The Playdate That Became a Business

Back in May, I was one-year into running my own business, busy looking after my two small children, juggling life, and struggling to decide in which direction to take my company. On a Saturday morning in a crowded village hall to celebrate the birthday of my youngest son's friend, I embarked on my current form of networking and got chatting to another mum. It turned out our 3-year-olds were best friends who were inseparable at nursery, and she, like me, was a solo-business owner also in need of something or someone to bounce ideas off.

The inevitable follow-up play date ensued, and while the little ones squealed and laughed their way through a morning, Ruth and I learnt more about each other and shared our experiences of business networking. We'd both been to fantastic networking events, however there was always a "but". "It was brilliant, but too far away", "it was great, but I can't ever make that date" or "I loved the people, but I find it so awkward walking into a room and introducing myself".

We started to brainstorm what our perfect networking event would look like, and soon found we were both aligned in terms of what we wanted, and in our enthusiasm for making our thoughts a reality. We knew we wanted it to be low pressure and informal, open to everyone, business focused and most importantly, outside. We both knew the importance of stepping away from the screen, having face-to-face contact with people, and the power of nature to spark creativity and induce calm, and from here, Strategy Strolls Outdoor Networking was born.

Over the following months we refined our thinking, incorporating the honesty that comes with side-by-side talking in pairs alongside a central "problem solving pow-wow" for collective discussion and group input. We determined the fundamentals; Nowton park as the perfect location with both beautiful environment and superb facilities, 9.30am - 11am in order to facilitate the school runs and avoid heaviest traffic, and a two week-only WhatsApp group open to attendees around an event date to maximise the personal interactions and promote connections. The detail came (alongside permits, insurance, risk assessments, first aid training refreshers, marketing materials and countless practice walks around the park), before we were finally ready, and were both thrilled to launch Strategy Strolls with a VIP event on 10th September.

So if you, like Ruth and I, are looking to make business connections, value wellbeing, and believe that sometimes the answer to solving a problem is a walk and a talk in the woods, then do come along to Nowton Park and join us for our next Strategy Stroll.