Hoskin Financial at the Maldon Business Showcase
Friday 14 September 2012. The long awaited, highly anticipated Maldon Business Showcase held at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Maldon (the hotel formerly known as Five Lakes). Also, the day that the Maldon Business Networking returned, following a summer break.
In partnership with Essex Chamber of Commerce, Maldon District Council, Crowne Plaza Resort and Wilkin & Sons Ltd (Tiptree Jam); the free to attend all day Business 2 Business event showcasing Maldon businesses, giving local business the opportunity to meet with other local suppliers and businesses, with the aim to support the local economy within the district and county.
This was the first event of its kind held in Maldon. It is very difficult to judge the success of this type of event as, ‘you can’t please all the people, all of the time’, what is the measure of success and how do you measure it? However, the majority of exhibitors and visitors my fellow Maldon Business Association committee members and I spoke to, were very positive about the event. There seemed to be a definate desire to hold a similar event next year.
So, I believe, a successful event.
Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the day. I met some wonderful local business owners, made some great connections and strengthened some existing working relationships. I discovered businesses in my local area that I didn’t know existed; they were there to promote their business as they were fully aware that people didn’t know they existed. So, another tick in the box in indicating a successful day!
After a long day and a sore throat from all that talking, it was off to the Oakhouse, Maldon for some Business Networking and a well-deserved pint! It was great to meet up with some familiar faces and meet some new.
Maldon business networking is a free to attend group of like-minded business owners. We meet every over Fri at 4:30. The group consists of a varied type of businesses who are very welcoming and keen to meet new visitors.
Some may ask, “what do you get out of networking”? Well, like most things in life you get out what you put in!
Networking at events like above, or similar, does not bring immediate results. It’s all about long term relationships and like all relationships they need to be worked on and are built on trust. This trust and working relationship does not happen overnight, it takes time!
So, if you haven’t networked before then I recommend it; if you’ve networked before but gave up after a short while because you didn’t ‘get a result’, I recommend giving it another go. But remember two things; one, it is very rare to get a result overnight and; two, networking should only be one way of promoting your business, it can be an element of your marketing strategy not the strategy.
Paul Hoskin IFA