To support and inspire women committed to achieving personal and financial freedom
by building businesses around their passions.

Welcome to our first issue of Venus, a magazine launched to inspire and celebrate New Zealand women who have ventured in to the world of business ownership.

This magazine has been a dream of mine for almost two years. Ever since I can remember I have known deep inside that I was here for a reason. A reason that was greater than me and that would make a difference in the world. In the past four years since launching the Venus Network I have had the pleasure of meeting and sharing this journey of business with women throughout New Zealand who have this same inner drive and motivation to live life on purpose.

A woman on purpose is inspiring, engaging, enthusiastic and captivating. I thought how perfect to dedicate the first ever issue of Venus to purpose. The role it plays in our lives, the motivation it provides in our businesses and the enterprises that evolve from it. To me the word purpose has two meanings; to live one’s life ‘on purpose’ or be guided by a higher purpose and to be purposeful, to have an intention or a reason for taking action.

We are born for a reason; to contribute our uniqueness and fulfil our purpose in this world. Who you are is unique; your skills, passions, talents, abilities and interests all make up the unique and brilliant woman that you are.
It’s my job as a human to discover and fulfil my purpose. And as Oprah so beautifully put it ‘If you are still alive, you haven’t finished your purpose’.

What I clarified for myself earlier this year is that my purpose is to inspire and support women who are fulfilling their purpose through business. I am passionate about supporting and encouraging the feminine qualities of sharing, celebration, intuition, collaboration and community within business. This is the kind of business community that we’re building here within the Venus Network.
Venus magazine is here to support you as you start and grow a business of your own.

I am committed to your success in business. Through the Venus magazine I’ll be sharing inspiring stories of business women, strategies to help you navigate the road of business ownership, tools you can apply in your business and sharing secrets of success from women who have created financial freedom through their businesses.

I’m thrilled to be starting out on this journey with you.
Here’s to a wild and fun ride.

Vanessa

Read your copy here www.venusnetwork.co.nz/magazine

The Rangiora Venus Group headed out to Ataahua Wines at Waipara last week. Stephanie Henderson-Grant a member of Venus owns Ataahua Wines www.ataahuawine.co.nz.

“We had a fabulous time with wine tasting and finger food. ”

Ataahua Wines prides itself on producing of a range of deliciously fine Waipara wine. All grapes for these wines: Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot, are grown in the picturesque Waipara Velley, 60km North of Christchurch.

Huge thanks to Debbie Mahia from Essence Magazine www.essencemagazine.co.nz for the photos.

After 3 months of working with the awesome team at Taylor McAllum I’m so happy to announce our new Venus Brand. Ronnie and Lionel Taylor McAllum have been avid supporters of myself and Venus over the past three years and have watched the Venus Network grow from a small Tauranga business to a national company.

Venus chose to work with Ronnie and Lionel for a number of reasons; their passion for business, continued support of the Venus Network and their creative brilliance.

I feel I have a brand that will take me global.. when the time comes for Venus to go offshore.

I love the circle which to me illustrates the power of being involved in a network, a circle of women, of business partners to help one another.

A very heartfelt thank you to this dynamic team for their support and brand genius. Check them out http://www.taylormcallum.com/

We’ve already had some wonderful comments from our members:

I think it just looks absolutely fantastic- Well done you!
Tanya Gray RecruitNZ – member of Grey Lynn

I love the new brand – it looks fabulous & professional!
Sarah Lambourne, Internet Marketing Specialist – Facilitator Manukau Group

Three years ago today Venus started in Tauranga. An idea I had to gather a group of businesswomen together to support them in growing their own businesses while contributing to the success of the community.

Venus has transformed over the past three years into a strong business network filled with passionate and committed business women throughout New Zealand. The community is seen by many as their ‘business family’.

The highlights over the past year for Venus have been:

• We have welcomed many new facilitators and assistant facilitators to our leadership team
• The Venus Management team has grown from myself at Venus HQ in Tauranga to now a team of 8 Regional Coordinators around New Zealand
• We have met some amazing, inspiring and bold businesswomen throughout the country
• Introduced our ‘Marketing Modules’ as meeting topics to help upskill our members in the areas of marketing and sales
• Our name has changed from Venus Clubs to The Venus Network
• Along with this we are very excited to introduce our new brand which we will believe is a relfection of the development the company has undergone over the last three years

With interest in Venus Australia we are looking to move into the global market and launch Venus offshore in the next 12 – 24 months. Exciting times ahead for Venus as we also strengthen our New Zealand community.

At the core of Venus is the sincere desire to support women to be successful in their own business.

We love what we do.

We love being part of your business journey.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Vanessa
Venus HQ

When it is your turn to introduce yourself and your business it is important to understand that this is your opportunity to “TEACH” the other members how to sell you to their networks. Give them the words they can use to refer you! What you say at this time is the only information the other members will have to refer you on.

Change your 1 minute promo at every meetingEvery meeting you get around 1 minute to educate the other members about your business.

I suggest changing what you say at every meeting. We try and include everything about our business in that short 1 minute segment but its too much information for the other members to remember. So… Keep it simple. Change it each meeting.

There are a number of things you could talk about at each meeting. Here are some ideas for you to think about:

• Include the details of your product and/or service that set you apart from your opposition

• What is your unique selling proposition?
  
• Rave about yourself
  Do not be afraid to “blow your horn” a little. What may sound a little egotistical coming out of your mouth, will sound great coming out of someone else’s!
• Solutions you offer
  I encourage you to keep your focus on the solutions you provide for people and what makes you unique.
• Who is your target market, what clients do you work with? Get very specific.
  
• List one or two top benefits you provide for your clients
• Give a call to action or maybe a special offer or something that will encourage people to ‘trial’ your product or service.

Share something DIFFERENT every time you attend a meeting.
This is your opportunity to teach the members about each part of your business. You could share a new product each meeting, maybe a different service you offer.

Have fun with it.

Building blocks to our members success!

As a member of the Venus Network there are a few basic “building block” strategies members can learn in order to get the most out of their experience. Venus is more then just a referral marketing community. We are a business support group, a community full of inspiring and motivating women who really want to see you succeed.

• Give and SHE shall receive!
• Commitment to the whole group
  
• Being present and listening
• Educate the members
• What makes you unique?

The Key Success Strategies for Venus Members include:

Give and SHE shall receive!
The Venus Network rely on a give and take experience. The saying “you only get out what you put in” certainly applies here. Each member needs to be prepared to learn about and ACTIVELY refer the other members in the group. This is the ONLY way you will receive referrals yourself. This also applies to you as a facilitator – ‘lead by example’. The more people see you helping them, the more they will want to help you grow your company.

Commitment to the whole club
Be careful not to pick and choose to only refer women that you particularly get on well with, the women you ignore may have a huge network of people in your specific target market. Remember, you don’t have to be best friends to respect and refer someone. This is committed a “business” relationship after all.

Being present and listening
As other members introduce themselves make a point of actively listening and learning about what they do so you can refer them effectively. This is your time to be intentionally unselfish, be attentive and take notes if it helps you remember. If you are not sure about something they have said, ask a question, or at the very least approach them after the meeting ends. Be aware that you are focused on what is being said rather than practicing internally for your turn to speak.

Educate the members
When it is your turn to introduce yourself it is important to understand that this is your opportunity to “TEACH” the other members how to sell you to their networks!!! Give them the words they can use to refer you! What you say at this time is the only information the other members will have to refer you on.

What makes you unique?
Include the details of your product and/or service that set you apart from your opposition. What is your unique selling proposition?

Rave about yourself
Do not be afraid to “blow your horn” a little. What may sound a little egotistical coming out of your mouth, will sound great coming out of someone else’s!

Speak strongly and confidently
Somewhere deep down we are all a little nervous about speaking in front of others. If you feel nervous, take advantage of this opportunity to practice in front of a friendly and supportive group. Trust that, if you do “stuff-up” no-one will be judging you in this group of your peers who, after all, are all in the same position as you.

Partners not prospects
Be mindful of the fact that the members of the group are NOT your prospects. If you have a network marketing business please be aware that the other members of the group are there to grow their own businesses and it is not acceptable to try to recruit them into yours.

I hope you had the chance to relax and unwind over the holidays. I have a theory about the holidays. They are not always the best time to truly relax and unwind. With so much family stuff happening, guests visiting and friends around, kids home for the holidays, our time is often VERY stretched. That is why I think January is a slowish month for business in NZ. We are still unwinding from the year that has been and building up the reserves of energy and creativity needed for the year ahead.

Driving back from a friends today I realised how important systems will be this year in my business. When a business grows, more things arive on your to do list and life speeds up and I think creating systems for getting things done is the way to go. Or atleast the way to keep enjoying the ride of growing a business.

So… this week i’m creating a a few systems to help me manage the growth of my company.

1. A marketing plan – a system for promoting and growing the Venus Clubs. I’m booked in to have a marketing consultation – 3 hours - with an awesome marketing woman, Kristin from www.gro.co.nz who has just moved down to Tauranga.
2. I’m also making a plan for my social media. LinkedIN, facebook and twitter are my choice for the first part of the year.
3. A plan for taking small holidays (long weekends) over the course of 2010.
4. A sales forecast – a plan for financial growth this year.
5. Facilitator training plan - a plan to support women coming on board the Venus Leadership Team and running their own club for 6 months.

What a full week I have planned…its going to feel awesome with these plans in place. It means I don’t have to keep all the little details and to-do’s in my head.

I’m really looking forward to an exciting year with the Venus Clubs and have a plan to visit all the clubs in the first quarter of the year so I look forward to seeing you soon.

Here’s to a stunningly successful year for you.
I look forward to celebrating your successes and supporting you through the challenges.

Happy New Year,
Vanessa

Building blocks to our members success!

As a member of the Venus Clubs there are a few basic “building block” strategies members can learn in order to get the most out of their experience. Venus is more then just a referral marketing community. We are a business support group, a community full of inspiring and motivating women who really want to see you succeed.

• Give and SHE shall receive!
• Commitment to the whole club
• Being present and listening
• Educate the members
• What makes you unique?

The Key Success Strategies for Club Members include:

Give and SHE shall receive!
The Venus Clubs rely on a give and take experience. The saying “you only get out what you put in” certainly applies here. Each member needs to be prepared to learn about and ACTIVELY refer the other members in the group. This is the ONLY way you will receive referrals yourself. This also applies to you as a facilitator – ‘lead by example’. The more people see you helping them, the more they will want to help you grow your company.

Commitment to the whole club
Be careful not to pick and choose to only refer women that you particularly get on well with, the women you ignore may have a huge network of people in your specific target market. Remember, you don’t have to be best friends to respect and refer someone. This is committed a “business” relationship after all.

Being present and listening
As other members introduce themselves make a point of actively listening and learning about what they do so you can refer them effectively. This is your time to be intentionally unselfish, be attentive and take notes if it helps you remember. If you are not sure about something they have said, ask a question, or at the very least approach them after the meeting ends. Be aware that you are focused on what is being said rather than practicing internally for your turn to speak.

Educate the members
When it is your turn to introduce yourself it is important to understand that this is your opportunity to “TEACH” the other members how to sell you to their networks!!! Give them the words they can use to refer you! What you say at this time is the only information the other members will have to refer you on.

What makes you unique?
Include the details of your product and/or service that set you apart from your opposition. What is your unique selling proposition?

Rave about yourself
Do not be afraid to “blow your horn” a little. What may sound a little egotistical coming out of your mouth, will sound great coming out of someone else’s!

Speak strongly and confidently
Somewhere deep down we are all a little nervous about speaking in front of others. If you feel nervous, take advantage of this opportunity to practice in front of a friendly and supportive group. Trust that, if you do “stuff-up” no-one will be judging you in this group of your peers who, after all, are all in the same position as you.

Partners not prospects
Be mindful of the fact that the members of the group are NOT your prospects. If you have a network marketing business please be aware that the other members of the group are there to grow their own businesses and it is not acceptable to try to recruit them into yours.

http://www.etchmagazine.co.nz/category/business/

Women, New Zealand and the world of Business with Venus Clubs NZ

Although around 80% of New Zealand is comprised of small businesses, starting your own business is no easy venture and sure is no small feat. Competition is tough and perseverance is key, although well worth the freedom and lifestyle say most. With this in mind it’s important to make sure that if you are considering starting a new business venture, or if you already own and operate one, that you have the correct support systems in place.

And just like all things done before, women love getting together for support, advice and good old fashioned gossiping. It was done over knitting and sowing, to share recipes and gardening tips and now for business consulting. It is the way women have always done and it is no different today for the new age career woman. In fact getting together for support and advice is just as important for women, if not more, in today’s working world.

It is for these reasons that Vanessa Davey has put together the Venus Business Clubs for women. Not only do you meet together regularly to share ideas, exchange affiliate links and initiate partnerships but also as a way to boost self confidence and stay positive.

“The Venus Clubs are full of passionate women who are serious about growing their business. We allow one person per business category to join a club so members have no competing businesses in their club. Clubs of up to 20 women meet fortnightly to build strong business alliances with one another that result in the exchange of high quality referrals and alliances being formed” says Vanessa.

After starting her own business ‘The Clutter Coach’ in Tauranga in 2006, Vanessa took the opportunity to follow her passion for small business facilitation, and her love for women in work, into business and came up with the idea of starting small networking groups that would help women follow their passions and achieve their goals.

“I’m in business and love to support anyone who is helping out kiwi business women” Says Vanessa. After hearing this we thought we would ask Vanessa a few questions about her opinion on the world of women and business in New Zealand.

What do you think makes kiwi women so entrepreneurial and successful?

“Our D.I.Y mentality – if we want something done, we do it ourselves. Perhaps because we are so far away from other countries, perhaps because we haven’t been told we can’t. I love the lyrics to a kiwi song “We have no idea that it couldn’t be done and we needed to find a likeminded someone who had no idea that it couldn’t be done.” I think we have so many talented kiwis and we all get talking and support one another and it goes from there”.

What do you think women exclusively have to offer in the world of business?

“Our natural ability to build relationships and work in collaboration for a common cause and a common vision. We are naturally gifted at what some call the ‘feminine principles’ of intuition, empathy, nurturing, and creativity. Although these are not exclusive to women I think they feel more natural to women”.

What do you get out of working with other women (personally)?

“I feel inspired by the women who are my clients because they have been bold and taken on the challenge of running their own business. Women in business have such passion for what they are doing and I get to build great friendships with my clients. It really does feel like a big family, a tribe, a community”.

The Venus Clubs are currently operating in Tauranga, Hamilton, Rotorua, and Christchurch and will soon be launched in Nelson, Auckland and the Hawkes Bay. Women can visit their local club meeting for free as a guest. To register as a guest and for further information visit:

www.venusclubs.co.nz

Written By: Abby Lynne

Article in Nelson Mail
13 August 2009

We are very excited about launching the first club in Nelson early September and have already had 7 guest registrations from this article. I’m really looking forward to my visit to Nelson to launch the first club with Liz.