Joanne Sparkes was inspiring: her talk on being a Virtual Assistant opened my eyes to the variety and practicality of what she does – and does at a distance. She has clients living close by and several hundred miles away. [Read more...]

The Abhina Foundation UK, a registered charity,  was formed by MONEW member Sue Weston and her fellow trustees in response to the 2004 tsunami and the on-going civil war in Sri Lanka. Sue has worked in Sri Lanka regularly since 1993. [Read more...]

I Love Zimbabwe is a co-operative company that encourages trading with Zimbabwe, feeding profits back into the country. The powerhouse behind this cooperative is MONEW member Martha Musonza Holman. [Read more...]

If you weren’t there, you missed a treat! Lots of MONEW members and also some new to our friendly networking association, came along to Bridges on Thursday 26 February for The Talk in The Town. [Read more...]

Ros Lines, Talk in The Town organiser reports: On Thursday 27 November very welcome mulled wine and mince pies ushered in our two speakers from Oxfam on this damp, cold evening.  Richard Marsh laid out the fascinating trail of the international development of Oxfam over the last half of the 20th Century and how its continued expansion has been maintained by its ability to evolve with the times.  Thanks to a technical hitch through which we lost the sound on what looked like a fascinating DVD, we instead got lively and informative comment, prompted by eager audience participation, from Carol Jones about the current workings of Oxfam’s promotional schemes.  And all bracketed by members of the network and some newcomers catching up with one another and taking the opportunity to promote their activities.  Oh, and I came away with two M&S £5 vouchers in exchange for a couple of pairs of old jeans – a very profitable evening!

Caroline Davies set up her Internet company, Frog in the Field, two and a half years ago.  “It’s very intense trying to be everything to everybody, I’ve made mistakes along the way and seen others make them.  I could always find plenty of information on what I should be doing, but not on what I shouldn’t have been doing.  Now I have an established business, I can look back and see clearly the things I should not have done.  If sharing my experience helps others to be successful too, I’ll be delighted.”

So she did!

Caroline shared with us all the pitfalls of a new business start-up, the what to avoid and no-one ever tells you bits and pieces – all those actions that make a difference between going into profit or descending down a drain of loss. Carolyn’s presentation was packed full of information – and Georgina Lester, Monew’s chair, won the musical chairs game that got the evening off to a delightful start!