If you fail to plan, you plan to fail

by | Feb 8, 2019 | Business Village, Meeting Notes

Many businesses people, especially those in the early years of their business, will act first and think later. Many entrepreneurs will argue that doing something, learning by the experience and failing fast if you are going to fail is the right approach.

Stuart Ball, of Swindon-based Absolute Management and Marketing, spends time talking about the alternative approach; that is thinking about what we are going to do and why, validating that it will deliver the right results, then executing the plan.

His presentation helps business people work out where the business is heading, before jumping in.

What’s Business Village ever done for you?

What’s Business Village ever done for you?

by | Dec 21, 2018 | Business Village

That’s the question we posed – just for fun and not academic research – at our last meeting of 2018. A kind of end-of-term, let-your-hair-down, and have a chat session.

And what emerged is that Business Village excels as a networking group in Swindon because it is supportive, it’s welcoming, it’s not exclusive and – just as you would expect – we get clients, contacts, referrals and recommendations.

So, if you’re looking for a networking group which doesn’t charge an expensive annual membership fee – or any membership fee at all, for that matter – is pay-as-you-go, weekly and effective, why not try Business Village? You’ve nothing to lose (apart from the meeting fee – £9-£12, depending on when you book) and everything to gain.

In fact, the first meeting of the New Year, on January 10th , is a free presentation on Fit for Business for 2019. For more details, book here. We meet Thursdays, 7.30-9am at The Campanile for breakfast and great networking.

Continue reading to find out what we all thought…

What has Business Village ever done for me?

by | Sep 5, 2017 | Business Village

I’ve attended many Business Village Networking events in Swindon the past 8 years. I’ve tried other networking events, but Business Village has worked best for me.

For someone who essentially works alone from a home office it’s a great opportunity once a week to get out and meet other local business people ‘face to face’, and to find out what’s happening in the local area.

At a cost of just £10 (which includes breakfast, and which is only payable for the weeks when I attend) this is a cost-effective marketing tool as well. For anyone who thinks they can do all of their business networking online – think again! Online networking might be a reasonable way to connect with large numbers of people, but face to face is a better way to develop trust and build lasting business relationships.

Business Village members make these meetings fun and enjoyable, without losing sight of the more serious business nature. A varied events schedule that mixes round table networking with referrals sessions and presentations ensures that there is always something of interest and useful going on.

Here are 10 reasons why I think you should try it too, or come back and give us another go if you haven’t been for a while.