A look back over some of the great guests I've had over the last year.If you're new to the podcast why not go back and have a listen to some these episodes that I've mentioned?

I am the founder of Kindred Business Networking Uk and Ireland . About meBarbara Ann Fitzpatrick:▶ Has 30+ years of experience in the global corporate space leading teams▶ Been at the coal face of Client Relationship Management & Business Development▶ Successfully led and mentored global teams▶ Had to re-invent herself in mid 50's following redundancy & loss of income▶ Successful entrepreneur & business ownerBarbara teaches small independent business owners how to NetGive not just Network. She loves supporting small business owners and seeing people grow personally and professionally.

Stuart describes himself as a “frequently underwhelmed engineer lurking in the murky cybersecurity realm” and is Managing Director of The Armour Group of Companies who are a group of cybersecurity focused businesses. The group’s aim is to help “people” understand the threats relative to them so they can make accurate risk assessments and take the right steps to form their defences against these dark criminals who are hell-bent on pillaging our digital communities BUT an increasingly disturbing amount of time is now being spent helping organisations of all sizes understand WHY they lost the contents of their bank account, lost a load of customer data or had their entire infrastructure encrypted by criminals.As much of what Stuart does is sensitive, he can't easily talk about what he does at networking meetings. Instead he focusses on helping other people make connections.

Matt Holmes is the World Record holder for the longest handshake between two people - you'll have to listen to the episode to find out how long it was!His company, not surprisingly is called 'Handshaking', but what is surprising is that it has no clients and doesn't sell any services. It's a very interesting concept and it all came about through networking.

Robin Hills is the director of Ei4Change - a training company specialising in Emotional Intelligence. Robin has used networking from the start to grow his business and Ei4Change is now active in over one hundred countries around the world. Networking has even led to him becoming a published author.Understanding ourselves and others through Emotional Intelligence will help us on our networking journey.www.ei4change.com

Phil Parker is the owner of Lycosa web services - a website design company based in Driffield.Phil is a member of a couple of very different networking groups, and he never refuses a 121 with anybody.

Jennifer Gilmour is a speaker and author on the topic of domestic abuse, joint owner of small business OuTFox, and also the founder of the Latte & Live network.Jen's meetings always start with an ice-breaker which makes her meetings fun and memorable, and members are encouraged to 'spill the tea' with each other!

Chris Jacobsen is the founder of Slice - a full service marketing agency based in Hull.Chris used networking as a way to get his business off the ground 6 years ago, and continues to network for his business today.

Jack Allen is the owner of Innate Creative Productions, a creative agency that produces radio adverts, videos etc.He is also one of the hosts of the Loose Dads podcast - four Dads talking about Dad stuff!

Hanah Rayner runs Sterling VA Services and is also the joint founder of Mix and Mingle networking. She's not a fan of pitching, so Mix and Mingle is more about having a chat!

Richard Askam is a multi-business entrepreneur and public speaker. He has worked with some big-name multinational companies and has some fascinating stories to share about networking, marketing and why speaking in public is not the same as public speaking.

Craig Chaytor was a chef for 16 years, but is now dedicating his life to developing his virtual reality product IMME (Imagine making Memories Everywhere). IMME is named after his daughter Imogen who has Williams Syndrome. This means that she easily experiences sensory overload and can find everyday things very difficult. The IMME virtual reality product is hugely beneficial for children like Imogen and has been shown to improve their development.IMME is currently being used in a research study in the health sector.Links to stories about IMME:https://immemedia.wixsite.com/immemediahttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/education-45983010https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/video-designing-better-life-craig-s-story https://www.yhahsn.org.uk/news/supporting-children-with-medical-conditions-through-the-power-of-storytelling-using-virtual-reality/?ref=Connect with Craig here:https://twitter.com/chaytorcraig?lang=enhttps://www.facebook.com/imme.mediahttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/craig-chaytor-b948b3182

This is the story of how business cards became cool again. Pieter is the founder and CEO of Mobilo, the smart business card where you tap your card on a phone and a link opens with your contact details. It's as simple as holding your card near a phone and then receiving contact information. Their patent-pending lead generation mode automatically shares and gathers contact details from both parties via a text message. Pieter has been embedded in internet companies since the late 90s, but he became fascinated with Radio-Frequency Identification technology in the last couple of years. Pieter saw the untapped potential of this technology and launched Mobilo in October 2019. 

Bev Thoroughgood runs Floresco Training, a training and coaching company that specialises in menopause awareness.

Lisa Townsend is a creativity and mindfulness coach who works with business owners to get them unstuck and moving.She describes herself as being an introvert who loves to network with complete strangers!

Leisa Pickles from Find Me the Leads helps food producers make connections to grow their businesses. During lockdown her work dried up overnight, so she used her skills and knowledge to create a local online network to help people shop local and find the things they needed.

Bjorn Bojen is the managing director of Orisel, a digital growth agency that helps businesses get more customers and clients through marketing online. Bjorn was shown how to network by one of my previous guests, Austen Hempstead, and he said that it took a mindset shift to make networking work for him.He also has a wonderful networking nightmare story to share....!

It's a solo episode from me today to tell you about a free webinar I'm running on Wednesday 15th Sept 2021. If you're a creative freelancer who would like to know more about networking I would love to see you there. Sign up here: zoh1ihnodvFollowing on from this I'll be running a whole course on business networking for creative people. Find out more here: https://www.businessnetworkingknowhow.com

John Hinchliffe is an internationally recognised award-winning digital learning expert with over 12 years in the field. He is Head of Talent at Jam Pan, The #1 On-Demand Digital Learning Marketplace, which connects the right expert freelancers and agencies with your digital learning needs. He also is the founder of the Global Learning and Development Community and was shortlisted for Covid Champion at the LPI Learning Awards 2021 in recognition of his efforts to helping others in the industry during Covid.Find John at https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-hinchliffe-yourskillshub/ Jam Pan https://www.jam-pan.com/ GLDC https://www.mygldc.org/

Hannah Thompson is the business manager at Heritage Lincolnshire, and the founder of the Development Partnership Network. She also runs a support group for people living with conditions such as ME and fibromyalgia.Pre-Covid Hannah was running a host of business showcase events, and during the pandemic she came up with an online event which she called 'Sofa Networking'.Hannah is full of enthusiasm and passion for networking as you'll hear in this episode!Contact Hannah at [email protected]

A short and sweet episode from me, talking about how you don't necessarily need to be at a networking meeting to grow your network. There are opportunities everywhere - including on public transport!Find me at www.lizdrury.co.uk

Andrew Martin started off running a successful chain of florists. He is now a multi-business entrepreneur who also runs Success Networking - The Helping Hand to Grow your Business. Success Networking offers both face2face (Grantham, Lincs) and virtual networking meetings in a relaxed and friendly format.  For details of our upcoming events and to book go to  www.successnetworking.co.uk

Mark Webb is the MD of the E-Factor Group Ltd, based in Grimsby. The E-Factor Group is not only the largest commercial landlord in North East Lincolnshire, but a social enterprise company dedicated to providing meaningful professional, free support to help businesses survive and grow.Mark is also the dining force behind the Business Hive, which is a physical building, but also a community of over 300 local businesses. The Hive offers business advice and guidance, workshops, inspirational speakers and networking opportunities. https://e-factor.co.uk

Austen Hempstead is a sales trainer who has the strapline ' Selling is a Skill'. He shares his thoughts on networking with us which include the fact that it should never be about you and that networking and prospecting are two very different things.

Louise Brogan works with entrepreneurs, SME’s and professionals who want to raise their profile through LinkedIn in a genuine and valuable way.   Louise is an international speaker, writes for Social Media Examiner and hosts the LinkedIn with Louise Podcast. She lives at home with her husband, three children and an energetic spaniel called Bruce. In 2019, Louise was invited to attend No 10 Downing Street to represent small business and annually attends the House of Lords as one of 12 UK Local Heroes for Business.  In 2021, Louise was named a Small Business Britain Champion. 

This week's guest on the 'Small Business Big Network' podcast is Connor Docherty at Bell4Business.Bell4Business specialise in outsourced office support so have many connections working with small businesses over the years. When the first lockdown happened they took the opportunity to use those connections and set up a network of their own.Almost a year later, their ever growing networking group is continuing to attract small business owners right throughout the UK.Connor is the youngest guest yet to appear on the podcast, in this podcast he talks about how we got the opportunity to work at Bell4Business, how the business has grown and about his thought on networking.

William Warren is the founder of The Sketch Effect - a company that supplies artists to capture business events. He has also set up an initiative called The Conquering Creative which is all about helping creative entrepreneurs to navigate the business world effectively.He has some thoughts about why creative people shy away from business networking events, which he shares here.Find him online at www.thesketcheffect.com or www.the conquering creative.com

David O'Brien is a Business Doctor based in Lincolnshire. He helps business owners who sometimes feel they “can’t see the wood for the trees”. Running a business can make people so busy on a day-to-day basis, that it can be difficult to keep sight of the bigger picture. David helps people to regain clarity on where they are headed and how they will get there.Since the lockdown of March 2020 David has been running an online networking group called Net4Bizz.

Matthew Priest is an accountant who likes to help save client’s money through effective tax planning and increase their profits by helping them to understand their figures.  He began training at the Scunthorpe office in 2004 and achieved his AAT qualification and went on to qualify as a Chartered Certified Accountant in February 2009. He prides himself on service and is involved with a varied portfolio of clients with particular focus in small, family owned and start-up businesses. Matthew uses networking meetings as opportunities to meet other people and get to know them, rather than places to directly grow his client list.

David Perez is a podcast producer who helps health and wellness coaches build their audiences, grow their online presence and find their voice through podcasts. He’s also the podcast host for Audience Coach, a show focused on helping coaches start and run their own podcast shows. He has accompanied podcasters through the production and release of over a thousand podcast episodes. David has been featured in publications such as the Life Coach Magazine, and he’s also been a guest in podcasts like Create Your Course, Online Business Launchpad and Tactical Magic. Besides being a podcast producer, he also helps coaches devise, develop and execute podcast content strategies for their clients and creates courses around starting and running podcasts.David currently lives in Colombia, in a city where summer lasts all year round. He’s the dad of two kids and considers himself a lifelong learner. https://AudienceCoach.com/

Lu Camish is a video marketing specialist at Jellyfielder Studios. Jellyfielders develop bespoke content marketing strategies for clients across the UK with their unique Ice Cream Model. Lu loves sharing her skills, leading the weekly Marketing Monday 4networking event and regularly running DIY video workshops teaching businesses to film and edit their own content.

Robyn’s career in financial services began at the age of 17 when she got her first ‘grown up’ job with the Halifax. Following in her fathers footsteps she undertook a variety of roles with the business but really found her passion when she began her role as a Financial Consultant, this role focused on helping customers protect their futures. Following redundancy in late 2014, and plenty of soul searching, she took the brave step of starting her own firm specialising in Protection. The rest is history!Anyone who follows Robyn on social media will know of her love for video content, and more recently Tik Tok. If you're not following her yet, I suggest that you do!

Stephen Finn is a photographer and LinkedIn devotee who not only runs a business, but also networking groups, and an online course on how to get the best out of LinkedIn.Find him on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-finn/And check out his course here: https://www.lostonlinkedin.co.uk

Sudha Mani inspires, empowers and invigorates her clients with the combined expertise of business, computer science and sheer enthusiasm to innovate solutions to become the market leaders to Thrive in any Economy. Sudha started as Tech Entrepreneur after finishing computer science degree.  She has two degrees one in Computer Science and the other in Business Administration.  Sudha have been consulting for 25 years + as Business Technology consultant within investment banking, financial services, private and public sectors automating their business processes. Now, Sudha works with solopreneurs, mumpreneurs, speakers, coaches and consultants to go digital using right strategies to innovate, disrupt and thrive in any economy using growth strategies.  Sudha speaks on Growth Marketing Strategies which accelerates your growth for longer term instead one-shot wonder. You go from ground zero to full fledge online business with multiple sources of income. Sudha is passionate about empowering girls to get into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, Women into Leadership and Business.  She regularly speaks at events, schools and colleges to empower young leaders to lead with integrity, zeal and vigour they possess naturally. For more information please visit Sudha’s website https://www.sudhamani.com/about/and her LinkedIn profile for more information https://www.linkedin.com/in/sudhamani/

Almost 100% of clients will arrive at Ben's studio feeling some level of apprehension.“You won’t get a good picture of me!” – “I always blink!” – “I hate having my picture taken!”That’s why Ben prides himself on the ability to make his clients feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera. Ben has been using networking to grow his business and has even been able to keep moving forward during the lockdowns.He believes it's the one to one conversations that you have with people either during or after a networking event that are the most valuable - and more important than the short business pitches.

Following a successful Sales and Marketing career Dave established Koi Sports CIC, and now draws on his vast experience of building active and profitable business networks to drive commercial investment into the Grassroots Sports Sector, and as a result delivers positive social change within local communities using Sport as the vehicle for change. Koi Sports CIC is a Community Interest Company that reinvests its profits into the Grassroots Sports sector as a way of delivering positive social change. As a business Koi Sports specialise in building Corporate Support Networks that invest financially in, and offer support to, Grassroots Sports Clubs, Charities and sport-related Social Initiatives, both here in the UK and in different countries across the world. Our unique business model offers Social Marketing and enhanced CSR as a return on investment for those Business who choose to engage.

Daryl Woodhouse is a speaker, scale up entrepreneur and executive performance coach.With 20+ awards, 7-figure business success, prior Top 10 FTSE leadership career, and first-hand experience of burnout, Daryl equips leaders and entrepreneurs with all they need to achieve more, work less and avoid burnout.Daryl loves helping kind, heart-centred people who realise there’s more to life than business, but who want to do business well.You can find out more about Daryl and connect with him here:https://darylwoodhouse.com

Sheena Whyatt is the founder of the KAPOW! Coaching Programme, which she set up in 2016, and runs as part of her training consultancy business, Lightning Training.Sheena has over 18 years experience in the L&D industry, and speaks regularly to groups of small business owners on a range of topics from networking skills to public speaking.  She has been keynote speaker for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants at their annual conference and for OfficeVA, as well as taking the floor at national level for 4Networking on many occasions.Sheena has been awarded Freelance Trainer of the Year awards by the Learning & Performance Institute on three occasions, first winning the award in 2011 whilst undergoing treatment for breast cancer.  She is also an authorised Consultant and is also a member of the LPI Advisory Board, and chairs sessions regularly at Learning Technologies Live.Sheena created the KAPOW! Coaching Programme to give business owners and employees structured and focussed advice to find their personal superpowers & put them to work creating a strong personal brand, and regularly delivers training workshops both on and offline to learners across the world.Sheena is also a very active business networker and is both host for 4Networking Online and also Themed Teams Champion, sharing her 10+ years knowledge of the organisation with teams running specialist theme meetings online.Say Hello! | KAPOW! Your Personal Branding & Business Coach (kapowme.com)Twitter - @traininggoddessLinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sheenawhyatt

Making your business stand out at a networking meeting is crucial, and Julian Bright is a master at making himself memorable. In this episode you'll learn how a trumpet and the catch phrase 'WHUNGAW' leave lasting impressions on those he meets...Julian Bright is the owner of Bright Insight Ltd, whose products include Wills, Family Trusts, Powers of Attorney, and Funeral Plans. Julian set his business up to help people to 'leave their stuff to people that they love, not those that they don’t.’He also sells naturally based, vegan friendly hair and beauty products for BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL hair by MONAT with Jules.Julian's business has been built largely on networking - he's been a BNI member for 4 years including being Chapter President for 1 year and was also a regional director consultant.In the last 12 months he says that online networking has been the salvation of his business. The various aspects of Talk Networking is now responsible for more than 10% of the profit of Bright Insight Ltd.Here's where you can find Julian online:Website                      Wills and Trusts                            Bright Insight LtdFacebook                  Wills/Trusts                                   Bright Insight Ltd | FacebookWebsite                     MONAT hairproducts                    Premium Hair and Skincare Products | MONAT Global (mymonat.com)Facebook                  MONAT hairproducts                    BRIGHT and beautiful hair by MONAT with Jules | Facebook

Jon Lindsey, owner of Lindsey Lettings met his business partner at a networking event. It was a happy accident that they just happened to be at the same meeting at the same time, as Jon explains in this interview.

Lee Randall-Pybus is co-owner and director of Your Partnerships Ltd. Your Partnerships is a business networking platform that has grown from just two UK counties, to being a global networking organisation. After spending 25 years as an entertainer Lee is a true people’s person and works hard to make sure that connections are made between businesses and also helps those businesses reach out to new clients. www.yourpartnerships.co.uk

Trevor Wood has been working in IT for over 40 years. He's been a web developer for 25 years and in the last few years he's been working in cybersecurity as a white hat hacker and cybersecurity researcherHe ran his own networking events and exhibitions for around 10 years, and he has written several blog articles that include hints and tips on successful networking. In this episode we chat about the differences between networking and selling, and the reasons why some businesses fail to make networking work for them.You can find Trevor's blog posts on his website www.network-midlands.co.uk

Drew Ellis is a serial entrepreneur and experienced business development executive.He's been invited to Buckingham Palace and Parliament in the UK to advise on matters of business and enterprise, and has been written about in the Sunday Times, Financial Times, and numerous other publications.In 1982 he designed the world-famous “Choose Life" range of slogan T-Shirts for Katharine Hamnett.He founded Eyetoeye in 1994 as one of the world's first new media agencies, advising a broad range of business on digital strategy, content creation, website development, branding, and design.In late 2009 he co-founded the Like Minds Ideas Festival, a global thought leadership platform, holding events in London, Exeter, Helsinki, and New York. Business Breakfast TV, a weekly online show for entrepreneurs and SME business owners launched in 2020 and Drew also co-founded the Great British Business Festival in the same year.Book your place at the 2021 Great British Expo here: https://wearelikeminds.com/march-31st-the-great-british-business-expo/

Cristina is the owner of CVG Solutions,  which is a growing GDPR consulting business that offers GDPR advice, guidance and training.  She helps up-skill business owners in Data Protection to strengthen their reputation and win new customers.  Having started her business in late 2019, the pandemic could have wiped Cristina's business out, but by making use of online networking, CVG solutions has gone from strength to strength.In fact networking has not only grown her customer base, it has led to strategic alliances and even an appearance on regional TV.Visit Cristina's website to find out more www.cvgsolutions.co.uk

Creative freelancers (photographers, designers, actors, singers, voice over artists) often have a fear of networking, and feel that they don't belong in a business networking meeting.I'm holding a free webinar to dispel that myth, and to explore why creative people should be networking.Tues 16th March 2021, 7pm (UK). If you can't make it live a replay will be sent to everyone who signed up.Sign up at www.businessnetworkingknowhow.com/free-webinarAnd if you are interested in the networking course that I mention please check out www.businessnetworkingknowhow.comThanks!

Anton Oliver is a business coach and founder of the Marketing Mastery programme, which teaches small business owners the marketing strategies that are used by multinational companies. He talks about why you should visit lots of different networking meetings, and why you need to be consistent with your networking if you want results. Referrals will come if you first help others.Anton also talks about why it's important to know your niche, and how this will help you collaborate with others in your industry.Find out more about Marketing Mastery here:www.businessexitaccelerator.com/program?affiliate_id=2946741

Nicky Thomas is a business connector, referral marketing expert and founder of The Growth Community. She loves nothing more than to see people connect and build a new relationships and/or open up new opportunities for each other. By March 2021 the community will have over 100 members with big UK expansion plans in the pipeline.In this interview Nicky admits that she had low expectations of networking online, but in actual fact the pandemic has led to her creating a completely new networking platform where she has taken all the best bits from previous networks she has been a part of, and made something she's proud of.

As well as running a successful telemarking company, Felicity Francis is also the founder of Talk Networking.Talk Networking started in the real world and has now moved into the virtual space, with four different styles of networking event offered.In this episode Felicity talks about how different styles of business networking suit different people, why you should take the initiative and follow up with people after meetings, and how it's important not to get sucked into so many meetings and 121's that you don't leave time to work!