Soraya Anderson Chair at London Heathrow and London Kingston

“ECX is short for Enterprise Connexions. That first word, Enterprise, meaning business, is what it’s all about for me. I chair our meetings at Heathrow and Kingston. The former is well-established and the latter has recently launched. People attending our meetings will tell you I have a certain philosophy, starting with meetings that always run to time. I believe it’s important to understand the value of time. We are in the room to talk about business and to help people get more business opportunities. Dress code is also important in our groups. How you appear is how people will ‘judge you’.

First impressions really do matter. Finally, you have got to turn up consistently if people are going to take you seriously. I’m a long-term believer in business and in life that what you give out you will get back in the long-term. Helping others is a better route to success than just helping yourself. If I think there is a synergy between two people, I will try and put them together, whether there is a direct benefit to me or not. I attribute much of the success of ECX to Martin Fowler who coordinates both areas. He has created a networking brand which stands for professionalism, respect and encouragement. He works tremendously hard behind the scenes and every member benefits.

We have become good friends over recent years and I value his counsel and trust his judgement. 1-2-1 meetings are a successful element of any personal networking plan. It gives me the opportunity to explain about Angel Business Club. It is an invitation-only club to become a shareholder in companies which otherwise would not be available to invest in. We are currently engaged in:

• Salvage operation to recover Britain’s lost £4.5 billion of Gold sunk in WW1 and WW2.
• Another is Firescape. A single extinguisher for all fire types using environmentally friendly and natural ingredients.

When I meet people interested in the business club, we love sharing these stories and others. We are 100% transparent about all the costs and commissions upon joining, should an invitation be extended. If you’re straight with people it makes for successful business relationships based on trust and respect. www.angelbusinessclub.com