Women Inspired Networking Conversations

Martina Darling
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  • Entrepreneurship

Welcome to Women Inspired Networking Conversations - the podcast for female entrepreneurs and women in business who want real conversations, genuine connection and the inspiration to keep going. Hosted by Martina, founder of Women Inspired Network (WIN), this podcast doesn't hold back on what it really takes to build a business, show up intentionally and authentically and find your people along the way. Whether you're just starting out or scaling up, you'll find something to help you here. Each episode brings you one of four things - an honest, unfiltered conversation with inspiring female entrepreneurs, practical networking tips you can actually use, a behind-the-scenes look on how WIN has grown into one of East Anglia's most loved women's business communities and practical mindset and business tips to help move your business forwards. No pressure. No pretending. Just real women, real stories and real business. This is networking - but not how you know it. If you've ever walked into a room full of strangers and wanted to turn straight back around or wondered whether networking is actually worth your time - this podcast is for you. New episodes drop weekly so subscribe to keep up to date. Come and join the conversation. Find us: www.womeninspirednetwork.com Follow on Instagram: @women_inspired_network Find our Facebook Community: Search Women Inspired Network

  1. 4d ago

    Why Finding Your Real Audience Changes Everything, with Cherry Hills

    Can I ask you something? How many times have you measured your business's worth by whether your friends and family bought from you? This week I sit down with Cherry Hills, founder of The Alchemist's Forge — someone who's been part of the Women Inspired Network family since before it even had a name. What started as anxiety worksheets Cherry hand-drew for her own daughter has grown into a whole world of downloadable children's mental health resources, in-person parent groups, and — as of this year — her very first children's book. We get into the real stuff: why the people closest to you are almost never your customers (and why that's not a reflection of your worth), why children don't come with a manual, and how one small decision — to write a story about seven goblins who each represent a different big feeling — turned into a book that's now opening doors to schools, wellness centres, and connections neither of us could have predicted. We also talk about networking the way it should feel: not pitchy, not clinical, just genuine. Cherry's been coming to WIN since day one, and this episode is a proper love letter to what happens when you keep showing up. 💛 This one is for every business owner who's ever felt like their work isn't landing because the people around them aren't buying. Spoiler: you probably just haven't found your people yet. In this episode we cover: ✨ Why your friends and family are (almost) never your customers ✨ How Cherry turned hand-drawn worksheets into a full business ✨ The story behind The Forge of Feelings and its seven goblins ✨ Why children don't come with a manual — and how to help them tell you what they need ✨ The unexpected doors that open when you show up to the same room, consistently ✨ Why genuine networking beats pitchy networking every time Find Cherry: 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.alchemists.forge 👤 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003475841481 📖 Buy the book: https://the-alchemists-forge.sumupstore.com Find out more about Women Inspired Network events 👉 www.womeninspirednetwork.com/events Follow us on Instagram 👉 @women_inspired_network Join our Facebook community 👉 Women Inspired Network: Networking For Women In Business 📖 Read the full blog: https://www.womeninspirednetwork.com/blog 🎙️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DM7Ooc5nLezg4u91OklYo?si=83acff1303aa4471 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDVCZqf8LiBs92aTeEHZsWrtoNRJEVCXn&si=kfsbmnaQYm0lelUk Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this one resonated with you, a review or a share means the absolute world to me. 💛

  2. Aug 30

    Collaboration Over Competition — the Smartest Thing You Can Do with Farley Boxall

    Can I say something a little controversial? Your biggest competitor might actually be your biggest opportunity. This week I sit down with Farley from Breakout for Business in Sudbury — someone who, on paper, you could argue is in a similar space to me. She runs networking events. She supports small business owners. We operate in the same area. We could absolutely be competitors. Instead we are each other's biggest cheerleaders. We recommend each other constantly. We have never exchanged a single penny. And both of our businesses are better for it. In this episode Farley and I have the most honest and at times controversial conversation about collaboration over competition. We talk about why copying someone else's content never works, why there is genuinely more than enough to go around, why even people in the same industry are rarely actually doing the same thing, and why kindness — actual, genuine, no-agenda kindness — is one of the most powerful business strategies there is. We also talk about networking etiquette. The stuff nobody ever says out loud but everyone is thinking. 😂 This one is for every woman in business who has ever felt threatened by someone doing something similar to them. Spoiler: they're not your enemy. They might just be your greatest ally. In this episode we cover: ✨ Why you cannot copy someone else into success ✨ Why there is more than enough to go around ✨ Why even people in the same industry are rarely doing the same thing ✨ How word of mouth marketing really works — and why it only comes from real relationships ✨ Why networking should never be about selling ✨ Why kindness is a genuine business strategy ✨ The networking etiquette nobody talks about but everyone needs to hear Find Farley at Breakout for Business: 🌐 https://breakoutservices.co.uk 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breakoutforbusiness 👤 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BreakoutForBusiness Find out more about Women Inspired Network events 👉 www.womeninspirednetwork.com/events Follow us on Instagram 👉 @women_inspired_network Join our Facebook community 👉 Women Inspired Network: Networking For Women In Business 📖 Read the full blog: https://www.womeninspirednetwork.com/blog 🎙️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DM7Ooc5nLezg4u91OklYo?si=83acff1303aa4471 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDVCZqf8LiBs92aTeEHZsWrtoNRJEVCXn&si=kfsbmnaQYm0lelUk Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this one resonated with you, a review or a share means the absolute world to me. 💛

  3. Aug 21

    Three Years of Nothing. Then Everything Changed with Wendy Winchester

    Have you ever put everything into your business and wondered whether any of it is actually working? Wendy from Alchemy Bejeweled spent three years doing exactly that. Fairs that didn’t convert. Social media posts that felt like shouting into a void. Putting herself out there consistently while navigating serious health challenges — burnout, fibromyalgia, autism and ADHD — alongside building something she truly loved. And then, in the last six months, everything flipped. People started posting in Facebook groups saying “I think there’s a lady in Stowmarket that makes jewellery, does anyone have her contact?” Wedding ring commissions started coming in. Her workshops filled up. The momentum she’d been building quietly for three years finally tipped. Nothing had changed overnight. Everything she’d been doing had just finally compounded. In this episode Wendy and I talk about resilience, finding the right audience, why the wrong fair is not the wrong strategy, and why showing up consistently — even when nothing seems to be happening — is the only thing that actually works in the long run. We also talk about how networking — even from the comfort of the Facebook group — played a real part in building her business and finding the right support. If you’re in the slow build right now and wondering whether to keep going — this episode is for you. In this episode we cover: ✨ Why the effort you put in now will pay off later — even when you can’t see it ✨ How to know whether it’s the wrong strategy or the wrong audience ✨ Why visibility compounds over time and how to make it work for you ✨ The importance of your Google Business Profile and reviews ✨ Why getting the right support around you changes everything ✨ How networking doesn’t have to look the same for everyone ✨ Wendy’s honest advice for anyone in the slow build right now Find Wendy at Alchemy Bejeweled: 🌐 https://alchemybejewelled.co.uk 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alchemy.bejewelled 👤 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlchemyBejewelled Find out more about Women Inspired Network events 👉 www.womeninspirednetwork.com/events Follow us on Instagram 👉 @women_inspired_network Join our Facebook community 👉 Women Inspired Network: Networking For Women In Business 📖 Read the full blog: https://www.womeninspirednetwork.com/blog 🎙️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DM7Ooc5nLezg4u91OklYo?si=83acff1303aa4471 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDVCZqf8LiBs92aTeEHZsWrtoNRJEVCXn&si=kfsbmnaQYm0lelUk Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this one resonated with you, a review or a share means the absolute world to me. 💛

  4. Aug 15

    Why The Success Circle Works — Real Stories, Real Results

    One of our Success Circle members messaged me to tell me she’d already made her annual membership fee back three times over. We were only a few months in. In this episode I sit down with Nikki Reeve from Insignia Limited — one of our founding Success Circle members — to talk honestly about what The Success Circle is actually like from the inside. What happens at the monthly dinners at Hintlesham Hall. How members are already working together, buying from each other and making real connections. Why the WhatsApp group between sessions is one of the most valuable parts. And why Nikki says it’s genuinely changed her business and her confidence. We also share some brilliant real-life examples of the magic that happens when the same group of brilliant women keep showing up for each other month after month. From a rebrand happening within the group, to a chance observation in a group chat that led to a potential new stockist for one of our members — this is what genuine community looks like in action. If you’ve been curious about The Success Circle and wondering whether it might be for you — this episode will answer that question. In this episode we cover: ✨ What The Success Circle actually looks and feels like from the inside ✨ How members are already working with and buying from each other ✨ Why seeing the same faces every month changes everything ✨ The power of a group chat where everyone is paying attention to each other’s businesses ✨ How the monthly guest speakers and workshops create immediate results ✨ Why it’s a conversation not a pitch — and why that matters ✨ The real return on investment our members are already seeing Find out more about The Success Circle and Women Inspired Network events 👉 www.womeninspirednetwork.com/events Follow us on Instagram 👉 @women_inspired_network Join our Facebook community 👉 Women Inspired Network: Networking For Women In Business 📖 Read the full blog: https://www.womeninspirednetwork.com/blog 🎙️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DM7Ooc5nLezg4u91OklYo?si=83acff1303aa4471 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDVCZqf8LiBs92aTeEHZsWrtoNRJEVCXn&si=kfsbmnaQYm0lelUk Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this one resonated with you, a review or a share means the absolute world to me. 💛

  5. Aug 8

    Why Later in Life Might Be the Best Time to Start a Business with Susan McGregor

    Are you in your fifties or sixties and quietly wondering whether it’s too late to do something different? This episode is for you. Susan McGregor is a celebrant who went to university at forty, started teaching at forty-four, and launched a brand new business in her sixties. Her third year in business has been her best yet. And in this episode she completely dismantles the myth that starting a business is something you do when you’re young. We talk about why everything you’ve ever done has been preparing you for this moment. Why the network you’ve already built over decades is one of your greatest business assets. Why patience and perspective — things that only come with life experience — give you an enormous advantage. And why networking has been one of the most powerful tools in building her business from the ground up. This is one of the most different and important conversations I’ve had on the podcast. Whether a career change is on your radar or not — I think this one will stay with you. In this episode we cover: ✨ Why starting a business later in life is not starting from scratch — it’s starting from experience ✨ How the network you’ve already built is more valuable than you realise ✨ Why patience and perspective give you an advantage younger entrepreneurs don’t have ✨ How networking helped Susan find clients, collaborators and a whole community ✨ What to do when you know something needs to change but you don’t know what yet ✨ Susan’s journey from retail to teaching to Slimming World to celebrancy ✨ Why you are never, ever too old Find Susan at Susan McGregor Celebrant: 🌐 https://susanmcgregorcelebrant.co.uk 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanmcgregorcelebrant Find out more about Women Inspired Network events 👉 www.womeninspirednetwork.com/events Follow us on Instagram 👉 @women_inspired_network Join our Facebook community 👉 Women Inspired Network: Networking For Women In Business 📖 Read the full blog: https://www.womeninspirednetwork.com/blog 🎙️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DM7Ooc5nLezg4u91OklYo?si=83acff1303aa4471 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDVCZqf8LiBs92aTeEHZsWrtoNRJEVCXn&si=kfsbmnaQYm0lelUk Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this one resonated with you, a review or a share means the absolute world to me. 💛

  6. Aug 1

    How Being Yourself is the Most Powerful Networking Strategy There Is with Ruth Leigh

    This one is for anyone who has ever walked into a networking event and felt like they didn’t belong. Ruth Leigh is a published author with eight books under her belt, a brilliant speaker, and one of the funniest and most magnetic women I know. But when she turned up to her very first networking event, she looked around at a room full of suits and corporate language that wasn’t hers and thought: I do not belong here. I’m a complete loser. I’m calling it a day. And then she told someone she had a qualification. JNP. Jolly Nice Person. The woman fell about laughing. And somewhere in the recesses of Ruth’s brain, a bell rang. She stopped trying to sound like everyone else. She stopped pushing down her personality. She became unapologetically, brilliantly herself. And after that, everything changed. In this episode Ruth and I have the most honest, funny and genuinely moving conversation about confidence, authenticity and why being yourself is the most powerful networking strategy there is. We talk about her incredible journey from a shy, introverted little girl who escaped into books to a published author with a devoted band of superfans. We talk about what it really takes to build confidence when you have none. And we talk about why the challenges and obstacles in life are what make you the person you become. In this episode we cover: ✨ Why Ruth nearly gave up on networking after her very first event ✨ The JNP moment that changed everything ✨ Why trying to be someone else at networking events never works ✨ How confidence is built not born — and why showing up is the only strategy ✨ Ruth’s incredible journey from anxious child to published author ✨ Why your story and your personality are your greatest business assets ✨ What she’d say to anyone who feels like they don’t belong in the room Find Ruth at Ruth Leigh Writes: 🌐 https://www.ruthleighwrites.co.uk 📸 Instagram: @ruthleighwrites 👤 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthleighwrites Find out more about Women Inspired Network events 👉 www.womeninspirednetwork.com/events Follow us on Instagram 👉 @women_inspired_network Join our Facebook community 👉 Women Inspired Network: Networking For Women In Business 📖 Read the full blog: https://www.womeninspirednetwork.com/blog 🎙️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DM7Ooc5nLezg4u91OklYo?si=83acff1303aa4471 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDVCZqf8LiBs92aTeEHZsWrtoNRJEVCXn&si=kfsbmnaQYm0lelUk Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this one resonated with you, a review or a share means the absolute world to me. 💛

  7. Jul 26

    From Hobby to Full Time — How Jane Turned Crochet into a Career (One Tiny Step at a Time)

    This one is for every woman who has ever wondered whether her hobby could ever be something more. Jane Scates started crocheting at her kitchen table in 2020 during her recovery from breast cancer treatment. She just wanted something to focus on. Something to get her through. She never planned to turn it into a business. She never thought she was good enough to teach people. And when someone suggested she come to a networking event, her first reaction was: I’m not big enough for that. This year, Jane handed in her notice as a teaching assistant. She now runs The Little Crochet Den full time — making beautiful handmade pieces, teaching crochet to people of all ages, and travelling to events across the country doing something she truly loves. All built one tiny step at a time over four and a half years. In this episode Jane and I have the most honest and warm conversation about what it really looks like to turn a hobby into a business. We talk about imposter syndrome, why she nearly said no to almost every opportunity that changed her life, and what she’d say to anyone sitting at home right now thinking their little business isn’t big enough to matter. If you make things, create things, offer things — this one is for you. In this episode we cover: ✨ How Jane’s crochet journey started during breast cancer recovery ✨ Why she didn’t think she was big enough to network — and what changed ✨ The power of building a business one small step at a time ✨ Why imposter syndrome nearly stopped her at every turn ✨ How networking gave her ideas, confidence and skills she never expected ✨ What finally made her leave her job and go full time ✨ Her advice for anyone who feels like they’re not big enough yet Find Jane at The Little Crochet Den: 🌐 https://thelittlecrochetden.co.uk 📸 Instagram: @thelittlecrochetden 👤 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuffolkJane Find out more about Women Inspired Network events 👉 www.womeninspirednetwork.com/events Follow us on Instagram 👉 @women_inspired_network Join our Facebook community 👉 Women Inspired Network: Networking For Women In Business 📖 Read the full blog: https://www.womeninspirednetwork.com/blog 🎙️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DM7Ooc5nLezg4u91OklYo?si=83acff1303aa4471 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDVCZqf8LiBs92aTeEHZsWrtoNRJEVCXn&si=kfsbmnaQYm0lelUk Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this one resonated with you, a review or a share means the absolute world to me. 💛

  8. Jul 18

    What is The Success Circle with Gemma Gooch

    Heard people talking about The Success Circle but have no idea what is it? This podcast is the perfect way to find out. In todays podcast i'm chatting to Gemma Gooch, VA, Women Inspired Network Leader and Success Circle member about that it's really like to be in the Circle. Enjoy!

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About

Welcome to Women Inspired Networking Conversations - the podcast for female entrepreneurs and women in business who want real conversations, genuine connection and the inspiration to keep going. Hosted by Martina, founder of Women Inspired Network (WIN), this podcast doesn't hold back on what it really takes to build a business, show up intentionally and authentically and find your people along the way. Whether you're just starting out or scaling up, you'll find something to help you here. Each episode brings you one of four things - an honest, unfiltered conversation with inspiring female entrepreneurs, practical networking tips you can actually use, a behind-the-scenes look on how WIN has grown into one of East Anglia's most loved women's business communities and practical mindset and business tips to help move your business forwards. No pressure. No pretending. Just real women, real stories and real business. This is networking - but not how you know it. If you've ever walked into a room full of strangers and wanted to turn straight back around or wondered whether networking is actually worth your time - this podcast is for you. New episodes drop weekly so subscribe to keep up to date. Come and join the conversation. Find us: www.womeninspirednetwork.com Follow on Instagram: @women_inspired_network Find our Facebook Community: Search Women Inspired Network

Information

  • Creator
    Martina Darling
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Martina Darling