Clarity, Focus and the FAST Action Workshop, January 11, 2012. British Library, London.

It’s a new year. It’s an interesting time economically. It’s cold ( I know that doesn’t make a difference technically, but I think we always feel a bit better when it’s warm).

Goal setting is passe .  This year, more than any other, it is time to have clarity, focus and a clear action plan to move your business forward.  So we have put together a quick and dirty workshop to give you and your business a kick start that will help you move forward with clarity and focus.  I know you could do this at home, and you may even have started – but unless you commit some focused time to it, odds are it will become a series of notes that you’ve written down but not followed through on.   Out of this workshop you will walk out with a series of FAST action steps that will give you clarity in 2012 (my word of the year!)

F = Focused

A = Achievable

S = Smart

T = Timely

You will identify what you want to achieve and break it down into a series of steps that will make sure it happens.

This is a kick ass session that is going to help you get killer results in your business and have a FANTASTIC time doing it!

During this session we’ll share with you

• 6 massive success strategies that will move your business forward quickly
• The number one thing that is holding you back in your business today (and how you can overcome it)
• How to create a killer action plan that you can achieve!
• Clarity, focus AND a rocket on your back that will propel you into the coming months

Where, When and How much

Where: British Library (Kings Cross/St. Pancras)
When: Wednesday January 11, 2012 from 10 – 1
How much: £25.00

If you want your business to support your life, you need money-making skills to support you. Join us on January 11th and decide that you are going to make 2012 YOUR year.

January 24, 2011.  London.  Ever wondered how people get into the media and promoted their goods or services? Ever felt just a bit queasy about the thought of doing it yourself?

Then this workshop is for you!

Getting an article or mention in the press is one of the most powerful forms of endorsement you can get as research shows that people tend to believe what they read. Good coverage gives you or your product credibility, gravitas and stature. Best of all editorial coverage is free!

This workshop will give you the skills you need to talk to the media and show you how to use them to grow your business and build your reputation.

The workshop will be fun, interactive and practical and afterwards you will have the tools and the skills to start your own successful media campaign immediately.

• Talking to the media- opportunity not ordeal
• Core building blocks: clarity, confidence and control
• What makes a story?
• Who is your audience and how to appeal to them?
• How to make your message relevant?
• Crafting a soundbite.
• Bridging techniques
• Closing the interview and summarising

This workshop is a combination of real, informed advice from Diana Soltmann CEO of Flagship Consulting an experienced media coach coupled with practical interview experience designed to project exactly the right image and message for your business.  Flagship Consulting are a top 50 Communications company whose clients include Serco, QVC and Malaria No More.  This workshop normally costs £2500 and Diana has very kindly offered to hold it for Women Unlimited members at a HUGELY discounted rate.  The workshop size is small due to the personalised nature of the coaching on offer.

Location: Flagship Consulting Offices, The Media Centre, 19 Bolsover Street, London, W1W 5NA

Date: January 24, 2012

Time: 10:00 – 17:00

Cost: £125

This workshop sold out in 3 weeks last time we ran it so if you want to get media savvy, book this workshop today to guarantee your place.  We have run this workshop twice now with tremendous success.

What some of our previous delegates had to say.

“I just wanted to send you a quick email to say what a fantastic session it was. Diana was brilliant, and the method using a video camera, while striking terror in the heart of everyone present (!), was a masterstroke. It was incredibly effective.  I had numerous ideas for news angles on the train home.  Alas caused significant lack of sleep that night, lol.” Rosaleen Tighe, Milk & Honey Organics

“I just wanted to say Thank you for arranging the course yesterday. It was amazing!  I think we were all extremely nervous initially but Diana was fabulous and imparted some exceptional words of wisdom! ” Jane Robson, The Fine Cotton Company

“I thought the workshop was great, Diana was amazing at being able to explain our messages well and I feel like I got a lot out of it.  Thank you for organising!” Charlotte Morris, Freshe Corporate Finance

November 16th, 2011. London. We are offering a full day SEO workshop (search engine optimisation) that will break down all the myths and give you the knowledge and tools to start effectively managing your own content and maximising the effectiveness of your site.  SEO is so important that when it’s done right, you will get all the traffic that you need – but there are some key steps to getting that traffic. This SEO workshop will share with you how to go about doing that and also how to get your traffic to convert.

Google is the biggest game in town when it comes to search engines.  Particularly in the UK.  If you want your site to rank on the front page for paying keywords, this workshop will run through with you how to do that.

It is an introductory course to help you understand what you can and can’t do yourself, where you should be focusing your attention to get the best results for your business, how to get your website noticed by the only search engine that matters.

This workshop is for business owners who want to learn how to make the internet work for them.

What you will learn:

1. What is Google looking for
2. How can you optimise your own pages
3. How to choose paying keywords
4. How to sort the truth from fiction
5. How to drive traffic to your website
6. How to get Google’s attention
7. Tools that you can start using today
8. Measuring your results

Why you should come to this workshop

• If your website is not on the first page of Google you have very little chance of being found
• SEO is the cheapest way to market your business
• SEO is within your ability
• You can start getting results straight away
• You will know what to write for your website
• You will get a taste of how to use social media to your advantage
• We’ll share with you how we rank number 1 on google.co.uk for the term “women entrepreneurs” beating out all our competition including much more established sites

BUT DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!

Testimonials from our last workshop (which was held on the first day of the tube strike and we still had a full house!):

“Excellent! This was a really worthwhile course that justified the fee and my time out of the office. Julie explained things clearly and patiently” Elaine Swift

“I think this session was very helpful for my understanding and well the the time and effort in getting here today” Legjin Tshering

“A very informative workshop, giving an overview into the daunting world of SEO!! Definitely recommended” Sarah Wilson – Cat Films

“It helped me focus on my ‘to do’s’ to get a good SEO result for my website” Reimer Katerin

“Informal friendly atmosphere with lots of information presented in an easy to understand format. Thank you!” Angela Williams

This course will be extremely popular so we recommend that you book early!

Logistics:

When: November 16, 2011
Time: 10:00 – 16:00
Location: The Space Centre, 94 Judd Street, Kings Cross, London. WC1H 9NT

November 23, 2011. Hands down, email marketing is THE most effective way for you to market directly to your prospects and clients. No matter what type of business you are in, you should be using this fantastic, low cost method to be building relationships with your clients and making sales. I attribute 90% of our sales at Women Unlimited to email marketing and want to show you how you can to.

What you write and how you communicate through email marketing DOES make a difference to the success of your campaign and this workshop will give you the tools and strategies to make sure that your email marketing works for you.

This course is made for you

As always, we focus on the practical. You will come away from this workshop with an action plan that you can implement immediately to bring more clients and build stronger relationships with your clients and prospects. At it’s best, email marketing is a powerhouse marketing tool. For small businesses email marketing is a mandatory part of your marketing repertoire because it keeps you at the front of your customers mind just at the point they are ready to buy.

Smart businesses use email marketing. Why? Because it generates real business results. Here is an example from one of our previous attendees…

“I just wanted to say that I found the session very useful and relevant – I have been on lots of training sessions in the past that have been a waste of time (i.e. you could just save time and read through the notes instead!). There was a real focus on practical outcomes plus I got some great ideas from other attendees…We sent out the January email last Thursday to about 60 people and have had 3 tables (total 7 people) use the voucher. We have not had any response to previous emails so this is a great improvement for us! ” Sandy Reskaurat, Chang Thai Restaurant

What you’ll learn in the morning:

• How to get into your customers / clients inbox
• How to build your email list
• What to write and types of content
• How to improve your campaigns month on month
• When to send your fabulous emails
• How to get real business results from your email marketing
• How to analyse the results

What you’ll learn in the afternoon

The afternoon session is designed to help you create your first email newsletter. You will have time to work through your own ideas and we will look at Mail Chimp, which is a free to use for the first 1000 subscribers and helps you get over the “how do I make my newsletter look good” hurdle.

Email marketing is a great tool in your marketing repertoire and if it’s not generating results for you, come along on this workshop and find out how it CAN!

Why you should come to this workshop

• In the current economy you need to be marketing to your clients regularly
• Email marketing is low cost AND effective
• Email marketing is a powerhouse marketing tool
• Email marketing drives traffic to your website
• Email marketing builds customer loyalty
• You will learn how to get email marketing right for your business
• There is no other marketing tool that will give you better results for your money

Where: LMG Training Room, 15 Riseborough Street, Southwark, SE1 0HG

When: November 23, 2011

Time: 10:00 – 4:00

Cost: £95

September 22nd, London: We’re meeting on September 22nd for an intimate get together in London. Karen is the brains and energy behind 3 successful businesses including The Decisions Group in the 90′s, Simply Switch (which she sold for a reported £22m) in the noughties and her most recent venture, Call Britannia. She is smart, she’s ballsy, she’s got attitude and she has agreed to spend an evening with us talking business, success and growth.

Karen got the idea for SimplySwitch in 2002 after being bombarded by sales people trying to get her to switch supplier after the deregulation in the gas and electricity markets. She identified a niche; while people knew they were now free to choose which energy company they wanted to use, there wasn’t anyone telling them how to make the change or providing a switching service over the telephone, and so SimplySwitch was born.

Like a lot of entrepreneurs, Karen’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident early on. At 22 she set up a telemarketing company called the Decisions Group, which she sold in 1990. In 1991 she launched a consultancy under the brand Karen Darby Direct; in 2002 she launched SimplySwitch and sold it in 2006. She has now launched her fourth and most exciting venture yet ‘Call Britannia‘ and is on a mission to create 10,000 jobs for the unemployed.

Karen is a fun-loving, gregarious woman who has a very refreshing outlook towards life as an entrepreneur: “My friend thinks I’m lazy. I’m not. I’m just effortlessly effective! You don’t need to work long hours.’

Karen is testament to the fact that you do not need to necessarily be a specialist in a particular subject or have the cash yourself to launch your enterprise. Sometimes all that is needed is the ability to spot a gap in the market and the ability to turn it into a business.

This will be a small group networking event and give you a chance to get to know Karen and ask her questions about your business and your situation. We’ll also have a chance to network together and create strong connections with each other.

You can connect with Karen on Twitter @KarenDarbyUK

Where: The London Pavillion, 1 Piccadilly Place, London W1J 0DA
When: September 22, 2011
Time: 6:30 – be there or be square!

August 25, 2011.  London.  Blogging is one of the most powerful tools that you can use in your business today, but it can be difficult to know where to start. So we have decided to run our blogging workshop again to give you all the insights, learning and tools that we know to help you blog successfully in your business.

Blogging for business workshop

Would you like to blog but not really sure how to get started?

Would you like to be the go toperson website for your subject area?

Would you like to know how you can use blogging to bring more visitors to your website?

Are you worried that you don’t know what to write?

Why blog?

A good blog can become one of the most powerful tools in your marketing repertoire and can weave itself very well into your weekly activities.  BUT, like anything, if you’re going to be spending valuable business time on a blog, you need to make sure that it is going to be worth it.

There are so many reasons that you should be blogging we could be here all day, but some of the main ones are:

• It gives you a chance to build your relationships with your customers and prospects
• It builds your credibility an expert in your field
• Google LOVES blogs – so you can rank higher for keysearch terms in your industry
• Done right it is GUARANTEED to bring more traffic and visitors to your site

Should you blog?

Absolutely!

Can it make a difference to you and your business

Definitely!

What we will cover:

We will look at Blogging as a business tool and cover the following topics:

1. Setting your blogging objectives
2. Blogging basics – getting it right first time
3. Blogging tools – what’s right for you
4. The language of blogging – so you can sound like you understand it completely!
5. What to write!
6. Where to get some great content
7. Engaging your audience and how to build relationships
8. How to build your readership
9. Measuring your results
10. How to help G0ogle find your blog AND your website

Did you know that the Women Unlimited website is effectively just one big blog?  We will be sharing all the expertise and insights that we have gained over the last year and start you on the road to blogging success in your business!

This workshop will not come around again for another 6 months, so make sure you book for this one if you want to learn how you should be using your blog to make more money in your business.

Date: August 25, 2011

Time: 10:00 – 13:00

Location: The Space Centre, 94 Judd Street, London, WC1H 9NT (Kings Cross Area)

Cost: £65

Your trainer: Julie Hall will be running this workshop. Julie is the founder of Women Unlimited and Managing Director of Springmedia. Julie has worked with over 30 small business owners helping them get the most out of their blogs for their business.

But don’t take our word for it, here are what some previous delegates have said…

“I am so glad I came!  Loads of brilliant tips and techniques, real usable content .  Brilliant!  I’m off to start my blog” Sharon Lawson

“Great morning, crammed with lots of useful info” Jo Curtis Photographer

“If you want to learn about blogging, this is the workshop for you.  It doesn’t matter how much or how little you know about blogging, you will go out with lots of tips and ideas” Gail Macindoe

“Great event, informative, informal and interactive.  Highly recommended course” Annette Morrisey, Bridge and Wickers

London, March 14, 2011. After much anticipation, we are SO excited to be bringing you our 3rd Annual Conference – Ready to Take on the World (and after this conference, we promise you will be!). Why this theme? I believe that 2011 is a year of possibilities. It’s a year of change. And it’s a year of opportunity. We’ve called this year’s theme Ready to take on the World, because we think 2011 is all about standing firm and being strong.   The speakers that we have this year have all taken the the world by storm and created the lives and businesses that they want.

You’ll have the opportunity to learn what they did and how they did it.  They will share with you not only their stories and experience, but give you an insight into what worked for them, what didn’t work for them and most importantly, what you can take away and apply in your business. They will inspire, educate and motivate you to take on the world.

Are you ready?

We absolutely guarantee that you will learn things that will make a difference- but you will also HAVE FUN! I don’t want to go to conference that’s boring and don’t think you should either! So while you’ll be learning, we have a few surprises in store to make this conference, like no other conference that you have ever been to.  A spa for the mind was how one of last year’s delegates described the conference and this year will be too.

So who are these fantastic speakers?

Jessica Huie: For some people, life’s obstacles become their catalysts for success, and the award winning inspirational Entrepreneur Jessica Huie, is such a person. Jessica launched color blind cards after spotting a huge gap in the market for ethnically diverse greeting cards. Her product is now in 120 stores in the UK and the largest card distributor in the US is rolling them out nationwide. As if that’s not enough, she has her own 6 figure PR business that she launched in 2008. I think it’s safe to say, we can learn a lot from her!

Lisa Irlam: Lisa Irlam invented Poolmate with her husband and launched her business in November 2009 to create electronic training aids for swimming, building on her personal interest in the sport as an amateur triathlete. Since that launch they have managed to sell over £1m of product and are now set to see explosive growth.

Rachel Elnaugh: Rachel will be very well known to you as the entrepreneur who created the market leading experiences brand Red Letter Days at the age of 24 – which she grew from nothing, on a shoestring budget, into a £multi-million turnover household name. She is upfront about her entrepreneurial highs and low and now spends her time sharing her expertise and knowledge to help small business owners get it right first time. She now mentors small business owners and helps them achieve massive success.

Tamsin Fox-Davies is the founder of Enthuse Marketing and was one of our mentors at the Women’s Enterprise Day that we held at the British Library in November. The feedback from the delegates was so fantastic that I thought she would be a perfect addition to the conference. With over 10+ years experience and hundreds of clients, Tamsin has a passion for helping small businesses by providing expert advice and support for entrepreneurs who want to do their own marketing with professionalism and style.

Lara Morgan was the CEO and founder of Pacific Direct (luxury hotel toiletries). She started the company as a sole trader back in 1991, and sold a majority share holding of the company for £20 million in 2008 and is now working with other businesses to help them achieve similar success.

New speakers!

Stephanie Davies is a Director of Laughology.  Laughology is based around helping individuals and organisations to look at challenges in a new light using humour to enhance your emotional intelligence, well-being  & get better results in your business.

Isis Turner is a professional speaker after having earned her stripes as a senior sales and relationship development manager, she has now turned her hand to inspiring and educating women to know themselves and achieve more as a result.  She will help you be clearer on your strengths and how you can apply those in your business.

Elizabeth Mee is a qualified lawyer and ran her own employment-law practice for 16 years before deciding to venture on a different path in life. She has now been performing stand-up comedy for three years and reached the final of last year’s Funny Women Awards.

The day will include:

• Invaluable exchanges, introductions, business contacts and referrals
• Opportunity knocks, an opportunity to share and receive opportunities and skills with other delegates
• A pre-conference group will be set up so you can connect with some of the other delegates beforehand
• Learning and discounts from some of the speakers
• Networking with other fantastic, ambitious women before during and after
• GIFT BAG with lots of lovely goodies
• Fabulous raffle
• LUNCH and snacks

The day will be full of learning, inspiration and fantastic networking. Come along and give yourself and your business the boost that it needs.

Where, When and How much?

When: Monday, March 14, 2011 from 10:00 – 17:00

Where: British Library Conference Centre, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB

How much: £85 (though it is probably worthwhile checking out the event on our LinkedIn Group and the events listing on our Facebook Page…)

Twitter Hashtag: #WUC2011

Book your ticket today and we look forward to seeing you on March 14th.

It will truly be an amazing day that will stay with you all year (just ask some of our previous delegates!)

“The conference was great yesterday. Really really great! I’ve been to some many of these things and sometimes they are a bit hit and miss, but yesterday was brilliant. ” Jo Behari, HomeJane

“I just wanted to say a big thank you and well done for the conference on Monday. I came away buzzing with lots of ideas and am now desperately trying to find the time to implement them all!!!!” Michelle Daniels, Extended Thinking

“I just wanted to thank you for a great event. I met some brilliant ladies and feel inspired to build my business!” Penny Bennett

“Yes, big congratulations. What a fabulous, motivational and inspiring day.. and you say how can it get better than that? Wow!! Many thanks Julie.” Mav Highsted

“I just wanted to say I had a fantastic day at the conference. Truly inspiring, motivating and enormous fun. Congratulations on organising such a memorable day.” Maggie Killick, Maggie Killick Style

“The calibre of the speakers was truly amazing and the whole vibe on the day incredible. Without people like yourself, the rest of us would not benefit from hearing such anecdotes and be motivated to achieve even a small percentage of the type of success the speakers have reached.” Dawn Fry, The Melting Pot

“It was a fantastic event – truly motivational and inspring. And not only were the speakers and presenters top class, so too were the attendees! I look forward to the next one… ” Lisa Delaney-Galal

More women than ever are starting businesses. Take this opportunity to meet with other female entrepreneurs and experts.

January 20, 2010. January is a time to re-evaluate your life and your options. This is our first business startup mini – conference, and is designed to give you and your fledgling business or business idea, a boost.

It can be challenging to know where to start when you want to launch a new venture… Over the course of this day you will have the opportunity to engage and network with the speakers and with each other to learn and discover how you  can make sure that your business has the best chance possible to succeed.  There are a few things that are absolute ‘must do’s’ , that many small business owners don’t do – so come along to this mini conference and make sure that you are not one of them!

Our events are here to inspire and educate you. This mini-conference is all about helping you get started on your journey and will give you the opportunity to hear from some successful business women who have already created some success in their own business.

What you will learn:

The traits of an entrepreneur and how you can work to your strengths

Creating your vision for yourself and your business

Financing options – what are your options and how can you access finance

Getting your business basics right – setting yourself up for success right from the start

How one entrepreneur has managed to create enormous success for herself and her business within one year

The fabulous speakers:

Emma Wimhurst – Author of BOOM! and founder of Diva Cosmetics which turned over £1m in revenue in it’s first year of business

Martino Cartella – Prevista. Martino is an expert in helping small business owners get finance and funding for their businesses

Jane Kenyon – founder of Well Heeled Divas who are all about empowering women and particularly women business owners

Galia Orme - Founder of CHOC CHICK will share her journey about her first year in business

Julie Hall - founder of Springmedia and Women Unlimited

What you’ll get out of attending

• Clarity for your business and yourself
• A real kick start to your business and your ideas
• Networking with other women who are at the same stage of business as you
• Encouragement, inspiration and self belief
• Practical tools and understanding to help you succeed in your new venture

If you are thinking about starting a business or in the very early stages of starting a business you really don’t want to miss this mini-conference. It will energise you, motivate you and educate you to help you get started on the right foot.

Where, When and How much

Where: British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DP
When: January 20th from 10:00 – 16:00
How much: £45 AND includes lunch!

There are only 40 places available, so book quickly to make sure you are able to reserve your place

Many thanks to the British Library BIPC for supporting this event. The BIPC is a fantastic resource for all businesses at whatever stage of their development.

September 30, 2009. Women Unlimited hold a monthly get together for women entrepreneurs and business owners. This is a fabulous opportunity to meet and network with other women who are in the process of starting or building their own business.

This month’s Theme: Twitter for business

After July’s fantastic meetup with Wendy Tan White (who had an incredibly successful campaign on Twitter in June), we decided to talk about how you can use Twitter in your business.   Twitter is a fantastic marketing tool for your business and is something that all businesses should be using to promote their business, but contrary to all the media stories the best way to use it is not to tell people what you had for breakfast!  But how can you use it effectively for your business?  Is it worth the time and effort?  Is it complicated?

Twitter is an incredibly easy tool to use and with a little forward planning can be a great way to spend some of your marketing time (and let’s face it time = money!) At Women Unlimited I use Twitter to post articles, engage with friends / contacts and promote our events and workshops.  And it works!  So I’ve put together this mini workshop to share with you all my tricks, tips and tools on how to use Twitter in your business.

In this  mini-workshop we will run through the in’s and outs of Twitter

1. Is Twitter for you?

2. How to get started

3. How to find followers

4. Getting familiar with the Twitter tools

5. What will make your tweeting easier

6. How to use Twitter for business

Come along for some fantastic networking and find out how to use my favourite (really!) marketing tool.

The Networking

You will also have the opportunity to meet and network with other fantastic women who are also in the early stages of their business lifecycle. There will be time for networking and engaging with other women who are in the same stage of business as you. We focus very much on sharing knowledge and experiences as a way of helping you move your business idea forward – so don’t be afraid to ask questions!

Come along and join us  for a great evening

Time: September 30th from 6:00 – 9:30

Where: MWB Liverpool Street, 55 Old Broad Street, London

Cost: £15 (includes drinks and nibbles) in advance (book by 29/09/09) and £20 on the door