Welcome to another Be My Guest Interview Series. This week Helen Hughes is joining us. Helen is the founder of Network Your Business. The aim of Network Your Business is to INSPIRE more people to use networking in business in order to ACHIEVE their goals through relationship building, to MOTIVATE more people to GROW their business with confidence & GIVE their time & knowledge to support others.
At the age of 17, my parents told me to go & speak to the man next door as he had a ‘good life’ and maybe I’d like to do what he did. He was a Bank Manager and so my career in banking was decided.
I’ve spent the last five years working as a Business Manager having worked as a Branch Manager for many years. During this time I’ve supported hundreds of entrepreneurs who wish to follow their dream of owning their own business. After the death of my Mum, I completely re-evaluated my own life and decided it was about time I started work on my own goals & aspirations which include spending as much time as possible with my own children, Emily 14, Beth 12 and Bobby 8. I believe that everyone should build a Plan B business & not be reliant on one source of income.
Describe yourself in 3 short fab and fun sentences
- A big picture person with a grand vision – I can’t leave the house without a pen, paper & my dreams
- Most comfortable working in a collaborative manner, connecting people to form strategic alliances
- Sociable and outgoing – last to arrive (!) but last to leave
Why did you choose to become an entrepreneur?
My Mum was advised that she was terminally ill with breast cancer in May 2010 – 6 months before she was due to retire. My Mum died in May 2011 and hadn’t had the opportunity to enjoy ‘work free’ time.
My Mum and Dad worked at a school and looked after my children during the school holidays – the Summer holidays of 2011 were a real challenge. The children didn’t want to go to holiday club and I longed for a job that was more flexible in that I could work around them and spend most days with them, rather than in the office. At the Bank I was meeting lots of entrepreneurs who weren’t familiar with the concept of ‘networking’ or where to start with social media so I started to collate useful information for my customers. In August 2012, I founded Network Your Business (NYB) and recently I’ve appointed two partners to the business to take NYB UK wide
Who has been your biggest inspiration in business?
Recently I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Susan Ma who was in Lord Alan Sugar’s The Apprentice show.
Susan was working in banking in the City as her family had encouraged her to get a ‘proper job’. However, her true passion was in natural, botanical skin care. Lord Alan Sugar saw a great opportunity to work with Susan & offered to invest in her business and become a 50/50 partner. I was incredibly proud to be with Susan Ma and Lord Alan Sugar at the official launch of Tropic Pure Plant Beauty on Saturday 4th May 2013.
Through Susan I have continued to be inspired to pursue my own dreams & not just to work on other people’s dreams.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
You may work for yourself but you don’t need to work by yourself.
Build a network of contacts and develop the relationships with those people to create a strong team. By being an integral part of a team people will turn to you for advice and in return you’ll have a support structure of advisers.
What three tips would you give when running your own business?
- When you run your own business, you usually get to select who you work with – choose to work alongside like minded people; their personalities and skill sets maybe vastly different but still share similar views on life. I choose to work with people that I enjoy a coffee and conversation with.
- NETWORK – attend networking meetings and develop a large database of contacts. Support as many other businesses as you can. Network online as well using social media.
- You are the greatest asset in your business – your business is reliant on you. You absolutely must invest in your personal health for optimal performance in your business. Exercise, nutrition, well being and personal development are all essential elements in your weekly timetable!
What are the three biggest mistakes people make when running their own businesses?
- Spending all their time in the business and no time ‘on the business’. You must have a Business Plan that is a working document. As part of your plan, create a weekly timetable – structure your week around your family commitments.
- Not setting goals – Think-Plan-Write-Act-Record & Review. Designate a ‘Business Coach’ or ‘Mentor’ – either a professional or a business contact. Be accountable for your actions as if you were having a review as an employee. As a minimum, this should be a monthly meeting.
- Trying to be ‘all things’ in your business. Know your strengths & outsource the rest! For example, pay a book keeper to run your accounts. Most businesses fail not because of the lack of demand in the product or service, they simply can’t pay the bills when due – have a Cash Flow Forecast.
What if I’m passionate about starting a business but have no idea where to start?
- What are you passionate about? If you could design your perfect job, what would it look like? Could this be turned into an income stream?
- Take your ideas to networking meetings and seek other people’s opinions & advice
- I recently met a lady who had a passion for putting together photo albums and now works with the elderly & terminally ill putting together photo albums along with their written memories to leave for their family. So simple and there is a huge demand for her services.
- A Home Based Business is a great option to support your financial security. The additional income will give you the flexibility to have more choices and design your own life to be the way you want it to be.
- On our Network Your Business website, we have a whole range of Income Opportunities for you to consider – there is a page for every county in the UK
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Always be open to opportunities. The most successful businesses will evolve & diversify.
If I wanted to connect and/or work with you where can I find you?
- Call me – Helen Hughes – 07875 301206
- Email me –
- Facebook profile - www.facebook.com/YouHaveChoices – I am very happy to accept ‘friend requests’ to connect.
- Facebook page – www.facebook.com/NetworkYourBusiness
- Website – www.NetworkYourBusiness.co.uk
Thank you Helen for sharing some of your business insights with us and making us realise how important networking is for developing our businesses. Helen has kindly put together a special offer of discounted membership where you get 6 months free when you sign up for one year. When signing up just mention where you’ve seen the offer.
As someone who was full of fear about networking up until very recently I’ve put together a document of 7 Tips for Networking, just click here.
Over to you… We’d love to know what your top tips for networking would be. Let’s get a conversation going in the comments section below.
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