Networking in Surrey News – week beginning 19 December 2011

We wish all 793 (as of today) Members of our NiS community a very relaxing and enjoyable Christmas and New Year break.

Not surprisingly, you won’t find many featured EVENTS on NiS in the run up to the holiday weekend – but most of the Regular Groups are meeting as usual up until Thursday at least.  There won’t be much activity at all between Christmas and New Year, so networking will start up again in earnest in January.

You will find some hot gossip and wild speculation in our Stop Press– Newsbytes section about the recent senior level departures at 4Networking and NABO networking... please feel free to join in!

Meanwhile, events are already being posted for 2012, including:

FREE Business Biscotti Morning, Cobham

FREE Entrepreneur's Circle Morning - Dorking Area

FREE: Rabbit2012 Expo, Kempton Park

January also sees the launch of our new Networker Plus Membership – an enhanced paid-for Membership Level with a raft of benefits worth far more than the incredibly tiny monthly subscription. NiS Plus Membership is optional and your free standard NiS Membership will not be affected.

Access to our networking events listings will remain free to Members and non-Members alike. New Members will still be able to join free of charge to post a profile, blogs and their own networking events, and use the site as a free resource to manage networking contacts and connections.

So what are the benefits of the new, paid-for service? NiS Plus Members will be an ‘inner circle’ who understand the power of what we call ‘Strategic Group Networking’ – and we’ll be explaining how that works when we launch the new service in January.

We’ll be holding monthly Networker Plus meetings in a boardroom/mastermind format, and introducing ‘The Hive’ – an innovative project-based approach to in-person networking.  NiS Plus Members will have exclusive access to ‘The Library’ -  a repository of business skills knowledge and training, and there will be a private forum... but we’re getting carried away here – you’ll find out all about it next year!

Thank you to everybody who took up our exceptional 2-for-1 advertising offer on behalf of us all in the community – you help us to keep NiS a free-to-use service, and you are ‘simply the best’!

One Stop Financial Security - get on top of your borrowings and reduce your stress with the help of Jane Hardy

GooglePlaces4Business - if you haven't got round to sorting out your Google Places listing to attract more local customers every day, we'll do it for you (and you can save £50 if you act fast)

Action Business Consultants - put your business finance fundamentals in order with Martyn Keates - it's as simple as ABC!

Net Collaborators will refresh your existin gwebsite or create a powerful new site at an affodable price

boox - as the name suggests, your books will be in good hands - and tax returns start at just £95

Surrey Copywriters - call Howard Nichols for all you copywriting needs

Diary of a Networker...

Oh, this is such a fun time of year, and I’ve attended lots of brilliant one-off events where I’ve met so many of our fantastic NiS Members that I won’t even try to mention you all.

There was the Business Biscotti Christmas Showcase in Bracknell, where founders Sue and Graham Reeves revealed their exciting plans for the network going forwards, and the Surrey Business Club Christmas Dinner (delish!), the Trafford Elmbridge Dinner, and the spectacular ‘Pimm’s in the Forest’ where we cut our own Christmas trees (take home as many as you want - and yes I am thinking of you, Richard Francis!) on a gloriously sunny Friday, with roasted chestnuts on an open fire to boot! And in case you think these are all just seasonal ‘jollies’, I can absolutely confirm that genuine connections were made, and real business deals were being done, both by myself and others. Networking works! 

Happy New Year...