Making Networking Work for Her (Jackie Groundsell, co-founder 1230)

Jackie Groundsell is the co-founder and co-director of successful women’s networking business, 1230 (twelve thirty). This dynamic business aims to help women make the connections and find the support that they need in their business lives.

The teachers who always told Jackie Groundsell to keep quiet in class could never have anticipated that this ‘skill’ would become one of her greatest business assets. “If they could only have foreseen the future and my career in networking” Jackie muses.

But business networking was not a widely known concept when Jackie started her working life as a secretary. And it’s doubtful that even 20 years ago anyone could have predicted that one would ever be able to make a business out of it. But she has. And a successful one at that.

It was only in the early 1990s that future 1230 co-founder, Penny Denby, managed to drag a very reluctant Jackie to her first women’s IT networking meeting. And it was only then that she fully appreciated the value and potential of women’s networking. At this stage such meetings were a rarity, and she quickly reclassified them from the same category as coffee mornings. “It was a real eye-opener! In women-only environment women network far more naturally, they share more.”

Her own ‘network’ of all-female support grew quite organically through the 90s: an ever-increasing number of women who worked locally getting together for lunch once a month to chat. During this time Jackie was a generalist advisor at the Bromley Chamber of Commerce. They approached Jackie and Penny about organising an event to support women’s businesses. She assured the Chamber that their networking meeting would be an improvement on the Chamber’s own efforts.

And she was right. The March 2003 event turned out to be the start of a new era in Jackie’s career. Networking could be a business! Not only that, it was a personally satisfying one: “Being able to connect people, to see the synergies that develop between people is very rewarding. It is so satisfying.”

But like with any business, there were more than a few challenges in store for 1230. Not least, convincing men that women’s networking was not a fanatical feminist, bra-burning endeavour. It was something that provided a unique environment for good business connections, and allowed women to gain confidence in their business skills.

Funding was another issue she and Penny faced. Despite what looked like many promising funding opportunities for projects that promoted women in business, their bids and applications were unsuccessful. It was her positive can-do attitude that helped her put each failure behind her and keep going with what she believed in. “I would say my ability to talk and my can-do attitude are two of my greatest personal assets. And that I’m always up for a challenge.”

Also to her advantage Jackie counts her IT and teaching skills. Her original qualification in further education had her teaching typing to start with, but she kept developing her computer skills to keep current and finds them invaluable in running her business and training new 1230 TWC Franchisees.

Her only regrets? That she didn’t franchise the business sooner, and that she didn’t take the plunge, get a loan and invest in herself sooner when they looked to get funding. But it appears to be only a half-hearted regret that she admits only exists with the luxury of hindsight. And she does have the satisfaction of knowing that they developed the business through their own endeavours.

Jackie is constantly inspired by people that she meets through her networks, but one woman who has been an influence on her approach to life is Dame Cicely Saunders, responsible for the development of the world-wide modern hospice movement. Dame Cicely was founder and patron of St Christopher’s Hospice where Jackie worked for seven years as Assistant Fund-raising Manager. “She was just an awesome woman. Her achievements were astonishing. She had a very determined nature.”

And it is no surprise that, for a networker, the single thing Jackie couldn’t do without in a working day is Twitter. “It’s a very valuable tool for new contacts and knowledge. A mix of the serious and the light hearted.” She does admit that it can be a distraction though if you’re not self-disciplined!

Jackie’s advice to other women looking to develop their careers is simple:

1. Always research what you’re doing, see what other people are doing and look for the opportunities.
2. Always listen to your gut instinct.
   
   And finally,
   
3. Enjoy what you do.

Seems like a simple recipe that, coupled with a positive attitude and a well-employed gift of the gab, have taken Jackie a very long way from where she began.

If you’d like to find out more about networking opportunities in your area visit the 1230 website. You can also follow Jackie on Twitter @1230jackie.

Here at Smart Opportunities for Women we are confident that the UK has an extensive pool of talented women who are keen to get connected to forward-thinking employers. In 2010, we will be hosting a series of events focused on advancing the professional development of women and supporting employers to effectively recruit, develop and retain female talent. 

So, if you would like to attend or sponsor any of our events, we would love to hear from you. Contact us today.

Are you keen to invest in yourself, and develop personally and professionally? Then why not book to attend our 'smart workshops' (starting in April 2010).