Please mention Schmooze when contacting the Canberra office on 6248 8366 when taking advantage of this offer.
Introducing our New Members Relations Manager
Introducing our new Members Relations Manager, Donna Alexander!
Donna is a marketing professional who is completing her Bachelor of Psychology and Business. She also works for growing IT firm, Connexxion as the Marketing Manager.
Her role at Schmooze is the new position of Members Relations Manager.
Donna will assist new and existing members to gain full benefit from the comprehensive range of services and events we offer.
So if you've a question about membership, thinking of joining, or want to know how to make the most of your membership, please get in touch with Donna to arrange a personal consultation via email: donna@schmooze.net.au
March Comment from Phillip Jones
Welcome to Autumn, and although the natural inclination as its gets cooler is to stay indoors, our program is aimed at getting you out and about!
March sees two major programs roll out for Schmooze: the start of our young professional program which has the theme this year of 'Inspiration to Reality' and our Business Mentoring Program.
The young professional program will feature several related events that take you on a journey from being inspired by an idea or vision, through the stages of refining the idea, connection or goal and towards making it a reality. Our young professional events are open to anyone under 30, and you'll find details of the first event held in association with the Lighthouse Innovation Centre here.
Our Mentoring program is being run for the third time and this year has a small business focus. We have designed the program to be targeted and practical, and runs for just four weeks as you collaborate with a mentoring partner (or two) towards respective goals. The program is open to anyone (note, a fee applies to non-members or social members) and is fully supported with an information session and a how-to kit. This program is run only once per year so don't miss out.
Speaking of once a year, we partner for the third year in the row with our friends at Canberra BusinessPoint for the March Schmooze for another special event. Before the event we'll also co-host a free panel discussion featuring several small business owners who have made the transition from public service to starting their own successful small business.
The National Folk Festival will also make an appearance at the March Schmooze for an exclusive preview of the award winning festival!
Finally, we get asked about our plans to expand interstate from time to time. These are still on track and we are just lining up the proverbial ducks in a row before we make any announcements. But if you know of anyone in Melbourne or the Illawarra region who you think would find Schmooze rewarding, please encourage them to get in touch with us so they can be informed when we hold our launch events.
So hopefully, something for everyone in this month's program and we look forward to welcoming you!
Phillip Jones
Founder, Schmooze
Applications Now Open for the Schmooze Business Mentoring Program
Each year, Schmooze runs a targeted four week mentoring program. We'll be seeking applications in March for this year's program that will be run through April.
We'll have several positions available for interns to assist us with all aspects of promoting Schmooze and running our events, particularly our young professional program.
You would also be exposed to the planning and decision making processes within our organisation and get to meet lots of very useful contacts for your career among lots of other benefits.
The timing and committment is flexible, and we'd be looking at a six to eight week commitment with a few hours each week.
To get an idea of what's coming up for us this year have a read of this page and also our Young Professional page here.
If you are interested and want to chat about the opportunity please drop us a line at info@schmooze.net.au and tell is a little about yourself and what sort of experience you'd like to gain.
Opportunities with Schmooze in 2010
Schmoooze is currently planning its program for 2010 and is seeking expressions of interest in the following areas:
Presenters in our monthly professional development workshops: These will be aimed at small business owners on a range of practical business and interpersonal skills.
We'll be particularly focusing these focused and practical workshops at those new to business, about to transit from the public to private sector or about to start their business.
There are 10 or more workshops per year.
Referral Program participants- as part of the new membership packages, members can include an introductory offer or information about their services or expertise for members. These will be hard copy DLs which the new member uses to contact you.
You can choose which membership package to be included in so the introduction is targeted. Schmooze will produce the vouchers. The offer offer will also feature on this website about your company, along any offer you'd care to make in the Members Lounge.
To participate a referral fee is payable for Schmooze by mutual agreement for sales arising from the offer.
Authors for our Thought Leadership article series: These are a member only resource on the website aimed at providing expert insights in a wide range of areas for executive level decision makers, not advertorials!
We are seeking three to five articles per contributor up of around 1000 words.
Contributors for a Schmooze member-only Business Coaching retreat to be held around mid 2010. The concept is to host a weekend series of workshops with a range of complementary subject matter experts aimed at providing existing business owners skills and insights and knowledge to boost their current businesses to the 'next level'.
The event would be out of Canberra (possibly Southern Highlands) and run from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. Schmooze would organise the event and this would be one of the highlights of the year.
Sponsors for the Professional and Schmooze monthly Schmooze's: do you want your business to be the focus of the showcase event each month? The model is simple, if you take care of the drinks and tucker and turn on the lights, we'll bring 80-100 professionals for you to showcase your business in the most tasteful, stylish and targeted way possible.
As we expanding into NSW and Victoria we are also interested in hearing from venues or businesses in those areas as well.
Staff photographers for SYPG and Professional branches: we always need photos for our website and facebook pages to document the events and give recognition for our sponsors. We can offer complimentary six motnhs memberships and due recognition in return for six shoots.
Network In-kind support: In 2010, we are looking for media and PR partners next year to ensure as wide a audience knows about Schmooze and the opportunities it offers and to attract new members.
We can offer a special package of such a Principal Sponsor including co-branding on the website and weekly e-newsletter.
Artist and Musician performers: if you want to showcase your talents to potential clients then we'd love to hear from you. We are seeking performances at the showcase monthly Schmooze's in return for profile and exposure both at the event and through the website and e-news. The performances can be 15 minutes up to 1 hour. These are also a great way to promote a new album or performance or festival coming up to a professional audience.
Staff to work casually for membership and event services.
To discuss these opportunities or for any questions, please contact Phillip Jones
Interstate Chapters Coming
Do you live in Melbourne, or Wollongong and want to find out more about the upcoming Schmooze launches there in the coming months?
This month sees our full program ramp up with the first of our Professional Development Workshops (see our events calendar) which will be held monthly at the National Press Club.
The topics this year will complement each other and are perfect for those new to small business, thinking about it and perhaps just want to brush up on some key skills.
The format is personalised and the sharing of knowledge aimed to be practical and 'plug n play'- things you can use right away.
We've also moved the events to the early evening to suit the many of you who have 'day jobs' whilst they work on their passion and business after hours.
Also our young professional team is putting the finishing touches to their first events which will start shortly, and we'll be alternating each month between our young professional (SYPG) and young entrepreneurs (SYEG ) groups. We\'ve recently made new appointments to the Council that run these activities and we\'ll introduce them in the coming weeks.
We\'ll also be adding some new articles to our Thought Leadership series later this month which are submitted by members and are found in the Members Lounge part of the website.
Finally, don't forget if you got some news to share, or events you want to promote, members can add their own info and events onto the website anytime by logging into the Members Lounge and fill in the simple online forms. Selected events are picked up for the weekly enews!
Cheers
Phillip Jones
PS we've added some photos from the recent January Schmooze- please visit our facebook page to have a look.
Welcome Message for 2010
In a straw poll taken amongst friends, members and colleagues over the summer break, the vast majority were very positive about this new year. Whether it was a mix of well-founded insight or sheer optimism, this time of year is always an exciting and inspiring one as we move forward optimistically into the new year.
At Schmooze, we'll be building on our program confidently with several new initiatives, including interstate expansion as we continue to evolve in response to the interests of our members.
One small, but key, change is the phasing out of the word 'networking' from our vocabulary generally. After six years, Schmooze now offers far more than just a monthly networking function, and for many people the term carries a connotation that isn't always positive, nor really isn't what we are about. It happens naturally within the environment we create, but we don't feel the need to make it overt.
Rather, I would define Schmooze as a professional community who's aim is to create opportunities, whether through our events or online, for people to connect in a positive way. So whether it's for career, professional, social or business reasons, we create the space to connect in a welcoming and collaborative atmosphere, the rest is up to you.
To that end, our new membership structure will also assist new and renewing members to tailor their experience of Schmooze and the range of events, opportunities and online resources are all there to support our members and guests in fostering new opportunities.
On behalf of the team we look forward to working with you to realise some of your aspirations for 2010.
