National Small Business Summit – Join us in Brisbane on 8 July

Join David Koch, the host of Channel Seven’s Sunrise, and the Kochie’s Business Builders TV team of business experts as they host this year’s COSBOA National Small Business Summit.

I attended last year and found it very beneficial from two perspectives:

•    Firstly, Networking.  I met numerous contacts that I’ve gone on to do business with. These were excellent quality contacts who were truly there to collaborate and network (I find that to be the case when people are willing to pay a fair price for a conference; the quality of the business is done better).

•    Secondly, the speakers this year are looking really good. If’s a very full day of panels and talks (see some of the main ones below). There aren’t many places where small business can come together with big business and government to tackle small business issues.

For these reasons, and because we’ve arranged a special 25% bonus,  I recommend you make your way there next week.

Your ABN Discount
Mention ABN when you register to get 25% off the going rate. This discount applies to both the full day event as well as the Gala Dinner. Register here.

About the Small Business Summit
Outstanding small business summit delivering access to emerging business ideas and techniques, including workshops packed with practical tips and tricks to help small businesses boost revenue, find new markets and manage their business more effectively.

Special guests include:

• From the US, social media thought leader Richard Binhammer, who is a core member of Dell’s Social Media Advisory Council and part of the team that has helped Dell adopt social media tools as a profitable business channel and corporate reputation builder.
• Kelly Baker, founder of Edible Blooms and Small Business of the Year Award Winner, who will reveal how she built one of Australia’s fastest growing gift websites.
• Jon Dee, founder and managing director of Do Something, NSW Australian of the Year for 2010 and author of Sustainable Growth, who will share how some of the best in business have achieved their sustainability goals.  He will highlight how small business can take this experience and apply it to achieve real dollar savings and a market edge.
• The Kochie’s Business Builders regular team, including marketing expert, Linda Hailey; finance expert, Julia Bickerstaff; growth expert, Natalie Archer; cash flow expert, Matthew Nolan; online marketing expert Dave Chaffey; and technology expert, Pete Blasina.

Here’s a link to details of all these speakers and the program.

It’s a great opportunity to network with entrepreneurs and business owners converging from all over Australia, as well as take home some great ideas and connections to boost your business.

After the main event, there is a networking Gala Dinner spectacular hosted by David Koch that features inspirational Australian small business success stories.

I hope you’ll join me. Come by Stand 19 to say hello!

Sincereley,

Suzi Dafnis

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

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.

Mentors – How to grow your business with the help of a mentor

How can a business mentor (and a structure mentoring program) help you to:

• Grow your business
• Expand your skills
• Connect you with a like-minded community of business owners
• Help you clarify your business vision and learn skills that will help you realise that vision

Below is a link to the recording of a recent information session where past mentorees talk about how the program has helped them grow their business and their confidence.

If you’re ready to grow your business then learn more about the MentorNet mentoring program here.

The next program starts 22 July. Early bird specials apply. Limited spaces are available.

We hope you’ll join us.

For me the consultation process was very valuable

For me the consultation process was very valuable.  Of most benefit to me was to have someone to discuss my business concerns with particularly getting another point of view and different insight.  At the time of the consult it was regarding to start a website or not.  The discussion gave me the confidence in making that decision but also the understanding of how it would benefit my business.  In terms of improving the consultation it would be good to be able to pay to have such a consultation at any point.  Although I am in the mentornet program now (which is going really well) I can imagine after the program, despite the network of contacts I will build up, there will still be times when I would benefit from another consultation and would be happy to pay for it.

Kate Furst
Andiamo Landscape & Paving

New mentoring program for women begins

This week the MentorNet mentoring program for women in business started with a national audience representing the far corners of Australia as well as the cities.

20 businesswomen have started the six-month journey of training and mentoring to grow their business. Over the coming months they’ll learn put together a business plan, unravel the important bits of finances, discover human resourcs and technology tools that will grow their business and be part of an online collaboration unlike any as they use the social media platforms that have been mashed to create the MentorNet experience.

Industries represented include :

• Health/Teaching, training
• Professional Services – Image Consultancy
• Project Management – Landscaping in Mining
• Entertainment & Service/Retail
• Marketing/Sales
• IT
• Laughter workshops
• Legal
• Event Management & Drafting
• Wholesale gift and homewares
• Service/Manufacturing
• Fashion design & wholesaling/online retail
• Design & Advertising
• Manufacturing/Jewellery
• Retail Sales, soft furnishings
• Yoga studios
• Treasure hunts for corporate team building  & hens night entertainment
• Cosmetic parties, direct selling
• Health – Personal Training
• Retail manufacturing wholesaling

What you share is a desire to grow a successful business!

Welcome aboard these Australian Businesswomen’s Network members (some of whom are acting as mentors):

Frances Jones, Isobel Martin, Rosie Sandover, Robyn Good, Jeanette Harris, Cheryl Warnock, Jackie Curran, Heather Cotton, Catherine Westwood, Chantelle Hodgson, Isabel Loxton, Vicki Tourtouras, Denise Hardingham, Melinda Love, Nikola Ellis, Gillian Opie, Lauren Wye, Karina Santolin, Meredith Marshall, Leona Watson, Ruth Moncrieff, Linda McDonald, Phoebe Lane.

We’ll journal your wins and experiences here.

The next program starts 22 July. Dates and details will be posted here on this blog next week.

New video: Help for women to get clarity on their business goals

Are you clear on your business goals? Do you know where you are headed and what path will take you there?

The Australian Businesswomen’s Network offers 30-minute obligation-free business consultations to help you ascertain if a mentor would be a good parter for your business growth.
Here three women talk about how the consultation helped them.

How my mentor helped me achieve my goals

In this month’s Women in Business eNewsletter mentor Lin Riley and mentoree Delwyn Hanns talk about their mentoring relationship and Delwny explains how her mentor helped her achieve her financial goals.You’ll also read how having a mentor helped this business owner stay on track with her business goals.

Here’s the full story: How my mentor helped me achieve my marketing and financial goals -  which was featured in the February issue of the Women in Business eNewsletter from the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.  

Ready to have a business mentor to help you with your goals? Learn more about the MentorNet mentoring program for women. 

Why did you start your business?

For the last 18 months we have been asking women “What’s your reason for getting into business?” After doing over 160 one-on-one consultations (to help women clarify their business goals and to gauge their readiness for a mentor) here’s what Stella De Zotti found.

 

What I have noticed is that many women leave the corporate world, or working for someone else, and start their business for similar reasons.

These reason include:

 

• Freedom to choose your hours and work location
• Working around raising children
• Being your own boss
• Setting your own salary
• Utilising your creativity to create something news
• And of course – Financial freedom

 

But the road that follows is not easy…

 

The ultimate sea-change!

Knowing how to do your job, even being the best in your trade is one thing but going from working for someone else (or in an environment with other team members to share the load, and other resources) to working for yourself and running a business are often very different.

But here’s what I found during the consultation has helped women get on a path and some direction.

 

A business plan!

Whether you have one or not, when did you look at it last? Does it still read true for you, or have you changed direction? Unfortunately most women I’ve spoken to either had no plan, or had one that they never referred to. So, I showed them a way to help them create a new plan that they implement.

 

Fear of the Unknown

Did I mention fear? Yes, many women were operating out of fear. Fear that they didn’t know what they were doing, that they were going to fail or that they’d meet financial hardship.

Often this fear could be overcome with a plan for develop more business confidence and with the help of a mentor to guide you through rough business terrain.

 

Isolation

After leaving the ‘safe’ world of being an employee, many found themselves isolated. Even when they had friends and family support, they lacked peers who understood the trials of being a business-owner. They do not have a sounding board, someone to let them know if they were on track.

Being in your own business with no staff and not having someone to bounce ideas off can be a little isolating and also talking to people that actually ‘get’ where you are coming from.

So, I helped them put in place a plan to feel supported, to collaborate, to be mentored.

 

Lack of the right business skills

When it comes to operating your business even though you may know how to do what you do best e.g. you’re a great writer, hairdresser, designer, physical traininer, gaining the right business knowledge and business skills to grow your business is very important.

 

Most of the women I spoke to had contacted the Australian Businesswomen’s Network to gain access to training. So, I explained how they could spend the next few months (just a couple of hours a week) honing their marketing, financial, human resource, technology and business planning skills.

 

We recently asked successful businesswomen what they wished they’d had earlier to help them accelerate their success – all of them included Mentoring in their choices.

 

Operating your business with assistance from a Mentor who has experience in his/her own business can only be of benefit to you. I can help put you in touch with a mentor through our Mentoring program.

 

Confidence to go forward

Confidence and belief in yourself can be harder than it sounds, but surrounding yourself with like minded individuals, gaining a network that you can call upon at your fingertips and utilising the services of a Mentor can only add to your success of your business.

 

If you’d like to clarify your goals and to get support and a clear direction for your business, then contact Stella at stella@abn.org.au for a one-on-one business consultation.

Seek help. Mentors provide knowledge and experience.

BRW Magazine reports that the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s MentorNet program hlped women gain knowledge as mentors and business experts provide advice on an innovative social media platform. “Mentoring is about tapping into someone else’s experience.” – Suzi Dafnis

Get your own mentor. Learn more about Mentornet.

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