Manningham Business Network

April has been a big month for the MBN and the Members meeting was no exception. A busy morning following on straight from the long weekend, I think everyone was feeling a bit slow off the mark, but in the pleasant Council settings and with a nice breakfast before us we persevered.

Our Member in Focus session had Lorel De Angelis of Chagall Pty Ltd tell us about the origins of her business support company and the wide breadth of services she can offer to help small and medium businesses. With first hand experience on flexible work environment modern families look for, Lorel offers a powerful resource to those trying to strick a practical balance in their work place. Whether for lifestyle or simple economics, I think attendees would all agree Lorel had something to offer.

We once again managed to get rather bogged down in a thought-provoking discussion about what kinds of networking people have chosen as they look to build their business. It became clearly evident that everyone had unique circumstances that required their own unique approach to establishing networks. The ideas that were shared should prove fertile ground into the future.

We sped past our Wins of the Month and Help Desk to focus on the details of the upcoming Manningham Business Network Gala Dinner. A fantastic evening planned for May, if you haven’t seen the details in the leader and plastered about the MBN and Manningham City Council websites, have a look now. It should prove to be a great evening and worthwhile for anyone in small business looking to learn and network in a great environment.

Thank you again to everyone who attended the Members’ meeting, and we look forward to seeing everyone again in May (after the Gala Dinner of course!).

Well, another month down and March’s Members Meeting is now in the rearview mirror. A great session with solid attendance, it is really good to see our numbers so strong. Now that the Members Meetings are now also held in the council offices the sessions have become much more interactive given that we can all hear each other speak!

A fantastic Member in Focus from Alisha of AJD Design, it was great to hear about the what, where and how of her business and pepper her with questions about her business. The examples of her work and the process that she goes through with her clients show clearly the fantastic experience those who take up her design and branding services receive.

Our focus on the different processes and styles that our Member businesses have in bringing new clients on board was a diverse discussion, ranging from the nod and a handshake to fully documented service contracts and negotiations. It seemed there was no one method that was dominant and that various businesses all find value in different methods.

Our Wins of the Month and Help Desk provided some great examples and interesting questions, thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and to those providing assistance.

Thank you again to everyone who attended, and we look forward to seeing everyone again in April.

Thanks everyone for another great meeting. Good to see some of our new members, Alisha & Lorel for their first Members’ meeting, always a pleasure to have new faces and to get fresh ideas in the group.

Today saw us cover a lot of topics, including an update from myself and our VP, Gary, on the Council, speakers and upcoming events. Unfortunately it looks as though the Gala evening wll be have to be postponed until next year due to time constaints, though we are looking at early next year for a dedicated Networking function to kick us off asap. We are also keen to organise a ‘Members Day’ Open meeting spot where we try something a bit different and have a small panel of Members speak on various topics of interest at one of the Open Meetings early next year. So Members please get your ideas/nominations in and watch this spot!

The Members Christmas function has been booked for Sunday the 6th of December and confirmation of responsibilities, times and venue will all be emailed to the group soon. If last year was anything to go by it should be a fantastic afternoon.

Review of the Membership rules has been flagged and will be presented at the next Members meeting for official vote. If people have any pre-meeting contributions, please let the Committee know as soon as possible.

A brief round of Christmas marketing ideas was shared between all with some interesting initiatives and thoughts on the whole process, thank you everyone for their input.

Thanks again and I will see you all again next month!

Thanks to all our members who made it along to this meeting, it was once again an extremely valuable session. We discussed in great detail each member’s business and what they perceieved as their unique offering and what types of input they could have as part of our soon to be released Membership benefit program.

The morning gave each of us a very valuable range of feedback on how outsiders saw what we did and how that contrasts with our own ideas for our work. Often it is very easy to get lost in the wilderness as small business operators, sometimes we lack the internal feedback larger businesses have about what we do, and I think everyone found these alternative viewpoints extremely useful.

Similarly we have been able to take the feedback of our mebers in developing the new member’s benefit program in order to be more relvant, allow greater participation regardless of business background, and provide a  more targeted offering that we believe willbe a true attractor for those considering membership within the group.

Thanks again and we hope to see more of you all in the future!

Thank you to our members for coming to the meeting this morning, was a very constructive session. It is great to see the group growing, if things keep going the way they have we soon wont fit comfotably in the cafe. At the moment it can already be a bit of a struggle to hear one another, so it may not be long untilwe have outgrown our venue.

We welcomed the three new members to our group and did a bit of a round table on innovative ideas for marketing. Thanks for everyones ideas on internet search engine optimisation, industry and retail expos and ‘industry’ newspapers and newsletters.

As a reminder to the members who came along (and those who didnt quite make it), dont forget to submit your ideas for the member benefits program, or if you are interested in participating in the group banners being printed, let Gary know asap.

Next month’s member session will be concentrating on ‘What do others want from my business?’ so be prepared to share you ideas on what you think of the offerings from other members and what your think they may like about your business. Sure to be an extremely constructive brainstorming session. Results wil be used in the Member Benefits Program if participant desire.

Thanks again all and I look forward to seeing you all at the next Open meeting on Tuesday the 8th of September.