was Jo Rogers of North Star Legal Ltd.  Jo has spent her legal career to date advising international clients on mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures and company law requirements and now advises businesses how to reduce their legal risks by getting their businesses in ship-shape. She spoke about "Navigating your business through the legal unknown - 10 steps to guide you to safety". Something we all need to know, whether we are SMEs or larger businesses.

Here are Jo's top tips:
  • Always read and understand the paperwork
  • Avoid pirates: know who you are dealing with
  • Keep a treasure chest of records
  • Everything is negotiable
  • Know the likelihood of something happening - avoid the storm
  • Evaluate the consequences and effects upfront
  • Keep things ship-shape
  • Plan your next destination
  • Seek wise counsel
  • Be the captain of your ship

It did stir up an interesting discussion about how often we read the smallprint!  As Jo suggested, always print off the Terms & Conditions at the time of the transaction and keep them safe - just in case you ever need to refer back to them.  And preferably read them too!

 

 

Monday, 11 April 2011

WANT TO DO BUSINESS IN NORTH EAST LONDON?


If you are the owner of a business, small or large, either based in North East London or would like to establish new connections in the area, then this Business Expo is for you!  With the opportunity to network and generate more leads and sales at this first event of its kind in the area, at just £100 to exhibit this could be the perfect opportunity for your business.

Or why not come and visit as it's free to attend (registration in advance required or £10 admission on the door).  You will have the potential to meet new business partners, suppliers and buyers, discover some new ideas and find out what your competitors are up to.  Plus there is a packed programme of seminars with some fabulous speakers lined up throughout the day.

And of course, networking opportunities galore!  With speed networking sessions, a morning breakfast networking session (co-hosted by LWMB!) and a closing networking reception to round off the day, you are spoilt for choice.

For further information and to register either as an exhibitor or visitor, click here.

Sunday, 10 April 2011

LOOKING FOR A NEW DRESS READY FOR "THE SEASON"?

**44 Frocks and Rewardrobe are holding a special one-off event for the upcoming London Social Season**
 
44 Frocks, the company behind London’s wildly popular, sell-out ‘Frock parties’ have teamed up with Rewardobe Personal Style Consultancy to bring you a one-off event, tailored specifically to have you dressed for the occasion during the upcoming London Social Season.

 
Just a 5 minute journey from Liverpool Street, after work on the 14th April, a warm welcome of Prosecco and gourmet cupcakes awaits you at the private 44 Frocks Apartment, along with a treasure trove of new or 'as new' designer frocks for you to rustle through, try on and fall in love with.

 
We want you to look your very best this Social Season, so each dress has been individually hand-picked by the 44 Frocks team to give you the ultimate choice of attire at affordable prices (£50-£150) - along with individually tailored insider advice from Rewardrobe's top stylist.

 
The evening's offerings include: 
  • Crisp cold prosecco served in vintage teacups
  • Gourmet cupcakes piled sky high
  • Stylist on hand to talk the group through the pitfalls and moments to shine during social season
  • A huge selection of specifically chosen designer dresses all marked from £50 to £150
  • Piles of hats, accessories, jewellery and extras to try on, try out, get advice on, and when they’ve found the perfect match, buy.

The £15 tickets are limited to ensure there is space for the lucky shoppers to relax, have a glass of fizz and browse at their own pace; and like the 44 Frocks tea parties, these tickets will sell out quickly!
 

 
For more information, please contact Veronica at Rewardrobe (veronica@rewardrobe.eu)

APRIL ROUND-UP

Lots of fun and laughter on a gorgeous sunny evening in Marylebone!  The April London Women Mean Business meeting was another success, with some fantastic women who were delightful company. 

Our venue for the evening was Colony Bar & Grill, a buzzing restaurant and bar just off Marylebone High Street.  Okay, so not particularly conducive for a traditional networking event, but in spite of this the feedback was fab and much appreciated.  Lots of good connections were made and we saw several new faces, some completely new to the world of networking - and what a great place to start! 

And our speaker, Francesca Lubenko, was the perfect person to help those new to networking - even the more seasoned networkers also learned a thing or two - with some great tips and ideas on how to capitalise on the contacts made at such events.  With a change in plans, Francesca took the time to circulate the room to speak to everyone on an individual basis - and will be back to speak at a later stage to follow up on the ideas discussed.

Our next meeting takes place on Wednesday 11th May.  If you're not already on our mailing list, drop us a line at londonwmb@googlemail.co.uk and we'll ensure you're included so that you are kept informed of future events.

In the meantime, happy networking!

Tuesday, 5 April 2011

Come and join us in April

The next London Women Mean Business meeting takes place on Thursday 7th April. Will you be joining us?

We're having a change of venue this month, still in the W1 area so central enough for everyone. Colony Bar & Grill is a fab find in the Marylebone area, so we're hoping for a great evening of informal networking, as ever! Just a short walk from either Marylebone or Baker Street stations, click here for a location map.

Colony Bar & Grill
8 Paddington Street
London W1U 5QH

At just £10 for an early bird ticket, which includes a drink on arrival, coming along to an LWMB meeting is an affordable way of meeting a great crowd of women who are keen to chat, share ideas and do business with each other. And we'll be hearing from Francesca Lubenko of Eastwind Business Development as our guest speaker for the evening; Francesca will be talking about Optimising Your Connections.

Early bird tickets are available until Tuesday 5th April, so don't forget to book before then to take advantage of this. You can of course still book after this date at the standard price, or indeed come along on the evening and pay on the door.

Friday, 18 March 2011

March Round-Up

Great to see so many new faces at London Women Mean Business in March.  Back at our "home base", The Embassy Club, it was another energising meeting with the opportunity to meet some great ladies.  An interesting mix of women, including our first ever private investigator!

Speaking for us on the evening was Cory Cook, who gave us tips on how to make the best use of our time.  We're all so busy, running our businesses, looking after our homes & kids, spending time with friends & family, that we need to be so organised to make this all run smoothly and Cory offered some interesting ideas to make this happen such as:
  • Think of time as tangible rather than intangible - visualise it as a container and allocate your time within it.
  • Are you an early bird or a night owl?  Use your own natural energy cycles and schedule the work in when your energy levels are highest. 
  • Miscalculating the time things take - time how long it takes you to complete a task; often longer than we imagine!  This will allow you to plan your schedule more accurately in future.
  • What are your big goals?  Ask yourself if the task you're working on is helping you to progress towards your goal.
  • Dig deep and find out where you're spending your time - create a timemap and re-structure your day, having a framework helps.
  • Consolidate everything into one place/planner
  • Schedule your to-do's into your planner
  • Take 15 minutes at the end of the each day to see what's coming the next day.
And not forgetting the four D's - delete, diminish, delegate, delay.  Contact Cory for further information on these or if you need some help with your time management or just getting more organised.   http://www.corycook.com/

And a big thanks to our 5 minute speakers:

Tiina Erameri - of Studio Erameri, a fabulous photographer specialising in still life, lifestyle and interiors.  With a career spent working with some of the best known names in the industry, take a look at Tiina's website for more info: http://www.erameri.com/

Karen Flint - of New Direction Partnership, talking about the North East London Business Expo taking place on 17th May.  Open to businesses in any area, to find out further details & to register to attend, or book an exhibition stand (just £100) go to:  http://www.northeastlondonbusinessexpo.co.uk/

Caroline Thomas - of Snapshot Films, who spoke about the services she can offer, both for your business or to capture that special family moment.  A video on your website seems to be an essential these days so why not employ the services of a professional such as Caroline.  She is offering a 10% discount to all LWMB.  http://www.snapshotfilms.co.uk/

Next event is on Thursday 7th April, at The Embassy Club, so we look forward to seeing you then.  To book your ticket, click here.

Until then, happy networking!

Friday, 18 February 2011

LWMB MEETING DATES FOR 2011

Dates have now been scheduled for the remainder of 2011.  We hope to see you there!

Wednesday 9th March

Thursday 7th April

Wednesday 11th May

Thursday 2nd June

Thursday 7th July

Thursday 8th September

Wednesday 5th October

Thursday 10th November

Thursday, 17 February 2011

BRAND “YOU”, YOUR MOST VALUABLE BUSINESS CARD


For those of you who attended any LWMB meetings last year, you will probably be familiar with Italian stylist Nicoletta Adda, founder of Pinkananas Image Consultancy, a widely recognised provider of Personal Image and Branding services to both private and corporate clients.

Nicoletta is running a workshop on Friday 25th March in central London, and the early bird offer for tickets is available until 28th February so if you're interested in hearing from this charismatic, entertaining and very stylish woman, then be quick to book your ticket.  We're sure you will find it very inspiring, not to mention informative and fun!

This workshop will provide you with the essential steps to develop an effective and positive personal image and brand. You will learn the core techniques of effective non-verbal communication and how to bridge any gaps between your values and the way you portray them to become a compelling and confident individual and professional … with style.

The workshop is highly interactive and, with the number of places limited to 20, every participant will benefit from full involvement and attention.

Common problems addressed are:
  • CONNECTION - When I look in the mirror, what I see is not who I am
  • VISIBILITY - I am a well kept secret: people don’t notice me
  • CONFIDENCE - Everyone looks better than me
  • IMPACT - My talent is undisputed yet I am constantly overlooked for promotion
  • GAP - I have a great product/service but I can’t persuade people to buy it
  • 1ST IMPRESSION - My CV is outstanding yet I never go past the 1st stage of an interview
  • SELF AWARENESS - When I shop I often end up making costly mistakes
  • IMAGE MANAGEMENT – I sometimes let my guard down

YOU WILL LEARN
  • The ABC of 1st impression: Appearance, Behaviour, Communication
  • How to build your brand: closing the gap between your values and your image
  • How to “dress” your values and become memorable rather than forgettable
  • The psychology of colours and how to use it to influence people
  • To identify the best styles for your body shape and adapt them to your brand
  • To successfully maintain your brand

By the end of the workshop you will know how to APPEAR, BEHAVE and COMMUNICATE with STYLE, CONFIDENCE, IMPACT, and BE YOUR MOST VALUABLE BUSINESS CARD!
 
For further information and to book your ticket, click here http://pinkananas.eventbrite.com/?ref=elink

BREAK OUT OF THE "WORK HARD, NO MONEY" WHEEL

Adrienne Marks, LWMB "member" will be hosting a seminar on how to earn more money, improve your business and your life.


Dates are confirmed for 28th February at The Thistle Hotel, Brands Hatch 7pm to 9pm and 2nd March at MWB 55 Old Broad Street, London EC2M 1RX.

http://www.theawarenesszone.co.uk/?page_id=230

It's only £20 - for 2 hours of amazing content.

2 hours where you will learn how you can finally break out of the 'work hard no money' wheel and earn what you're worth. 2 hours crammed pack with so much information it will seem more like 10 minutes - entertaining and unbelievably informative.

If you work for yourself you need to be there; if you work for someone else you need to be there; if you work in an office, a shop, a factory, at home - you need to be there!

If you believe that you are missing that 'certain something' that others have, that other people seem to have so much more, that it's about time you had it all - then you need to be there

£20 TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE - WHAT A BARGAIN - YOU SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS IT

I look forward to seeing you there.

Adrienne Marks

http://www.theawarenesszone.co.uk/
admin@theawarenesszone.co.uk

Giv’Organic New Ethical Gift Experiences Website Launched


Launched this week in time for Valentine’s Day is Giv’Organic www.giv-organic.co.uk – a totally new concept in online experience shopping for gift seekers with a conscience. Everything on the site is organic, natural or eco-friendly, meaning the giver can show love for the recipient AND the planet. And for the whole month of February to celebrate the launch, Giv’Organic is offering a 10% discount on all gifts and experiences.

With all the gifts, ranging from green products and services, outdoor and indoor discoveries and entertainment, beauty, health and spa packages with an ethical or environmental message, the site is ideal for presents for all the family, friends and colleagues of all ages and from all walks of life. The site also offers gift vouchers for unsure shoppers so the recipient can choose their own special ethical gift.

Uniquely, Giv’Organic face value vouchers can be redeemed not only for experiences on the website but also other online eco-store partners offering ethical garments, organic baby products, cosmetics, organic plants and animal elixirs.

With each gift carefully selected Giv’Organic provides quick service and is currently offering special deals and gift ideas for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter. All Giv’Organic gift experiences are specially selected to create well being not only for the recipient but also for the environment – we seek to preserve natural resources, meaning the recipient can be secure in the knowledge that they are enjoying a day out without harming the planet.

Gift ideas include greening your wardrobe with a personal shopper, nature breaks, outdoor adventures, and even donations to charities such as Greenpeace. You can visit Nature’s World, go on a boat trip at Fairhaven, have a guided tour around an organic vineyard or treat someone to a luxury facial or body treatment. For something really special treat someone to a perfumery or nutrition weekend, an Indian head massage or have an hair stylist make you over at Jigami.

Giv’Organic experiences start at just £10 and gift vouchers ranging in value from £25 to £150.

The site is newly launched with new gifts and experiences added on a regular basis. There is an option to sign up for an email newsletter to receive regular information and offers. The company itself aims to be eco-friendly in all respects and is currently awaiting carbon neutral assessment. Recipients receive their gift vouchers and envelopes printed on recycled paper.

Precilia Godart, the brains behind Giv'Organic and a LWMB "member" would like to offer all members of LWMB a 10% discount code available until the 28th of February 2011.  Just insert the code LWMB2011 to insert at the checkout.

Happy shopping!

Monday, 7 February 2011

SPARKLING!

A roomful of sparkling ladies attended the first LWMB meeting of the year which took place at Swarovski Crystallized on Thursday 20th January.

Julia Macmillan
The bubbly flowed, the food was delicious, the company was wonderful and our guest speaker, Julia Macmillan, gave a fantastic talk about her experience in setting up her internet business, Toyboy Warehouse. Of course, for those interested in learning how to find a toyboy, there was ample time for a chat with Julia after her talk!!

Julia is a former fashion designer and artist, and began Toyboy Warehouse following a successful art commission, having discovered that she couldn't find what she was looking for on "traditional" dating websites.  From starting the site with open source software, and a group of friends as her members, she has now grown the business to a point where she is talking to investors and is about to launch internationally.  The ideas that Julia used in growing her business can be readily applied to most businesses - find a unique name that gets people talking; in addition to contacting newspapers etc, build relationships with freelance journalists so that they call upon you as an "expert" in your field; ensure you have a targetted (not Adwords) Facebook campaign if you have a digital business; offer added value eg. Julia now has a VIP section, hosts member events and a dining society and is planning to launch an online game.

Thank you Julia for giving your time to share your experiences with us.

Drawing the raffle
Congratulations to those of you who won a raffle prize - we hope you enjoy making use of the gifts on offer which ranged from a £100 Jaeger voucher, a bottle of Bollinger Champagne, to a relaxing floatation session, a massage treatment and a £500 voucher to spend at a hair & beauty salon.  And a special thanks to Cory Cook who offered half a day of her services in time management or organising your life.  Your generous donations mean that we raised £110 pounds for the charity Childreach.

Thanks are also due to our photographer for the evening.  You may have noticed Claire Swindale clicking away in the room.  Claire is an experienced photographer who has worked with such brands as Revlon, and we were delighted to have her with us on the evening.  Her photos of the evening are now on our gallery, and there is a separate blogpost about Claire with further details of her work, her special offer to LWMB and an invitation to her "meet the artist" day at her exhibition in March.

And finally, a thank you to Carrie and all at Swarvoski Crystallized who were wonderful to work with.  Several women in the room disappeared downstairs to the shop during the evening returning with a Swarvoski Crystallized bagful of goodies.  And who can blame them, with a 70% sale, or the LWMB 15% discount on non-sale goods to take advantage of!!

Thank you to all of our guests who made the evening so successful.  We hope you enjoyed it and look forward to seeing you again soon.

LOOKING FOR AN UNUSUAL VENUE?

For those of you who attended our January meeting, you will know how beautiful the Swarovski Crystallized lounge is, making it a fabulous and unusual venue.

If you are looking for somewhere slightly different in central London to host your event, then you might like to consider Swarovski Crystallized.  Not only can they cater for parties, but they are also able to host breakfast meetings, conferences on a small scale, training sessions and crystal application or jewellery making workshops, with a capacity for 150 standing and 75 sit down.

Opening Hours for hire purposes are 8:00am – 10:30pm, which can be extended on request.

Facilities include:

Swarovski Crystallized Lounge
· Music – Bose sound system - CD, laptop or Ipod which also includes one microphone and one lapel microphone.
· Beaming projector
· Video projector
· Fully functional kitchen
· Coffee machine
· Built showcases

If you are interested in discussing holding your event in this unique space, please contact Carrie Pacquett - carrie.pacquett@swarovski.com or 020 7255 8449.

Sunday, 23 January 2011

A PHOTOGRAPHER WITH A DIFFERENCE - CLAIRE SWINDALE

If you were at the January meeting of London Women Mean Business, you may have noticed a photographer in the room clicking away unobtrusively so that we could have a reminder of the evening.  Thank you to Claire Swindale for agreeing to be our "official" photographer for the evening, we really appreciated it.  Here's a little more info about Claire, and details of a special offer for LWMB.

Claire started her career in advertising as an Account Handler and Creative, her ultimate achievement being the design, implementation and launch of the first 5 years of Happy Meals and merchandising for McDonald's UK. Thereafter, whilst still in the world of advertising and media, for 8 years she concentrated on travelling the world with her backpack and camera. There was never a lightbulb moment, she always had a camera: Her talent and interest in photography simply grew.

Her decision to brave it into the freelance world was encouraged when she was part of the first wave of redundences at The Independent Newspaper nearly 3 years ago. She never looked back.

Claire currently has an exhibition at Tentazioni Restaurant in Shad Thames showcasing a selection of personal favourites and demonstrates her ease at capturing both beauty and finite details of her subjects and locations. 

Claire's portfolio includes stills from the last 3 Rimmel London commercials, with a fourth pending ... an extensive library ... obviously travel (which expands from Europe, Africa, through to Asia, particularly her favourite, Nepal!) The place of smiley places and smiley faces! She also attends casual family gatherings and childrens parties, anniversaries, 'big' birthdays where clients can relax, have fun and laugh, whilst Claire captures the moment. Her studio work is really evolving and is shown off in her Beauty and The Basque category showing at Tentazioni.

From portraits, weddings, film commercials ... through to her art and her recently launched bespoke luxury wooden puzzles (view and purchase these via her website)... she is equally inspired!

Claire's ambition is to continue to enjoy the expansion of her business, which, she says does not feel like business at all but pure joy to be doing something that she loves so much. Visit her current portfolio on www.claireswindale.com and facebook 'Claire Swindale Photography' and become her friend ....... and see for yourself.

Claire’s offer to you is a studio session for headshots for your marketing material, whether it be for your website, Linked-In, Facebook etc .. she will supply you with a disc holding a variety of images in colour and black & white, for just £85.

info@claireswindale.com
http://www.claireswindale.com/
07747 567 732
Facebook: Claire Swindale Photography

Claire's exhibition can be viewed at :

Tentazioni Restaurant
2 Mill St
Lloyds Wharf
SE1 2BD

Claire is having a 'meet the artist' event on 11 MARCH 2011, 3-7pm.  Everyone is invited to have a Prosecco, view the artwork, meet the artist.  Spread the word and bring your friends.

Friday, 7 January 2011

CHALLENGES - ARE YOU PREPARED FOR 2011?

New Direction Partnership, a networking group based in East London, are hosting some workshops over the coming months to help small business owners to achieve their goals for 2011 and beyond.  It could be that you need additional knowledge to help you grow your business but can't afford the time away from your business or are finding that many courses and workshops just cost too much.

NDP are therefore running a series of short seminars, outside of "normal" working hours (if there is such a thing when you run your own business!) at a really cost effective price. You can pick & choose which workshops appeal to you, or book the complete series for a discounted price.

Do you need some help with marketing your business, or perhaps you need to gain a better understanding of finance? Do you shy away from social media, in spite of knowing what a great marketing tool it can be? Or perhaps you feel that you need to understand how to promote yourself and your business as a "brand".

Some of the workshops on offer are :

Marketing & Selling - looking at the "6Ps" - Planning, Purpose, Promotion, Place, Product & Price............read more

Social Media - what is social media marketing and how do you measure its value to your business? How is social media changing the way small businesses promote themselves on the web? Read on to learn more & book this course.

Effective Networking - we only do business with people we like, know and trust. Come and learn how to build networks to generate referrals and lead to profitable long-term relationships. For further details click here.

That's just a taster of 3 of the 9 workshops which are being held on a rolling basis.. To read further details about each one, plus dates & details of how to book, take a look at the NDP website.

SPARKLE AT SWAROVSKI WITH LWMB IN JANUARY

Happy New Year!



Are you ready to make this the year when your business goes through the roof!

Come & connect with some wonderful women on Thursday 20th January at the first London Women Mean Business networking event of 2011. Take advantage of our special early bird discount and book your ticket now - the early bird price is only available until Monday 10th January so be quick!  Click here to book.

Start off the new year of networking in style in the beautiful surroundings of the Swarovski store right in the heart of central London. Enjoy a glass of bubbly, delicious canapes, interesting conversation and hear from our guest speaker. We're delighted to have Julia Macmillan joining us this month to talk about her experience of setting up an internet business.

Julia is the founder of toyboywarehouse.com, now the top UK dating community for women and younger men.  Having had absolutely no experience in the internet but in 2006 having found the mainstream dating sites lacking, and having had a few good art commissions that year (she was an artist) decided to set up the kind of dating community she would like.  She wasn't aware of problems such as 'how do you start a dating site with only your 10 best friends on it?' There have been ups and down since it went live in Jan 2007 but now she is set for international expansion and will talk about how she got the company to this stage.


And if that's not enough, we also have some fabulous raffle prizes, with all proceeds going to Childreach International.


We hope to see you there.  In the meantime, happy networking!!