New WIBS Website in Progress

We're in the process of developing and building a much improved WIBS website which we're hoping to be live by Friday 3 September. This is also the date of our next WIBS lunch which will be at El Campanario Country Club. If you would like to reserve a place for lunch please email Caroline at enquiries@wibspain.com

September Networking Lunch at El Campanario Golf & Country House Friday 3 September

Our next networking lunch will be at El Campanario Golf & Country House on Friday 3 September. Arrivals at 12:30pm. To reserve your place please contact Caroline at enquiries@wibspain.com

Address:
Visit the website for location details
Urb El Campanario,
El Campanario Golf & Country House,
Crt de Cadiz N-340, Km 168,
Estepona 29688

WIB Summer Party - 09/06/10

This month, we've moved the date one week forward to 09/06/10 as we know that the beginning of the month is always busy and we'd like to see as many members as possible at this year's summer party.

Here's all the information you need to know:
Date and time - Friday, 9 July , arrivals 12:30pm
Location - Restaurante Carmen (just behind Terra Sana), Laguna Village, A-7 (CN 340)km 159, Estepona 29680
PRICE - Members 25€ GUESTS 30€ - Please bring correct money
Reply by Wednesday July 7 by emailing enquiries@wibspain.com

We hope to see you there for an opportunity to have fun and celebrate the summer season with our members.

Next WIB Meeting 04/05/10 El Campanario

We're pleased to announce our next event at El Campanario on Friday 4th June.

As well as a delicious lunch and a great opportunity to meet new people and promote your business via networking, we're offering a small number of business tables for members who want to display their products or services in the reception area. This will be an excellent opportunity to sell some products to the members, or highlight a particular service which you might be having trouble getting across in the networking meetings. Please note that this is only available to members as places are limited. To book a table, please email enquiries@wibspain.com

Michelle Gascoigne will be speaking about how women can network effectively, which should be a very useful presentation. Also, five members will have to opportunity to introduce their business to the ladies with a 1-2 minute introduction. If you would like to have a Member Spotlight slot, please email enquiries@wibspain.com

We had some fantastic feedback after last month's "new look" event, many people saying it was the best WIB meeting they had been to. Thanks a lot for your comments. We will be carrying on the good work and improving the meetings to be more professional, structured and offering you the best opportunities to network, so please come along and see what you think!

Key Information

Date - Friday, 4 June

Time - Arrivals 12:30pm, 1.00pm start

Location EL CAMPANARIO

Address: Ctra. Cadiz N340, km 168. Urb. Dos Hermanas, (Come off at Diana Centre , next slip road after Benahavis exit) Click here for map

Please note, we have sent out an email invite to the database for this event. Please let us know if you haven't received it and send us your email address so we can add you to our list.

Next WIB Meeting 07/05/10 Nermans, Nueva Andalucia

We will be meeting again next week for lunch at Nermans in Nueva Andalucia (was Ogilvy & Mailer) on the 7th May. It would be great to see lots of members and guests there. Click here to see the Google Map, I'm afraid it's still got Ogilvy & Mailer's name on it.

Cost - 25€ members & 30€ Guests
Menu
1. Crumbled goat cheese and apple salad with mango dressing
2. Oven baked salmon on potatoes and vegetables topped with herb butter
(Vegetarian alternative: vegetarian curry with rice)
3. Chocolate meringue mousse

Includes welcome drink, wine with meal & water and coffee.

Speakers are being organised now and invitations will be sent out shortly with full information regarding timings etc. Please put the date in your diary and make sure you reserve your space by emailing enquiries@wibspain.com

Changes for Women in Business

We know that times are hard for businesses, there are less clients and less budget for marketing. This means that networking needs to work harder for you to generate clients and business contacts

In order to make Women in Business work better for our members we want to:
1. Make our meetings more organised and give formal opportunities for networking and self-promotion
2. Help new members get to know existing members in appropriate industry sectors
3. Ensure that the formal networking is finished by 4pm at the very latest to allow members to get back to the office and attend to family commitments
4. Offer the website and blog as a promotional medium for the members

How are we going to do this?
1. We want to split the meetings into two parts, free networking away from the tables to allow mingling with many people at the beginning of the meeting followed by networking at the tables
2. At the beginning of each meeting there will be a 5 minute slot where 5 members have the opportunity to introduce themselves for one minute to the group. This will be organised alphabetically and we will go through the list of members to give everyone the opportunity to speak.
3. There will also be an opportunity for members to make short announcements during the meal, when you sign in please tell us if you would like to make an announcement.
4. The committee will be responsible for introducing you to people that you would like to meet. Please use us to meet new people and come and ask us at the desk or during the meeting if there’s any type of person/company that you would like to connect with.
5. We will try some different approaches for mixing people during the meeting such as speed networking and moving around during courses

We can’t make this networking group work well without you! Please help us by:
1. Making a big effort to talk to new people and not use these meetings simply as an opportunity to talk to old friends. This will allow every one of you to get more from the meeting and also make the group more welcoming to new members
2. Try to sit at a table with new people as well as the old faces and try to make it your goal to introduce yourself to anyone on your table that you don’t know and find out about their business.
3. Think about how you can sum up your business in one minute, this will help you introduce yourself to new people and give the one minute introductions at the beginning of the meetings
4. Make full use of the website and blog. This is a resource for you, so please send us company news, event information and at the very least send us your profile so we can list you on the website – click here for more information
5. Think of this group as your business club and do your best to learn about the fellow members’ businesses so you can refer them to your colleagues and friends
6. Let us have your ideas and suggestions for how we can improve things and make it work better for you
7. Please use the committee and ask them to introduce you to people. We all know lots of people, so please use us to help. The committee members are:

Caroline Bowley, Marbella Art Fair
Louise Cook, Media Machine and Marbellas.com
Susan Hunter, Susan Hunter consultancy
Kate Gooding, Talk Radio Europe
Susana Serrano-Davey, Rose & Clavel Chartered Accountants
Julie Perryman, Herbal Life
Georgina Shaw, Shaw Marketing Services

We hope that these steps will make Women in Business a powerful networking force for your business.

Promoting yourself with Women in Business

If you are a member of Women in Business and want to get the most out of your membership, please make sure you send us the following information for our website.

1. Member Profiles including:

Name:

Company:

What makes your business special? (‘USP’ – your business’ unique selling point):

Likes and Dislikes:

Top networking/business tip:

Photo

Any special offer for WIBS members

2. Business Tips – Please send us anything you have found helpful to make your business more successful or profitable; tips on budgeting, cost-cutting measures, marketing ideas, how to make networking work for you, useful websites to list your business on etc. We want to help each other be more profitable.

3. Blog Posts – If you want to be part of the blog please send your post in a Microsoft Word format through to news@wibspain.com. Please click here to see the rules for posting on the blog. Please help us to make our blog interesting and interactive by considering whether your blog will be relevant to our members and making sure you do not repeat information from previous posts. The blog will be monitored and repeated content will be removed.

4. Feature Articles - We need a new feature article for our site. If you would like to put forward an interesting article on your specialist subject please send it to news@wibspain.com for consideration. Articles should be between 500 and 1,000 words, interesting, well written and not simply an ad for your business, please note only high quality articles will be accepted.

We hope you will get involved!

Submit material for our website

We want to hear from you to make our website even better. Please send us any of the following information and let us help you promote your company:

1. Member Profiles including:
Name:
Company:
What makes your business special? (‘USP’ – your business’ unique selling point):
Likes and Dislikes:
Top networking/business tip:
Why you love living in Spain:
Photo
Any special offer for WIBS members

2. Business Tips – Please send us anything you have found helpful to make your business more successful or profitable; tips on budgeting, cost-cutting measures, marketing ideas, how to make networking work for you, useful websites to list your business on etc. We want to help each other be more profitable.

3. Blog Posts – If you want to be part of the blog please send your post in a Microsoft Word format through to news@wibspain.com. Please click here to see the rules for posting on the blog. Please help us to make our blog interesting and interactive by considering whether your blog will be relevant to our members and making sure you do not repeat information from previous posts. The blog will be monitored and repeated content will be removed.

4. Feature Articles - We need a new feature article for our site. If you would like to put forward an interesting article on your specialist subject please send it to news@wibspain.com for consideration. Articles should be between 500 and 1,000 words, interesting, well written and not simply an ad for your business, please note only high quality articles will be accepted.

We hope you will get involved!

Website looking for opinions from Women in Business

We've been contacted by the website Expatica to contribute to their feature entitled "Expat Voices" which will focus on women entrepreneurs and how they are finding business at the moment.

They would like us to fill in a short questionnaire to give our perspective of doing business in Spain. Questions include:

1. Can you give us a brief description of your business and how it is going.
2. What do you like about doing business in your country of residence?
3. What do you find most frustrating about doing business in your country of residence?
4. What hurdles did you encounter when setting up?
5. How has the economic crisis affected your business?
6. What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs setting up business in your country of residence?
7. How does running a business in your current country of residence compare to running a business in other countries that you have lived in?

If you would like to take part in this feature, please email Suzanne Ong - suzanne@expatica.com and she will send you a copy of the questionnaire to fill in.

This Month's Meeting: Celebrate International Women's Day on Friday 5 March 2010

To celebrate International Women's Day, the Women in Business Spain monthly networking lunch will be held at The Selenza Hotel, Estepona in collaboration with Ultimate Marbella who are presenting a networking event with guest speakers, exhibitors, beauty & health, fashion and entertainment. Ladies can attend a Champagne Breakfast and/or Lunch with Fashion Show and demonstrations.

9:30 am – Champagne Breakfast EUR 19
2:00 pm – Lunch with Fashion Show EUR 29

Business tables to promote your business are available at a cost of EUR 20. If you would like to arrange one of these tables to promote your business then please let me know immediately as there are limited number of tables available.

Payment for is required in advance for breakfast or lunch or for your business table.

Please contact Caroline by return if you wish to attend and will advise how to pay, via email mailto:enquiries@wibspain.com?subject=Direct or telephone or text mobile 677 167 310

Women in Business are dedicated in helping ladies in business throughout the Costa del Sol, and we will endeavour to make a difference! Please come and join us for a day to be inspired and support International Women’s Day on the Coast.

Make it your New Year's Resolution to provide us with a profile!

We have a great section on our website about our members where guests and other members can see who we have as part of our networking organisation. Unfortunately it only has 8 profiles on there! We want to give you the maximum exposure for your business, but we need to receive your news for the blog and your profiles to do so.

Please send the answers to the following questions to news@wibspain.com so we can put your profile onto the website:

Name:

Company:

What makes your business special?

Likes and Dislikes:

Top business tip:

Why you love living in Spain:

Any special offer for WIBS members:

Contact details:

You can also send me your company news, events and special offers for the blog, so make it your New Year's Resolution to be more active and get new clients through Women in Business in 2010!

Read all about the November's Women in Business Event

WIBS member and Marbellas.com founder and editor Louise Cook-Edwards has produced a fantastic article on our last Women in Business meeting at Sol i Luna. To read the article visit marbellas.com.

If you like the look of our monthly meetings, why not come along? You don't need to be a member to attend our events. They are a great way to meet new people, make business contacts and find clients and are a very cost-effective way to promote yourself. The date of our Christmas event will be announced shortly, so watch this space. Picture courtesy of marbellas.com

Women in Business Event Friday 6 November

Here are all the details for the latest Women in Business Networking event to be held at Sol y Luna on Friday 6th November. For new businesses and well-established companies, our lunches are a great way to meet new people, get help and advice and find potential collaborators and new clients. We hope we'll see you there!

Date 6th November
Location Sol y Luna Restaurant
Address Las Lomas de Marbella Club
Urb Ancon Sierra
C/Sierra Bermeja
Tel 95286 66 27
Arrival time 1pm
Speakers 1.30

Speakers
Susan Serrano Davy - Rose & Clavel Accountants - Subject 5 minute talk "The Company Car"

Masha Malka - Author & Success Strategist - Topic Embrace Change and Unleash Your Greatness

Lunch Includes
Welcome drink
One glass of wine & water with meal
Starter - Prawn Salad with avocado and honey vinaigrette
Main - Chicken fillet filled with spinach and lime dressing
Desert - Sol y Luna TIRAMISU
Coffee

There is a vegetarian alternative, please advise at time of booking

Price members 25 Euros Guests 28 Euros

If you know a lady who is setting up a new business and needs some contacts please invite them along to the next event. You don't have to be a member, anyone can come as a guest to try out the format and see if it suits you. Now is a difficult time to be in business, but networking is the best way to create a positive business reputation and spread the word about your product or service.

If you'd like to come to the event, please RSVP to enquiries@wibspain.com by Wednesday 4th November.

Come and Join Us for an Open Mike Networking Breakfast on Friday 2 October 2009 at Ogilvy & Mailer

Come and join us for an "Open Mike Breakfast Meeting" on Friday 2 October, with a prompt 10am start - at Ogilvy & Mailer Restaurant, Los Naranjos Country Club, Nueva Andalucia (near to Las Brisas).

A Continental Breakfast will be served. Price 10 euros for Members and 12 euros for Guests

Members and Guests will have the opportunity to step up to the mike and have 2 minutes to talk about their business. Make sure you come prepared if you would like to make a good impression and remember to bring your business cards.

For the lady considered to be the best speaker you may win a free breakfast or lunch at the next meeting!

Please reply to Caroline by Wednesday 30 September.

KINDLY REMINDER: Please note that ladies who do not attend once reserving their attendance, and without providing 24 hours notice, will be asked to pay. We are a non-profit organisation and have to pay even if you do not attend.

Join Us for Our First Meeting of Autumn at Terra Sana's New Restaurant in Estepona

Come and join us for an "Open Mike Breakfast Meeting" on Friday 4th September, with a prompt 10am start - at Terra Sana's new restaurant in Laguna Village, Estepona.

A Continental Breakfast will be served. Price 10 euros for Members and 12 euros for Guests

Members and Guests will have the opportunity to step up to the mike and have 2 minutes to talk about their business. Please reply to Caroline by Wednesday 2nd September.

Blog Update | How to Get Your Post Onto This Blog

We are having a terrific response to posts on our Women in Business BlogSpot with 77 page views on Monday June 15th. Top posts (so far) this week are Something Cakey (34 click thrus on first day), Grand Used Book Sale (12 click thrus) and Up to €20,000 Grants Now Available for Self Employed in Spain (10 click thrus). We have signed up to an email subscription service which will automatically send out a summary of all the post we have uploaded, each Wednesday. So that you can take advantage of this please would you send us information for any events, news or activities you wish to promote in this format:

1. Please make sure the content you email to us in text format, ideally in a Word document. If you only have a .pdf then please send us a text version, retype if you need to – and make sure it is spell-checked! Note, other news services and media agencies are picking up on our posts and this is a great way to circulate your business stories throughout the media
2. Ensure you send us a good quality image to accompany your story in a .jpeg format.
3. Don’t forget your contact details, times and dates of events and location/driving directions
4. If you’re aware of an upcoming event then please give us ample time to publish on the blog and for it to be circulated to our mailing list – it’s frustrating for people who would like to attend an event to discover it’s in two days time and they haven’t a chance to go to it.
5. If you clicked onto a post and found the information useful, or think you can add some additional advice relating to it, then please post your comment, don’t be shy!
6. If we posted a story for you and you had a good response then please tell us

If you’d like to find out more about this blog and how you can blog then please contact us at news@wibspain.com

Calling all budding photographers

If you are a photographer who wants to expand their portfolio, network and make some great contacts then we need you. WIBS are looking for a photographer to attend the events and take pictures of the location, guests etc to be used in publicity for Women in Business. As this is not a profit making organisation, you will not be paid for your help but you will gain valuable experience and exposure to many potential clients. If you are happy to come along to all the lunches and help us with this please comment on this post or email enquiries@wibspain.com

Welcome to the new Women in Business Blog!

We hope you will use our WIBS blog to tell your fellow members about what’s going on, events, special offers, company news and share things that interest you. It’s easy and quick to blog so we hope you’ll all get involved and create a great WIBS online community.

Right, let’s get the boring bit out of the way first – rules! We want this to be an interesting, useful way to share information online so please make sure you don’t post repetitive items about your business. We will not tolerate any offensive or libellous posts and these will be removed. Here are the rules, please abide by them to keep our blog helpful, interesting and relevant.

1. Maximum length of 250 words
2. No aggressive, offensive or slanderous content
3. Spell checked and well written
4. Interesting and not repetitive
5. No more than 1 post for your own business per month
6. Accompanied by a quality photograph no larger than 600kb in size
7. Accompanied by your contact details, telephone number, mobile number, email address and website address

If you want to blog please send your first post in a Microsoft Word format through to news@wibspain.com and tell us if you would like to be a regular author or would just like us to post on your behalf.

Happy blogging!