Network Cork 'ambassadors' helping new members develop their networking skills

Women are naturally more cautious than men when it comes to promoting their businesses, says Helen Wycherley, the president of Network Cork.

Ms Wycherley, who works in her family business, the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery and the Marina Commercial Park in Cork City, plans to ease the path for new members joining the 140 professional and business women who attend Network Cork’s monthly meetings.

To this end, she is introducing ‘ambassadors’ who are well-established members of the networking organisation.

“They’ll be a friendly face when a new member joins, introducing them to the other women,” says Ms Wycherley. “Networking requires some training. It isn’t always something that women feel comfortable about.

“It’s about how to start a conversation without it being necessarily a sales pitch. Yet, you’re trying to draw out what connection you might have with someone and whether there are potential business opportunities there.”

For Peigín Crowley, who with Sian Horn, set up a free lifestyle magazine last year entitled Irish Women South, joining Network Cork “is the best move we could have made. It is the greatest way of meeting business contacts in a relaxed environment”.

Setting up a magazine at the tail end of the recession and in a climate that is difficult for traditional publishing because of online competition, Ms Crowley says her venture “is risky, but that is where the buzz is”.

With a background in marketing for luxury skincare brands, Ms Crowley says she has had “immense support from businesses who understand our target market and came on board straight away. There has been a shift in the last year. Business owners who had previously invested heavily in social media and online advertising are now coming back to print and radio —more tangible memorable media.”

Barbara Nugent is another Network Cork member who set up a business last year. Her company is a life and business coaching enterprise, Transilient Coaching.

Ms Nugent worked for PGi (Premier Global Inc) at its European HQ, where she was vice-president of finance. “I found mentoring and coaching people helped our team to be more innovative about how we worked and flexible in the face of challenging economic times.”

Her advice to anyone setting up a business is to join a networking group such as Network Cork and to have “courage, tenacity and patience and to believe in yourself and your product”.

Harnessing Opportunity in Changing Times is the theme of the March 11 meeting of Network Cork at the River Lee Hotel.

www.networkcork.com.