Claim your Space, Own it, Go Global – Women’s Inspire Network Annual Conference

Daytime Emmy-nominated celebrity chef, TV presenter and award-winning food writer, Catherine Fulvio, is a keynote speaker at the Women’s Inspire Network (WIN) annual conference which takes place online on Wednesday 13 October next.

Speakers this year are focused on businesses reaching a global audience by leveraging digital solutions, from e-commerce and social media to online networking and collaboration.

The pandemic accelerated omnichannel business operations, and Catherine Fulvio of Ballyknocken House and Cookery School, knows the challenge. Adapting to online cookery lessons, team-building events and presenting roles remotely, as well as keeping in touch online with corporate clients, customers, staff and associates was a baptism of fire for the busy businesswoman.

“From cooking, while trying to film on a mobile phone at the same time, to more professional productions and even a TV series, the pandemic taught us all the power of digital communication. Building a network on social media and reaching out digitally actually makes the world and global business opportunity a reality, for even a small business, and this is something Irish entrepreneurs will embrace more and more now”, Catherine Fulvio says.

A global online forum for businesswomen, the Women’s Inspire Network was founded by Twitter expert, Samantha Kelly, in 2016, initially as a Twitter hashtag and then, more extensively, on Facebook. With the dramatic pandemic pivot online by many small businesses, WIN membership grew exponentially in the last year. More and more female entrepreneurs are learning from the experience of their peers globally, with both digital networking and social media marketing.

Time management, finance and loneliness all challenging

A recent Twitter poll of small businesses by Samantha Kelly, aka Tweetinggoddess, indicated 39% of business owners find time management is their biggest challenge. Financial planning and management were a difficulty for 23% of respondents, while loneliness, (22%), was a close third in the issues small business owners must deal with.

Samantha Kelly says a network and collaboration is essential for SMEs, who can feel alone and unsupported. This is a reason for the success of the Women’s Inspire Network, she believes.

“We bring remote people together and support them. This year’s conference, and our various online business seminars, address our members’ issues. This year we have top experts in time management and process, such as Anita Wong, and money management guru, Denise McGarry, too, sharing their insights”.

The Women’s Inspire Network Conference gathers experts from the USA, Australia, the UK and Ireland to address practical business skills and how to implement them.

Samantha Kelly is presenting on creative techniques to build a social following. The social media strategist discusses getting established as a niche expert and ensuring business contacts support business or brand marketing with valuable recommendations and introductions.

The essential app every business needs is the subject for Joselin Mane, a USA-based social media strategist. The computer engineer turned marketer will illustrate how Twitter Spaces works, and explain how to monetize the new user-friendly social audio platform for brand-building and business and social networking.

Trusted communications expert, Ger Lally, will share how to confidently flex communication style for a global audience, and the challenges of communicating in a virtual environment.

Wanita Fourie is based in Australia and is an expert on how to seamlessly create a social media strategy that becomes integral to the business operation, rather than a separate workstream.

One thing many business owners struggle with is how to price their services. Denise McGarry will show us how to increase our prices with confidence. Money mindset expert will talk about monetising your expertise and how to increase prices with confidence.

Business mentor and personal coach Joseph Costello will talk about avoiding burnout and rediscovering confidence and drive, following the challenges of the past year.

Vivienne Fay is an HR consultant who will address effective remote working strategies and the importance of planning and of having a plan B.

Once a business starts getting global clients, the challenge is to organise around different markets, UK social selling expert, Anita Wong, says. Her conference workshop will address automating discovery calls and other digital tools that are easy to leverage for “non-tech-savvy” entrepreneurs.

The reality of going global is shared by Emma O’ Toole, a yoga teacher who took her classes and products online during the pandemic. As well as sharing her experience, Emma will be teaching chair yoga, an essential skill for people who are desk-bound for large parts of the day.

The WIN event is on Crowdcast, a platform similar to Zoom, and tickets are available on the Women’s Inspire Network website at https://www.womensinspirenetwork.com/events.

Human connection is important for entrepreneurs, and surrounding yourself with good people who are experts in different fields can make a huge difference, Samantha Kelly says.

“We have 485 members from all over the world, and our membership increased 28% during the pandemic. Having always been an online network, WIN members are used to building relationships and learning online”, the social media pioneer says.

Conference tickets cost €30.00 for full access to all presentations, live and on playback. The event is open to anyone, not just members of the women’s business network.