Women in Enterprise
Women in Enterprise is a not-for-profit women’s networking group in Milton Keynes that’s been established for over 30 years. Designed to encourage the passing of business between trusted colleagues; it has ‘celebration’ at its core. I felt welcome as a first-time guest (when I attended a lunch earlier this year) and the group was warm and welcoming. All profits from these events -and fundraisers- go to the MK Community Foundation Women’s Fund, so you get to ‘give back’ whilst building your network and business.
Location: Hosted by several local (and primarily independent) venues, including Maaya, The Shoulder of Mutton, Ole Tapas, and more, WIE networking offers a choice of lunches, purely coffee sessions (held at charity sites) and celebration events (such as the summer picnic or festive fundraiser). There are other events (like ‘wine on Wednesday and quiz nights) that aren’t on the website and are exclusively for members, communicated on the exclusive WhatsApp group.
Format: Lunches are usually held 12-2pm, but please do check the booking link, coffee sessions 10am-midday.
Sessions start with networking (or speed networking if it’s a coffee session) a welcome from the host, on occasion a speaker but usually a member spotlight -more on journey and experience than a sales pitch or upskill - card draws and member shout outs inc events/offer for members/asks from the group. More networking to close.
Costs: Membership fees are £100 for Individual Membership and £150 for Corporate Membership, which allows three members of your organisation to benefit (VAT is not applicable). The supplementary price of the events varies: Members’ prices are lower than non-members, but range from £3 for the coffee session to £30 for dinner.
You can attend two lunches or coffees before deciding whether to join as a member (plus the summer picnic and festive lunch)
Hosts: The event (and membership group) is run by a committee and the chair is currently Michelle Theuma of Concept Onyx Recruitment. The president of Women in Enterprise is Sally Fennemore MBE.
Typical Attendee: Average attendance is 35-40 people per event . Events are often 50% guests, so a really good mix of contacts from the directory and new faces. The charter states men are welcome and some do attend, but the event is designed to primarily support women in business. Male allies more regularly attend the open events in the summer and at Christmas.
Upsides: A lovely touch is the birthday draw (if your birthday falls in the month of the event) where someone will win a treat -if you are a member. The committee is on hand to welcome new attendees (and you all get a shout-out in the room). Business card draw takes place at every event; donated by the venue. The website also serves as a directory of members and a contact link is available to encourage and facilitate connections.
Downsides: You will need to commit to becoming a member after 2 guest sessions, then membership is payable annually and then you pay additionally for the subsidised events. If you have a very busy schedule it might be worth noting the dates for events before committing as you cannot usually sub someone in your place and there is usually only one lunch and one coffee event per month.
Top Tip: Take a look at the attendee list ahead of the event and plan a contact and follow-up strategy. ‘You get out what you put in’ with the community- immerse yourself!
** prices correct at time of writing