Networking in Surrey News - week beginning 12 March

Once again I'm using my super Dragon Naturally Speaking software to dictate this newsmail while the words magically appear on screen – spooky! Apparently there's a free Dragon iPhone app for those well heeled enough to afford such fruit-based tech. One day, maybe...

Plenty going on as usual down here in the NiS bunker, with new Members joining our community daily, and plenty of great EVENTS to lure you away from the laptop and get you out there growing your business in Networkland. Mark Williams is blogging away on NiS like a Trojan (as usual) Members are posting their own events (thanks, Guys) and lots of our new Members have posted their lovely photographs! Those of us still represented by a blue silhouette, please take note : O) – you know who you are (even if nobody else does!)

You've probably received an invitation from me by now to my FREE Google Places Workshops next week – hope you can get along to network and find out more about this amazing free customer-catching service. Steve Bridger tells me he’s running an introduction to starting your own business workshop in Walton on Thames in April, with the help of WBG's Sarah-Jane Shellard, so if you know anybody thinking of taking the plunge into self employment, watch out for details on the site, and please let them know about it.

The best news of all is that we've finally launched Networking in Surrey Networker Plus (NiS+) and we've even got Members already – ta-daa! This ‘inner circle’ private network takes the NiS principles of facilitating person-to-person networking to a whole new level. (And the launch price deal is a no-brainer).

We’ll be having meetings, online and off-line, to brainstorm each other's business issues, sharing contacts and connections, working together in project and joint-venture teams, and generally having a great time while we're growing our businesses and expanding our personal networks. There's more – far too much to explain here – and the concept will grow as people get involved and bring their ideas to the table. Want more bang for your networking buck? Check it out here...

Diary of a Networker...
Since the last NiS News way back in February, I've been pounding the mean streets of Networkland and bumping into lots of lovely NiS members (really must be more careful : O) Can't mention you all (soz!) but here goes...

I've been to 4Networking Walton & Weybridge a couple of times to see great presentations by Peter Dixon and Nicola McDonald and catch up with Rowan Johnson, John Edward, Karen MacPhee and Malcolm Tullett.  I enjoyed the NSBA open evening in Chertsey along with David Endersby (whom I nearly ran over in Ashford last week - soz, mate!), Deepa Veneik, Jake Liddell, Tim Maycock and Sue Keane. Also got along to First Friday in Guildford, where I met up with Lisa Ford and Rebecca Newenham.

I was at 4Networking Kingston with Leonie Wright, Sally Burrough, Dan Smale and Mark Rouvray, and Business Biscotti in Cobham with Tessa Hood, Jeremy Webb, Fiona Ross-Guimont and Tracy Nunn. I made it to the Surrey Chambers evening at G Live in Guildford where I chatted with Trevor Burrell and Steve Dunevein, Sarah Edwards, Simon and Clare Dickens and Jenny Caldecourt, and the Redhill & Reigate Tweetup, where I finally got to meet über-networker, Ecademy Croydon organiser, and all-round 'good egg' Wendy Ager (Alan Rogers, Maud Alleyne and Stuart Ritchie were there too). Last Friday I went to Karen Sutton's Business at Brooklands lunch at Brooklands College catching up with Alan Orchard, and on Monday to Business Biscotti at Wentworth along with Tina Williams, Martin Horswood, Arfan Khatana as well as Ian Jackman, Chris Towndrow and Jane Beresford (these latter three seem to be everywhere I go - are you stalking me guys , or what?) Today I enjoyed lunch with Sarah-Jane Shellard's Walton Business Group, and tomorrow evening I'm planning to attend Jane Hardy's FSB evening in Woking. Are there no lengths to which I will not boldly go to push back the frontiers of business networking, I hear you ask? (Don't answer that...)

Happy Networking!