People
Published: June 30, 2023 | Updated: 29th June 2023
“I’m a self-employed consultant, and I’ve always struggled a little with networking.
“It can be really expensive, and I’ve often felt a little intimidated going into very male-heavy environments with people who are already well established.”
This is what led Naomi Loose to set up Loose Connections, a networking group for women in the New Forest.
The business currently uses a pay as you go model, which means people only pay for the sessions they come to instead of having to fork out for a subscription.
“It’s up to people to attend when they want to attend, there’s no pressure at all. People have said that because of that, the relationships they’re building are organic.
Naomi Loose, Founder of Loose Connections Networking
“And it really is working, we’re seeing a lot of cross-referrals going round with people on the WhatsApp group saying ‘Does anyone know where I can get this, or does anyone know someone who does this’.
“It’s a really diverse group of people, you’ve got everyone from mortgage brokers and financial advisors to holistic therapists and florists.
“It’s a massive range of people you can tap into.”
The group’s most recent event was a speed networking event held at Framptons in Ringwood, which is part-owned by Naomi’s husband, Darren.
“I think the biggest mark of its success for me was that after the session, everyone stayed and sat and talked for ages.
“They were all commenting about how it’s a nice, genuine group of people. We’re all there to promote our businesses, but because you’re not pressured into doing it, it’s a lot calmer and they felt more comfortable.
“There was 12 of us, but it was really loud in the room, with lots of people not only swapping business cards and making professional connections, but also finding common ground on more personal things like children.”
Loose Connections is only one side of Naomi’s venture, however. Along with her husband she releases a podcast on Spotify and Apple called Loose Lessons.
Loose Connections’ most recent event was speed-networking
“It’s basically fairly short, 5-10 minute snippets of information from the people involved in the Loose Connections networking group.
“We’ve done podcasts on topics like taking your children abroad and mortgages.
“One of our members, Denise Lawrence, Operations Director at Y-not Finance Mortgage Brokers, did a podcast with me on interest rates, and what that means for people.”
Going forward, Naomi and Darren have plans to expand the Loose Connections brand outwards.
“One of the things I’d like to do is to expand into other counties and areas and have other groups following the same model elsewhere.
“We’re also looking into how we could run a subscription model alongside the pay-as-you-go one for people who want to commit on a more long-term basis.
“But one of the biggest thing we’re considering is how we can roll out the concept to a group for men.
“For people who maybe aren’t already established, perhaps because they’re younger or just need a little support, we’d love to be there to give them that.
“One of the main reasons I set this up was because I became a consultant back in February of 2020, luckily in my line of work I was still able to make it work while in lockdown.
“But talking to other lawyers who have gone self-employed, one of the things I kept hearing was how lonely it can be. The original idea was to set it up with a buddy system to help people who are closer to the start of their careers.
“Eventually the concept grew into Loose Connections, but that main goal of supporting people is still very much there, and it’s something we want to build on as we go forward.”
