Monday 23 June 2008

Staffordshire Moorlands Business Networking Evening


Henmore took the initiative in school fundraising by running a local networking event in Staffordshire Moorlands.

Catherine Doel, MD of Henmore Marketing and Chair of the local Pre-school Playgroup, broke out of the mould of the usual school fundraising by arranging a business-focussed event.

"The challenge with school fundraising is to find ways of getting people from outside the immediate parent group to part with their cash to help meet running costs. So we organised an event and invited businesses and entrepreneurs from across Staffordshire and Derbyshire to meet and make business connections. Paying £5 per head plus £5 for trade space represents a great return on investment from a company's marketing budget; that £10 then has a huge impact at the school because it pays for another hour or so of top quality care and education for local pre-school children."

Energetic fellow parent Nicki Mosley was involved with the organisation and Louise Cliff, another businesswoman parent, who owns Whiston Hall Golf Club and Mansion Hotel, kindly donated the venue.

Some 40 people came along to experience this relaxed and informal business networking event where people doing business in the Staffordshire Moorlands took the opportunity to mingle and chat to fellow business people. Most also made a brief presentation about their businesses to fellow guests. Some also put up a trade stand or made a table display to present products and services on the night.

The event raised just short of £200 for the organisers' chosen local charities (Ipstones Pres-school Playgroup and St Leonards School). We are very grateful to Whiston Hall for generously providing the venue and facilities

If you would like to receive an email invitation to the autumn event please use the Newsletter Sign up box on the right and select the list for Staffordshire Moorlands Networking Events.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a local business based just 6 miles from Whiston, Rural Pictures Photography found this relaxed and informal networking event to be both informative and enjoyable. Many new contacts were made as well as catching up with old friends.

Terry @ Moorland Mobility said...

Although we are based at Leek, our business takes us all over the county and found the evening very enjoyable. We made some new contacts followed up by email and now waiting for replies. The evening was certainly worth a visit and look forward to the next one.

Anonymous said...

frenchwinegift.co.uk
Thanks for organising such a relaxed event. It was a great way of business-to-business networking and we're sure many useful contacts were made during the evening.

Neale Lewis said...

Enjoyed the evening and the way that it was set up. Often when tyou go networking everything feels very formal. Enjoyed the opportunity to have a few drinks in comfortable suuroundings and understand more about some of the businesses within the Staffordshire Moorlands community.

Anonymous said...

Knowing how important networking is for businesses this was a great relaxed opportunity for all who attended to meet others and see how they could help each other, whilst supporting chosen charities - thanks to all who attended, look forward to seeing you at the next one!

Anonymous said...

A fun evening and a great opportunity to meet other local businesses - somehow there don't seem to be so many business networking opportunities focused on this area. Thanks to all who put this together. Looking forward to the next one.

Barks Holiday Cottage said...

This event was in the next village to our self-catering holiday cottage and Whiston Hall is a smart venue and a pleasant place to spend an evening. I made useful contacts and even discussed availability in the holiday cottage for two couples looking for a rural location for a long weekend break with their dogs. This was a bonus to a constructive and enjoyable evening. I look forward to the next.