It’s important for any business person to build a network around them – to get to know people and to help each other out through mentoring, advising and the like. This was the key message from the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day breakfast event last week at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, where women from across Northern Ireland gathered to mark the day.
Sarah-Jane Bell aka The Woman Next Door, is one of many business women I’ve met through networking!
Compered by Sarah Travers of Bespoke Communications, we also heard from Junior Ministers Emma Pengelly and Jennifer McCann, as well as Justice Keegan QC, who has made history in the province by being appointed a High Court judge this year along with Justice McBride QC. They each spoke of following their own paths, of not giving up, and of sticking with their goals no matter what.
Later, each table of breakfasters/attendees was then visited by three top business women, who shared their stories and passed on some key advice about working as a woman in business.
The key points I took from this were:
– Be yourself
– Establish a network around you
– Don’t view men as the enemy!
– Believe in yourself
– Go for it
Janet Millar of Kiso Arts at the Christmas market.
Simple but effective messages, but ones we often need to remind ourselves of. I’ve met a lot of great business people through social networking and ‘in-person’ networking, and bumped into a few of them on Saturday at the Causeway Hotel, where the Naturally North Coast & Glens Christmas Market was taking place.
As the festive season approaches, there’s no better time to reconnect with people and strengthen your network – not for selfish reasons, but for mutually beneficial ones. Everyone needs support at some stage along the way and by investing time in meeting new people and catching up with older acquaintances, you’ll only make things better for everyone.
The Women’s Entrepreneurship Day video from Ulster Bank, which has its global launch screening at the Lyric and was shown later that day in New York.
Join us in celebrating Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. Support our local business women by RTing our video #WomenWOW https://t.co/8paRW6kwjp
— Ulster Bank (@UlsterBank) November 19, 2015