i-brand e-bulletin: January/February 2007

name: Hela Wozniak-Kay

position or title: Director

company: Sister Snog (An events based networking club for sassy business women)

website: www.sistersnog.com

location: London

What has been your most valued professional achievement?

Being able to inspire enough far-sighted individuals to play and be part of a vision for a business and a brand by becoming B shareholders in Snog Ltd - the parent company and umbrella brand.

This meant there was enough seed-corn capital to buy time to start realising the vision and allocate budgets for those inevitable and necessary overheads.

Name the five most distinctive characteristics or attributes that have helped you to achieve your success:

• Dogged determination
• Desire to succeed
• Faith in the future
• Sense of adventure
• Willingness to take risks

What makes your business distinctive?

• A carefully crafted brand and individual set of core values
• A segmentation model that enables us to tailor our marketing activity
• A distinctive name that attracts a certain club member
• An approach to networking that is more unconventional than conventional

Where do you look for inspiration?

People who have jumped ship and created something from nothing that captures the imagination and has made a positive mark on the business landscape. Anyone who dares to be different, yet remain true to their values. Creative individuals who have clearly followed a dream and turned that dream a reality.

When the going gets tough what helps you through?

Keeping a daily journal. My business partner, my husband and my daughter.

Advice you'd wished you'd had when starting out?

• Keep those tempting overheads to a minimum.
• Get a book-keeper. Doing your own books is a false economy. Honestly.
• Don't try and be all things to all men. Find a niche, stick to it and aim to own it.
• Listen to your gut feeling. If something doesn't feel right, be brave and walk away.
• Ensure your clients adhere to your payment terms. Down tools the moment the excuses start to surface.
• Understand the difference between busy work and real work. Concentrate on the latter. Don't be distracted by the former.
• If you have something to say - say it.
• Find your voice and make yourself heard.

London Favourite:

Inspired by my Polish roots: Daquise

For authentic Polish fare go to Daquise in Thurloe Street. The oldest Polish restaurant in London, it has a unique charm of its own, almost suspended in time. The food is tasty, incredibly good value with service that has a touch of pre-war old Poland about it.

Most Valued Brand?

I love things that are the real McCoy. So when it comes to mayo it simply, utterly has to be Hellman's. A brand with a history. A brand with a story.

Most inspirational famous Personal Brand or Celebrity Brand?

A one woman style institution. The doyenne of British fashion - Zandra Rhodes CBE

An incredibly prolific individual who has put her hallmark on the world of opera, ceramics, and china as well as being a fashion icon that flits between her two homes in London and San Diego.

This year take some risks. Don't let your fears stop you.

brief synopsis
A book of advice on how to cope with fear of various kinds, such as public speaking, self-assertion and decision-making.

buy now

All the answers you want to know on how you can make networking work for you.

name: Paula Gardner
company: Do Your Own PR
website: www.doyourownpr.com
our aim: is to help you get your business into the press and attract more clients without handing out huge advertising fees or going to the expense of retaining a PR company.

What advice or tips can you give someone who is just learning about networking?

It's about quality more than quantity. When I first started networking it only seemed a worthwhile effort if I came away with a thick bunch of cards in my hand, having given away an even thicker bunch myself. Consequently, I wasn't really aware of who I was speaking to and how we could help each other. I was more interested in "spreading the word". Over time I've come to relax about it a lot more and am quite happy to go along to a business lunch and spend the whole time talking to one or two people and really building up a strong relationship with them. That way I have met my strongest contacts - the ones that speak very evangelically about Do Your Own PR - and now and again made a very good friend.

You also need to find something that suits you. I don't like breakfast meetings or the pressure of referral groups (you may be referring someone to a web designer in your group but they may not necessarily be the best web designer) so I stay well clear of those. I now look for events that have a good speaker or involve a lovely meal or something interesting so that I know that I'm also getting something else out of it - I am looking forward to the day when someone organises one in a spa!!

Do you have a specific example of how a networking event, meeting or a contact has helped you in your career or business?

So many! I met a lively lady who works for agencies like Prevista and Business Link at one networking evening and since then she has found funding for many of my workshops, enabling me to charge businesses cost price to come along. I have often spoken to a business owner, chatted about PR ideas that they can implement and within the week found that they've signed up for my email Do Your Own PR ecourse, or decided to become a PR coaching client.