proNet gets a full page feature in the latest August/September issue of Bradford’s Here and Now Magazine which is published by proNet member MAD Publications.

Using photographs of a real proNet Bradford meeting in progress to illustrate, the founders of proNet Business Networking Jaimie Dobson and Vicky Endogan talk about how and why proNet was founded, what members get out of the meetings and what visitors may expect to see if they attend a meeting.

The article finishes off with forthcoming meeting dates in Bradford.

Jaimie Dobson, proNet co-founder explains further;

Taking out an advitorial in the Here and Now Magazine was a ‘no brainer’ really. The magazine is genuinely readable and one that is likely to be picked up more than once given it offers great content and layout. This coupled with a wide circulation of the publication across the city including selected Morrisons and Sainsbury stores across town, ensures that proNet will get great coverage and improved awareness.

You can order your own regular copy of the Here and Now Magazine or enquire about advertising opportunities for your own business in the publication by contacting Angela Riches of MAD Publications on 01274 420091

If you don’t have a copy of the current issue you can read proNet’s article plus others in the online version embedded in the page below.

Gary Blonder, stress counsellor, wellbeing specialist and Chair of proNet’s Bradford Group (pictured): will be talking about how to “Maintain Your Inner-Balance” and “Think Clearly” in order to steer your business on a steady path through the current difficult financial climate, at a forthcoming Bradford Trident Forum event at Omar Kahn’s Restaurant in Bradford on Friday 23rd July at 7.30PM.

This is a great opportunity to see Gary’spresentation style in action and also to network with some useful business folk (oh and there’s a great curry to enjoy into the bargain).

More information including details of how to book your place may be found on the Bradford Grid* website at http://goo.gl/0GFw

Tell Us Your News

If you’re an existing member of proNet, send through your company news, events and articles, to us on membership@joinpronet.com and we’ll consider it for publication on this blog.

By way of an update, new members that have joined us recently include, at our Bradford Group;

• Jon Huby from lettings and property management company Let’s Go Professional
• Julian Thornhill of Thornhill Financial Services
• John Davies, Painter and Decorator

And at our Spen Valley Group;

• Danny Matharu from events marketing company Hillrich Ltd
• Beverley Shutak from Siddalls Colour Printers in Cleckheaton
• Paul Ferris from Mirfield based Yorkshire Telecom
• Robert Cannon, a wills and probate professional from Allguard Legal Services

Welcome to you all and we hope you find your membership with proNet to be enjoyable, productive and above all else, profitable.

Attend a Meeting

If you would like to meet these people or any other member of proNet, you are welcome to attend as a guest at one of our forthcoming business networking breakfasts.

If you’re interested in attending our Bradford Group, more details about the group and how you can book your place may be found by clicking on this link.

Similarly, if it’s the Spen Valley Group that interests you, more details and booking information may be found by clicking here.

You are of course, welcome to attend both groups if you like to network with the new members above as well as other meeting visitors and established members.

A £10 cash meeting fee, payable on the door, is asked of all visitors to proNet’s meetings.

Joanne Hainsworth who is the Skills and Employment Project Manager for Bradford Council, is a regular presenter at proNet’s Knowledge Transfer Slot where she champions the benefits to employers of getting involved with young people.

One of the many projects she manages is the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) in Bradford which is an initiative introduced by the former Labour government as part of the Young Person’s Guarantee (YPG) to reduce youth unemployment in Bradford. A key element of the programme is to enable young people (18-24)
and those in areas of high unemployment approaching 12 months on benefit, to access the labour market.

In this post Joanne explains what the FJF is and how businesses of all sizes in and around the Bradford district can bring a new funded employee on board for any community based projects they may be looking at.

The FJF was announced in the May 2009 budget with an aim to create 150k jobs, 100k aimed at 18-24 year olds 50k targeted in unemployment hotspots.

In Bradford New starters under the initiative will run until 31 March 2011 (finishing Sept 2011) and will offer over 650 local residents the opportunity to access the labour market.

The FJF will provide a wage payment to support the creation of additional jobs that last six months (all jobs created must be new, they must not replace existing jobs or vacancies and must not lead to an individual losing their job or a reduction in their contract).

All new jobs created must have a community benefit which is clearly outlined in the required job description and specification (see below for examples).

So what does it mean to you as an employer?

• This is an opportunity for employers to create a new job and train selected individuals in skills that will be relevant to their organisation and give something back to their local community.
• It offers you a unique opportunity as an employer to ensure that young people are gaining the skills relevant to your business.
• It offers the smaller business who is looking to expand, but not sure how to go about training and recruiting people, the prefect opportunity to take on a trainee (subject to community benefit).

FJF will provide funding to pay an individual for 6 months at £6 per hour. Funding may also cover additional costs such as Employer NI, CRB checks, payroll etc

At the end of the 6 months if the individual has developed the skills your business needs you are free to employ them. If you are not able to offer the individual a permanent position, and you are under no obligation to do so, you will have given them the opportunity to develop new skills, the confidence to have a go, support with their on-going job search and a recent reference to help them secure alternative employment.

Examples of Community Benefit

The following sets out three ways that community benefit could be demonstrated. It is not an exhaustive list, but a job with clear community benefit could include:

Social benefits – for example projects that:

• Engage with and/or support vulnerable groups
• Support crime prevention or reducing anti-social behaviour
• Improve the physical, emotional or mental well being of the community
• Improve access to public services for vulnerable groups.

Environmental benefits – for example projects that:

• Regenerate, renovate or restore public areas, buildings, houses and amenities
• Promote or support recycling, re-use, or energy efficiency and conservation
• Promote or support nature conservation
• Promote an awareness of and respect for the natural environment.

Cultural benefits – for example projects that:

• Extend or improve access to cultural, sporting, or educational opportunities for vulnerable or marginalised groups
• Encourage or promote understanding between different communities and/or generations.

(If you are a charity, voluntary organisation, public sector organisation Social Enterprise you are already offering a community benefit).

Get Involved

If you want to know more about this scheme for your own business, contact Joanne directly using her details below;

Joanne Hainsworth
Skills and Employment Project Manager
Bradford Metropolitan District Council – 4th floor,
Jacob’s Well,
Manchester Road,
Bradford BD1 5RW

T: 01274 432014
E: joannehainsworth@bradford.gov.uk
W: www.bradford.gov.uk/regeneration

Gary Blonder (pictured above), the chair at our Bradford Group’s breakfast networking meetings, shares with us his top seven principles of effective business networking.

Many professionals have a difficult time meeting people and building relationships because they don’t know the basics of networking. These are:

1) Set Goals

Who do I want to meet? Why do I want to meet these people? Where will I meet these people?

2) Carry Business Cards at All Times

Your cards should always be to hand everywhere.

3) Take Good Notes on Business Cards

When you meet people, it’s important to remember what has been said. Take notes on the back of their business cards to remember your conversation when you follow up.

4) Be Genuine

Always listen , giving eye contact, asking questions and not interrupting. Build trust and a good relationship, and don’t actively sell.

5) Offer to Help Others

Offering to help others before you ask for help is a networking must. Offer to share resources, make introductions, gather data and perform consulting. By extending yourself to others, you will build a reputation as a giver rather than a taker.

6) Follow Up

Without follow up, you won’t be able to build relationships and your network. Follow up with people the next day so you’re still fresh in their minds.

If you offer to help someone – no matter how big or small – you need to follow up. Otherwise you won’t be taken seriously and your networking efforts won’t be very effective.

7) Build Relationships

You need to continue to build your relationship with people, otherwise your network won’t be very valuable and attentive to your needs. By reaching out to them, you will come across as genuine and someone who values your relationships.

Final Thought

By incorporating some or all of the above networking principles, you will be more prepared for events and a truly effective networker! Enjoy yourself and don’t forget that networking is a continual process with each person you meet.

Put Them Into Practice

Having read Gary’s priciples, if you’d like to share your own, please contribute with a comment below and if you’d like to put these priciples into practice at one of Gary’s meetings, give him a call on 07837 970745 or drop him an email on bradford@joinpronet.com

More details about proNet’s Bradford meetings including forthcoming meeting dates and directions to the venue, may be found on the Group’s profile page.

The Dubrovnik Hotel in Bradford is the new venue for proNet’s Bradford group which meets fortnightly on a Thursday morning.

The launch meeting this morning got off to a great start with plenty of new faces including Sarah Godfrey from Jet Cleaning Services and Julian Thornhill from  Thornhill Financial Services. Also attending was Steve Donnison, a full-time MBA student from Bradford Business School, who sent us the following Tweet after the meeting which summed up the consesus of opinion from all those that attended;

…this morning was refreshing and worthwhile. Thank-you for the warm welcome.

Hypnotherapist, renowned motivational speaker and chair of the Bradford meetings, Gary Blonder; gave an excellent presentation in our Knowledge Transfer section on the psychology of networking.

Everyone came away armed with some great tips for their next networking experience.

Meeting Pics

Visiting photographer Roger V Moody from proNet’s Spen Valley Group took great some shots of the meeting which may be seen on proNet’s Flickr Stream

Were you there, can you spot yourself?

If you’re interested in attending the next Bradford meeting please visit the Group’s page on this site for future dates and instructions on how to book your place.

The Dubrovnik Hotel is the new venue for proNet’s meetings in Bradford and they kick off with an open day event on Thursday 1st July 2010.

So if you’ve ever wondered what proNet’s breakfast networking meetings are like or perhaps you’re already a seasoned early morning networker but are looking for an alternative networking format, then proNet Bradford’s open day on Thursday 1st July is an ideal opportunity for you to test the water and discover the benefits of a proNet meeting for yourself.

The meeting starts at 7.30am with open networking and closes at 9.30am. Attending visitors are asked to pay a meeting fee of £10 cash on the door as they arrive. This includes a full breakfast.

Our keynote speaker for the morning’s Knowledge Transfer Slot is renowned hypnotherapist and an exciting new talent in the world of motivational speaking, Gary Blonder.

Gary also chairs our Bradford meetings that meet on a fortnightly basis at the Dubrovnik Hotel and will be giving a presentation entitled “The Psychology of Networking” in which he will be sharing some of his proven techniques for maximising the returns on your business networking activities.

Gary’s presentation style is very entertaining whilst being highly informative, so this opportunity to see him speak isn’t one to be missed if you take your business networking activities seriously.

Book Your Place

We’re limited on space for this meeting so pre-booking is essential. To book a place, simply drop Gary and email at info@garyblonder.co.uk or give him a call on 07837 970745

More details about our meetings at the Dubrovnik Hotel including joining instructions, may be found here.

Last Thursday was a busy day of networking and exhibiting as proNet made an exhibition of itself at the GRID* Enterprise Expo in Bradford.

The day started off with a busy business networking breakfast which was immediately followed in the same building by a small business Expo organised by those folks at the Bradford Grid* Park Lane .

Despite early pre-match nerves regarding low advanced bookings for both the Expo and our networking meeting, minds were set at rest on the day as numbers through the doors proved to be plentiful and steady with over 20 people attending proNet’s early morning breakfast meeting which included many new faces and featured a very informative presentation by Barbara Dinsdale of Health Yourself Ltd entitled “Combating Stress Through Nutrition.”

You can view Barbara’s presentation which we’ve posted to our Slideshare account

At the Expo, proNet shared exhibiting floor space with support agencies such as Bradford Kickstart, Business Link and service providers that included proNet members Philip Gwynne from The Naked Marketing Company, Jaimie Dobson of iNet inSights and Joanne Vose from Red Elephant HR; all of whom had stands.

Photography

proNet member John Steel from John Steel Photograpy was on hand throughout the Expo and at our breakfast meeting to take photos, many of which can be see on our Flickr account with a couple of examples being shown on this page.