A Tamworth businesswoman who puts her success down to networking has set up her own business networking group in newly refurbished offices in Fazeley, Tamworth.
Virtual PA Sharon Louca has launched the women-only networking group at The Mill Business Centre in Mill Lane where she rents out office and meeting space to local businesses.
Networking at The Mill provides business women in the area with the opportunity to meet and share information and advice.
Sharon is now a successful businesswoman and her company, Your Local PA, is an award-winning enterprise with a full complement of clients. But it wasn’t always that way. Six months after starting the business, Sharon had spent hundreds of pounds on advertising and leaflets but was struggling to bring in new clients from outside her circle of family and friends.
It was then that she came across business networking and it proved to be the big break she needed in getting Your Local PA off the ground.
Sharon said: “The first networking meeting I attended was Connect for women held at the West Midlands Waterski Centre near Kingsbury and I was then invited to some other groups. I joined B2B Tamworth and my business just took off. We were meeting once a week so it happened quite quickly. My first genuine client that I gained through networking still works with me now. I still attend various groups and am a member of FindaBiz, which also holds its monthly meetings at The Mill Business Centre.”
Sharon made lots of new connections across the area and soon had a full workload. In 2014 she was voted Service Business of the Year at the 2014 Tamworth, Lichfield and Sutton Business Networking Awards. She puts all that success down to networking and now wants to provide the same opportunities for other business women.
“Networking really made the difference in my business,” Sharon said. “I hadn’t been in business myself before and it was all new to me. You get so much out of networking in terms of advice, expertise and support, as well as new clients. It was invaluable to me so I want to help provide the same opportunities for other people.”
Networking at the Mill is every month, with the next meeting to be held on October 14th, between 12pm and 2pm, followed by November’s meeting on the 18th. There is no ongoing financial commitment; attendees just pay £10 a time towards food and refreshments. Anyone interested in attending the group can email sharon@yourlocalpa.com.
Sharon has a wide range of experience in administrational and secretarial functions. After studying a secretarial qualification at Tamworth College, she worked for a variety of businesses, including Bloor Homes, Dixons Estate Agents and NatWest.
During her maternity leave, the mother-of-two assisted her husband with the admin and office work for his car salesbusiness and realised similar businesses must also need support – hence the virtual PA enterprise was born.
Two years ago, Sharon expanded her operation by taking on premises at the Sir Robert Peel Mill in Mill Lane, Fazeley. The run-down building has been refurbished throughout and turned into a fully-functional business centre complete with free parking and Wifi.
It has a number of offices and meeting rooms to let, including a board room. It is perfect for businesses which need new offices, or extra space for interviews and training sessions, and for work-from-home businesses requiring occasional use of an office, or a more private meeting space than a coffee shop.
Smaller rooms can be hired for just £10 per hour. The Mill Business Centre currently has an offer with FindaBiz’s Midlands discount club where businesses can get 10% off the price of room hire. Visit www.findadiscount.co.uk to claim the voucher.
More information about the centre or Networking at the Mill is available by calling Sharon on 07976 457278.