Guest Article: What I’ve gained from business networking in London with IWant2Network

Business networking in London can be overwhelming. There are SO many different groups to choose from but there is none quite like IWant2Network. This group, run by Lizzie Allen Phillips, takes all the best bits of other formats and ditches all the worst bits. What Lizzie has created is unique, as far as I can tell (and I’ve tried a lot of groups over the years).

I first met Lizzie over 10 years ago in 2013 at a Women In Business (WIBN) networking meeting. I could immediately see that Lizzie was a bit different to other networking group leaders I’d met. She had relentless energy and boundless enthusiasm for providing high quality services. At that time, she was running several groups for WIBN in Central London while I had joined a group closer to home in North London.

A while later I joined Lizzie’s Liverpool Street group and attended until COVID hit. Since the return from COVID, Lizzie has run her own IW2N groups in Central London and online as well as pop events in iconic locations around the capital. Here’s my take on why IW2N is the best networking group in London at the moment.

Business – actual cash in my bank account

Let’s be honest. The real reason people join a business networking group is to find more clients and make more money. You need to see a return on investment when you spend on marketing. Networking is no exception. While it’s true there are other benefits, such as helping alleviate the loneliness of being self-employed, the numbers have to play out in your favour over time.

Since I’ve been attending IW2N, I’ve made my annual fees back multiple times, so it definitely works. But, like any networking, it can take a little time. People need to get to know you, so it’s important to show up to all your meetings and do your 1-2-1s to really form solid relationships.

Referrals – to potential clients

Arguably, the most important thing you get from networking is referrals to potential clients. After all, you can’t just be selling to the people in the room. Your networking group is your virtual sales and marketing team so make sure your fellow members properly understand what you do so they can tell others.

Suppliers – high quality help for my business

One of the first things I did when I joined IW2N was to use one of my group member’s services. Falguni Desai, a business coach helped me plan and focus for the future. This relationship was fundamental in tripling my profits during the first year of working with Falguni. The benefit of using someone in your network is clear – you know, like and trust them to be who they say they are.

Support – everything from international tax to booking a holiday

IW2N has six membership groups called N90 networking – 4 online and 2 face-to-face. Among the 85+ monthly members, there’s a vast array of different businesses. Each meeting offers a speaker slot called Ask the Expert to help you learn more about a specific business-related topic. Over the past year we’ve learned about personal finances, ChatGPT, copywriting, employment law, social media management and many other topics.

Connection – creating a social connection too

One of the best things about this networking group is the IW2N event pass which gives you access to six events over a five-month period. I’ve networked over breakfast at The Savoy, brunch at Native and supper at Dishoom as well as across the top of Tower Bridge, in a little boat around the canals in Canary Wharf and at the London Transport Museum. These informal fun and sometimes quirky events are a great opportunity to get to know other business owners in a social setting. In fact, I picked up a great website copy project just by sitting next to someone at a Dishoom event. No hard sell there!

Why not try IW2N for your next business networking in London?

Contact Lizzie for information or check out the N90 membership option which is the monthly group or the IW2N pass for the ad-hoc events. Personally, I’ve found a great combination for me is the online monthly group and the ad-hoc pass because I get the best of both networking worlds.

This article was written for IWant2Network by ??Michelle Eshkeri (ACMA) who is a member in our Networking90 Brunel group. You can find out more about Michelle, here .