Island Business Networking Group Joins With

North England’s Largest Women’s Support Network

Douglas, ISLE OF MAN, 10 May 10 — Women in Business (WiB), an initiative of the Isle of Man Business & Innovation Centre (IoM BIC) is to become Forward Ladies Isle of Man, part of North England’s largest women’s support network.

The deal follows several months of discussion, including a presentation to WiB members in January, and means members will enjoy improved services, more networking and professional development events and a broad range of other benefits.

“WiB has been a successful group from day one. But with more than 150 members, a calendar of popular events and considerable interest from potential sponsors and corporate members, the time is right to move to the next level,” explained Kate Lord, WiB steering committee member and IoM BiC manager. “Forward Ladies is the right fit for us in terms of our mission, framework and resources.”

There will be a special, final, meeting of WiB for members wishing to find out more on 13 May, Amber Lounge Bar,  18.00.  The event is being supported by Amber Lounge and Sleepwell Hotels and refreshments will be served.

Forward Ladies is one of the UK’s fastest-growing business networks with more than 10,000 members.  Isle of Man joins Forward Ladies groups across the UK including newly established ones in Manchester and Liverpool.

Forward Ladies mission is “to promote and celebrate the engagement and participation of women in economic success by enabling women to be more confident in life and business through knowledge, contacts, support and friendship.”

“We embrace women from all sectors and stages of professional life,” said Etta Cohen, founder, Forward Ladies. “We offer a community for women to learn, share and encourage one another in a supportive environment.  We welcome the women in business of the Isle of Man to our group.”

Membership benefits include:

• networking events
• partner events
• special offers and discounts
• online business directory listings
• online membership forum
• business missions to European and other destinations
• professional development opportunities
• peer support groups
• regular business surgeries
• mentoring
• general business advice
• more.

Exciting news – Isle of Man Women in Business is to become part of Forward Ladies this May!

The move follows months of consultation as to what WiB members want from their network and research into existing successful groups.  Dr Gloria Miller , lecturer in Strategic Management at the International Business School had compiled research as to Best Practice for women’s business networks.  This set the framework for how we would go forward to develop our netw0rk.

Hitting the top of the “wish list” for what WiB members want are: more events at different times, online access to other members, raised profile for themselves and their businesses, promotional opportunities, mentorship and personal development opportunities.

All of this was a pretty tall order for an organisation without funding and reliant on kindly volunteers! So, we made a plan.

We’ll achieve all this and more by becoming part of Forward Ladies, one of the largest and fastest growing Women’s business network in the British Isles.

We’re having a special, final meeting of Women in Business on Thursday 13th May, 6pm, at Amber Lounge.  If you have not already registered for the event, please do so at the following link http://event.pingg.com/ThinkingOfJoiningF .  You can find out about membership benefits and hear from Steering Committee members and Etta Cohen, founder of Forward Ladies.

Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.  Thanks go to Amber Lounge and Sleepwell for sponsoring our event.

Come along on 13th May and check out www.forwardladies.com for more info.

A big thank you to all the sponsors, members, facilitators and The Courthouse and of course the Steering Committee for their support of Women in Business.

We’ve truly valued the input we’ve had to create a better business network for women on the Isle of Man.

Kate

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

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.

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 »

Since starting, WiB has been contacted about a variety of events and offers from outside the business world –  social and charity -ranging from sports to fashion.

How can you get your message out through the WiB network?  The best, easiest and most effective way to share something you’re involved in that may of interest to WiB members is to post a comment or event on the Women in Business Linked In Group (we’re at 67 members) and also on the Facebook group page (56 fans).  These are the most effective ways for you to get your message across and connect with others. Plus, it raises the profile of what you’re doing and helps members have a more direct and informative connection with each other.

If you have a short article on a subject you can also submit it for inclusion on this blog site.  See this post for guidelines.  It would be fabulous to have photos included with your articles too.

In addition, you can also communicate and interact by posting comments on the blog site – this is open to anyone and can be done at a few click of a button.

Don’t forget, you can also raise questions and discussion points and provide help and advice by any of these methods also.

So, share what you’re involved in with the wider network and enjoy making new connections through WiB.

Kate

Our 2^nd meeting was another great success.  On an August evening that was only fit for Ducks and Fish to venture out we had over 50 people turn up at The Courthouse.  Most of whom didn’t know each other at all, but judging by the noise levels became friends very quickly.  Just about every industry group was represented from Beauticians to Bankers, Film professionals to Therapists.  Apart from a lot of fun a lot of business was done as well.  I made some great new contacts for BigFish.   Like I said at the Launch Party ‘Women we make it happen!”  Roll on September is all I can say!

Debs Gwinnell

That’s the Talking Topic for the Women in Business Tuesday Club on 18TH Aug, 6pm – 8 pm at The Courthouse, Athol Street, Douglas.

It would be great to have your views and thoughts here on the blogsite too . . . so why not start the conversation here by commenting on this post.

What does success mean to you?