Our aims

The aim of the 3FM (third Friday in the month) Breakfast Meeting is to network, promote business opportunities, catch up with existing partners and forge new alliances. At the moment we are meeting online – please see the next meeting panel on the right for more details.

It is a networking club, by the members for the members. We take the best practice from other networking groups and clubs and ditch the rest to leave what we hope is a friendly, co-operative and exciting business generator for our members.

Membership is open to all including many from the same trade in what we believe is an abundant market where people buy from who they know, like and trust.

We want to promote good business in an ethical and co-operative way and urge all members to seek 1-2-1s with all the other members to get to know each other and their business in detail. This is because passing referrals and setting up alliances is only really possible if businesses know, like and trust each other.

Whilst this is a networking group, it might be said that the main aim of the group is to promote and encourage 1-2-1s, leading to more and better quality business opportunities.

So if you want to more about your market, meet key players, network and reference your services, you are invited to come along on a trial basis for two meetings. Following that you will be asked to join Henley Business Partnership for participation in future meetings.

Benefits of networking

Small business is all about networking, building relationships and taking action.

Building a successful business takes a lot of time and drive, so it’s good to have a network of friends and associates to draw energy from and keep you going. By surrounding yourself with people who share a similar drive and ambition, you are more likely to move forward as a group. But that’s not the only benefit of networking. In fact that’s only the beginning:

Shared knowledge

Networking is great for sharing ideas and knowledge. Whether it’s asking for feedback or discussing your point of view, it will help you expand your knowledge and allow you to see things from another perspective.

It is also likely that within a group there will be those who have already been where you are today. This provides you with an opportunity to learn and avoid some of the common pitfalls they experienced.

Opportunities

It’s natural that networking will result in opportunities. The thing you will not know is when or how they will materialise. Whether it’s a referral, or request for your service or product, it’s important to be ready to seize opportunities when they come along.

Connections

Remember you are not just gaining exposure to the people in the room, you are building connections with their network too. If someone they know has a need that matches your business, if you have made an impression, you will likely get a referral.

And remember it’s not just a one-way street. If someone in your network matches a business you encounter at an event, don’t hesitate to share their details. It will only strengthen your relationship.

Increased confidence

By regularly networking, and pushing yourself to talk to people you don’t know, it will help increase your confidence. This is an important attribute as a business owner, because your business growth is dependent on talking to people and making connections.

Raising your profile

Being visible and getting noticed is a big benefit of networking. By regularly attending business and social events, people will begin to recognise you. This can you help to build your reputation as a knowledgeable, reliable and supportive person by offering useful information or tips to people who need it. You are also more likely to get more leads and referrals as you will be the one that pops into their head when they need what you offer.

Meeting dates for 2020

18 September
16 October
20 November
18 December

To discuss about being a future speaker, please contact Isobel at: isobel.harris@henleybusinesspartnership.co.uk

We ask that topic is business related, or affects the immediate community, not direct sales, and the speaker is experienced at delivering a talk. We welcome Non PowerPoint talks to encourage them to be interactive and keep engagement from the room, if possible.

We welcome members of Henley Business Partnership to share their business knowledge with the group and act as a guest presenter.

Please bear in mind the following points:

• • The aim is to entertain and inform the audience
  • The topic needs to be of general business interest and should not be used to simply promote your own product/service
  • Reading a presentation out loud will not work
  • You need to involve the audience and set them some kind of interactive task/question
  • The standard time slot is 10 minutes but this can be extended by prior arrangement
  • You need to be aware of the poor acoustics in the room and project yourself strongly
  • You are welcome to distribute written material
  • People are limited to one presentation in any two year period