On Wednesday 11th September, I was invited to the House of Lords to celebrate the launch of the ‘Female Entrepreneurship: Moving Forwards’ report by Small Business Britain. My name made the invite list due to being listed in the Top 100 UK Female Entrepreneurs for 2024 – an accolade that still feels unreal 9 months in. But the truth is, I wouldn’t have been in that room or on that list without the Brighton business networking scene. Nor would I have felt confident in my bright yellow suit without five other Brighton Business Women in the room with me too.
There are thousands of business owners within the Brighton Girl Community who haven’t stepped foot in the networking scene beyond coming to our own events. Some because they find networking to be utterly terrifying. Some because they have no idea where to start. I was that person. I had one bad experience at a networking event in 2019 where a man told me that “everyone in this room thinks your business will fail” amongst many other misogynistic comments. People I respected watched as I cried, he shouted, and I banished myself from networking forever (outside of Brighton Girl).
That is until April 2023, when I finally spoke about what had happened and was handheld back onto the scene. Business friends from before 2019 have labelled my return as a ‘comeback’ – like a protagonist in a noughties rom com. I’ve spent the last 17 months navigating a scene that Google can’t translate, sharing the following recommendations with networking newbies. The Big Business Breakfast Club should be everybody’s starting point. It’s a big one with over 100 businesses from various industries, but as you’re sitting on breakfast tables (usually a fry up), you get the chance for more intimate networking too.
Hailed as “the fun one” is The Big Fat Greek Club, a mixture of great food at Nostos followed by dancing on the last Friday lunchtime of every month. PLATF9RM, Connected Brighton and South Lanes Studios bring the fun too, where you often catch people outside of the formal networking scene. What are the “formal networking scene” events? First Friday Lunch Club, Platinum Club, The Barrow Club, County Business Club Sussex Top Table and The Boundary Club by Sussex Cricket. Great for building relationships with higher value businesses.
Whilst the first few events might be daunting, you’ll quickly become comforted by the familiar faces in the room and amazed by the opportunities that follow.
