Third Tuesday is almost here again and we have a “Simply Networking” evening planned for Tuesday 20^th April 2010 6pm – 8pm at The Courthouse Club.

No speaker, no topic, no agenda- just call in to The Courthouse Club between 6-8pm.

It is a  free, informal meeting, open to all business women from the local area and a chance to mix and mingle with like minded people; just bring business cards and a sense of humour! Drinks are available to buy from the bar, either upstairs or downstairs.  Feel free to bring friends, colleagues or prospects.

Women in Business meet on the Third Tuesday of each month, 6-8pm at The Courthouse.  The date for the May meeting is Tuesday 18th May 2010.

Posted April 18th, 2010 by Kate No Comments »

Women in Business learned about a major UK business support network at January’s Third Tuesday event (19th Jan 2010 at The Courthouse) which was sponsored by Paragon.

Over 40 attendees heard about the development of Forward Ladies from founder Etta Cohen.

Nine years ago, Forward Ladies started as a couple of ladies meeting every 6 months for lunch.  It’s now one of the fastest growing business networks in the UK, with over 7000 members and new groups in Manchester and very soon, Liverpool.

We heard about Business Breaks to Monaco and Florence, member discounts and events, success stories, Female Emerging Entrepreneur groups, Member Directories and Mentorship. 

I first met Etta in Leeds last year.  I’d hoped to get the benefit of her experience to help develop the group here to better meet members’ needs.  Etta kindly agreed to visit the Isle of Man, to meet our group and talk about how we can work together. The response here was extremely positive.  Etta was impressed and inspired by the women she met on the Isle of Man and about how our group had progressed in such a short time (especially with no money and only volunteers!).

The event also attracted interest from some new faces and young women who are just starting out in business. 

WiB steering committee members met the following day to discuss how to move things forward with our group.

Thanks to Etta, Paragon and to everyone who attended the event . . . some pics below!

Etta Cohen speaking to WiB members

The recession is helping to kick-start a home-based business economy. A third of those questioned in the latest Home Business Survey said they started their home-based business within the last year, highlighting the entrepreneurial spirit that has emerged from the downturn.

The increase of 300,000 home-based businesses means there are now 2.8m businesses operating full time from home, contributing £284 billion each year to the UK economy.

At the UK Business Incubation Conference in December, I met Emma Jones, founder of Enterprisenation.com , a free resource to help you start and grow your business at home.  I’d heard about Enterprise Nation through Twitter and Global Entrepreneurship Week (they had a Home Enterprise Day).

Emma gave a talk to incubation professionals about how incubators can support homeworkers – since not all will want (or need) to take up actual residency in the incubator.  Emma’s talk and energy really inspired me; it’s so relevant to how we live and work now. Plus she’s actually an experienced entrepreneur (she set up her first business at the age of 27 and sold it 15 months later).  We heard about the growing culture of “5 to 9″ ers people who work a full time job and run an additional business at home, of an evening.   Some do this as a hobby or to unleash their creative talents – many don’t aim to give up the day job.  Truly enterprising.

Homeworkers are often underrepresented in economic statistics as home businesses commonly outsource rather than employ.  Family commitments, personal preference, cost, lifestyle, location and the environment are all reasons why people might run a business from home.

Whatever the reason, if you are running a business from home, take a look at Enterprisenation.com .  It has great resources and links to help home businesses start up and grow.  I’ve already recommended it to a few homeworkers I work with.  When the weather is this snowy, there are more reasons than just bootstrapping for working from home!

The Home Business Report from November 2009 makes interesting reading.  Homeworkers should be celebrated.  I wonder how many we have on the Isle of Man and where their customers are? I’d love to meet some tech start-ups who are currently working from home.

Business incubators can help home workers in different ways.  The need for professional, physical office space and face-to-face networking is still (if not more important) even though the majority of work is done at home.  Business planning support and advice is relevant regardless of where you’re working.

If you are setting up an enterprise or have an innovative idea or invention,  contact the Isle of Man Business & Innovation Centre -  you could work at home, from our offices or both and receive business support and more. Support is free upon successful application.  Pre-start ups and aspiring entrepreneurs, or those looking for a collaborative venture are very welcome.  +44(0)1624 820930 .

This article is from www.enterprisenation.co.uk .

In the last 25 years Dee Blick has witnessed more than her fair share of good, bad and indifferent adverts. ‘I would like to think that I’ve been responsible for writing more good adverts than bad’ says Dee ‘but in my early years I was as guilty as anyone in writing adverts that were creative but didn’t actually generate responses.’ In this feature Dee offers 9 tips that will steer you in the right direction of writing adverts that do bring home the bacon!

1. Make your product or service the hero of your advert. In a small space, it’s vital that the reader knows exactly what is being advertised
2. Don’t get in a tangle if you don’t have a genuine unique selling point. Focus on being honest and informative. You don’t have to be a market leader to get responses
3. Write as though you are chatting to the reader – informal and engaging
4. Putting your headline in quotes can increase reader recall by about 25%
5. When you advertise in a local publication you can get better results if you make a prominent reference to the name of the city or town. People are interested in what’s happening where they live
6. More people read the captions under your images than the body copy itself. Make sure your caption includes your business name and a compelling benefit
7. If you have to communicate many different sales points, number or bullet them
8. Make an offer – limited to a number of readers and add a close date to encourage early responses
9. If you don’t have a designer, ask the magazine if they will design your advert, even if you have to pay for it. Looks and content count if you want responses

For more from Dee Blick and Marketing see www.themarketinggym.org .

Are you part of Britain’s growing number of homeworkers?  Check out www.enterprisenation.co.uk A free resource to help you start and grow your business at home, they have some excellent resources and case studies.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Rebel Cole and Hamid Mehran studied data from the Federal Reserve’s Surveys of Small Business Finances (SSBFs) for the years 1987 – 2003 and published their findings in an August 2009 study titled, “Gender and the Availability of Credit to Privately Held Firms: Evidence from the Surveys of Small Business Finances.”

What they found was that female-owned firms are:

1. much smaller than male-owned firms, in terms of sales, assets, and employment;
2. younger, both in terms of the age of the firm, as well as in terms of the age of the owners;
3. less likely to be incorporated;
4. likely to have fewer and shorter banking relationships, and
5. “more likely to be discouraged from applying for credit, though not more likely to be denied credit when they do apply.”

Credit expert and author Gerri Detweiller has some interesting observations about the findings.  She says that the lessons for women who run their own businesses is clear.

“It can pay to set up your business properly. The fact that a significant percentage of female owned firms operate as sole proprietors is one clue that something is amiss. You cannot get true business credit if you have not set up a corporate structure.

“As a sole proprietor, you may be able to get a credit card with the business name on it, but your business and personal credit are one and the same. So even if you don’t need credit yet, look forward when choosing your business structure. Though you may be a small firm today, what structure best meets your future goals for growth?”

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• Using Business Credit Cards (cathystucker.com)

prepared by Pam Neill and Julie Fraser

Speed Networking is a fun, energetic and dynamic way to build relationships and develop a thriving, successful word-of-mouth network

How does it work?

You will have a few minutes with each person to introduce yourself, your business/company, what you do and what you want from the evening.

At the end there will be time for you to connect with anyone you missed or to extend the conversations with those of your choice.

How do I prepare?

1. It is important to think about what you want to get out of the evening.  Some examples are:

• You need contacts within an organisation to get a job or promote a product or service you have
• You are wanting to generate publicity for an event
• You want to widen your circle of business / personal contacts
• You want to mix with like minded people

2. Have a well prepared USP or ‘elevator speech’.  Very simply this is :

• Your name
• Your company/business name
• What you/your company does
• What you want to get out of the evening

3. Make it engaging as you will be desperate to hear something entertaining and memorable by the time you get to the last person – and so will they!

4. Bring plenty of business cards or note cards with your contact info on.  Also bring extra flyers or promotional material along for those that want more information.

5. Take notes.  This will help you remember important facts about that person, their interests and goals.

6. Challenge yourself to help at least one person that you meet.  If everyone does this the impact of this event could be huge.

What happens after the event?

The real magic starts to happen when you build and continue the relationships outside of the event. So, visit the websites of the people that attended, send them an email, phone them and suggest another meeting with the intention of becoming better acquainted and finding out how you can both help each other.

The Isle of Man Business & Innovation Centre (BIC) is marking Global Entrepreneurship Week (16th – 22nd November) by holding some workshops and info sessions for people in business and those thinking about starting a new venture.

It’s all happening at the BIC’s unit at the Tower Shopping Centre in Douglas (first floor above the cafe).

18 November

* 10.00 – 11.00 Business Start Up workshop.  Thinking about starting a business?  This workshop is for you – learn how to evaluate your idea, identify resources and what starting a business entails.  Contact kate(at)iombic.im or call 820930 to  register.
* 11.00 – 12.00 Drop in session for any queries about the IOM Business and Innovation Centre, pop in to discuss your ideas and see how we can help.
* 13.00 – 13.30 What Is Business Incubation? A short talk to inform you about what incubation is and how it can benefit early-stage and pre-start up businesses.
* 14.30 – 15.30 Ideas to Reality Workshop – Bring your business or invention ideas – no matter how crazy they seem – to this workshop for some initial process guidance on how you can drive them forward. Contact kate(at)iombic.im or call 820930 to  register.
* 16.00 – 17.00 Drop in session for any queries about the IOM Business and Innovation Centre, pop in to discuss your ideas and see how we can help.

21 November

* 10.00 – 12. 00 For experienced or aspiring entrepreneurs, drop-in for an informal chat and  find out about the support available. Get answers to questions and to register for the Get Going Programme.  For 1-1 appointment contact kate(at)iombic.im or call 820930.

Just over a year ago, the Women in Business Network was only an idea.  None of those involved knew each other that well but research, discussion and sharing ideas has worked. Now we engage with nearly 250 women on the Isle of Man with 78 Fans on Facebook and 85 members of our Linked-In Group.

In line with the theme of connecting women in business on the Isle of Man, our November Tuesday Club event is a Speed Networking Evening.

WiB members Julie Fraser and Pam Neill, who came up with the idea will be organising the event.  We’ll be seeking to create more connections at The Courthouse Club, 6pm Tuesday 17th November 2009.  Visit and register at the event page here .

Regardless of what you’re communicating, speed networking is an increasingly popular way to get your message across and meet many people in a short space of time.  Tips on getting the most out of a speed networking are found in this article by Dr Ivan Misner.   Misner is the Founder & Chairman of Business Networking International, the world’s largest business networking organization.

The Speed Networking Event will be the last Tuesday Club of 2009.  See this post for how to promote events, offers and engage with WiB online.

If your organisation would like to host, organise or sponsor an event for WiB members, please e-mail info<at>iombic.im or telephone 01624 820930.

The next Women in Business Tuesday Club on Tuesday 20^th October 2009 should be fantastic.

Be there: 6pm – 8pm at The Courthouse Club, Athol Street, Douglas, IM1 1LD.

Talking Topic: Making Time for Your Retail Therapy

Shopiom.com is sponsoring the event and Beatriz Bolton, UK Director of Carlisle, a private fashion collection from New York, will be starting the conversation.

www.shopiom.com – Shopping heaven, twenty four seven!  Come along and find out about the DTI assisted scheme and meet the local retailers who are now selling online.

Be there at 6pm for a complimentary drink.  Hope you can make it!  Please RSVP to info@iombic.im

Posted October 16th, 2009 by Kate No Comments »

Launch of shopiom.com- Shopping Heaven 24 / 7

Ladies!  Get your business and shopping online! A shopping website exclusively for Isle of Man retailers has been launched this week.  www.shopiom.com is an online directory of independent Manx retailers.

The site is part of an initiative by the Isle of Man Government to give the island’s independent retailers access to e-commerce opportunities. It also helps shoppers to find a wide range of exciting products by product category or geographical location.

So far more than 40 retailers have joined the site. Businesses are able to set up their own website via the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) assistance scheme and also have a listing on the directory. Retailers who already have an e-commerce website are also offered a free listing on the directory. It is envisaged that the directory will become a one-stop reference point for online shopping on the Isle of Man.

The Minister for Trade and Industry, Hon David Cretney MHK, said: “We recognise the importance of supporting the island’s independent retail sector.  Retailers not only provide a varied and interesting shopping experience, which is a core part of any community. They are also an important part of the economy, providing jobs and paying taxes within the island.

Business is increasingly moving online and, if the retail sector is to remain competitive, it is essential that firms of all sizes are able to become established online.  The interest from established local retailers exceeded our initial expectations and continues to grow.  Also the scheme has enabled a number of small business start ups and home working entrepreneurs to realise their dreams of starting a retail business. I hope that many consumers will use the directory as a starting point for their online shopping.  In short, this initiative is good for Isle of Man retailers, shoppers and Government and I wish it every success.”

Soo Cards, one of the first Manx firms to use the service, could not have achieved the growth they have without Shopiom, according to Director Sue Ellis.

“We had been planning to take Soo Cards online this year, so the DTI and Venda initiative came along at just the right time for us,” Mrs Ellis said. “The combination of the online shop and the Shopiom portal has had a major impact on our business, with orders now coming from the UK and Europe, as well as the Isle of Man. The support from both the DTI and Venda has been excellent, and has helped make the project a real success.”

http://www.gov.im/dti/