Are you a Woman in Business?
July 8th, 2010Our May Networking Meeting
June 1st, 2010
Our May networking meeting was held at The Hotel Du Vin in York. Our Guest Presenter was Carol Costello from Spice learning who we all agreed did an amazing job, she had us laughing and everyone was able to contribute to what turned out to be a very interactive workshop. Find out more about Carol by clicking on this link http://spicelearning.com/?page_id=26
I notice that, month by month, we are having more women attending who are representing more diverse businesses. This means the group really do benefit, due to the bringing together of knowledge, experience and foresight that each person has gain through their individual career.
Women really do seem to network differently to men; they instinctively focus on building relationships in fact one of our members was telling us that she had met with someone at a networking event eight years ago and had built a relationship with that person over the years which followed. Only last month did the relationship pay off with some actual work (a contract that will keep our member busy for a number of months) but she has built a lasting friendship and together they have been on the end of a telephone, met for coffees and helped each other through some difficult times in their business and personal lives.
This relationship is, I believe something to remember when networking, yes, sometimes you will meet with someone who can help you straight away but more often than not it takes time but if you can be yourself, be honest and open with others in an environment which encourages you to do so then it can be amazing what may come of it in time.
To find out when our next networking meeting is please drop me an email info@confidentladies.co.uk and I will send you details once we have the dates and times arranged.
Our April Business Networking Meeting
April 30th, 2010
A huge thank you to all who attended last night’s networking meeting; what a brilliant evening it was!
We had the great pleasure of having one of our members’ Jules Wyman as our guest speaker and a special treat from another member Lauren Heslop who was on hand to give shoulder massages throughout the evening.
We held the evening at the Hotel Du Vin in York, it comes highly recommended as the surroundings and the staff are superb. We kicked off by welcoming everyone to the meeting and then introduced Jules so she could begin.
Jules gave a thought provoking talk on how to ‘get your message across quickly’ over the years many of us have had the phrase ‘elevator pitch’ drummed into us to inform others of what we do in a short space of time. It was quickly discovered that many of us were telling others what our job title or business name was rather than ‘what we actually do’. So after a few exercises and help from Jules, we all had a much clearer understanding of how to present ourselves in the future so that what we said actually opened up the conversation rather that provoked a blank, disinterested expression form our audience; which is what some of our attendees said they felt happened when they had previously spoken to others about their jobs.
After Jules had finished her Guest Speaker slot we were then able to practice what we had learnt and a number of us had a go at telling the others in the room about ourselves and our businesses. It was agreed that, perhaps for some, there was still work to be done but on the whole what a massive difference and we all can take something away from what we had learnt.
Jules is holding a Presenting Skills course very soon, spaces are limited but for further information please feel free to contact her. Jules also runs The Confidence Garden- where your confidence can grow. These are run on a monthly basis and again for any further information please contact Jules.
Lauren Heslop from LuLuLime Yoga and Holistic treatments is hosting another Yoga and Wellbeing Retreat on the 9th – 11th June described as a weekend to rest, reflect and be yourself in a peaceful and nurturing environment…sound fabulous and if the taster of her shoulder massages are anything to go by I recommend booking quickly! For further details please contact Lauren.
The evening concluded with everyone smiling and chatting so what more can we ask for? Business doesn’t have to be stuffy and strict, new business and contacts are gained at every meeting we have and that’s how we hope to continue.
Please ensure you keep up to date with all that is going on by visiting our Calendar
All the best for May and look out for the date of the next meeting, hope to see you all!
March Business Networking Meeting
March 29th, 2010
A big thank you to all who attended last Thursday’s networking meeting and thank you to those who couldn’t make it but let me know; its much appreciated.
It was, I believe, one of our best yet. The venue at the HSBC on Parliament Street worked really well as did the wine and chocolate busicuits!
We had the pleasure of listening to an excellent presentation by Jen Syrkiewicz from Stilus Solutions and although Jen said she was a little nervous it didnt show and, from the comments I have received, I’m sure everyone took something away with them for their ‘to do lists’. We had some new faces which is always encouraging and everyone seemed to enjoy each others company during the evening.
Jen also told us about about an innovative new service which Stilus Communication is offering for our clients. Recently, they have been asked to enhance sales communications for their existing clients, and this has led to them developing a package to support your business in generating sales.
They are offering the following package:
Setting up a free Wordpress blog for your company
Providing two blog updates a week about your industry and what you have been up to
Developing an e-mail marketing newsletter on a monthly basis, which consists of one bespoke feature article related to your industry, a sales-related update about your recent activities, and a call to action to encourage your customers to engage your services.
They are able to provide all of this for just £100 per month, for Confident Ladies members.
If you are interested in benefiting from this great offer, or would like to see examples of what they are doing for their current customers, please get in touch with Jen to find out more. You can call on 07764 189827, e-mail at jen@stiluscopywriting.co.uk, or visit our website at www.stiluscopywriting.co.uk. The more people subscribe to the service, the higher our rate will go to keep up with demand, so make the most of this unique offer, now!
Thank you again and I’m looking forward to the next one scheduled for the 29th April at The Hotel Du Vin in York starting at 6.30pm, see the calendar for updates on the presenter and it looks like there will be a special ‘treat’ for attendees………..
Just what I needed
February 21st, 2010
Yesterday I visited Easthorpe Hall- The award winning Health and Beauty Spa. It was just the break I needed after a couple of really busy weeks and a couple more to follow.
I arrived at 12.45 and was taken to a beautiful lounge room with an open fire where I was welcomed and completed a health check / information form a therapist explained what the afternoon had in store for me and I was thrilled, it sounded perfect.
I was then taken through to the changing rooms and asked to change into my swimwear, dressing gown and slippers and then, when I was ready I was taken to a room which had about half a dozen leather beds/recliner chairs , it was warm and there was soothing music being played. A therapist came and gave me a welcome treatment on my hands and feet and then I relaxed for around ten minutes or so. After which, I was taken through to the kitchen area where a Chef explained what was on the lunch menu. Lunch was served in the conservatory, overlooking the grounds and I have to say it was delicious (apparently the Chef was in Vogue a little while ago) The hot lunch was made up of a selection of things such as; chicken caesar salad, sea bream and new potatoes, quiche, pasta salad, asparagus wrapped in parma ham, mine was topped of with a glass of pink champagne!
After a little rest to settle lunch I was taken down to experience my ‘Thermal journey’ comprising of: Infinity Jacuzzi, Swimming pool, Infra-red sauna, Individual steam cabinets. This was fabulous and I was really starting to love it by now!! Following all the heat I was advised to have a cool shower to close the pores and then to get back into my dressing gown once I was ready I was given a Paraffin hand wax treatment. This is where you dip your hands in warm wax and then the therapist wraps them to keep warm and the puts your hands in towelling gloves; it feels strange but really nice. The paraffin wax is left on for around 15 minutes so whilst this was treating my hands I was led back to the quite room (with the leather beds) where I think I must have nodded off because the therapist came back to remove the gloves and it was time for afternoon tea. I had a herbal tea and a gorgeous strawberry cupcake which are brought in fresh each day for the guests- delicious.
For my next treatment I followed the therapist upstairs ( its such a beautiful building and really deceptive size-wise), she took me to a small, dimly lit treatment room which smelt lovely and I was asked to climb onto the bed, I could have stayed there forever it was so comfortable! The treatments that followed consisted of an Indian back and head massage and a facial. I have had facials before but this was amazing and seemed to last for such a long time it was so relaxing and well, lets just say I didn’t want it to end.
It was 5.30pm when I finished my treatments and so I was led back to the changing rooms to get back into my clothes and say goodbye. I can honestly say it was the most relaxing, beautiful afternoon I have had in, well I can’t remember when. I highly recommend a visit, Eastthorpe Hall say in their brochure ‘we endeavour to make your visit a life-changing experience and one you will never forget’. I can truly say I won’t forget and hope to be back soon!
Check out the Eastthorpe Hall website as there are some great offers for March and April http://eastthorpe.co.uk/offers
Thank you to all the staff and in-particular Sam who made me feel so welcome xx
Confident Ladies on the Radio
January 29th, 2010Yesterday I was invited to speak on the Elly Florentino show for Radio York. Here is the link to listen it will be available for the nest few days. I am on just after James Brown finishes singing aroun1:10:08
The Apprentice finalist Claire Young gave a talk to Confident Ladies
January 21st, 2010
A night full of motivation and inspiration
Claire Young – who Sir Alan Sugar nicknamed the Rottweiler –said she hopes to pass on her motto of “Just Do It!” when she addressed us last night and she certainly did just that!
We held the event at the HSBC on Parliament Street, York where James Coyle the Business Manager was a perfect host (he even did the washing up after we left, how many bank managers do you know would do that?) We had a real mix of women from all backgrounds and businesses so it was a fabulous audience for Claire to present to.
We were spoilt whist listening to the talk beacuse Sophie from Little Pretty Things brought along some beautiful handmade chocolates for us to try. We were lucky enough to be able to sample Yorkshire Raspberry chocolates made with local York Raspberries and also the Yorkshire Bitter chocolates made with Centurion’s Ghost from York Brewery….well it was rude not to! I think everyone was in agreement that they made a superb special treat or an excellent wedding favour.
The killer look
Claire had been in the local paper prior to the event click here to read what they had to say and she was on Radio York the day of the event giving a real taste of what was to come click here to listen to the interview.
Claire began by talking to us about the early days; where her famous ‘killer look’ that I believe we all remember from the show came from and about how she hadn’t realised until seeing herself on the TV just how expressionist her face was. I think from what she said no-one in The Apprentice, including Alan Sugar was under any illusion as to what she was thinking.
Claire went on to talk really open and honestly about her progress up the career ladder, the ups and some downs of some of the roles and companies she worked with. It was a real insight into her world and her tenacity; which would prove to be a key attribute when tackling the huge task of filming The Apprentice.
The candidates in The Apprentice
I think it’s doubtful when the next series of The Apprentice comes to our TVs in September 2010 that I will scoff and say such things as, “Is that the best business people our country can produce?” After listening to Claire about the YEAR of hard word she and the other candidates experienced and the things that you don’t see when you watch the show. I will most certainly be viewing it with a different eye this year.
Claire does an incredible amount of work for young people, in particular young girls demonstrating how aspirations and having plenty of them combined with hard work can open so many doors wherever you come from. It really is worth doing a little bit of research on Claire to find out more about her differing roles she gives our young people.
Claire started a new business around a year ago called Elegant Venuesdespite the credit crunch as she believes that times such as these can offer huge possibilities for businesses as long as the risk is a calculated one and you work hard. Please take a look at the business, it’s a great idea and is going from strength to strength. I believe they have actually signed a property suitable for a team or corporate business to rent for Silverstone; if you know of anyone who might be interested please get in touch.
All in all I believe everyone would agree a fabulous evening was had by all who attended so I wish Claire well in everything she does and I am sure we will continue to hear about her antics for a long time to come!
Thank you to Claire http://www.claireyoung.co.uk/
Thank you to James Coyle who offers 18 months free banking for start up or people switching to the HSBC, if you would like to chat to James here are his details:
EMAIL: james.coyle@hsbc.com
NUMBER: 07738816961
January Business Network Meeting
January 14th, 2010
Last night was the Business Confident Ladies Network meeting and we saw a few new faces, which was great. A big thank you to all those who turned out on such a cold and dismal evening.
The evening began by me running through a few bits of news mainly concerning my search for a new venue for our meetings. As we are growing we need to look for somewhere larger and I have, I believe, established a couple of good options I just need to ‘firm these up’ over the next week. Alongside the change of venue I am looking to add some more time slots for the meetings rather than just have the one each month. This would hopefully mean the meetings would become more accessible by giving you the flexibility to come along to them all or just one that would suit you. It also grows the opportunity for members to fill the Guest Speaker Slot giving yet another place to showcase yourselves by passing on your knowledge to others.
I have created a short survey which would really help me make sure we are holding the meetings you want to have, please can you take a few minutes to complete? Thank you http://bit.ly/7kkDIM
The Guest Speak Slot last night was filled by Caroline Anderson of Business Boots who did an amazing job despite only volunteering around three hours prior to the event. The weather had struck us by preventing our original Guest Speaker from attending, she was devastated but will hopefully do her slot next month.
The presentation covered Social media which was a topic that had been discussed briefly the month before and something that members felt they could do to know more about. Caroline covered many aspects of Social media in her talk and gave some super tips and advice, many of which, I have noticed, have already been taken up and carried out. If anyone feels they could do with knowing more please contact Caroline direct.
I was touched to see one of our values in full flow last night. One of our new attendees, Diane, has never stepped into the world of socila media although after carolines talk she could see her business could well benefit for doing so, but in truth she said she really didn’t know where to start. Within a flash Rachel from RandomActs was arranging to visit Diane’s house on Sunday set her up and show her what to do. Brilliant, that’s what Confident Ladies is all about; helping on another to succeed.
Thank you again and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Brand new Blog for Members
January 13th, 2010Something new for you
We have set up a brand new blog for our members.
This is where our members can post their thoughts, share ideas and write about things on their minds. We’d love to hear from you and I know you have plenty to say so lets get interactive today. Send your posts to this email address: post@confidentladies.posterous.com
To view the members blog scroll down the links on the right hand side of this page until you see Members Blog and click the link.
January Newsletter
January 7th, 2010
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