So we’re officially on the downhill slide to Xmas I was informed the other day, seems like we have only just finished summer.
Happily, the America’s Cup is now New Zealand’s cup again, and all is right with the world! I’ve never had French champagne for brekkie before! Wasn’t that fantastic, did anyone else get out and about to the street parades? Being Auckland, it bucketed down the day of the parade, but it was fun none-the-less.
We seem to be in the depths of winter with all this rain and the constant barrage of storms, hope everyone has kept themselves safe and dry. The good thing about being on the downhill run to Xmas, is that means that summer is just around the corner as well and that makes it all worthwhile!

So what have I been up to?

Quite a lot! Post the early morning America’s Cup celebrations I jumped on a plane down to the Hawkes Bay for a visit. I caught up with the new VRM, Carol Reid, and put together some very cunning plans for the Bay and had an excellent breakfast meeting with 30 of the ladies from the Taradale, Napier and Hastings groups. It was lovely to see some familiar faces but also meet so many new and interesting business women in the region.
July has seen me more Auckland based which has been nice – my emphasis this month has been on the Academy programmes, getting the magazine sorted and rewriting Summer School for this years Xmas/New Year break. School holidays have fallen in the middle of things which always seems to slow business down a little with everyone’s focus being elsewhere.

Venus Training Academy

Kelly McFarlane, our Venus Training Academy Manager, has been on the job and is at the moment putting together a calendar of workshops and programmes for the latter part of 2017. The plan is to have a full 2018 calendar sorted for members so you can see what is coming up over the next 12 months and do some planning yourselves. Our Academy Coaches have their diaries marked out, and Kelly is managing all the resource around the Academy. We are just finalising venues for most regions for the workshops as well.
If you want to see what workshops and programmes we are going to be running moving forward go to this link for the workshops and this link for the programmes. Any questions about any of the programmes, please get in touch with either Kelly McFarlane directly or with your VRM. Events taking registrations can be viewed and booked here. 
The Venus Training Academy is there to run group training in an environment that sees you alongside other women who are looking for the same learning and advice. It’s very much about the learning alongside like minded women in a supportive environment. If you require specialist or more one on one training, please speak to your VRM as she will be able to recommend you to one of our Venus members.
Please make sure you keep up to date with what’s happening via either the Venus Training Academy Facebook page where you can meet the trainers and find out what is going on. Also please have a look at the Venus Training Academy website at www.venusacademy.co.nz. Information will be posted to all the Regional pages as workshops and programmes launch, but the detail is always available via either of these options.

New Look Venus

The light at the end of this tunnel, I’m happy to report, is getting brighter and brighter. We are working through the latter stages of rebranding and Academy IP after some rewriting as well. You will see we’re using specific banners for specific events, the whole idea being it will make it easier for you to see what is going on where and when while scrolling through Facebook.

Venus Charitable Status

Happy to report this is also getting closer and closer to reality. I have a meeting in the first week of August to dot the I’s and cross the T’s with the specialist lawyer, and then I hope to be able to submit all the information for approval. Once this is signed, sealed and delivered the external Venus board will also be put in place.

Venus Foundation

As the charitable status is just around the corner, I have this month also set up the Venus Foundation. This refers to be the charitable part of Venus that is available to all members. Over time the plan is to build the bank account up and be able to offer Venus members interest-free loans for their businesses growth or for any training and development they feel they require. These will need to be applied for and will be approved by the external board. If you know of any businesses that would be interested in supporting the Venus Foundation, please let me know – the more the merrier and the more woman we’ll be able to help.

Venus Magazine

Thank you to all who have expressed an interest in advertising or writing articles for the magazine. Remember to get these into Lindsey Carroll sooner rather than later, if we get too many of either we’ll just roll them over to the next magazine. Our new look is going to see us going glossy and looking very grown up!
If you’re still interested it’s not too late, we have put together the Venus Media Kit 2017 for those interested which details costs, the format required, etc. The media kit has been sent out to all members with all the relevant information and can be downloaded here. Lindsey Carroll, our Communications and Operations Manager, is the point of contact for the magazine and any queries/enquiries.

New Groups

Because we seem to be getting lots of registrations of interest from area’s where we don’t already have groups we are going to be launching new groups. Warkworth and Taupo are going to happen in August. Next year we are looking at Whangarei, Rotorua and New Plymouth at the beginning of the year and some new South Island groups. If you know of any women interested in Venus in any of these areas, please get them to register as a guest sooner rather than later, particularly if they are in a popular category, i.e. insurance, mortgage, accountancy, web or graphic design.

So how’s Venus going for you?

Are you making the most of it? Have you been to Member Success or Power Hour? Are you keen on running a Venus After 5?
Remember we’re here to help in any way we can so ask, ultimately though, your networking and your personal and professional development is entirely up to you. The more involved you get in the networking and training academy the more you’ll get out of it. A positive attitude and a hard work ethic go a long way in business and networking. Use the resources available on the website, visit groups, go to the social functions, get involved on Facebook and keep an eye on the website.
Being a Venus member is about you being part of a community of like-minded business women who support, motivate, encourage, learn and grow. We can help each other as individuals, but as a community, we can do so much more!
Let’s give the latter part of 2017 a damn good nudge and head towards the end of the year on a high.
Until next month my vivacious, vibrant Venusians! X
Carolyn

 Print This Post