Starting a business usually begins with a dream. More freedom, more autonomy, better work-life balance, or turning a skill or passion into a business of your own. Whatever the reason, most small businesses start from a passion and a desire for a different future. But, unfortunately, it’s easy to lose
Have you ever walked into a business event and wanted to disappear behind the nearest pot plant? Ever been introduced to someone and, when they asked what you do, forgot your entire life story? Or had an idea to share within your business, but been too nervous to speak up?
A large majority of networking groups have a rule about only having one person per industry. However, most of them are pretty specific about what constitutes an industry. For example, you may be a photographer, but there will be spots for different kinds of photographers. For example, there might be
Referral Quotas are out. People-First Networking is in. Historically, networking groups have been seen as a numbers game. How many referrals did you get? How many leads did you pass? Did you hit your target this month? Yes, referrals are an invaluable part of networking. But when you focus solely
Whether you like it or not, artificial intelligence is here to stay. For the first time in history, businesses can run their day-to-day operations at any scale with very little human input. From customer management and marketing to summarising meetings and writing emails. For small business owners, it’s becoming another
Strong relationships are one of the most important assets of a business. Relationships with suppliers, customers, team members, and other people in the business community. Having positive relationships with these people can affect all levels of your business, from your business strategy through to your bottom line. But how do
Remember your first networking event? The moment that someone asks you, “What do you do?” Suddenly, you can’t quite find the right words. You fumble through an explanation that doesn’t quite land the way that you hoped. You either say too much, or not enough, or something that doesn’t feel
People usually think leadership within your career is only something that matters when you work in larger companies. The ones that have layers of management, fancy job titles, and complex organisational charts. They also seem to think that being a leader only matters at certain points in your career, and
When people think about the return they’re getting on any business investment, they’re almost always thinking about the numbers. How much money did the investment generate vs the cost? And this can be for any investment, including the ROI of business networking. When it comes to networking, people are usually
Strong business communities grow when the right people lead them. People who care about connection, who back their local region, and who help others succeed. In Canterbury South, one of those people is Vicki Hawkes. Vicki is a proud Networkers franchise partner whose region covers the mid-south Canterbury districts from
