Koogar Blog

Well… Arranging this network event/birthday party has been stressful but very exciting watching everything come together at the last minute.

I now know what its like to organise an event. Making sure people get your emails, make sure the people you want to turn up do actually turn up, getting speakers and arrange an evening so the people who are coming will have fun and want to come back for more.

Keep checking the website for the updates on how Koogar’s Birthday/Networking event went! and if your going I look forward to seeing you there.

Last night was the final session to the "Attracting new Clients and presenting your Business" course and it was brilliant!

After telling everyone how we have been getting one for the last week with what we have achieved and playing a game about finances, one of the group members Josie Airnes gave a talk/session about "Resonance Re-patterning" and how it effects everybody.
Josie basically reset the groups negative feelings to become positive and as everyone had different feelings, we did it as a group and took on board other peoples feelings of being positive.

I haven’t ever experienced anything like it before but the only thing I can compare it to was when I did Hung Gar Kung Fu. I got really into the training and went 5 days a week for at least 3 hours. The feeling I got during and after training was "oneness"… if that makes sense?

Its a feeling of confidence, knowing, being and becoming centred, but without arrogance. The feeling is amazing! I highly recommend anyone having a session with Josie as this experience has changed my perception of alternative therapies.

In terms of the actual course, to begin with I was skeptical about strangers being able to help me with my business and wondered what they knew that I didn’t, but again my opinion of the whole thing has change and recommend you have someone who is outside of your business and let them look in to see what could be done differently or what new thing could be done.

The people on this course not only helped motivate me to get things done on a weekly basis they also gave me ideas, comments and support. People who are close to the business wouldn’t have been able to give me that information.

If you would like to go on this course there are more happening in the very near future and again I highly recommend it if you want to:

move your business forward

get out of a rut

learn something new

meet new people

or just see what happens if you commit yourself to doing something different once a week

Please speak to Marie Claire at the following site: http://www.marieclairecarlyle.com… Let her know I sent you and have a great time… I did!

Last night a friend of mine invited me to a network meeting last minute that had a special speaker. The meeting was held in Manchester, so I had to get my skates on and drive to Manchester and meet her there. The meeting was hosted by Mastery Gym, a group I hadn’t heard of before and the speaker was a guy called Clayton Ainger.

He talked about finding and becoming the real you, which might sound a little strange but everything he said made sense to me and I found the talk very interesting.

At the end he asked if anyone would like to stay for another 20 minutes to discover their “Animal Spirit Guide”. My friend and I decided to stay to find out what he was talking about. I was a little nervous as I didn’t know what to expect and felt completely out of my comfort zone…

He went through a hypnosis process and got everyone who stayed into a safe place within themselves. On the journey we all met our own animal spirit guides.

I wanted mine to be a cat, a white tiger to be precise. Well it wasn’t… my animal turned out to be a “Raccoon” and to be honest I was a little disappointed. We went on to find our colour and I wanted it to be lime green but it changed in front of me. It was actually “lilac“.

Not really knowing what all this meant I went online today to find out a little more and this is what I found:

Raccoon, Power Animal, Symbol of Our Many Masks, Dexterity

Raccoon’s Wisdom includes understanding the nature of masks, disguise, dexterity, seeking guidance and confidence, questioning without fear, balancing curiosity, shape shifting, secrecy.

The raccoon will assist you how to mask, disguise and transform yourself. Masks are a powerful tool - through the use of masks, altered states can be reached.

After this experience I have come to realise that the Raccoon was there for a reason…

If anyone else has experienced this please feel free to contact me and let me know all about it. You can even post a comment on the Koogar Blog.

Once every 6 weeks, 4 women (now 5) get together. Using each others houses as a venue to talk about their business and what problems they are facing or come up against.
The evening starts around 7pm ish and doesn’t usually end before 11pm. The host for the evening provides a few light snacks and drinks.

This evening is dedicated to you and the other members to push each other forward with the businesses that are run on a daily basis, giving each other ideas that you might not have thought of otherwise.

At Wednesday evenings meeting, only three of us could make it. In this meeting I got reminded about the “following up” process, as sometimes I have been too busy and have forgotten to follow up a lead. One one occasion I had lost the details of two leads.

Today I followed up a lead that I received when I went on an Effective Speaking Course I went on in May08. I sent the company an email to find out if they still needed our services.

The Director of the company got back to me within a few hours and explained due to school holidays some staff were not available for the training they needed, but they are still very interested in my services. She went on to ask about fees and the dates she and other members of staff were available.

So you see, even if you forgot about following up a lead and its a few months later, you should still make the effort to contact that person, just in case they still need your services and also to remind them that you are available for them whenever they need you.
Also having a mentoring evening with other business owners and freinds helped me go back to basics and also spur you on to do better things.

A note to all:
I’m sorry the March eLetter is late. The Studio has been very busy this month and has another busy month ahead for April. I know that no excuse for me neglecting you so here is this months eLetter..

This month’s newsletter is on Networking only because I have been doing a lot of it lately and I wondered how others get to grips with it and what other people thought about doing it?

For a Web Designer networking is an essential part of business life. I think without networking I wouldn’t have met a lot of my clients or met as many pleasant people as I have. I have also met rude and obnoxious people at network events, but these are the people you don’t want in your business life! Let alone your own life.

I’m not a professional networker, in fact I’m still not used to standing up for the 15 seconds of fame and telling people what I do. Most of the time I stumble and sometime forget what I do.. Which doesn’t mean I’m bad at my job, it just means that I need to improve at Networking.
One of my goals this year is to become more confident when standing up and maybe doing a public speaking course of some sort. If anyone has any suggestions please email me on what I can do to become confident when speaking in front of others.

Networking is an investment, not a nuisance. anonymous

Networking doesn’t just consist of going to a breakfast meeting or lunch meeting at these corporate events. They also include free courses, events, and can even include your weekly shopping.

I recently went on a free course in Liverpool and met a lovely lady by the name of Sarah. (Names have been changed to protect the innocent)

Everyone on the course introduced him or herself. You know, the usual..
My name is.. and I’m based.. and my business is.., and we also added why we were attending the course in the first place.

Anyway, Sarah works for a charity, which is based in my area; she also lives in my area (what a small world). She also asked if she could have my details as she is constantly asked for details about someone who can create professional websites.

TOP Rule: You should ALWAYS carry business cards with you!

On the course I went on to learn something new and exciting (for FREE) and I also made a new friend and contact. I know a few people who help charities out in different ways so I’m able to help Sarah by giving her a new contact for when ever she needs that service.

Someone said to me:
You should always look your best and carry a card, as you never know who is stood behind you.

So this little story not much of one I know, but it shows you how you can meet new people in a situation you wouldn’t have thought of.

Here are some of the Network Meetings that I attend..If you know of any more, please feel free to email them to me so I can add them to the list:

Network Meetings
C.E.P.N Business Forum (currently a Committee Member)

http://www.cepnforum.org.uk/

W.I.R.E Women in Rural Enterprises

http://www.wireuk.org/

Wirral Business Association

http://www.wirralbusinessassociation.co.uk/

Online Networks
www.ecademy.com
Koogar’s Profile:
http://www.ecademy.com/user/amandadaniels

www.linkedin.com
Koogar’s Profile:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/6/a1/b6b

www.myspace.com
Koogar’s Profile:
http://www.myspace.com/koogar_webdesign

Women in Business (ning)
Koogar’s Profile:
http://webnetwork.ning.com/profile/AmandaDaniels

Become friends of Koogar by clicking the above links if you’re already signed up for these online networking groups.

Later this year, Koogar will be setting up our own event based in the North Wirral.

If you would like more information about the event, please feel free to contact us at: network@koogar.co.uk