Networking in Surrey News - week beginning 17 January 2011

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 here on NiS.  OK, I'll admit that the search facility (top right) that comes with our lovely software is 'temperamental'  so you may need to try a few different terms to get the results you want.  For example, a search for 'book keeping' returns Rosemary Hemmett, Amanda Colbourne, Samantha Leitch and Frank Andreas- whereas 'bookkeeping' as one word returns Jill Poke, Ingrid Niang, Aernout Fabius, Gareth Bannister and Derek Williamson. Google it ain’t :0) so please make sure your profile contains alternative spellings for your key products and services.

TIP: My thanks to Avril Jones who messaged me on NiS with several great suggestions, including having our professions listed - which reminded me of a blog post of mine here explaining a crafty way to enhance your profile by including your trade or profession under your photo in the Members lists. 

Spend a little time on your NiS profile folks. I just Googled 'copywriter Surrey' and my NiS profile is half way down page 2 (that's 15th out of 74,800 results - for FREE!). I'll be adding more tips and tricks on using the site soon...

I’ll also be adding some of the many events that are blipping into my inbox daily – and apologies to the organisers that I haven’t got them listed sooner. These include events from Woking Chamber, thebestof Richmond (Nick Taimitarha's running the Twickenham Expo again this year), Foxhills, and Peal Networking among others - all coming soon to our Events listings...

Yikes! We’re getting bigger every day (and it’s not just the networking dinners – see below). We now have 355 Members on NiS - but Networking in Berkshire is still maintaining its lead at 454. Hmmm...

So If everybody could please dash off a quick recommendation email to a couple of contacts/customers/colleagues who haven't yet joined NiS, we could catch up in no time – or you can use the site’s easy-peasy built-in Invite facility here to share the joy...

Hey, it’s ‘thank the Sponsors’ time again – and here are our lovely advertisers who keep the site free (whilst getting a boost for their business)

  John Udal's Big Billboard - need we say more?!

 Sonia Duggan 's Inspiration - Personal Life and Parenting Coaching. for more inspiration in your life

 Sarah Martin's  Ladies at Eleven - networking for women who are serious about their business

 Mike Rutherford's Ignite at Danson Digital- the first system born to run online businesses

 Tessa Hood's My Video Talk - branded video emails & video broadcasting  for smaller businesses

   Howard Nichols  at Surrey Copywriters - for all your online and offline copyeriting needs 

It was fantastic to get an unsolicited endorsement this week from Sarah Martin, who’s looking to extend her advertising on NiS:

"Hi Keith, I’ve been looking at my Google stats and I’ve had a good % of referrals from networking in Surrey and the time spent on the site is very good too."

Ads on NiS are helping Sarah's Ladies At Eleven establish itself as the fastest-growing women's networking organisation in Surrey - and we could do the same for your business! So, those Members who’ve expresssed an interest in one of the two remaining February slots, please confirm asap by calling me on 01932 845814. Please note - our prices rise to £60 a month from March onwards, so you may want to lock in a couple of months at the current £50 rate.

Diary of a Networker...

I enjoyed two lovely dinners at very different venues this week. The first was the usual high quality offering at the Woodlands Park Hotel at Cobham with Trafford Enterprises, where Jason T announced an exciting new venture to increase business for members which I’ll be monitoring closely. The following evening was a laid-back sociable supper at the Cricketers, Downside (chips to die for!) with the Surrey Business Club regulars. Wednesday’s 'Personal Branding' presentation from Tessa Hood in Guildford was truly inspirational, and her video emails look terrific. I didn’t get into the Digital Surrey event – too many on the waiting list.  What are they doing to attract such hordes?  When I find out I’ll report back... Coming up soon we've got Ladies At Eleven Plus One at Silvermere - that's where 'us blokes' can go along too to see how networking should be done :0) and I'm hoping to catch up with Elaine Hickmott and Paul Maung-Maung there, among many others... I'm also currently working with Karen Sutton to build momentum for her Business at Brooklands networking and magazine launch event with the Mayor of Elmbridge, and local MP Philip Hammond in February...

Happy Networking!

BRs

K