As I said in my previous post, Networking in Northampton, I am a keen networker and get an awful lot from attending the meetings. I am quite choosy about where I go, though, as I could have breakfast, lunch and dinner every day at a networking meeting if I didn’t actually need to do some normal work too!
The previous post focused on networking in Northampton, but I also attend a few meetings in Milton Keynes …
WIBN Milton Keynes – Women only – Meet at Abbey Hill Hotel, Two Mile Ash on the first Tuesday of the month from 12-2pm.
This meeting has the same format as the WIBN Northampton meeting I mentioned in my previous post. Also members at both meetings get to take it in turns to make a longer 10 minute presentation to the group, and one of the members also runs a ‘training’ slot which usually covers some aspect of business development or ways of making the most of your networking. The Milton Keynes group has recently moved from Stony Stratford and been re-launched, and as such is growing fast. The meetings are informative and fun and also include a buffet lunch in the hotel. I find WIBN a great mix between being more formal and business like compared to the groups which do not demand a membership fee, but also relaxing enough that you feel you can be yourself. You need to commit to come every month to get the most out of these meetings, and bringing guests is encouraged as long as their sector is not already covered. See a list of members and contact details at the WIBN website.
Business Biscotti – Meet at Abbey Hill Golf Centre – although this may change so check out their website, on the 3rd Wednesday of the month from 9.30 – 1130am.
I have only managed to go to this meeting once, but it is another good meeting for dipping your toe into networking for the first time, as the cost is low but the meeting I went to was fairly busy. You can just turn up, and tea and coffee is included – but it is up to you to choose who to chat to and if you want to swap cards, as there is no formal part to the meeting. You can find contact details of the Ambassadors who normally attend the meetings on the website.
Coffee and Cake – Frosts Garden Centre Restaurant, Woburn Sands every other Thursday from 9.30 to 11.30am.
Run by local IFA Jennifer Nicholls, who is also a Business Biscotti ambassador, this is a great meeting with a mix of the formal and the relaxed. We gather in the conservatory of the garden centre and when everyone has had a chance to enjoy a drink (the cake is optional!) then Jennifer calls us to order and we all give our 1 minute pitch about our business – you will see from my posts that quite a few groups have a 1 minute slot so it is best to have one prepared if you don’t like talking off the cuff. Once we have handed round cards, people break into smaller groups to chat, which is made easier by the fact that you will have had the chance to decide who you want to connect with during the 1 minute talks. Coffee and Cake has a Linked In group page, or you can email Jennifer for more information on jnicholls@tamarifa.co.uk.
The Last Hurdle – Potterspury at Furtho Manor Farm in the B&B Breakfast Room 1st Thursday from 9.30 to 11.30
Run by the lovely Sarah Hodgkins, an associate at The Last Hurdle , these meetings are professional and yet quite relaxed. We arrive and have general netowkring/chat time whilst enjoying bacon or egg sandwiches and hot drinks, then Sarah calls the meeting to order and we each get the chance to talk for 1 minute about our business. Members of the group, which is a lock out group so when you join your sector no one else from your sector can visit, can either take turns to do a longer presentation or be the focus of a question and answer session to help us ask those burning questions about the business we have always wanted to know.
Sarah then does a training topic, generally on the subject of business building, social media, or to help us get the most out of networking. These are always interesting and informative. As a member you can have a profile of your business on the Last Hurdle Pottesrpury Website page and visit the other groups on Northampton and Milton Keynes as long as your sector is not already covered by a member at those groups.
Last Hurdle Potterspury
I hope that these posts about local meetings prove useful, and I would love to hear about the networking groups you would recommend, too. Please add links to your favourite groups to the comments.
