Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) originated out of a desire to inspire and encourage people to start up in business, to turn their dreams into a reality. The aim of this global conference which involves thousands of events across 160 countries, is to get people talking about business and start discovering what they need to do in order to start up or progress their business. And what a great week it is for networking and making connections, for learning and training and for building confidence and taking action!
One of the main events for us during GEW is The Mumpreneurs Networking Club’s pop up #GEWmums. The Mumpreneurs Networking Club (MNC) are a national networking group for business mums and female entrepreneurs and are open to all. Each year they participate in GEW by running pop up events across the UK and beyond – this year they had events happening in Japan and in Spain. Their aim is to help galvanize businesses into action and offer support in the form of free events for business owners and those who are thinking about setting up on their own.
Here are some key business takeaways from GEW2016, in particular, MNC GEWmums:
- Include networking in your marketing strategy – put yourself out there. Make connections, foster relationships, keep an open mind and give it time. Networking is a long-term commitment and you may need to try different types of networking events until you find what works for you and your business. Networking can help build up your confidence, it can help hone your service offering and how you describe what you do. It was wonderful to see so many networking events happening during GEW and to take part in a few of them.
- What are your biggest challenges right now? How can you overcome them? Don’t let these challenges stop you in your tracks, ask for help, talk to people who can help you solve these challenges and move your business forward. Join a mastermind group or a peer mentoring group. If you can’t get out and about, webinars or online business coaching might work better for you. The point is, be proactive and try to find a pathway to solutions. There is business support available if and when you need it. Reach out to your local Chamber of Commerce, for example, and find out how they might be able to provide you with business support.
- Don’t underestimate the importance of taking care of yourself too. If your lunch time ‘break’ consists of eating a sandwich at your desk whilst working, you are definitely not alone! But maybe it’s time to change that and make an effort to take an actual lunch break to eat something healthy, clear your mind and gain a different perspective.
- Meg teaches a business course and the most common/popular topic raised by her students is confidence. They want to know how to gain the confidence to start up and run a business on their own or in partnership. GEW is a great jumping off platform for building confidence. Using GEW as an example, find smaller scale events and groups where you can test the waters, try out your business offerings, speak to people who are doing what you want to be doing, set goals and just do it. Whether you have the confidence or not (and sometimes you won’t but you can build that confidence through experience) taking action will build momentum and momentum will get you closer to your business goals.
- Be open to opportunities even if you find yourself completely out of your comfort zone. A perfect example is being interviewed on Business Radio. It’s a brilliant chance to build your confidence and to talk about your business. Tino, the Founder of Business Radio, interviewed several businesses during #GEWmums, some of whom are now starting up their own radio shows on @BusinessRadio1!
Here’s what Tino says:
“Business Radio was set up to help small businesses with their marketing. We found that getting into mainstream media such as radio and television was way beyond the affordability of the small business. We set up Business Radio for this reason, to give small businesses the opportunity of having their own shows and promoting their companies at an affordable price. Business Radio is also a good lead generator. You no longer have to make cold calls and try and sell yourself when you have a more attractive offering such as “Would you like to come on my Business Show?” It’s a really good door opener. Elaine Sullivan from Skybrook Consultants used this method to do some coaching and business consulting with O2 just by calling a regional manager and saying “My name is Elaine and I have a show on Business Radio, would you like to come and talk to me about O2?” - A great quote to inspire start ups from Chris Painter (who was interviewed on Business Radio) of Pixel by Pixel, a multi award winning and multi national company based in Worthing with offices in Portugal and India;
“I don’t think there’s a better time than now to start a business. As an economy, everyone is moving towards the smaller businesses. You can go in to any market effectively as a start up and be successful. It’s a great time to be doing business and the world as a market is opening up a lot to us.”
Chris chatted about how he took his company to the next level, the challenges that come with growing an agency, hiring employees and going global. This is a must-listen interview for start ups and businesses with growth ambitions. Listen here on Business Radio.
For us, GEW is a good instigator to remind us to always set out upon a pathway leading us to our business goals and our personal goals too.