23 December 2009, 09/300
Success for women's business network
Businesswomen across West Lancashire recently came together to
celebrate the third anniversary of West Lancashire’s women’s
business network.
To mark the occasion members
participated in a festive networking event, business exhibition and
dinner at West Lancashire Investment Centre, which was attended by
the network’s Patron, Mrs Gail Stanley.
Known as ‘Women Excelling in
Business’ (WEB), the initiative was first launched three years ago
by West Lancashire Borough Council to provide an opportunity for
like-minded business focused women from a broad range of sectors to
share knowledge, ideas and experiences within a positive
environment whilst growing new business contacts.
The network is supported by a
Steering Group, which is represented by staff of the Investment
Centre and WEB members. Throughout the past year the network has
benefited from the support of Elaine Roberts and Sue McGrath of
Millhouse Training, Gwen Coyle, of Gwen Coyle Associates, Lisa
Taylor, business studies lecturer at KGV College and Elaine Quirk
of Edward Jones, who have all worked closely with the Council to
ensure a successful programme of events is delivered for
members.
The network has enjoyed much
success seeing more than 1,000 businesswomen attending the 26
events that have been organised since the launch in 2006. The
events have provided an opportunity for members to not only network
and generate business leads but also to benefit from a range of
training and coaching provided by inspirational and motivational
guest speakers.
Councilor Ian Grant, Leader of the
Council, said: "Since we launched the network three years ago it
has gone from strength to strength as more women realise the
benefits of being part of this group. Not only is it a chance to
network but also it’s a fantastic opportunity to develop new skills
and make new contacts. I would encourage women who want to excel in
business to sign up to become a member and benefit from the many
advantages the network has to offer."
The calendar of events for 2010 has
just been announced and it promises to be a great year for the
network’s members. In addition this year we are offering an
opportunity for businesswomen (members and non-members) to sign up
for a bespoke business workshop designed to help women in business
build their confidence and develop their skills to grow their
business.
The workshop will be run by a
specialist trainer in confidence building who is one of a few UK
trainers licensed to deliver the well known US author Susan Jeffers
‘Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway’ fear busting workshops. This will
be held at the Investment Centre on 3 February 2010.
Patron of the network, Gail
Stanley, said: "It has been an excellent year for the group and
we’ve been able to put on a variety of interesting events, we’ve
listened to the stories of inspirational entrepreneurs and we’ve
welcomed lots of new faces to the network. The anniversary event
last week saw our members raising money for a local charity and I
was delighted that we were able to award West Lancashire Women’s
Refuge with £200 from our fundraising. I’m sure 2010 will be an
even bigger success story as we’ve just announced our new calendar
of events for next year so I would encourage any women in business
across the Borough to consider joining the network."
Membership of the network will help
women engage with a vast range of organisations and help them to
prosper and grow within the competitive world of work.
Anyone who would like to become a
member of Women Excelling in Business or sign up for the Confidence
Building Workshop on 3rd February 2010, please contact Clare
Joynson, Investment Centre Manager, on 01695 712600 or email
clare.joynson@westlancs.gov.uk.
Related
information