Business Breakout in Balmain

Last Thursday in the pre dawn of a Sydney autumn morning I kept with tradition and hurtled out to the Sydney Markets to search out the freshest flowers for use at the launch of SHE Business.

I love cruising the near empty roads to immerse myself in the raw commerce of the Sydney Markets, business in its simplest form - trading in wholesale fruit, vegetables and flowers.

By 6.30am, spirits running high and my car overflowing with flowers I was on my way to The Exchange Hotel, Balmain to meet my colleagues Monica Brewer and Danita Needleman to stamp the SHE Business brand on the premises we were using to launch the Inner West territory.

As we prepped for the day we savored moments of silence to gather our thoughts and moments where we boisterously refined our vision and got clear on what we wanted to create for our guests. We also stopped for just a moment to reflect on how hard we’d worked to get there.

Long before the appointed hour people started gathering, the heady noise of businesswomen connecting filled the room drawing the attention of passers-by.

Highlights for the day: Too many to mention but I’ll start with …

Monica Brewer - our latest franchisee and director for the Inner West, on stage sharing her vision to take her 25 years experience as accountant and coach to benefit her members. It was a personal and heartfelt story that touched many in the room.

Hearing from current members (who’d come from all over Sydney) Naomi Rosenthal, Elke Koch, Amanda Webb and Claire Stretch sharing the results their results from SHE Business membership. They spoke of new business, new friendships, learning & development and ultimately becoming better businesswomen. They were honest and gorgeous and I thank them for it.

Clare Mann, our speaker and communications expert – funny, clever and professional. She offered her 3 tips for excellence in business (and bedroom) communication and the discussion and debate that ensued was funny and incredibly informative.

It was a brilliant day and I know that the women of the inner west will be in good hands as members of SHE Business.

Visit a Working Lunch: $65 including lunch, vino and fabulous business. Book at shebusiness.com.

If you'd like to visit the inner west community they'll be meeting for the first time on the third Thursday of June 2011. Check out shebusiness.com for further information.

PS Lots more photos on Facebook

Frank Sinatra did it his way .. are you doing it yours?

Good morning Gorgeous People

OK, let's be clear the end isn't near and I'm not being overly sentimental, but I am doing it my way.

You may have read a previous post where I asked the question "Is it time for Networking to evolve?". I wrote it hoping to start a discussion about the pitfalls of poorly organised get-togethers that reduce our industry to a joke. It did start a hearty discussion and I thank all those people who took the time to comment and get in touch. However I was also surprised by the sheer quantity of phone calls and emails I received from members, colleagues and friends who assumed from my post that I hate networking!

"Far from it" I cried in defence of my position.

Please be clear, I love networking, it comes naturally to me, and it's hands down the most cost effective way to meet a whole bunch of people.

But that's it - for the most part you're just meeting a whole bunch of people who are putting on their best face and offering their best pitch. It's not a bad place to start a networking strategy but it's an awful place to finish it. Your networking strategy must evolve if you're to enjoy long term business relationships that result in a sustainable and profitable two-way funnel.

So here are just 3 of my tips that will have you evolve your network strategy:

1. Be selective about the events you attend
2. Follow up with anyone of interest within 3 days of the event. I use Linkedin as my core online network, it's the most professional and allows you to stay connected with your new-found colleagues no matter their change of business / career status. But please! If you're going to Link-in with someone take the time to write a personal note, it takes only a matter of minutes but leaves a great impression
3. Stay in touch - and not just with e-newsletters. Offer a personal touch, my personal favourite is the odd phone call to say hi, it's a much under-used communication tool and highly valued by those you meet.
   

I'll follow up next week with further tips for evolving your network strategy and in the mean time if you care to share any of your network strategies, do drop me a comment or visit us at www.shebusiness.com

We Join the Online World

Good morning gorgeous people

Today we launch the website for SHE Business, it may not receive quite the same coverage as the federal budget however it's a momentous day for me and my team and I hope you can reserve some of your excitement over budget cuts, for us!

Today as SHE Business goes online I'll pause to reflect on our achievement, it's been quite a challenge and sometimes I find the next challenge tugs me away from an accomplishment without giving me that lovely moment of satisfaction. Do you also find yourself stepping over your achievements without an appropriate nod to the moment?

Reading Dynamic Magazine this morning I was surprised to find 40% of small businesses in Australia operate without a website. Having been off line for the past few months I have direct experience of feeling mute and ineffective, trying to promote business was like communicating with my mouth taped and hands tied behind my back, in other words inconceivably torturous.

Developing an online presence is not simple and I have absolute empathy for all those business owners who excuse themselves from the process on the basis that they're too busy and it's too overwhelming. I have a reasonable understanding of marketing and social media and yet this has been an excrutiating project over which I tripped many times and found myself overwhelmed by much of it.

For those who develop and deliver web services take heed of the opportunity to entice customers and increase the percentage of SME using this medium. Start by dropping the lingo, remind yourself of the challenges you faced when tackling something new (like driving a car) and make your mark by educating and informing your customers rather than keeping them in the dark.


Today SHE Business is no longer in the dark and our website goes LIVE.

Is it a complete website? Probably not.

Are there things I'd like to do differently? Perhaps.

Is this the first iteration? Most definitely.

Am I happy that we've launched? Absolutely.


If you have a few moments please click through to our site, look past its spartan dress and we're sure you'll find an innovative and unique community - SHEBusinessAustralia

There are plenty of opportunities to visit a SHE Working Lunch but I take this moment to make special mention of our launch in Balmain on May 26, 2011.

Is it time for networking to evolve?

Good morning wonderful people

How many invitations do you receive each week to networking events? Five, ten, more?

My inbox is swamped, the holler of come hither deafening and with each week it seems a new player enters into this low cost marketing industry. With cheery calls to sup champagne & feast on canapes whilst building lucrative contacts, I started wondering - isn't it time for networking to evolve?

Attending an event last week I was reminded how much I disklike the traditional networking event along with all it's card thrusting and superficial, sales-y conversation. Surely these people had read an Ivan Misner blog or a Robyn Henderson book and knew better than to approach networking like a shark attacking a seal. I know from experience there are far better networking events than the one I attended last week, but as every two buck biz enters the market delivering traditional networking events, I'm noticing very little thought is going into evolving the medium itself.

SHE Business is not a network, we're a community and our ethos and culture has little resemblance to that of a traditional networking event, but I'm interested to know: Is traditional networking still working for you or would you like to see it evolve?

Love to hear your thoughts.