Networking Queen of Norwich

As the unofficial networking queen of Norwich, I seem to be asked with some degree of regularity to recommend networking events for people in business looking to raise their local profile. I can usually be relied upon to give a fairly frank appraisal of those that I have attended. Unfortunately I am not prepared to share those honest appraisals here but may give you some gems of wisdom in person if you ask nicely!

I thought I would share my latest list of Norfolk business networks, in no particular order before you go getting over-excited! Apologies in advance if I have missed anyone off but I think this list is probably still more up to date than the one in the press!

• Norfolk Netwalking - Monthly walks mixed with informal business networking www.norfolk-netwalking.co.uk

• Norwich Business Womens Network - Monthly lunches, contact Margaret Gotts 01603 751930 www.nbwn.co.uk

• The Womens Business Clubs – Kings Lynn www.thewomensbusinessclubs.com
• The Business Club www.the-businessclub.org Fortnightly evening meetings at Airport Hotel, Norwich plus social events. Contact kate[@]activemd.co.uk to come as a guest (free).

• Buy Local – Social Enterprise encouraging small businesses to trade with each other, approx quarterly meetings and events www.buylocalnorfolk.org.uk 01603 766166

• The Antidote Network - Monthly meetings at Holiday Inn Airport Hotel, quite friendly and informal www.theantidotenetwork.co.uk

• Mid Norfolk Enterprise Forum run by Conservative PPC George Freeman www.thenorfolkway.co.uk

• Norfolk Network - www.norfolknetwork.com 01603 663340 Monthly meetings

• Federation of Small Businesses www.fsb.org.uk and then follow links to regions.

• WEETU (Womens Enterprise, Education and Training Union) - www.weetu.org 01603 878343 Centre meetings approx quarterly, very friendly and informal plus a new professional network also recently started.

• Everywoman 0870 746 1800 www.everywoman.co.uk – Regional seminars

• Women in Business Forum - Contact Sharon O’Mahoney, Meetings around Thetford area www.wibforum.co.uk

• Enterprising Women - www.enterprising-women.org – occasional networking events

• Wire (Women in Rural Enterprise) - www.wireuk.org - friendly networks in Kings Lynn, Norwich and South Norfolk.
• Little Acorn Network – monthly meetings for small businesses and artists in North Norfolk www.little-acorn.net

• BNI (Business Networking International) www.bni-europe.com - formal membership-only networking group with networks across Norfolk

• Norfolk Chamber of Commerce – large selection of formal events across the county www.norfolkchamber.co.uk

• ABC Network http://www.abcnetwork.biz/ Weekly breakfast meetings in Norwich, Bury St Edmunds and Watton

• 4 Networking http://www.4networking.biz/events/kings-lynn/ Regular meetings in King’s Lynn and Norwich (breakfast)

• Cambridge Network – regular meetings in Cambridge http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk

• 25AM - Regular breakfast meetings in Norwich www.25am.co.uk

Where are the female role models?

I recently read a brilliant article making astute observations on female role models. It cited the less than superb examples set by women like Jordan and Cheryl Cole who live their lives in the public eye and are regularly cited as Woman of the Year or Mum of the Decade.

Its a topic which I feel really passionate about as a woman trying to make my way in business - fours years after setting up Active Marketing & Design, I am still looking for a truly enterprising female role model who I can relate to and aspire to be like but its been a pretty tough search. And I know what I'm looking for - imagine if you are a young teenage girl with a relatively restricted view of the world and I certainly don't think good female role models would cross your path very often. The media has a part to play in promoting these role models of course and is certainly not guilt-free when it comes to pushing dubious examples forward for the plaudits based largely on their attractive appearance or their "illustrious" private lives.

In fairness, we have had tv shows like The Apprentice which has pushed some savvy businesswomen into the limelight a little (anyone still remember Michelle Dewberry or Ruth Badger?) but has also created some horrors like Katie Hopkins who famously fluttered her eyelids and failed in the stern face of Sir Alan Sugar. High profile shows like Big Brother have also created supposed role models like the late Jade Goody who didnt always set the best example for smart women. I was recently approached to audition for Big Brother out of the blue - it turned out that my name was put forward as i was a finalist for a young businesswoman award and they were looking for some "real" role models. I declined the offer for the sake of my sanity but was intrigued by the approach that this tv company was using.

Historically there were some stunning examples of savvy women - sterling ladies like the late Anita Roddick or Emmeline Pankhurst - and how we desperately need more of them to triumph over the false celebrity women in the future!

To read the article which inspired this post click here:

Women mean business in Norwich

I came back with some really strong and inspirational messages from today's launch of the WEETUnetwork at Dunston Hall. It was fantastic to see sparky TV presenter Trisha Goddard complete with big new hairdo fighting fit and well on the road to recovery after battling with breast cancer. Never one to mince her words, Trisha had plenty to say about inspiring our daughters to be the businesswomen of the future, and talked passionately about instilling a work ethic in young people, just as her parents made her work hard for her pocket money as a child. I'm really keen to support young women into business and self employment and to give them the opportunity to consider enterprising ambitions in the future, and it seemed that Trisha would be an excellent role model for them to aspire to.

Trisha referred fondly to memories of her grammar school headmistress who had every day instilled a sense of self-belief in her pupils through rousing school assemblies, something I think is lost in most modern schools since the demise of the daily assembly.

She spoke of how her eldest daughter is currently working her way through university, despite her "privileged" upbringing, and how she encouraged her daughters not to feel the need to conform but to cherish their individuality. It seemed that she was suggesting that this unique selling point in each of our personalities is key to our success as individuals in work and life, a point which resonates closely with my thoughts on successful marketing which is so much easier when your business is distinctive.

Trisha also spoke from personal experiences about the critical importance of balancing health and work, firstly in her own battle with a mental breakdown and of course more recently her cancer diagnosis. She suggested that women usually work harder than men in managing both the home and work and we need to learn to give ourselves a break. These thoughts were echoed by the second speaker, Jane Trippett-Jones (Mayor of Diss) who raved about the benefits of a regular massage to simply reduce tension and stress. Both speakers highlighted the importance of voluntary work as key to building self-confidence and as an ideal route to pave the way for women to return to work.

WEETUnetwork is a new venture from the established Womens Employment Enterprise and Training Unit for "women who mean business". With the room bursting at the seams for the first event and Norwich North MP Chloe Smith notable amongst the audience, it was clear that WEETU mean business with their aim to become the recognised voice for women in the Eastern region and I hope the network continues to grow.

www.weetu.org

Feminomics: feminine values

I was wowed by Erika Watson MBE on Friday at The Forum. A pioneer for women's enterprise issues, Erika left her role as CEO of Prowess earlier this year to explore new challenges and is in the process of writing a book.
I have to be honest, I wasn't completely sure what to expect, and was a teeny bit worried that it might descend into a man-hating, bra burning kind of debate. But Erika did a great job of presenting some key facts about the role of gender values in the recession and the wider economy to the gathered audience of Women, Research and Enterprise Forum (WREF) members and friends, which allowed us to draw our own conclusions. My conclusions were:
1. The UK has a huge distance to travel to reach anything close to gender equality in the workplace. As the discussion was focused on the circumstances of the recession, we looked specifically at the financial services and banking industries where the gender pay gap is the largest of any industry sector at a whopping 55%. Similarly women earn only 20% of the bonuses of their male counterparts.
2. Self employed women do far more unpaid work than any other group. This includes caring for family, voluntary work and contributing to the community. Therefore encouraging more women into enterprise has a massive, unrecorded wider impact.
2. I learnt a lot about the concept of feminine values - it doesn't mean everyone hugs each other and eats chocolate at board meetings - far from it. The difference between feminine and masculine values can be seen clearly when it comes to measuring success. In masculine terms, a country's economic success is measured in GDP, that is cold hard cash. If you use feminine values (which interestingly are being adopted in France and have been mooted by our own David Cameron), success is all about quality of life, sustainability and environmental impact.

Achieving success in terms of masculine values could come at the expense of all of the above.

Read Erika's blog: http://enterpriseandequality.wordpress.com/