Email to a FriendEach one of our many WIBN groups is owned and managed by a wonderful Franchisee. These fantastic businesswomen are the heart of our network and make each meeting a fun and productive place to be.
The franchisees are businesswomen just like you and have used networking to create a successful business. Owning a business with WIBN lends itself very well to combining networking with business development. Allowing you to grow your network in a really effective way.
Our Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire franchisee Louise Yexley has been with WIBN almost from the start so has huge experience in the world of networking. She runs local business expos and is a judge for national business awards.
An Experienced Networker
Along with a background in HR and Employee Development, Louise previously ran an award winning marketing business for 10 years. She now owns and runs nine amazing WIBN groups across Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire as well as a National Online group.
Louise originally joined the visited the newly formed Hitchin group 15 years ago as a member as a way to build her new business. She very quickly became a member and loved it so much she’s still a part of WIBN today.
Women In Business Network Franchise
Originally a member of the Hitchin group, when Louise was offered the opportunity to become group leader and then become a business owner with WIBN it was an easy decision. She saw it as the next step to make the most of networking and build her business at the same time.
Over the last 15 years Louise has organised numerous events for her WIBN members including International Women's Day and Summer Meetings for over 100 members. She is a big believer that networking works best when you get to know each other and do things collaboratively.
Since her original decision to become group leader of the Hitchin group, Louise has gone on to own and run 8 more groups and her role as WIBN franchisee is now her full time business.
Face To Face & National Groups
Louise runs eight local groups around her area of Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire. These Local Meetings are a great way of meeting like-minded business women based in the same local area. These groups meet in-person or online every month and are a brilliant way build business relationships that generate referrals, create collaborations and provide mutual support.
Traditionally, our local groups were all held in face to face venues in the local area. However, with the onset of the pandemic we very quickly facilitated all of our groups to go online.
The pandemic hit us and we all went completely online which was unheard of. And then when we started to think about coming back my groups were not sure so we decided to do a mixture online and offline groups.”
Once the pandemic ended some of our members began telling us that they had enjoyed some aspects of online networking. Some even preferred it! Therefore, we have now taken on a mixture of both online and face to face groups.
Many of our local groups now enjoy a split of online and in-person networking with many choosing to carry out 6 face to face and 6 online very year.
Additionally, the feedback we received showed us that many women preferred networking entirely online and were interested in doing this permanently. They enjoyed the flexible nature of networking from their home or office and enjoyed meeting women from all areas off the UK.
With online networking your location isn’t an obstacle, neither do you have to take travel time into account.
And so, we launched our very first National Online groups in October 2020. There was immediate interest and very soon we had grown to six online groups.
”When WIBN said they were launching some national online groups I thought… There will be some people that this will be absolutely amazing for. If you are not bound by geography then a national group is fantastic because you get to meet people from all parts of the country, and some international.”
How do the local and national groups differ?
Our local groups are still mainly face to face, and may people enjoy and need that from their networking. However, our national groups really work for women that want to reach a national network and do so from their own place of work.
The structure of the meetings both online and in-person is very similar at all WIBN groups. You will get the same friendly welcome, opportunity to speak about yourself, listen to others and build relationships.
Both styles of networking include 60 second pitches, spotlight speakers and business topics and encourage inspiring and motivational conversation.
The real point of difference with the national groups is that because we have a number of them you are able to visit any of the other national online group free of charge (as long as your category isn’t taken). Additionally we run weekly coffee mornings where all national group members can come together and network.
Louise has spent the past 15 years networking with WIBN and really enjoys both face to face and online groups. She also has lots of experience and knowledge that are invaluable to anyone starting out on their networking journey. So, we decided to ask her for her top tips.
What’s your top tip for networking?
Louise told us that she meets women all of the time that are apprehensive about attending a networking meeting. Many women find attending very daunting, the thought of walking through the door and delivering their 60 second pitch can be overwhelming. However, Louise has some great advice to calm those thoughts.
”Just come along with an open mind and treat it as if you are coming along for a chat with someone you know. NOT in a selling mode. Networking is all about building relationships and that takes time. Make conversation, find common ground and the business will come later.”
As well as her experience in networking and business Louise also really enjoys getting involved in her local community and taking part in charity events. Recently, members took part in a virtual marathon with their own WIBN Strava group which helped many members get out and about over 30 days and raise funds for the charity members in the groups.
To get to know her a little better, we asked Louise….
Tell us something about yourself we wouldn’t expect
Louise’s answer certainly wasn’t something we expected when she replied that she had featured in the 1984 Christmas Annual for Jackie Magazine. At the age of 16 Louise wrote to Jackie to ask if she could do a makeover, and to her surprise they replied with YES and invited her to London. She went and had a makeover, had her photograph taken and then appeared in a double-page spread!
Start A Business With The Support Of Other Women
As Louise has said networking is a great way to meet like-minded people and The Women in Business Network (WIBN) has some great opportunities to start your own business.
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.