The First Mums the Boss Leicestershire meeting review

As you will know from my previous post I have taken on running Mums the Boss, child friendly and supportive business networking for mums in business fro Leicestershire. The first meeting took place on Friday 19th February at Soar Valley Leisure Centre and I think I will class it as a success!


There were only 5 business women that attended but I would have had at least 3 more if it hadn't decided to snow and I had realised the Baby Show was on the same day. It  was also Half Term which I know made it difficult for some to attend. But those who were there were very supportive of the event and helped me come up with further marketing avenues to grow our profile.


The next meeting is on Friday 26th March 10am to 12 noon at the same venue and if you are a mum/dad/obsessed dog owner in business who would appreciate the affordable nature and supportive atmosphere of these networking events please get in touch or turn up on the day.


Our speaker is Sadie Knight of Glass Raven who will be talking to us about who to best optimise our websites.


The amazing Rakhee of Fashion Cake will also be providing more of these to aid our discussions!

RRVA and Mums the Boss -New Leicestershire meeting

I am very excited to announce that I am now officially part of the Mums the Boss team as they are expanding into Leicestershire (which I'll be running) and Warwickshire (which Amanda Farren of Ella Announcements is running). This is a fantastic opportunity for me to play to my strengths in running the events but most importantly in celebrating our shared ethos concerning motherhood and business.

All events will be child-friendly, low cost, informal, supportive and informative. I know quite a few amazing business mums in Leicestershire via the wonderful medium of Twitter and hope to encourage them and others like them to come along to our monthly meetings. I have already managed to secure a speaker on Marketing and am in discussions with people to come and talk about tax, business branding and hopefully SEO. Business Mums (and Dads!) please tell me if there is an area of running your business that you are desperate to learn more about and I will exploit my network and try to bring someone in!

I expect being part of Mums the Boss to be an immensely rewarding experience too. Being a mother who has set up her own business I find it important to be taken seriously as a businesswoman by potential clients and peers so having the support available from others who have done a similar thing has been both inspirational and, on a very practical level, very useful! I am very keen to bring this support to others and create an environment within Mums the Boss Leicestershire that is memorable for all the right reasons and pay back the support that I have received in some small way.

I am aiming for the first event to be in February and when it is confirmed I will announce the date by all means possible. I look forward to seeing some of you there.

Loughborough Creative Network - very first meeting

The first ever meeting of the Loughborough Creative Network, supported by Creative Leicestershire, took place on Thursday 10th December at 6pm. The meeting was born out of a realisation at an event at the LCB Depot in Leicester that there were quite a few people travelling from Loughborough so why not have our own event?

Well I went along, being based in Mountsorrel, and I have to say that it was a great event! Small enough to talk to everyone really well but large enough to be a viable group. It was held in the Orange Tree pub with its great atmosphere and selection of art on the walls and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I even got to talk about my own (admittedly limited currently) artistic practice as well as establishing a relationship with a new client so a win all round!!

When's the next one??????

News update on RRVA

Quite a lot has happened at RRVA since my ftp issues meant I couldn't post for ages! Apart from the fact that I'm sadly proud of my inner geek for sorting the problem out myself (yay me!) I have also started to run the Leicester Hub of Creative Boom - an online magazine for creatives - that I urge you all to read regularly!! Not because I try to keep the Leicester part relevant but also because the wonderful Katy Cowan who runs the main site has it jammed packed full of interesting and useful articles that concern the creative industries!

I have attended the Cafe Creatif at the LCB Depot for the first time on Thursday 19th November and met some really interesting people. Incidentally I also was interviewed and filmed for Global Entrepreneurship Week which I hope doesn't look too embarrassing when it becomes available!!! I'll post a link when it does but please promise not to laugh. I am also now in discussion with Enterprise UK about several opportunities, as a result of this event, but that's all hush hush until something actually comes of it!

Phoenix Square, the new Digital Media Centre, in Leicester also launched on Thursday 19th November and I went to have a look around. Its a very impressive building with some very interesting and exciting exhibitions on at the moment. I will be there again tomorrow as I head to Creative Coffee Club at 10am in it's new home. So onwards and upwards here at RRVA!

Oh and MOST importantly look out for me wearing a pair of these at an event near you soon !!!!

Networking is fun....no really, it is!!!

I love networking. I really do. I get a buzz out of meeting new people, hopefully interesting people, and talking is what I like to do best and networking events are a ready made opportunity to just that! That's not to say that I don't get nervous when I have to stand up and do my 2 minutes about me and my business, because I do, but the more informal chat that happens before and after these events is where I thrive!

I think too many people view networking as a chore to get new clients or prospects instead of a way to just meet people in your field. If they become your client or are interested in what you offer that's just a bonus in my book. Some events can be expensive so pick ones where the people/businesses you are targeting are likely to be and go to those but remember people tend to want to have made 3 connections with you before they'll commit to do business (must look up where I remember that from!) so take the pressure of yourself. This is just one of those connections.

Also not everyone is going to want to do business with you, so go in the hope of meeting interesting people, people you can learn from, people who make you laugh, people who know the right people and enjoy yourself!! Your positive energy will attract potential clients or at least pique their interest in what you do.

Now where am I off to next?!

October's Wordle for A Little Bit of R&R

Here is October's Wordle. I think it highlights what I have been talking about for the last month really well. The words that pop out at me are Think, Women, Business, Twitter and Best. To me these say that RRVA is thinking about women in business, who use twitter and are the best at what they do....or am I just talking about myself???!!! You decide!

Next month I hop that Networking shows up too as I intend to be doing more of it and talking more about it too.

LCB Depot - TBC Social 8th October

It's the next TBC Social informal networking for creative businesses at the LCB Depot on the 8th October, 18.00 to 20.00.

Book your place by emailing kate.cowan@lcbdepot.co.uk.

It's a great event where there is free information, free food, some wine and loads of great people! I'll be there so make yourself known on the night!!!

That guy who knows everyone....

I met him today...or at least one of those people. I used to work for one as well. If you needed anything cultural, social or political he had the contact. Today's guy was on a much more business and practical level and it got me thinking, part of a VAs role is something similar to that. To know who to put you, the client, in touch with when you need something done. Or to at least know someone else to ask if they know the right person or company.

And today I met someone else!

Networking Opportunity for Creative Businesses

For anyone in Leicester hope to see you at the below event this Thursday at the LCB Depot!!

TBC Social
Thursday 4th June, 6pm – 8pm, £free
Networking Event for Creative Businesses. Informal Networking plus updates on the latest business support schemes.

Leicester Creatve Business Depot Social Summer 2009

If you're in Leicester you might be interested in the following......

Social Summer 2009 Thursday 4th June 6pm onwards Leicester Creative Business Depot
Every quarter TBC offers you an eclectic two-hour mix of speakers, creative insights and mutual chin waggin with Leicester's creative industries. .oh and did we mention there's a free drink too?!
· Andy Jones will talk to you about the facilities that Phoenix Square will provide for digital media organisations in the city.
· Clare Hudson will discuss how to apply for the Creative Leicestershire bursaries for 2009.
· Sanjay Pancholi from Skills for Enterprise will explain how local businesses are supported to start up through government support.
· Dipa Patel will reveal how De Montfort University helps SMEs through a range of initiatives and programmes.

Plus eaty treats and loads of chit chat!