Keith Grover, NiS Founder's Blog (182)

Royal Ascot already (300th anniversary) – and Wimbledon next week (which includes the longest day) – 2011 is rapidly approaching half time. Hope you’re having a good year. Most people out there in Networkland tell me they’re ‘doing OK’, which I interpret as not really growing their business as fast as they would like.

At least they’re out there actively networking, so…

Thanks to the guys at streetwisenews.com for sending me these Top 20 Peter Kay Quotes. Be warned: they're not always PC, but some are quite perceptive, others are witty, and I'd hazard a guess that more will appeal to men than to women...

1. Triangular sandwiches taste better than square ones.
2. At the end of every party there is always a girl crying.
3. One of the most awkward things that can happen in a pub is when…

‘For sale – Networking in Surrey/Berkshire/Bucks. Offers in excess of $100,000’ 

OK, so the NetworkingIn sites are not really on the market – but if LinkedIn is worth $9bn with 100m Members, and our three sites now total well over 1200 Members, we might just be tempted should Google come knocking with a hundred grand to…

I've just posted the following answer to this question on the Linked In Surrey Networkers group (and I'll be discussing it at this afternoon's free Business Intros meeting in Guildford, if you'd care to join me...)

Business Exhibitions are a great opportunity to practise effective networking,…

Shock horror - a 5-day week! How will we cope? Don’t panic Captain Mainwaring – there’ll be another Bank Holiday in a couple of week’s time...

Meanwhile, there’s plenty of networking to cheer us up (hoorah!) and get our business heads back into gear. With over 150 Regular Group Meetings again this month,…

Oh boy! There’s so much going on out there in Networkland at the moment, I hardly know where to start... Thank goodness we have a raft of Bank Holidays in store, so I’ll have a chance to catch up with myself.

You may have noticed there’s been no edition of NiS News for the past couple of weeks (no cheering at the back, please :0) I’ve just been too darn busy…

 Spring is in the air – balmy weather, and even sunshine at times. Now I’m sounding like Peter Cockroft (who, incidentally, was at school with my brother in Swanage). But enough of my ramblings - and on with the business at hand!

As usual, you’ll find loads of events on Networking in Surrey (over 120) lots of…

Oh dear! The news is just one catastrophe after another at the moment...

but let's not allow ‘compassion fatigue’ to stop us thanking our lucky stars we aren’t in Libya, Japan or any of the world’s other disaster zones right now. Perhaps feeling sorry for all those innocent people having their lives destroyed by events beyond their control may just stop us feeling…

What's hot on the Networking Scene right now?

I was recently interviewed about NiS on Brooklands Radio by Sally James for her Business Affairs programme. As co-host of TisWas with Chris Tarrant, Sally was a huge hit with teenage lads (and their Dads!) She now runs her own successful businesses here in Surrey, where she's an…

Yippee! It’s Shrove (Pancake) Tuesday and I’ll even be missing tonight’s pub quiz to indulge with the ‘rellies’.  Bacon and maple syrup is my favourite topping, closely followed by smoked salmon and crème fraîche, with ice cream and chocolate syrup bringing up the rear. Apparently, I’m giving up beer for Lent :0(

On Monday morning we reached our milestone target of 1,000…

In many ways, business is a numbers game – and we’re not talking the National Lottery here, although my partner Angela did scoop the top £1000 prize in this month’s Sam Beare and Woking Hospice Draw (how’s that for ‘Givers Gain, Folks)!

Anyway, here are some of the ‘magic numbers’ (not drawn by Guinevere or Amethyst :0) for us this week...

As of today NiS lists 211 events in…

Doh! Valentine’s Day – and I scored a typical ‘own goal’! Not only did I not take my long-suffering partner Angela out for a romantic candle-lit dinner, but I went out networking instead – and what’s more, to a fab dinner at the Woodlands Park Hotel with Trafford Enterprises. Talk about the St Valentine’s Day Massacre :0)  Even the dozen long-stemmed red roses I’d grabbed in Waitrose didn’t get me off the hook, so it looks like I’m going to be putting up…

t’s Good News Week (again!) – and I’m sure there are some Members like me who are old enough to remember the 1965 hit single with that title by Hedgehoppers Anonymous – a daft name thought up for them by Jonathan King. Listen to it again on YouTube here if you really must!

There are loads of…

So, there goes January! Easter eggs and hot cross buns are in the shops already – I wonder how many shopping days there are until …

Oh dear, it's that time of year, when as a self-employed small trader (and proud of it!) I shudder at the thought that the tax return and payment deadline is once again upon us... 

Thank goodness for helpful Accountants and Book-keepers - and you'll find a great selection in our community of friends…

Well, as predicted in last week's NiS News, it's all kicking off big-time on the networking scene now 2011 has arrived and the century goes all 'teenage' on us :0)

We're looking forward to more free expos, with those shameless 'exhibitionists' Paul and James Webster already enthusiastically promoting this year's programme, and I've listed the…

A very Happy (and prosperous) New Year to all our NiS Members...

So then, after an outrageously long break, here we go again with a fresh new year and a whole raft of new challenges ahead - what an exciting prospect! Heartfelt thanks to everybody who sent us seasons greetings, and lots and lots of lovely positive feedback about the sites - we're blushing…

Brrr! With conditions making you think twice about venturing out at all, the feeback is that networking events in general are unsurprisingly less well attended than they should be at this sociable time of year. It comes to something when the weather forecast becomes essential viewing across the nation - X-Factor, eat your heart out...our Christmas number one is Peter Cockroft at the London Weather Centre!

Still, if you're feeling brave, there are…

OK - we're onto the last lap before the Christmas break - and if you're anything like me, it's one of the busiest (and probably least commercially productive) periods of the year! Organising cards (personal and business), and presents (ditto), planning visits and social occasions with family and friends, and trying to keep all the plates spinning on the business front can be exhausting! Add in the traffic (and the snow -…

It’s 125ft long & 15ft high and will be viewed by 30,000 vehicles every day. What is it? John's Big Billboard, of course!

NiS Member and site Sponsor John D Udal is really going for it in his latest project to promote the member…