Are you part of a networking group?

Three women brokers describe the networking groups they are part of and the value they offer

Are you part of a networking group?
Three women brokers describe the networking groups they are part of and the value they offer

Deslie Taylor
Director/Mortgage broker
Mortgage Choice Ormeau

Networking has been a major focus of my business for the past 12 months. To show my ongoing support to the local community and businesses in the area we meet for a monthly networking breakfast. This breakfast enables all of the local businesses in finance, legal and accounting to discuss all areas of business that we may need to focus on. We invite guest speakers who are educated on our main focus for the month, ie marketing or staffing.

Networking groups are a great way to maintain a level of motivation and support in the local community. The ability to be able to call on others feeling similar pressures and who can be a sounding board is priceless.


Susie Davis
Mortgage broker
Lotus Home Loans

The aim of networking for me is to make new connections and build relationships to grow my business. I discovered the Business In Heels women’s networking group which has almost 500 members locally and over 100,000 worldwide. It offers the opportunity to meet many other businesswomen every month in a casual atmosphere, discussing what we do and how we can help each other. Many have a wide range of different and unique businesses that I would not have otherwise connected with and I always come away learning something new. The women I have met are interesting, supportive, motivated and like-minded businesswomen with a common goal for their businesses to be successful.


Deanna Ezzy
Finance strategist
Trilogy Investment Property Funding

I am a member of Canberra Women in Business. CWB provides a relaxed environment to socially engage with other Canberra businesswomen and also allows me to promote my own business. I recently won the Member of the Month award, which meant that for an entire month I was regularly featured on social media. The networking is relaxed as we’re left to our own devices with some food and wine. Often I find myself bumping into the same people, which helps build meaningful connections as we’re seeing familiar faces every fortnight. The speakers are local women and provide me with inspiration as they relate their own journeys in this world of business.
 
A GROWING FORCE
FAST concluded its fifth annual Women in Business series with a strong attendance of over 300 people nationally, most being women seeking valuable insights from their broker peers.

Female brokers are a growing force in the industry and their numbers are reaching record highs. MFAA data shows that 32% of new hires in the broker market last year were women, a record rise of 8.7%. FAST CEO Brendan Wright said, “The benefit to our industry in having a good representation and balance in gender – as well as ethnicity, experience and thinking – is that we can cater to a broader range of consumer and business owner preferences. This will enable sustainable growth for many years to come.”