Business Networking

Over this last weekend I upgraded our blogging software to the latest version of WordPress. Although our previous version was running fine, after more than a year and a half since I first installed it, it was time to upgrade. I like to keep up with changes in features and especially security upgrades that each new version brings. Among other things, the latest version of WP now makes it easy to upgrade, so from now on the upgrades will take place more regularly.

When you log in to your user account you will notice the new layout and styling immediately, with the main menu now running in the left column. If you haven’t used the blog yet, now it should be even easier to use.

Writing for this Blog
A reminder to those members who are yet to publish their first blog post, and those who have published only one or two, that your account level is Contributor, which means you are not able to publish directly to the blog, but have to submit your article for review first. This review is only technical in nature, so we’re not concerned with content or style, unless your article appears to be encroaching on other members’ field of expertise, in which case you will be advised to revise your article. Once you’ve published several articles (or you’re an experienced blogger running your own blog site) your account will be upgraded to Author level. This will also allow you to upload images and videos to accompany your blog posts. BTW, even at the Contributor level, you can always link to videos you posted to YouTube.

To our visitors the blog should look the same, except that now the List of Speakers article is “sticky” and will always be displayed first on the main blog index page.

Twitter
If you’re reading this post on our site (as compared to our RSS feed, or on our Linkedin group where your articles are automatically syndicated — one more reason for you to blog more for added exposure) you will notice another new feature: the Retweet button found in the upper right corner of each blog post. If you’re on Twitter, I’d recommend that you re-tweet this, and all other blog posts in an effort to promote individual members and our group as a whole to your Twitter followers. Also make sure you follow @OakvilleNetwork, too. I’ve recently created this account which will tweet automatically each time you post an article on our blog!

Here’s to your successful business blogging!

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.

iBizAcademy - Online Marketing For Small Business

Sign up for my next Contacts2Clients Business Seminar

Let's connect:

Hi fellow Oakville Networking members

In a survey conducted about 10 months ago, results show that the top three problems facing entrepreneurs in Halton  were:

1. isolation,

2. lack of meeting space and

3. difficulty getting good referrals to get the best help for themselves and their businesses.

I personally know this to be true as a home-based entrepreneurial coach for the last 5 years.

Sitting in my home office certainly has its perks but boy, there were some unbearable days where I had to pack my files and laptop and GET OUT as I could not stand the loneliness of being at home anymore.  I also know that I frequented too many Starbucks stores to name (hence my slight, ok, major addiction to soy chai lattes) because I had no place to meet my clients.  On top of it all, I have had my share of feeling lost and making poor choices when it came to outsourcing for help because I didn’t know where to go for a good referral.

Any of these feel familiar?

Well, that’s why I created the e-Spotâ„¢…. a much-needed community for entrepreneurs.  I just knew that if I was surrounded by energetic, creative, entrepreneurial minds, had a flexible, fun yet professional space to work and have meetings in and could get the help I needed, all in one spot, I would grow as a person and by extension, so would my business.

As many of you have heard me talk about over the last few months, the e-Spotâ„¢ is a membership-based community for entrepreneurs for the Halton and Mississauga area, located at 353 Iroquois Shore Road in Oakville (just off Trafalgar, north of the QEW) on the 2nd floor.  We are in the midst of designing this unique space that is unlike anything in the vicinity complete with gorgeous interior brick, an exposed, loft-style ceiling, an energy bar, and the most dynamic staff you’ll meet – this 3000 square feet space calls out “creative, cool and competent” and will WOW you and your clients.

Opening in December 2009, we are already gaining lots of interest from a HUGE entrepreneurial community.  I am writing you today to invite you to come and find out all about this new community.

We are hosting a short information afternoon on Friday, November 13th from 1 – 2pm.  I’d love to meet you and give you an overview of the opportunity so you can see for yourself whether this would be a good match for you and your business.

The meeting will be held at the location of one of our neighbours, The Little Gym (for whom we are very grateful for offering us space while our space in under construction!). It is located at 355 Iroquois Shore Road, Unit 2B, in Oakville.  Please RSVP to our e-Spot™ Manager, Elaine Geroche at elaine@e-spot.ca or by calling 289-291-5304 by Wednesday, November 11th to secure a spot at this information event.

And please feel free to forward this to anyone you know who you think might be interested in coming.  In the meantime, you can check out our blogsite at www.e-spot.ca

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Warmly,
Grace Yvonne Attard, Creator of the e-Spotâ„¢

Cheryl Scoffield of Executive Sales Support, networks a lot, just ask my fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners.  : )

I came across this free to attend event and thought it would be great for other entrepreneurs and small business owners to attend. You can get an exhibitor table for $149.00 + GST.

Here is an excerpt from their website:

Third-annual Small Business Showcase: A Bridges to Better Business Event. Taking place at the Waterloo Inn Hotel on Wednesday October 7th, from 2pm—9pm, the Small Business Showcase features small businesses from Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph and beyond!

FREE, sounds like a great deal to me! See you there!

If you enjoy business networking then the annual Summer Networking Bash in Toronto is the place to be. It is hosted by Unleash PR for the 7th year in a row.

This year’s event is poised to be the largest ever, with 500+ confirmed guests — business owners, solopreneurs, sales professionals and entrepreneurs, just like you. The main purpose of this event is to facilitate connections between business owners.

Several sponsors have contributed to making this the networking event of the summer, and among them will be your webmaster, Boris Mahovac, representing Better Business Networking, a new type of networking idea.

As a member of this networking group you can attend for free! I have a limited number of tickets to hand out, call me at 905-844-4247 (first-come first-served). Tickets are available online for $22 ($40 at the door).

If you’re interested in helping me out you can join me at my table to share your experience with being a member of this group. I have a few T-shirts and baseball caps to give to those who help me out.

When: Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Time: 5pm – 9 pm
Where: All Canadian Self Storage, 1 Laird Dr, Toronto

View Larger Map

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.

iBizAcademy - Online Marketing For Small Business

Sign up for my next Contacts2Clients Business Seminar

Let's connect:

I am interested in starting a mastermind group in the Oakville, Burlington or Mississauga area in August. My business is Executive Sales Support and I would like to start a mastermind group with 5 or 6 other local business entrepreneurs to meet say once a month.

We could cover for example projects we are trying to launch, problems we are trying to solve, business books we are reading. Whatever we decide.

Maybe we could start a plan to put on teleseminars together, interview each other, cross promote and fill a room!

Anyone interested?  Contact me Cheryl at Executive Sales Support.com

I network a lot. I attend meetings both within groups and over coffee with individuals. I look for business development opportunities for my own business Executive Sales Support and also for opportunities to help my network through my expertise, or passing along opportunities I think might be a fit for others.

One of my network groups is HAPPEN in Mississauga, Halton and Peel Professional Executive Network. There are many wonderful professionals “in transition” in HAPPEN. They are a great group that offers help while they are looking themselves and also after they land. One member, in particular, who helped me through his public relations efforts, is Hugh Black from HMB Communications Group. Contact hughblack at cogeco.ca.

Within HAPPEN, conversations are around finding full time employment and within my business networking groups, the conversations are around finding new business development opportunities. Over the past months, I have noticed a difference emerging between the two groups. On one hand full time traditional employment seems to be going the way of the dinosaur and on the other hand, the members of the small business group are as busy or busier than before Christmas.

Yesterday, all the random pieces of networking came together. I had been networking with Hugh Black, putting forward my point of view that people were choosing self employment,  then the new Canadian statistics for unemployment in April 2009 showed that unemployment stayed the same and there was an increase in the self employed numbers.

As a result of Hugh Black’s efforts; I was interviewed as an example of someone who had successfully transferred their skills and started their own business,  Executive Sales Support. My business helps sales and business professionals get out of the office to see more clients and close deals. As a result of this interview, I was mentioned in an article on the front page of The Toronto Star’s Business section on Saturday May 9, 2009.

Yahoo, networking pays off for business development!

If you want to network with me I have a linked in profile. I look forward to helping you.

Here is the link to the article “Self-employment: The ‘do-it-yourself recovery’ Jobs increased last month, largely through people embracing self employment. The Toronto Star’s Business section on Saturday May 9, 2009.

Networking in person is a good way to stay in touch with business developments on a local level. If your business allows it, you should also be networking online for greater exposure to both partners and potential clients.

Are you looking to grow your business? Business networking site Linkedin.com has over 36 million users world-wide. Join Linkedin and start building you virtual business team and start generating leads.

• Manage the information that’s publicly available about you as professional
• Find and be introduced to potential clients, service providers, and subject experts who come recommended
• You can use it to build your reputation by asking your clients to endorse you.
• Be found for business opportunities and find potential partners
• Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals

Check out my latest blog post on how I use Linkedin to grow my list of qualified prospects!

In one of our recent meetings, as a Marketing Minute, I had highlighted to you a book called “The 29% Solution” by Ivan R. Misner.  This book focuses on giving you 52 weekly networking success strategies, one for each week of the year.

Since we are in Week 6 of 2009, I thought you might find it useful for a summary of the first 6 weekly tips for successful networking strategies.

Tip 1)  Set Networking goals – make sure they are SMART – i.e. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Specific. Answering questions such as “How many networking functions will you attend each month?” or “Whom do you want to meet through networking this year?” may be starting points for you.

Tip 2) Block Out Time To Network – just as you set budgets aside for advertising or public relations or client follow-up, do the same for networking.  You are part of at least one networking group – know that it is one of your business development strategies and set time aside for this consciously.

Tip 3) Profile Your Preferred Client – Imagine what your business would be like if your contacts list was filled with only the people you most liked to work with?  Getting clear on who that is EXACTLY will help you attract them to your business.

Tip 4) Recruit Your Word of Mouth Marketing Team – Based on your preferred client exercise (Tip 3), get really clear on who else serves a similar market.  i.e. as an entrepreneurial business coach, my word of mouth marketing team consists of people who also serve small businesses such as lawyers, accountants, bookkeepers, photographers, web designers, graphic designers etc.  Who’s on your team?

Tip 5) Give to Others First – BY FAR, this is about creating good karma!  This is truly the power and potential of networking at its best.  Each time, think about how you can serve/give rather than what you can get.  What goes around comes around…

Tip 6) Create a Network Relationship Database – this is more than just keeping contact information.  It’s about recording every referral, how it was developed, did it lead to further business etc….the entire record.  Cheryl Scoffield specializes in this – call her for help here if you need it.

Great book – good reminders, good tips and good insight.  Click here to buy a copy through Amazon or visit my website for a more detailed book review at www.enspirecoaching.com/enspiration/enspiration.html.

Happy Networking!

Grace, Founder, enSpire Coaching Inc.

Came across an excellent web site. Ever hear of the Mingling Maven? We all need to read her networking tips and books. Since I would need permission to publish her article, here is a link to Gearing Up For Gritty Times…Reaping The Benefits Of Business Networking.

Our 60-second info-mercials are a quick reminder that we use to jog each member’s memory about us and our products or services every other week.

Here’s another way we can help each other recommend us more confidently: offer “social proof” about you in the form of client testimonials. A properly worded and formatted testimonial is a great way you can say: “Here’s what others think about me and my business.”

A good testimonial must have the person’s real name as a minimum, because those “B.M. from Oakville” really don’t cut it anymore in today’s cynical world. If it’s from a client, ask them if you can also include their business name as well – this will also work for them as a small advertisement.

How to collect testimonials:

1. handwritten/typed letters or cards
2. voice mail or recorded audio testimonials
3. emails of praise you receive – ask the sender for their permission to use as a testimonial
4. some online networking sites have a “Recommend” feature, such as these on Linkedin, if you’re a member, ask your contacts and clients to endorse you.
5. regardless of the original form of the testimonial, you can post in to your blog site, or web site

Once you have testimonials organized on your web site or blog, give us the link to them so we can include it when communicating with someone who we think might be a good referral for you. For example, to recommend Boris, the Email Marketing guy, you can send an email with a link to all of Boris’ testimonials or just the one , like this recent one.

If you have any ideas, please enter them as comments to this article!