THE ALIQUANTUM METAPHORICAL PURPLE HAT

Networking can be one of the most positive marketing tools for your business, but the success you achieve through networking is dependent on a number of factors with one of the major contributors being confidence in a networking environment - whether that is in a mixed or women only networking group.

The ladies who attend ALIQUANTUM - Networking for Women in Business do so to provide themselves with the opportunity to market their business by word of mouth.  But that’s not all that they gain from attending ALIQUANTUM as we provide ladies with the opportunity to incorporate the ethos of the metaphorical Purple Hat as a “secret weapon” in their arsenal of networking skills.

Networking successfully is not only about understanding the ‘unwritten’ rules of networking, whether you are networking in a mixed environment or networking in a group for women, it is also about confidence.  At ALIQUANTUM we provide ladies with an environment that enables them to network in a structured but friendly, relaxed and pressure free situation that not only facilitates building business relationships but also enables support mechanisms to be established - and gain confidence about their networking abilities.

Our ethos is based around our values of honesty, integrity, respect and trust and, from that, comes a friendly atmosphere where there is a lot of laughter and a bit of fun.  Of equal importance at ALIQUANTUM is that the ladies who attend feel comfortable and confident whilst networking.

Our founder, Laura Swetman, gave a lot of thought to the issue of confidence - especially as she has met so many talented, articulate, capable and successful business women during the years she has been networking and, of course, continues to meet through ALIQUANTUM, who told her that confidence is always an issue when they are networking.

Inspired by a lady called Erma Bombeck, who sadly died in 1996, Laura took the stages of development of a woman, written by Erma Bombeck (www.agilityability.com/erma_bombeck.htm), and turned that into the development stages for networking for women in business.  This is presented at ALIQUANTUM once each year to give everyone the opportunity to take some positive hints and tips away to improve their networking skills at any networking event they attend.

The Metaphorical Purple Hat has also become the symbol of membership of ALIQUANTUM - Networking for Women in Business as each of our members are presented with a lapel badge in the shape of a purple hat to signify their association with this fast growing networking group for women.

Putting on the ALIQUANTUM Networking Metaphorical Purple Hat

The presentation at ALIQUANTUM on wearing the ALIQUANTUM Metaphorical Purple Hat covers the following areas and is useful for any woman who networks.  You can find some networking hints and tips on the website here to help you as well.

The Beginning	Either as a new business start up, or as someone new to networking: -           Understanding how it works -           Understanding what you aim to get from it -           Overcoming the “Oh, my God” moments -           Developing networking skills and techniques
Gaining Experience	Gaining experience as a networker: -           Dealing with difficult people -           Personal space -           Dealing with different types of networking -           Better understanding of techniques to bring results -           The rule of 3 -           Varying your presentation -           The value of 60 seconds -           The ‘giving’ circle -           Practice makes perfect -           The Hooker, The Butterfly and The Speaker!
‘Wearing’ The Purple Hat	Having fun with the world: -           Relaxed and confident networking

If you would like to talk to Laura Swetman about networking at ALIQUANTUM - Networking for Women in Business then please do feel free to contact her.

Tel: 0161 950 9472
Email:  laura.swetman@aliquantum.org