Manningham Business Network

Sorry for this slightly late post, but it has been a busy week. Last Tuesday saw us back in the Manningham City Council’s offices, this time up in Room 2 rather than the Council Chambers (and instead of the Doncaster Senior Centre), which was very nice. Open, bright and well laid out. Looks like we may be in that room permanently, which would be fine judging by the feedback from those who attended.

Thanks again go to our main speaker who this week was Brenda Thompson from Networking World. Brenda’s presentation ‘It’s not about ‘working the room’ was an amazingly valuable session that really covered off some great ideas about how you should be thinking differently about your business networking. Brenda advised that we become far more effective at making the right sort of contacts, without necessarily having to do any of those really cliché habits that you dont really enjoy doing anyway. If you missed the session, go to Brenda’s website to learn more, it will be worth your time – http://www.networkingworld.net.au/

A big thanks also to Gary Hegedus for his mini presentation on “Promoting your business through digital media”, a great summary of the basic do’s and don’ts of marketing digitally.

And lastly, thanks also to Russell McInnes from gardiner mcinnes real estate on some fantastic tips on what to ask a potential agent when picking who to use when selling your property. A great number of seriousl good tips, stuff I doubt most agents would be happy you asking them, but details Russell and Vicki are happy to share.

Our next meeting is on the 13th of October, check out the home page for details and register now!

Thanks again to you all and I look forward to seeing you next at the next meeting.

Just a quick reminder in case you missed the flyer, the Council Newsletter or the website! We are back in the Manningham City Council offices for tomorrow’s meeting! Hopefully no one ends up at the wong venue, but please make sure you note the change.

See you bright and early!

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.

Next month we have Brenda Thompson form Networking World speaking at our breakfast. She is a wealth of knowledge with connecting  small business and shouldn’t be missed. I will be giving a short presentation on the latest ways to leverage your business using digital media. Although our Gala night has been postponed this year (due to the fire at Manningham Council) we are now planning our Speed Networking night, I will post the date the moment it is confirmed.

AND…. Thanks again to all who listened to my presentation on “to fix your interest rate or not to fix” yesterday. I hope it was relevant and beneficial to some of the members & guests in attendance.

For any further info, please feel free to email me; paul@affinitymortgagecentre.com.au

Paul!

Hi MBN people,

Just letting you know i met with our fellow member Stephen Chenoweth (PCM accountants) and in the process of completing our financials!!!!!! Yipppeee! We all love tax time.

Paul

Thanks all who made the trip to the Doncaster Senior Citizens Centre this morning for our August Open meeting! Despite the initial chaos and confusion of the new location the morning appeared quite a success.

Our Main Speaker presentation from Mark Garbelotto on Visualisation and Eliminating Procrastination was a powerful and succinct delivery on practical, clear steps to use to, not just eliminate time-wasting delays, but assisting in identifying the key issues that are important to each of us personally in all aspects of our lives. More details on Mark and his ‘Eat that frog!’ methodolgy can be found on his website, http://www.markgarbelotto.com/ I highly encourage those who missed his session to take a closer look.

The timely update from MBN member and Treasurer; Paul Loupetis from Affinity Home Loans, on “To fix or not to fix?” was a great guide on the salient points to consider when assessing fixed rate options on your mortgage.

I would also like to thank Janet Ho from Forever Living Products, the winner of our Guest Speaker spot, for her presentation on the merits and health benefits of Aloe Vera Juice. We look forward to hearing from Russell McInnes of Gardiner McInnes Estate Agents next month.

Thanks again all who came along, those that missed it we hope to see you next time, we will be at the Doncaster Senior Citizens Centre one more month and then back to the Manningham City Council offices! Thanks again to the Manningham Council for their assistance in getting a replacement venue amidst the chaos post-fire.

Well, at least I hope they are, let’s test it shall we?

Ok, so it’s still a little klunky, but we are now live and kicking in the world of blogs! Where to start?

This is of course the first post from our blog and hopefully overtime we can add more and more functionality to it all, but please be patient! We have no web designer in the group currently so this thing has been put together by a financial planner! I am a nerd, true, but there is a limit to one’s expertise when you don’t live and breath IT, so bear with me.

I have been told to keep my posts short by those more experienced in this arena than me, so my first communication will be brief, but please feel free to ask questions and I’ll see how we go with getting some answers! Thanks again and you will hear from me again soon!