Small Business, Big Network

Latest Episodes:

Networking over coffee! Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

The independent coffee company, CafePod was founded by entrepreneur Peter Grainger, 12 years ago. Peter had been frustrated by how difficult and expensive it was to buy Nespresso pods and felt that consumers deserved more choice and access to quality coffee at home. He became aware that it was possible to produce Nespresso-compatible pods but that it had not yet been done in Europe.

Having never worked in the coffee industry before and wanting to move away from his job in the city, Peter set out on a mission to bring high-quality, craft coffee to the masses. With such a unique offering, and many other brands following suit since, CafePod has gained strong supermarket listings and is available in Tesco, Waitrose, Ocado, Amazon as well as a thriving D2C business.

Peter used networking as a way to find help and finance for his business, and he says that the key is people like to help people they like - so be nice!

www.cafepod.com

Find people with skills that complement yours by networking Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

Tim Calise is an advisor to start businesses in service industries and the founder of the Product to Profit Framework.

Tim has founded and grown a number of businesses, and now helps other entrepreneurs to reach their full potential.

Networking has been the bedrock of Tim's success and he believes that surrounding yourself with others who have complementary skillsets to you, will help you grow.

Join Tim's free VIP group for entrepreneurs here:

https://timcalise.com/vip

Put on your big girl networking pants! Oct 30, 2023

Show notes

Estelle Cartlidge is the founder of two businesses - Making the Grade which matches students to tutors, and My Biz Solution which is an all in one package that helps small business owners with the day to day running of their business.

Estelle wasn't a fan of networking at first but she's a real advocate for it now. She says everyone feels daunted at first but you have to be brave and stick with it.

www.mybizsolution.uk

Icebrekr - the must-have networking app! Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

Dave Castro, entrepreneur and creator of the IceBrekr app, seeks to empower people to meet key new connections on their own terms wherever their ideal kind of people gather. Dave has also co-founded a healthcare software company acquired by Dr Oz's ShareCare corporation and has worked in the software industry for over 20 years.

Dave has always been fascinated by technology and has always wanted to build some type of software product. He discovered that there is an opportunity to connect people to each other simply by utilizing their cell phone’s ID, otherwise known as a virtual name badge. Using that idea coupled with his belief that “The life you are dreaming of will be built through the connections you make,” Dave realized that he could make a difference by creating the IceBrekr app for networking events.

The app enables you to share the information that you choose and helps people save time and energy of meeting the people that they are looking for. It is a game changer when it comes to relieving the sometimes awkwardness that is experienced during events and gatherings. Dave hopes that IceBrekr will revolutionize how we meet one another personally and professionally for years to come.

Links:

https://icebrekr.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidaaroncastro

Creating a network from an accountability group Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

Betsy Benn is the founder of Betsy Benn personalised gifts and luxury stationery.

She has been running an accountability group for other small makers, and helping people prepare for the inevitable Christmas rush. This has proved to be an excellent place to network.

https://betsybenn.com

If you miss having colleagues try networking! Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

Marie Paterson is a wellbeing trainer and coach providing both online and in-person services.

She started her working life as a secondary school teacher, teaching Biology and Science. Following the arrival of her two daughters and a move to the east coast of Scotland she joined the Health Service and worked in Organisational and Staff Development. She has also worked as a staff developer for research staff in the University sector before starting her own wellbeing business in 2018.

Marie is passionate about supporting people to develop themselves and to live their calmest, happiest, healthiest life. She focuses on the whole person, to help her clients address different areas of their life as she firmly believes that all aspects of our lives intertwine and affect our wellbeing.

She loves running her own business and finding new ways to help people, so she is always studying and reading about new evidence-based techniques for supporting physical and mental health. She is trained in coaching, counselling, mediation, nutrition and exercise. Marie is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC).

In addition to coaching, Marie offers live wellbeing training as well as self-directed online courses that people can tap into at a time that works for them. She also works with teams to enable them to be their best at work and at home. She loves helping people make real lasting changes to their wellbeing.

For more information visit www.mariepaterson.com

Amy Atkinson - Make networking part of your marketing strategy! Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

Amy Atkinson is a social media and digital marketing coach specialising in working with small to medium-sized service based businesses. Having worked for over 12 years in this field growing FTSE 100 companies customer bases and sales, she wanted to work with those smaller companies to help them see huge growth too.

Amy reached a full client roster, and 6 figures in her business all in a year after coming back from maternity leave and working 4 days a week. It’s her mission to help clients see growth in clients; sales, prospects; reach & warm leads; engagement through sharing her knowledge and expertise.

Links:

Free strategy workbook: https://thefemtrepreneur.mykajabi.com/strategy

Website: www.thefemtrepreneur.com

Insta: @thefemtrepreneur

How to have the coolest business card at a networking event! Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

Ellie McBride is the founder of Calibrated Concepts - a website and business systems design company.

Ellie has the coolest business cards in any networking room - a magnetic bottle opener with her details on!

Networking is better than social media! Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

Karen Webber is a marketing coach and strategist. As the owner of Goodness Marketing, Karen helps small businesses with big hearts do marketing that feels good, does good and gets good results. Before starting Goodness Marketing in 2017, Karen worked as a marketing director for a marketing agency. Previously she worked in various editorial and comms roles in London, Manchester and her native South Africa.

Website and socials:

https://goodnessmarketing.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/goodnessmarketing/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenwebber/

https://www.threads.net/@goodnessmarketing

Things that came up in our conversation:

https://goodnessmarketing.co.uk/newsletter

https://goodnessmarketing.co.uk/do-crew

https://goodnessmarketing.co.uk/wilderness-tonic-retreat

Mark Drager - your network is your net worth Sep 11, 2023

Show notes

Mark Drager, AKA the Badass Brand Architect, is a 5th generation entrepreneur who helps other entrepreneurs with B2B businesses sell more, faster, and easier.

The Founder & CEO of SalesLoop, Mark didn't take the usual route to become an authority in the world of marketing. Starting his entrepreneurial journey in 2006 with zero experience, he launched Phanta Media, the corporate video production company that would one day evolve into SalesLoop.

Fast-forward to today, Mark's team has led over 2,000 projects, served over 300 clients across 29 industries, won 32 awards, and produced nearly $14 million in content.

His podcasts, "How To Sell More" and "The Mark Drager Show," offer listeners a unique blend of wit, insight, and practical strategies for success.

He’s a dedicated father of four and a loving husband to his high school sweetheart Jacqueline. His offbeat adventures include having a Boeing 737-800 for the day (twice!), a heated encounter with a billionaire, and even shedding 70 lbs in his late 30s. Though he skipped college, Mark’s a testament to the power of determination, creativity, and the right amount of audacity.

At SalesLoop, Mark and his team specialize in brand strategy and positioning, offer and promotion creation, and sales and marketing copywriting. Their mission? To take the guesswork out of your marketing and build a brand that actually drives sales. Mark believes in creating a damn good reason for people to buy so your businesses can charge what it’s worth.

Company:

Salesloopbrand.com

Podcasts:

The Mark Drager Show

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-mark-drager-show/id1534172618

https://www.youtube.com/@MarkDrager

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-mark-drager-show-117687112/

https://www.audacy.com/podcast/the-mark-drager-show-ce5e0

https://www.stitcher.com/show/we-do-hard-things-with-mark-drager

How To Sell More

(Launching Sept 2023)

Contact Details: