The education side of MentorNet has been inspiring

I just wanted to say what a great sense of camaraderie I’ve felt throughout the MentorNet process. I came into this feeling completely lost, knowing that there was a lot to learn. I really felt like I was trying to run before I could walk. MentorNet has slowed me down to a nice walking pace. So now I’ve got all this information behind me, I feel like when I’m ready to run I can do it.

Tracy Bell
Fat Mumma’s

MentorNet has been a marvelous experience

I have to say MentorNet has been a marvelous experience. I was a bit reluctant initially. I have had the good fortune of having some very wonderful girls in my pod. We have agreed that we were open to contact after the completion of the program. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience all around. The professionalism that’s shown within the program is very highly regarded by everybody concerned I think. Congratulations.

Lin Riley
Import Export Logistics Consultancy

Which tag line do you like most?

While a marketing tagline for your company or brand is not essential it helps give your audience a quick summary of what you are promising to delivery on your site, blog, brochure (remember brochures!), email etc.

We are updating our popular website to make it more useful to our community of business women. We have crafted three possible taglines to express the promise of our website and community.

I’d love it if you would take a moment to comment on which of these choices you like most. Which one would say to you that we are THE place for women to connect, collaborate and learn?

A: Growing you, Growing Your Business

B: Inspiring Women of Australia

C: Education, Inspiration and Networking for Business Women

Feel free to add your own ideas.  Any suggestion are most appreciated. We are updating the home page by 1 July!

Please vote in the Comment Section.

Suzi

P.S. I have included a little bit about us towards the end of this post.  And, you can visit our website (pre its facelift) to get a sense of what we do.

The Australian Businesswomen’s Network provides online mentoring, education, advocacy and resources for business women across Australia and facilitates opportunities for them to network, learn and be inspired by role models and by each other.

What 3 words best describe your business?

This morning  Kate Tribe of Tribe Research presented a webinar for members of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network in which she shared great tips and resources on how to use market research in your small business. One of the great questions she asked us to ask our community is: “What three words best describe our business?”. There are a couple of reasons this is very important.

1. It is a focused question so you’ll get focused results [specificity in surveys makes a difference]

2. It asks your audience for THEIR view of you. Sometimes how we think our business and brand is viewed is very different to how a) our customers and b) our prospects see us.

So, go ahead, as your customers:

“What three words best describe us?”

Here are a few more of Kate’s gems:

• When asking: What do we do well? What can we do better? make the question OPEN (i.e. the client can enter their own response) rather than multiple choice.
• Use scale of 1-7 vs 1-5 to get a better sense of where average is. More scale for choice.
• Get the trust of your audience before asking ‘testy’ questions like ‘What is your income?’
• Start with easy questions. Get people answering and ask the harder ones later.
• Feed back to those that take part in your research… it encourages people to participate again!
• Implementing the results of research keeps you in conversation with your tribe. Shows you’re listening.
• Bite-sized, specific research that you can implement works better than a big chunk of information that gets out of date by the time you use it.

Today’s webinar was part of the Know-How Now! series of business webinars, presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. Members of the network attend free. Not a member? Join today. It’s less than $1 a month to be part of our community and to get education, inspiration and networking.

Oh, and I’d love your feedback too. What three words best describe the Australian Businesswomen’s Network to you?

I would encourage every woman running a business to join and grow with the support of the ABN

Membership to an business network is a great way to grow your business, expand your horizon, find a business mentor and collaborate with others.

Last week I received this glowing note from ABN Member Nancy Georges. Nancy is one member who participates actively in the network, taking part in webinars, the member bulletin and most recently, our Member Advisory Groups, herViews. I thought I’d let her share here, in her own words why she enjoys being a part of our national community of businesswomen.

My Australian Businesswomen’s Network membership is so much more than a simple email newsletter and sporadic networking events. The ABN provides information, education and opportunities to meet like-minded businesswomen.  I am constantly impressed by the calibre of other members in every encounter.

I am able to learn and network at a time that suits me through the blog, webinars and the Know-How Now community [a closed-door community for network members to discuss key business issues].  It is really important that we are able to use up-to-date technology and learn about the relevance to our own businesses.

I am still learning and exploring all of the ABN tools and am looking forward to growing my business and network with the support of the ABN.  I also value the fact that I am able to participate in the ABN.  This is how I run my own business and work with my own customers.

Every time I have had contact with the ABN Team, I have always felt like a valuable member and not treated like a ‘subscriber’. This personal touch, lead by Suzi Dafnis, an accomplished, genuine woman provides immediate support when needed.

Recently, I had the opportunity to be involved in a panel discussion, chaired by Suzi.  This was an interesting stimulating meeting where we all had the opportunity to discuss our own needs and experiences.  Suzi discussed new initiatives and programs that have been developed as a result of ABN research and member feedback.

The ABN is certainly relevant to my business, the current climate and me.  I would encourage every woman running a business to join and grow with the support of the ABN and other members.

Nancy Georges
Magnolia Solutions

We’d love you to join our community too. Learn more at the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website. There’s a membership level right for you and your business needs.

Niche Online Recruiter Matches Top Talent with Top Jobs

Kelly Magowan is a serial entrepreneur and founder of the premium job site Six Figures tells you how to build trust with your website visitors and how to be a more attractive employer (even when your salary budget is smaller than your competitor’s).

In this interview conducted for the Internet Marketing issue of the Women in Business eNewsletter Kelly and I discussed:

• How to build trust with your audience through your website
• Why your online brand impacts your credibility
• How you can make your business attractive to prospective employees (even if you can’t pay the types of dollars larger companies can)
• The mistakes businesses make when hiring staff

Click here to listen to the interview with Kelly Magowan of Six Figures.

Social Media Revolution – Join it!

Grab a copy of the magazine for the full article, which also features MentorNet program designer Anne Bartlett-Bragg.

Twitter – Social Networking Buzz Hits Time Magazine’s Cover

Being a self-confessed Twitter-holic (and a lover all things new media) I was thrilled to see Twitter on the cover of Time Magazine. Yes, Twitter IS showing up pretty much everywhere (and possibly that in itself spoils the fun of it for its original audience), but what I enjoyed about the article was the reference to the super-fresh web.

I’ve heard the advent of immediate updates/content/ news referred to as the real-time web and super-fresh is as accurate (and fun) a reference.

The magazine is worth picking up for this story. Of course you can also read How Twitter will Change the Way We Live online.

Here was my highlight (and what I think many ‘jump-on-the-bandwagon’ users forget:

“It’s entirely possible that three or four years from now, we’ll have moved on. But the key elements of the Twitter platform will persevere. Every major channel of information will be Twitterfied.”

This is really exciting. The conversation, engagement, super-fresh way of receiving and sharing ideas, information and resources is here to stay. And that’s something worth Tweeting about!

On another note, after many requests from the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s community of women in business I will run a one-hour webinar on 17 June 2009 – Twitter for Business – to show users how to use this super-fresh tool in a practical way to grow their networks and their business. I’d love for you to tune in.

Got direction in your business? Let us help you clarify your vision

Take advantage of our offer of one 30-minute “Are You Mentor-Ready?” consultation and we’ll spend time with you helping you clarify your business goals and vision. Are you ready to be mentored? Could a mentor help you grow your business?

We’ll help you see what the next best steps are for you and how the Australian Businesswomen’s Network can help you get there.

To book  your “Are you Mentor-Ready?” consultation (Valued at $95) email us at mentoring@abn.org.au or register here.  Alternatively call us on 1300 720 120.

Note: To qualify for a consultation you must be working full-time in your business and been operating for a minimum of six months.

Quick and Dirty Business Tips

Thanks to Australian Businesswomen’s Network advisory board member, Susan Wareham McGrath, who recommend this very cool site – quickanddirtytips .com. Their tagline is ” Fun, friendly, practical advice to help you do things better.”

The site offers short, actionable advice in easy-to-consume formats that you can listen to right on your ipod, or iphone. Of course you can also listen on your computer but it’s great for busy, on-the-move people.

I listen (on a weekly basis) to Digital Marketer (and Grammar Girl (I looooooove Grammar Girl. I always feel a little smarter after an episode ).

Check it out and let us know which ones your favourite is!

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