Email to a FriendEach one of our many WIBN groups is owned and managed by a wonderful Franchisee. These fantastic businesswomen are the heart and soul of our network and make each meeting a productive and enjoyable place to be.
The franchisees are businesswomen just like you, and like many of you they own multiple businesses. Owning a business with WIBN lends itself very well to working alongside another business because you can combine networking with business development and grow your network in a really effective way.
Our Berkshire & Buckinghamshire franchisee Sarah Van Dort does just that. She owns two businesses that work perfectly alongside each other.
Ab Fab Image
Sarah’s first business is the Ab Fab Image. Sarah is passionate about helping women and men feel the best they can every day. With a passion for fashion, a keen eye for style and by using tried and tested colour and style analysis, Sarah helps people of any age, size, shape, colour or personality to make this feeling a reality.
From the clothes and accessories you wear to your make-up and hair styling Sarah can advise you, and discuss in detail with you, the way to make you feel more confident in your every day life. She will hold your hand on your journey onwards by helping you with editing your wardrobe and shopping to add key pieces that may be missing. It really doesn't matter about your age, size or budget everybody can feel their best every day with some extra knowledge and advice.
Sarah very successfully built her styling business with the help of networking. Before she became a WIBN franchisee she was a member of the Thames Valley group. Here she met lots of fellow businesswomen and quickly gained clients.
Women In Business Network Franchise
When Sarah was offered the opportunity to become a business owner with WIBN she jumped at the chance. She saw it as the next step to combine her love for networking and build her business at the same time.
Sarah had found so much value in networking, both personally and professionally and wanted to continue that journey. Becoming a franchisee for WIBN was the next step in her business journey and within just two years Sarah has grown her WIBN business to seven groups across the country.
When I started my styling business, I could do styling. However, I didn’t really have the business skills that I needed and that’s what I’ve learned through networking.
How do these two different businesses work together?
You may think; how does running a styling business and a women’s networking business at the same time work? We asked Sarah the same question.
They work quite well because they are really quite similar.
That's because, whilst they are totally different disciplines they both involve building women up with confidence and making them feel amazing so that they can go out and achieve their goals. This is where Sarah’s passion truly lies.
Whether that's in business or in their personal lives, the two things slot together very nicely.
Whether she is helping women to find their style or build their network Sarah is passionate about building women up to be the best version of themselves.
How to use networking to build your business
As an experienced businesswoman that uses networking to boost her business Sarah has lots of tips about making networking work for you..
She has experience networking both as a member and group owner so she can bring lots of insight to the do’s and don’t of networking. So, we asked her the question… What is your top tip for women who are starting out and looking at networking to help their business.
Sarah answered that networking is absolutely VITAL to building any business.
Sarah’s top tip is…
It's not enough to just attend your monthly meeting, you need to network outside of the meetings too. 1-2-1's, connecting on social media and building your business skills are all really important.
Start A Business With The Support Of Other Women
As Sarah has said networking is a great way to meet like-minded people and most importantly grow your business. The tips and advice you can pick up are invaluable and the opportunities are endless.
However, it can also be a great business opportunity in itself. The Women in Business Network (WIBN) has some great opportunities to start your own business. And the best part is that you can do it alongside your existing business.
The Women in Business Network (WIBN) has enquiries every week from women across the UK who want to join but don’t have a group in their area. Opening a new group in your area will help you to build a business and a Network.
You can start your own WIBN group as a franchisee which means you are your own boss, managing your own time and finances.
Our tried and tested business model sets you up for success and you will receive coaching and ongoing support from other experienced businesswomen.
Find Out More
If you’re interested in finding out more about starting your own business with WIBN, we would love to hear from you.