Women stride forth in confidence… Pink Magazine

Aussie blogger Lesley-Ann Trow writes for the top US businesswomen’s magazine, Pink. In a recent article she leads into her interview with Suzi Dafnis this way…. “let me take a moment to show you what we Aussies are up to in the Innovation and Collaboration stakes - we might be Down Under but we’re On Top when it comes to teaching our girls to fish - thanks to Suzi Dafnis and the ABN. “

Read the Pink Magazine interview with Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Lesley-Ann Trow is Founder of Gorgeous Things - the pink guide to being green and gorgeous.

Learn more about Pink Magazine here.

Do women bosses play dirtier than men? The Apprentice tells a story. But is it real?

The Apprentice (the Aussie version) has seen women behaving badly according to a journalist who called the Australian Businesswomen’s Network last week to ask if the behaviour (women being catty and playing ‘dirtier than the men’ was what we consider normal behaviour).

In our experience, it’s not reality… but here’s a link to the story so that you can see what others have said.

Maybe our experience is not the same for all women however a contrived environment, with a big prize at stake as well as an editing team keen to get good ratings (and who would blame them) can well make the difference between reality and reality TV.

It was good to be able to voice our opinion of working women.

Suzi

Business Mentor gives business owner know how to run a business

On 23 August the Sun Herald newspaper featured Julia Nekich of The Ideas Suite who participated in the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s MentorNet mentoring program. The story, titled, Your Guide to Greatness, explored the role a mentor can play in the growth and success of a small business.

The MentorNet program provides women with a qualified business mentor and six months of business skills training. Learn my by calling 1300 720 120 today.

Business women put their business heads together for a better result

The Australian Business Magazine - The Deal - recently featured an article on how women are joining forces and partnering with other women to co-create businesses.

The ABN’s Advisory Board Member, Susan Wareham McGrath, was asked to comment on the phenomena of women joining forces.

“It is definitely the beginning of a new trend,” explained Susan McGrath. “Women seem to find real synergy in combining experiences, capital and intellectual property, and it’s a way of avoiding the isolation that running a business alone can bring.”

Can your phone help your work/life balance - Dynamic Business

Recently Dynamic Business magazine held a lunch hosted by Blackberry. The topic - work/life balance and the role that smartphones can play to either help or hinder.

I’m an iPhone user… so on this day I kept my beloved phone out of eyesight to not offend the event sponsors

My iPhone and are are like this (fingers crossed in solidarity) and I don’t know how I functioned before I had one. It’s my mini computer that allows me to manage my life and appointments, listen to podcasts, and synchs beautifully with my Mac (and has the coolest applications that make managing tasks and business easy).

But, back to the subject of work/life balance and smartphones. For me (and what is quoted in the article) work/life balance is something only we can manage - and that tools help (iphones, great online task management systems) but ultimately it’s up to us to focus our time on what matters.

One opinion that was shared by many at the lunch - your work/life balance is not the responsibility of your employer. You may work in an environment that is ‘flexible’ but the employers role is to ensure the business works for its stakeholders. Only you can determine the choices you make about how you spend your time.

We sometimes think we have NO choice. Truth is we ONLY have choice. We are sometimes not  willing to make the choices that support us most.

Work like women to help beat recession?

On 11 August MX magazine featured and article titled “Future in Female” which quited a UK article that suggested that business is moving away from masculine styles of leadership and doing business to a more ‘female’ version of doing business that is collaborative. The same UK story predicted that women were set to surpass men on US payrolls in the next 25 years (though not sure if that means salaries will be higher or men will retire we we battle on ;-).

Anyhow.. I was asked to comment on women and business, and my quote (which mainly emphasised the need for women to become more educated on economics and finances in order to be part of the higher level business conversations). I wasn’t saying anything particularly controversial, just practical.

Media Release: Networking with Men — Women learn to shine in male-dominated networking environments

Media Release:

If Men Are From Mars & Women are from Venus, How On Earth Do they Network?

Being successful in business requires women to be able to network equally effectively with men and women.

On 4 August the Australian Businesswomen’s Network presents “Networking with Men” a free national web-seminar that looks at why networking with men takes particular skills and why women need to master these skills to have Mars and Venus play nice on Earth!

Presenter Candy Tymson (author of Gender Games, Doing Business with the Opposite Sex) will address:

• Do men and women approach networking differently?
• Do the characteristics of a good networker go beyond gender?
• How do you network best with men (especially if you’re in a male-dominated industry or a woman looking to rise in the ranks of a business where the senior players are men?)
• How to decipher the success of the “MBA” - Male Business Acumen
• The three types of networks and how to use them
• Well-kept secrets on how to become guy-lingual in your communication, and sell your ideas
• What to talk about, how to follow-up
• How to approach a group of men with ease (and escape when the time comes!)

At the end of the presentation a Q&A session will allow women (who can attend from all corners of Australia using web-seminar technology to participate) to ask questions relevant to their individual circumstances.

“Networking is an important business skill and much as we’d like it to be different, women often find themselves in male-dominated environments feeling unwelcome and not sure how to network with men, especially men who are their seniors. That’s why we’ve put together, with the help of a gender-based communications specialist, a one-hour easy-to-access workshop that will give women proven strategies and confidence to make the most of networking situations.”

- Suzi Dafnis, Community Director, Australian Businesswomen’s Network

SPEAKER: Candy Tymson - Candy Tymson Communications

Candy Tymson has a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management & Coaching and is a Fellow of both the Public Relations & Marketing Institutes of Australia. She is the author of five books including Gender Games: Doing Business with the Opposite Sex and the director of Tymson Communication.

Event Details: Networking with Men

• Date: Tuesday, 4 August 2009
• Time: 10.30am - 11.30am AEST
• Price: Normally $39 — Free when you use Code: GUEST when booking.
• Place: From the comfort of your own home/office. Internet connection required.
• To register: www.abn.org.au/events or call 1300 720 120 (Bookings essential)

For more information or interviews: Suzi Dafnis, Community Director - Australian Businesswomen’s Network - 1300 720 120.

What is a webinar?

A webinar is a web-based seminar. To participate you will need high-speed internet and a USB headset (ideally with microphone).

About the Australian Businesswomen’s Network

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

Social Media Revolution - Join it!

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

Webinars - the New Tool for Doing (Small) Business

The Australian Businesswomen’s Network has presented webinars (web-based) seminars since 2006. Today, more and more small businesses are finding that web-based meetings are a great way to connect with clients, to hold meetings and to do business. The Sydney Morning Herald’s recent article profiled our use of webinars for training and mentoring.

Not only does the ABN use webinars for its monthly web-based learning programs, but also for the platform to deliver much of the training and development in its MentorNet Mentoring program.

Why most companies get it wrong with Twitter

Unless you’ve been under a rock you know that the world is a-buzz with the sound of tweets. The early adopters are wondering what all the fuss is about (and possibly that everyone would just quit acting as though they discovered sliced bread) … but for those who are newbies there is still a big question about why/if they should join the Twitter Army and if so, how does it all work?

On a regular basis business owners ask me if they should join Twitter and if I can tell them how to use it to grow their business.

In this article in BRW magazine I tell why I think most business owners get it wrong when it comes to Twitter.

And, next month I’ll be teaching a class for our members on how to use this technology and communications marvel to grow their business. Details will be on our website from 1 June.

Hold the date: The webinar - Twitter for Business will be on 17 June at 10.30am AEST.

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