Ebony Inspired UK - A Black Entrepreneurs Network

 Founded by female entrepreneur Chantell Simone Graham, Ebony Inspired UK launched on Wednesday 21st March 2012 at a brand new venue in South London and attracted over 70 Black Entrepreneurs from a multitude of different industries!

Ebony Inspired UK - A Black Entrepreneurs Network hosts a monthly networking event for Black Professionals, Innovators and Entrepreneurs from all industries.


Held on the third Wednesday of each month at Beaufort House, 354 Kings Road, Chelsea London, SW3 5UZ.

Now you can mix business with pleasure! Ebony Inspired UK creates the perfect ambience for you to socialise with like minded and progressive people.

We invite you join us for stimulating and intelligent conversation whilst you network with other new and established Black entrepreneurs in a relaxed and welcoming environment.
 
This networking opportunity is reserved for pioneering Black entrepreneurs with their own innovative and creative products or services.

‘No Networking Marketing or MLM (multi-level marketing)’ Representative Policy:

No persons representing these companies will be allowed into events, this is now non-negotiable and strictly enforced. The following companies represent a shortlist of those that cannot attend: HerbalLife, Amway, Avon, Forever Living, NuSkin, Mary Kay Cosmetics, World Ventures, Partylite, Stella & Dot, Arbonne, Orliflame, FM Cosmetics, Utility Warehouse, Ann Summers, Virgin Vie, Kleeneze, Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Ardyss, The Bodyshop, Usana, Miglio Jewellery, Scentsy, Ella Pure, Temple Spa, Fifth Avenue Jewellery, Energetix Magnetic Jewellery, Captain Tortue, Neals Yard Remedies, Organo Gold and many others with a similar networking marketing business model.

However, If you have and operate your own business then you are more than welome to join us.

We will not permit anyone promoting, advertising or selling an MLM, (also known as multi-level marketing or network marketing company). For information purposes, an MLM is defined broadly as any business that recruits distributors, resellers, representatives, associates, consultants, or others for the sale or representation of a product or service that the person did not create. This includes matrix marketing and direct sales companies, in addition to “Get Rich Quick” businesses.

We apologize in advance for this exclusion, however we are respecting the wishes of our attendees who felt that our events are not an appropriate forum for these types of business. Each event is held at a private venue and we reserve the right to refuse entry and we also reserve the right to exclude any person who is in breach of this policy.

Each month I will showcase two carefully chosen business owners.  Should you wish to be a featured business, please send your details via the website.  Please visit the website the for details of the businesses featured so far at our events www.ebonyinspireduk.com


Please note: You must register in advance to gain entry.
Dress code: Smart business attire (Strictly no caps, jeans, trainers, sportswear)
Direction:
Nearest Tube Station: Sloane Square is on the Circle and District Line
Buses: 11, 19, 22, 49, 319 and 345 stop on King`s Road
 
I look forward to seeing you all there!

Disclaimer:

Ebony Inspired UK - A Black Entrepreneurs Network is only open to people of African/Caribbean descent and has been set up to create equal opportunities whilst support the social and professional needs of Black entrepreneurs by:

• Offering networking opportunities specific to this client group which will enable them to build positive relationships with other Black entrepreneurs within a supportive environment.
• Provide a positive platform where Black entrepreneurs can meet and discuss culture specific, sensitive issues.
• Provide a opportunity for Black entrepreneurs to share knowledge and experience for the overall development of Black entrepreneurs in the UK.
• To redress the imbalance of Black entrepreneurs within our multicultural society by encouraging confidence, self-awareness and professional development.

"I DREAM, I BELIEVE, I ACHIEVE"


By Chantell Simone Graham
Click link for more on Chantell

Black Female Entrepreneurs

 Feature Article

I believe that "You either are tearing people down or help building them up and celebrating their successes". That is why today, we recognises and shines its limelight on these fabulously amazing black female entrepreneurs who prove you can do it when you set your mind to it.

Saying 'I Want To Start A Business' is easier said than done. It takes a true entrepreneurial spirit to push through an idea, monetise it and make it a real success. Whether you want to start a Home Business, an Online Business, an Internationally recognised Business....it all starts from an idea. But the real test is in digging down, coming up with the strength to not only start but to stay at it, unwaveringly focused against all odds.  Business is not for the faint hearted and it's not for the get-rich-quick person.  It's a lot of hard-work and sometimes, it takes quite some time to break even or/and start seeing any significant profit. So it's absolutely important to go into a line of business that you truly enjoy as you will be spending a huge amount of your time with it...fully absorbed, it's also very important that your are frugal with your spending.

Constant inspiration, contacts are also very important in today's business and that is why networking should be at the top of your list. No man is an island and if you believe so, then you are in for a rude awakening.
Networking enables you to introduce your business, meet established and new businesses, mentor or be mentored, as well as share your experiences and build suitable business contacts. Below are examples of networks specifically for business women.

Networks: WWIB, Women Unlimited, High flying Divas, Fabulous Women, WIB

That said, I would like to introduce you to some of the business women that I had the pleasure of meeting.  Click on feature under the images to read more about the business and the woman behind its creation.

            

                        Gifty Aya Cruz                       Catherine Davis                     Hortence (Artist)
               www.ayaconcepts.com                 My Decent Closet 

                                                                 (UK Brands & Styles) 

                                                                cathydavis@gmx.co.uk 

                            Feature                                    Feature                           Feature

                  

                        Martina Agho                      Ann Ntephe                               Justina Ilochi

   Project Manager: Citi Consultancy          Director & Solicitor                             Director

              Director: Maca Fashion           The Bridges Legal Services            GCA International Ltd

               www.macafashion.com     www.thebridgeslegalservices.com   www.gcainternational.webs.co.uk

  

                  Bernadette Fontaine               Ms Silungile Mokoena                     Lucy Lee   

      Founder & Creative Designer            Founder &  Director        Founder and Creative Fashion Designer                   Fontaine cakes                   (Sluu by Sluvin Designs)              House of Loulee 

 Facebook Email                         (Website, Twitter,Youtube)         www.houseofloulee.co.uk

                                                             Feature                                      Feature

    

                      Dionne Gooding                      Meg Alabi                              Tina Ugo

     Founder and Creative Designer        Creative Designer              Creative Director

          www.dionnegooding.com                www.mdsclothing.com        www.didicreations.co.uk 

        info@dionnegooding.com                  megdoris@yahoo.com         tina@didicreactions.co.uk 

              (Facebook  Shop)                   mdsclothing2@yahoo.com    shop@didicreations.co.uk 

               Feature                                             Feature                                Feature

          

                  Stella-Rita Asogwa                 Anaisa  Monteiro                  Nneamaka Nwosisi

                  Creative Director    Designer/Illustrator/Craft Maker      Creative Director

             www.zaritakouture.com         Facebook: Anaisarts               www.maknisy.com.ng

        Email: zaritakouture@gmail.com  Email: anaisa_monteiro79@hotmail.com    Email: maknisy@gmail.com 

                Feature                                   Feature                                       Feature

                Bola Obileye                                     Shana Edwards              Abena Safoa Amoako-Gyimah

                Designer                                 Creative Designer                CEO/ Creative Director

          www.totecollections.com           www.etsy.com/shop/lewajewel         www.sa4adesigns.com

           www.ankarabags.com                    www.lewajewel.co.uk                Facebook: sa4adesigns

   Email: o_obileye@yahoo.com         Email: lewajewel@gmail.com        Email: sa4adesigns@gmail.com

                  Feature                                       Feature                                        Feature

Congratulations ladies and thank you for letting us feature you in our blog. We wish you all the success you desire.

How to Manage Your Time

To be successful, we need to follow some basic routines. I have added some based on my research and daily practise...

5AM to 9AM

- Pray

- Practice Gratitude And Unlock Your Abundance

- Note the 3 most important things you must achieve that day

- Exercise

- Read

- Eat breakfast

9AM to 5PM

- Money earning activities

- Carry out the 3 most important things you must achieve that day

- Healthy Light snack/lunch

*Go for 20 to 30mins work after meal to get your metabolism going, get some fresh air to get your brain going.

5PM to 10PM

- Take stuck of your day: did you complete the 3 most important things you must achieve that day, then evaluate (www and EBI).

- Practice 'Gratitude And Unlock Your Abundance'

- Pray

10PM to 5AM

Sleep

NOTE

** 'Strictly' follow the routine but never 'rigidly'. Ensure you have some flexibility in your routine.

***For more posts like this, visit my Facebook - click 'like' and 'follow'.

Cheers.

How to keep on task and increase your productivity

 Hello, Good morning!

Today, is just going to be hopefully, a shorter post than I've done recently. So, I want to talk about #productivity and #keepingontask to be able to hit your goals.

What is productivity? It is a measure of our efficiency. Basically, our output (how much of something we are creating or producing or completing) within a specific period of time. This does not mean we should skimp out on quality. Whatever we do, quality must be at the heart of it.

What is "Keeping-On-Task? It means to be "eagle-eyed" focused (maintain concentration) by removing all distractions, staying disciplined and channeling your will-power on the task.

Image from salesforce

IMPLEMENT

1. Goal: First thing in the morning, ask yourself: what are the 3 main things I have to do /complete/ must achieve today.
2. Prioritise: Note them down according to importance or urgency. Write 3 very simple sentences or phrases or words for each task on a paper or digital post-it note.
3. Organise: Put it where you can always easily see it. I put my print copy on the wall in front of my desk where my motivational phrases are written and I put the digital one on my screen
4.  Plan and Visualize: Set out a quick/snap/about 3 to 5 steps maximum you need to complete each task. Basically break down each task into 3 to 5 smaller chunks making it easier to manage.
5. Task Oriented: Commit to completing one task at a time. DO NOT MULTITASK! When you focus on one task, your subconscious helps you do them quicker and easier, you become more productive, do better quality work and are less stressed-out.
6. Motivation: Be determined and focused like an eagle. (An eagle picks ONE target, zeroes in on IT and with a laser focus, goes for this One prey). Also make sure every time in your day counts (is being used efficiently and effectively).
7. Breaks: Our concentration time-span is between 20 to 90 minutes (this depends on our health or how well we've trained our mind). After this time, our brain become fatigued. We begin to lose focus, our productivity and ability to stay on task drops. So it is very important to take SHORT breaks to renergise and get more oxygen to your brain. 
8. Evaluation: Before you go to sleep in the night: take stock of which task(s) had been completed and what's remaining if any. Evaluate your day and the tasks by asking yourself: WWW - what went well, EBI - even better if (I have a separate post on this that you can read). If you need to - note things down to help you remember the next day.
9. Get Enough Sleep and start your morning with exercise after 1 to 3 above.

**Follow this ROUTINE daily and soon it will become a habit. A habit that will serve you very well NOW and in the FUTURE.


***All the best with your day. If you like this post, please "Share", click "Like" and feel free to leave a comment.

For more posts like this, follow me on Facebook

10 Ways Business Owners Can Save Money On Internet Safety

Some businessmen spend a fortune on anti-theft systems and video surveillance equipment to ensure that their items are well-protected but they set aside that data, correspondence and personal information need protection as well.

Image from dreamstime

Cybercrimes have accounted for trillions of dollars in losses, the amount in 2019 was $2 trillion.
If you think that all that security and privacy features such as VPNs, antiviruses, firewalls, and others cost an arm and a leg, you should definitely read on.

What if I told you that you can protect your company when online, and this would not cost you a dime? Internet security can be cheap and even free - I am going to prove it.

1.Use a secure email. It is no secret that popular Gmail service is far from being secure. In 2018, Google states that 650.000 users` accounts have been compromised. There are some alternatives that are both free and more secure, for example, ProtonMail. 

2.Use a free antivirus. Windows Defender is among the most popular and trustworthy antiviruses that are absolutely free. Moreover, it is preinstalled with Windows 7, 8, 10. If you are a Mac user, do not worry – BitDefender has a free Mac version. By the way, have you heard that using a VPN can prolong your antivirus free trial?

3.Exploit the opportunities of a VPN. Some VPN providers offer a free trial for their users. Obviously, the number of the available locations will be limited as well as the amount of provided bandwidth but it is more than adequate for operating objectives.

4.Get a refund for your VPN. Some providers guarantee a refund for a period of time if for some reasons the user is not happy with the VPN. It gives you a blank check for getting your money back as far as the trial period is over. 

5.Use Tor for free. The Tor browser is a good alternative to a VPN. It provides the best encryption due to the onion routing. However, Tor is slow so it is better to use it to protect your communication rather than watch video streams.

6.Proxies do not cost a dime. If you need to change your location for business purposes and you do not want to waste time for downloading and installing a VPN, so you can get a proxy address with ease. Do you know that Opera has a built-in proxy? It is far from being absolutely secure due to no encryption but it is 100% free.

7.Use an open-sourced browser. A great example of such a browser is Mozilla Firefox. Since everybody can see its code, independent programmers can inform the rest of users about any vulnerabilities.

8.Use DuckDuckGo as an alternative to Google. Google collects too much info about you to show you the appropriate ads. DuckDuckGo respect your Internet Privacy, it does neither profile you nor track you. And of course, it is 100% free.

9.Find a VPN that works on a router to protect your Internet traffic. If there are a lot of devices in your office, it is better to install a VPN on your router to encrypt all the bandwidth. Windscibe VPN, NordVPN, SurfShark, and other popular providers have that feature.

10.Use a free password manager. Are you sure that all your passwords are secure and well-hidden? Password managers allow you to create a secure password as well as to hide it from intruders. And what’s even better, there’re free ones like LastPass!

Post by Guest Writer
Dean Chester

For more ideas on how to save money on internet safety, click the link below
https://cooltechzone.com/save-on-internet-safety

DANIEL PRICE

A BRIEF

Image From DailyMail

In 2010, at the age of 23, Daniel Price co-founded My 1st Years with business partner and friend Jonny Sitton when he struggled to find a gift for his friend’s baby. He created his own present, a pair of personalised baby shoes, and it was from there that My 1st Years was born. After a tough initial two-years, the award-winning company has enjoyed an average growth rate of 100% year on year. My 1st Years then achieved the seemingly impossible when they provided the personalised dressing gown which Prince George wore when meeting President Obama in 2016.

My 1st Years has since become the UK’s biggest children’s gifting website, providing personalised unique, unforgettable gifts for all occasions. They expanded rapidly into the US market and deliver to customers world-wide, with flagship stores in Harrods and Selfridges. The brand offer their 300,000+ customers over 500 gift-wrapped products from personalised robes to hand-made rocking chairs. Aside from The Royal Family, their fans include Elton John, Beyoncé and The Kardashians to name a few!

NICK COLEMAN

A BRIEF

Image From Twitter

Nick has founded businesses in the medical, logistics and food industries. In 2015 he founded Snaffling Pig which has become one of the fastest growing snack brands in the UK with a range of porky snacks, beer, cider, nuts and gammon. He gained investment from Nick Jenkins (Founder of Moon Pig) on BBCs Dragon''s Den in 2017 and won the Virgin Foodpreneur Award 2017. He can’t grow a beard and has an unhealthy obsession with Country music.

WILL HODSON

A BRIEF

Image From LinkedIn

Will is the co-founder of Look After My Bills. Look After My Bills is Britain’s biggest autoswitching company, with almost 100,000 members being moved to cheaper energy every year automatically. The same team built the Big Deal, one of Britain’s first collective switching companies. The Big Deal amassed 400,000 members and used that collective bargain power to negotiate cheaper energy en masse. Prior to the Big Deal, Will worked for Deloitte and Ethical Consumer.

www.lookaftermybills.com

LINZI BOYD

A BRIEF

Image From SBNOnline

Best-selling author and the woman behind building famous brands. Linzi Boyd is a serial entrepreneur, international speaker and Founder of The BoB Group.

By age 24 Linzi had set up and sold two businesses. Her second company was sold to Caterpillar after the shoes were recognised in the design Museum as design classics and her third business, Surgery, championed some of the best-respected brands known today.

Linzi co-founded BoB Group with Darren Shirlaw and today works alongside him and acting as an ambassador in the enterprise market, teaching entrepreneurs how to design, build and activate a brand-led growth plan for bigger valuation and scale to impact change in the world, changing the way modern business operates and creating the face of modern business.

EMANUELE VINCI

A BRIEF

Image From GreatBritishBusinessShow

My name is Emanuele Vinci. I am originally from Italy and I have been living in the UK for the past 16 years. I came here without speaking a word of English but with big ambitions to create the life of my dreams.

Four years ago I started to sell on Amazon and after many failures I started to see some success. Within 3,5 months I was selling over 60K dollars per month and I then decided to leave my full-time job and start to be an entrepreneur.

I started by Dropshipping products from authorised distributors, then reinvesting my profit on the products that I was already selling and turning them into worldwide distribution through the Fulfilment by Amazon program.

I now own a few brands of products and I am teaching students around the world how to create their dream life too by becoming self-employed.

DHILLAN BHARDWAJ

A BRIEF

Image From NewRavel

This Derby born, self-made entrepreneur with a larger than life personality, founded the influential label, Ratchet Clothing. Using fashion as a way to celebrate diversity, individuality and freedom, Ratchet took the Internet by storm having gained tens of thousands of followers on Facebook within its first month of starting.

It all began when Dhillan dropped out of a photography course during his first year of college. Keen to hone his talents, Dhillan began experimenting with tie-dye designs in his family’s garage before opening his first shop in Long Eaton. Soon the sales picked up and the Ratchet Empire fast flourished, employing 17 people in a few short weeks.

Now with a social presence of over half a million followers, Dhillan uses his voice to campaign passionately for causes such as equality, mental health and social injustice. He can regularly be seen and heard on BBC News, Sky News and BBC Asian Network.

BIANCA MILLER-COLE

A BRIEF

Image From SpeakersCorner

Byron and Bianca are both Award Winning Entrepreneurs and the authors of No1 Bestselling book ‘Self Made: The Definitive Guide to Business Startup Success’.

Bianca is the founder of the UK’s ‘go-to’ personal branding company, The Be Group, and diverse hosiery brand Bianca Miller London. Bianca was the runner-up on BBC business show ‘The Apprentice’ in 2014, where she initially pitched Bianca Miller London and has since taken it from idea to reality, including being awarded ‘Forbes 30 under 30’ status for her work and having the product retailed in the likes of Topshop, QVC, Morleys department stores etc.

She is an in-demand public speaker and was awarded a Power Profile in 2016 as one of the most important leaders on LinkedIn out of 20 million UK members.

BEN TOWERS

A BRIEF

Image From Bentowers.co.uk

Ben Towers, at 16, was described by The Sunday Times as one of ‘the most influential teenagers on the planet’ having started his first business aged 11, and growing this into a successful marketing agency that he exited in 2017.

Ben has since invested in disruptive start-ups and inspired millions with personal and broadcast appearances across the globe. Today Ben is 20, and on a mission to change the long term health outcomes of the digital generation.

WILLIAM ADOASI

A BRIEF

Image From KonnectAfrica

William is the founder of Vitae London, the entrepreneur quit his job as a recruitment consultant to bring Vitae to where it is today. Vitae London is a watch brand birthed out of London that directly transforms the lives of children who have either been orphaned or live in poverty.

Each purchase from their classic range of watches supplies a child in Africa with two sets of school uniform, a bag and footwear to see them through the year. They’ve sold their watches in over 30 countries and distributed over 2000 items of uniform since launching in 2015.

SIAN GABBIDON

A BRIEF

Image From FemaleFirst

Winner of the 2018 BBC One series, The Apprentice, Sian Gabbidon will discuss her success from winning the award-winning show to what the investment has meant for her business; Sian Marie Fashion.

Sian will be discussing her roots in Leeds and developing her bikini business from her bedroom, her time on The Apprentice, how she won Lord Sugar over and what she took from the gruelling process.

Now in partnership with Lord Sugar, Sian will discuss the business, the new developments, what to come and any advice for budding entrepreneurs in the making who are looking to follow in her footsteps

ARON GELBARD

A BRIEF

Image from VGSN

Aron Gelbard is co-founder & CEO at Bloom & Wild, having launched the company in 2013.

Bloom & Wild''s mission is to make sending and receiving flowers the joy that it should be, and, in doing so, to build the world''s leading and most loved flower gifting brand.

Bloom & Wild is available in the UK, Germany, France and Ireland and is the top rated online florist in every market in which it operates and was named the UK’s second fastest growing company by Deloitte in 2017.

Prior to Bloom & Wild, Aron worked as a consultant to the consumer and technology sectors at Bain & Company in London and Silicon Valley

Aron will talk through the Bloom & Wild journey from starting out renting out space by the hour in New Covent Garden flower market all the way through to the company’s Series C fundraise and expansion across Europe. He will cover topics such as proving a concept, building a team, scaling marketing, the use of technology and fundraising. He will talk through how his own experiences as a founder have evolved at each of these steps.

BRAD BURTON

A BRIEF

Image from PoundSterlingLive

Brad Burton is the UK’s #1 Motivational Business Speaker. However, he left school with no qualifications, spent years on benefits before starting his own business in 2006. With £25,000 of debt he was delivering pizzas at weekends to help keep his business afloat. 10 years on, that business; 4Networking, now runs over 5,000+ business networking meetings each year with 1000’s of members.

An entertaining, humorous, thought provoking, high energy, motivational speaker, you''ll find out, that winning at life, is a whole lot more important than coming first in business.

Can someone really motivate you to positively change your life, career, business and direction in just 30 minutes? If you are waiting for a sign to make changes in your life.... this is it!

8 ways to motivate your workers and increase productivity

Here are some top tips to ensure you get your feedback right and manage your staff effectively, every time:

Thank you and Praise

Say thank you for contributions, day to day tasks done very well and for extra projects undertaken.
Praise their efforts and let them know you understand how much work was involved.

Be enthusiastic

Take real interest in employee’s goals. discuss how they can achieve this, empathise and encourage employee to develop and improve their skills, keep trying and never give up.

Recognise your employee’s contribution

Explaining to employee how their work contributes to the running of the organisation, give specific examples, will ohelp them understand how to do the job better.

Be clear and concise

Collect your comments into meaningful sets to make them easier to digest. Start each set with praise for what the employee did well and then make constructive suggestions as appropriate. For instance, a writing project could be broken down into content, impact, structure and accuracy.

Give examples and explain their impact

If you want your employee to change their behaviour, you should give an example of the behaviour you want them to change. For example, if the person often arrives late to meetings, give instances of when this behaviour occurred. Point out the ways that their lateness has affected other members of the team and/or the business.

Listen

Allow your employee to tell their side of the story – there may have been genuine reasons behind their behaviour, rather than a careless attitude. Make sure that any request to change is made in a non-aggressive manner and take their comments into consideration. Both the giver and receiver of the feedback should walk away feeling that a fair resolution was achieved.

Don’t compare their work to yours

Ask yourself if the person’s performance was adequate for the purpose, rather than comparing it with how you would have done it. For example, if you are reviewing a piece of writing, think about whether it will do the job it was intended to do, rather whether you’d have written it that way. People can be demotivated by ‘red pen’, and they will not be able to learn from comments they do not understand.

The suggestion sandwich

Start with positive comments about the person’s strengths and successes. Follow this with constructive suggestions about how to perform even better, allowing them to comment and ask questions. Finally, bring in some additional positive points and encourage them to feel motivated to introduce the changes you have suggested.
Many business owners find delivering what they might call “negative feedback” difficult, but by following these suggestions, both employee and employer can leave a feedback session feeling they have gained from the experience.

Mairead Dillon and Jane Penson are both members of Toastmasters International, a worldwide not-for-profit organisation focused on developing communication and leadership skills

I found this great and very useful article on Forbes written by Joshua Steimle titled, 'The top 3 tips from a LinkedIn Expert' and wanted to share it with my readers. It's contains some dos and don'ts  when trying to build a connection with a possible future business associate.

Image from sitetrail

I’ve been a user and fan of LinkedIn for several years and am currently enjoying reading The Startup of You by LinkedIn co-Founder Reid Hoffman. Although it has its detractors and plenty of room for improvement, LinkedIn has become perhaps the most widely used business tool since email itself. And yet even if it’s used, how many of us use it correctly, or to its full potential? Many people set up a profile, connect with some friends, and then leave it at that. Another class of LinkedIn users are much more active, but perhaps too active, spamming their connections and LinkedIn groups with get-rich-quick schemes or articles, the posting of which is designed more to bring attention to the one doing the posting than to provide any true value to LinkedIn users.

Recently I met Alex Pirouz, a successful entrepreneur and author. In talking with Alex I learned he was featured in the book Getting Your Business LinkedIn, so I asked him to give me his top three LinkedIn tips. Here they are, in Alex’s own words:

1. Value Bank

Connecting and effectively communicating with people through LinkedIn is no different than dealing with people outside of the network. Whether they are a supplier, potential partner or customer you need to build enough value for them to trust you in order for them to grow an interest in your company and therefore your product/service. I call this: Value Bank.

I can’t recall how many times I have accepted a connection invite from someone to then receive an email marketing spiel about who they are, what they can do for me and how much it is going to cost me.  Oh and I forgot to mention that none of this was addressed to me personally, no name at the top of the email.


To be successful on LinkedIn and in business overall you have to add value first. Just because they accepted your connection invite doesn’t mean they are interested in what you have to say, remember this quote: “To be interesting you have to be interested.”

Before you start emailing marketing to your contacts, think of a few ways you could add value to them. For example it may be that within your connections there are about 100 accountants of whom you have recently connected and would like to potentially partner with. Your first email could be a sending a link to a recent article you read/noticed in SMH. This shows you were thinking of him/her. Your second email could be a FREE Ebook you have found that helps accountants generate more business etc.

This will help develop the trust and rapport necessary between your connection so that when you contact them to hold a meeting they not only recognize you but most importantly interested.

2. Connecting with a purpose

Building your connections for the sake of having a large following is not really a sound strategy if you want to effectively grow your business using LinkedIn. Every connection needs to be linked to your goals and objectives in business both now and in the future.

Before growing your network on LinkedIn take a step back and think about some of the goals you would like to achieve within your business over the next year or so. With these goals in mind now think about who you need to connect with in order to help you achieve those goals. For example when I first started using LinkedIn I just launched my business advisory service and given I had no personal brand other then my results in business I knew this was one of the areas I needed to develop.

And as many of you would know one way to build your brand is through PR. With this goal in mind I then connected with over 500 journalist, editors and bloggers online and in a space of a couple of months I managed to get featured in over 40 publications and now write for a few business magazines.


3. Segmenting your connections

I learnt the importance of segmenting your connections the hard way. Within my first 6 months of using LinkedIn I had connected with over 1000 people within 3 different industries: Media, Accounting & Events.

My aim was to use the media contacts to get some PR exposure, Accounting connections to create a few joint venture relationships and connections within the events industry to hopefully get some speaking gigs.

There was just one problem though: All my connections were mixed in with one another, not by choice but by default. You see, little to my knowledge I wasn’t aware that all new connections are automatically tagged under a folder which LinkedIn calls: Untagged.

I knew that in order for me to reach any level of success I would have to personalize my communication and because I could not properly assess who was who quickly within the tags section I had to go through the entire (1000) connections in the untagged folder and re-tag them accordingly.

Whilst it was tedious and frustrating at the best of times it was also very empowering. By the end of the process I knew precisely how many connections I had in each industry, which therefore helped me effectively communicate my message.

Learn from my mistake, before adding even one more connection take one step back and segment your connections so you can take 2 steps forward.

Get Personal And Social With Your Marketing Efforts

The infographic below shows some interesting stats on Social growth.

Image from garetcase.com

5 tips on marketing by Garet Case: 

Social provides us with a platform that makes our audience feel special, feel loved and not feel like they were 1 of 29 Billion people that just got the same email.

1: So, ensure your email is targeted and relevant before pushing send and that the receiver's data is accurate. ‘Mr Do Not Email’ I’m sure would approve.


2: Invest time in researching and then connecting with your customer and prospect base on social channels like Twitter and LinkedIn. Then market to them individually on these platforms. Yes it’s time consuming but just watch the results. Suddenly you will have an engaged audience, you can tweak the content and messages on an individual basis and that will lead to a much more successful campaign.

3: The Facebook Generation are email adverse. 10 years from now the senior decision maker community will be socially genetic. We need to understand this and start building proper social marketing strategies to help us differentiate when this shift change occurs. It’s occurring already by the way…

There really is no excuse not to get personal and social with your marketing efforts.