44# - How to Attend the Right Networking Events in 2026 to Create Premium Clients, Collaborations, and High-Calibre Opportunity

recording, this is December,: 2025

he right networking events in: 2026

So many female founders can learn from that. So I'm gonna be talking about how to choose networking events that actually elevate your brand and bring in real opportunities. How to avoid the low caliber rooms that drain your energy and slow your momentum and how to turn events into client connection and long-term collaboration.

th of February,: 2026

n content and social media in: 2026

So the tickets are in the show notes. VIP is nearly sold out, and we will be closing doors to the event in January. So you haven't got that long to purchase your ticket. And I'll place the note in the show notes so you can book your ticket. And, The price will also be increasing as we head closer and closer to the event.

So I know it's December. I know it can be a little bit overwhelming, but the sooner you book, the more you save. And if you actually book in December, you get basically a saving of around 30%. So it's definitely worth book onto the early bird offer. So let's get into it. So before I go any further, I actually have to tell you this story.

Two years ago, I was invited to an event at the Houses of Parliament, and it was like literally like two years ago. It was like a December evening. I was really, really busy. I had my own event happening in that February as well. and I didn't actually wanna go to the event because of a couple of reasons.

One of the reasons was because there's been a Asian coach for the last few years that has, you know, written posts about me, and I mean, I think I just live in her head rent free. But anyway, I digress. So I was a little bit worried that this person was gonna be there and.

And now obviously, I, I don't care at all. I've done a lot of work on myself. I don't really care about these things, but at the time I was like, oh my God, what if she's there? And I, I was actually going on my own. So I live in Oxford, so I had to catch the training. It was an evening event. I wouldn't be back till the e like late evening.

outside your comfort zone in: 2026

And when you are stepping into those places, like I've heard a few women say, like, normally, actually at my event, people are always like, I'm so scared to come on my own. But actually that's the best thing you can do because you are then telling your subconscious mind, which runs 95% of your reality, that you are ready for expansion, you are ready for growth, and that you can do hard challenging things.

Business in: 2026

But here's the thing, you have to overcome yourself, and you have to be in the right rooms that expand you, that stretch you, that activate a version of you that's ready for the next level. Even if you feel like you know in the room, you don't belong there. If you feel like, oh my God, like I'm not worthy of being in this room.

I don't have. A bigger, as big as business, as everyone that doesn't matter. The fact that you are actually stepping outside your comfort zone is exactly what matters. So when I went to this Houses of Parliament event, oh my God, like obviously it was the Houses of Parliament event, but I've been to other events before where I've picked up opportunities.

And clients as well. But with this particular event, obviously it was an amazing location. There were quite a lot of influential people there. And I actually met, Anisha Sani, who's lovely. She spoke at my event last year and we connected at that event, and it was from that event. She was like, I'd love to come and speak at your van.

I was like, oh wow. You know, I think I've shared this with before with Anisha. you know, I was trying to get Anisha to speak to my speak at my events years and years ago, and obviously she's seen the caliber of my events. That's why she chose to speak at my event. But one of the reasons was because I was able to connect with her in person and.

nts matters more than ever in: 2026

And proximity is becoming the new currency of influence and opportunity. And what I mean by that is the closer you can get to people, I don't really like using the word influencer, but people have people of, people of influence, people who have an audience, people that could give you an opportunity.

t to have a multi strategy.in: 2026

roblem for business owners in: 2026

Being, you know, in close proximity with influencers just like other business owners. So I'll give you an example. Like for example, there was an amazing lady in my membership last year. She's absolutely smashing it in her business now. And you know, she doesn't have a huge following, but we've met at my networking events.

'cause obviously she was at my community, she'd come to my events, she was so kind, so sweet. And from that. She's literally exhibiting at my event. And then she's also bought in like one other exhibitor, exhibitor spots, by the way, are sold out for my event now. but it's having those kind of relationships with people that can actually influence other things.

And sometimes it's not even about like. Oh, let me try and collaborate with an influencer. It's just knowing people. When you need things in business, you can connect with those people because you've met them in person. It's really hard. I feel like. Online to build, you can actually build real relationships online.

Like I'm not saying you can't, but it takes longer because attention spans have collapsed. Apparently a goldfish has a longer attention span than us now. People remember faces more than feeds, like I said before. So this is, I feel like a shortcut way into building relationships. Building client bases and also getting in front of people that actually matter, that could influence your business.

So when you are in the right room, and I'm gonna talk about this in a second, when you are in the right room, people remember you. Referrals happen, happen naturally. Collaborations can unfold, and clients come in warm because they've already met the human behind the brand. I have a story that I want to share, and I don't want this to be anything negative.

I just wanna be really, really honest. Like the, the whole like purpose of this podcast is for me to be honest. And I think that I really do wanna share this and I think if anyone feels offended, I do apologize, but I'm here, to be honest, that's my brand. So a lot of my clients in the past, like my mastermind clients specifically, have been to events.

In certain areas in London, I mean, I don't know London really, really well, but they said a lot of people in that when they went to those spaces, their money mindset was really poor. So they were saying things like, oh, but like why would people purchase? Like why would people buy from you? They can get this thing abroad much cheaper.

do people even buy this kind of service and. It was like it. She said that it was just like a lot of people coming together for the sake of coming together for the sake of having a coffee and a catch up. But the money mindset piece like was poor. People are saying, oh, no one's buying, like blah, blah, blah.

And the ambitious wasn't there. So this is what is so important, and I see this a lot with women in general. Like they just stick to their safe spaces. They just stick to their peers. They just stick to like what they know. They just stick to their local networking events. They just stick to free events and that's not really gonna move the needle forward with all love.

ly choose the right rooms for: 2026

So if I, if I'm invited, okay, as an influencer, that's not a problem. But if there's like a free event happening. I'm like, why is it free? Like, what's the catch? So I would potentially avoid free events unless they're in an affluent area or hosted by someone. Established free rooms often attract people who aren't ready to invest, and let's be honest, who wants to be networking with people that have got poor money mindset and in a, and like, literally, like they don't wanna invest those types of people.

They're gonna be at that frequency of low vibration because they, they, it's not even about money. They're just in a poor mindset. And when you are in a poor mindset and in a broke mindset, despite how much money you have, you can be really rich and have a poor mindset and a broke mindset, by the way. you are just not gonna get that much value out of it.

And this is why my event, I don't wanna just say this and be like, oh, my event's so amazing, but my event in February, it attracts people. That want to invest in themselves. 'cause tickets have started from like 85, 89, 90, 99 pounds. Like they're gonna be going up. Like we deliberately don't. And this is really interesting actually, that you might find, we don't do, we deliberately don't have.

of where business is going in: 2026

You want to be. Attracting premium clients. You want to be working with people that can afford you. You want to be working with, you know, people that honor your services, that believe in you, that value you. Right? So the other thing I would say is on free events. We, I live in, Oxfordshire, obviously I live in quite a nice area and we do have free networking events here, like.

Next, next door to me. And I've never attended them because for me, you know, my, my business is predominantly online based. that I would attend that networking event because the area I live in is quite nice. It's affluent and I know the types of people that are gonna come to the event or of a certain caliber also, where the event is hosted.

It's our local bar, like local restaurant. It's beautiful. It's pretty. So I know the types of people that'll be coming, will be of a, a high caliber. The other thing I also want to say is get out of your local area. Think global, not local. Proximity to right people is worth the train, the tube or a flight.

So I remember a couple of years ago, I actually attended an event. This was before the pandemic. I attended Brendan Bouchard's event in San Diego. it cost me, obviously my flights, my accommodation. it cost me probably just under a thousand pounds. I think things were cheaper. Actually would've been over, actually.

That sounds cheap. But after I came back from that event, I sold 20,000 pounds worth of business because I was so motivated and so fired up. And this is another thing that I really wanna mention. when I did my retreat actually in, April this year, we had a lot of ladies from the Midlands, which was wonderful to see.

And a lot of my clients actually this year have been like, especially private one-to-one clients. They've been from the Midlands. But there is also this mindset of, oh, but if it's outside of my local area, I'm not gonna leave. Like every year I always get messages from people, oh, are you doing, an event in Birmingham?

Are you doing an event in like in certain small town? I'm like, oh my God, like. Can you just not travel? Like can, do you not know how to get a train? Like, do you not know how to book tickets? Do you not know how to arrange accommodation? This holds people back so, so much. And I think how you do one thing is how you do everything.

So if in your business you can't be asked to, you know, I live in Oxford. I, I regularly have to travel to London. I have to travel to the local town. What other things are you putting off in your business? Because how you do one thing is how you do everything. So I don't wanna say too much on that, but that's something to ponder if you are, if you're one of those people that doesn't get out of your hometown.

The other thing I would say is that, private members clubs can also be very, very good, for networking events. So we've actually got Esal Manor here and in Oxfordshire. We've also got Soho Farmhouse, ESAL Manor. My husband is actually a member there. And, I'm gonna be becoming a member next year.

I've just had so much time out this year. but I'm gonna be. Becoming a member and it is an investment. And not all private members clubs are, you know, in the thousands, I'm sure in London, you know, you could join. That's, it's not in like multiple thousands. I think Esal Manor is like 4,000 pounds. But again, the Calip, I've been to Esal Manor quite a few times now.

I'm, I'm planning to host my VIP days Inman next year. But the kind of people you are getting there are. People that have paid thousands to be there. So again, it's like when we get, when my husband's gone to the networking events, it's a certain type of people because. I'm not saying that you need to spend thousands, but again, it comes back to that investment piece.

ents and networking events in: 2026

You can learn so much from your peers. I'm not knocking that, you know, it's everyone is valuable. Doesn't matter how many followers that you have, doesn't matter how big your business is. Like everyone can be so valuable. So, but one thing I wanna make really clear is that you can't just keep continuing learning from your peers because you will always have a similar mindset.

So, for example, I've got some peers that. I've got really successful businesses, like I've got family members who've got like a lot of you know, property and obviously I'm really into property investing as well, so. That's great, but I want to learn from people that are like five steps ahead of me, because that's how you progress, that's how you learn.

It's like with my mentor for next year, she's finished up on, I think, nearly half a million pounds this year and I want her to a hold me, but also I want to learn from her because she's, you know, a couple of steps ahead of me. and obviously it needs to be the right person. When you consistently are meeting up for coffee catchups or you know, networking days that are people that are led by your peers, not by leaders, then that can cap your growth.

So, for example, at my event, everyone speaking isn't just like a pretty influencer with a big audience. That doesn't really tell me anything. If you've got, you know, a big podcast or you've got, a big audience. You haven't really got successful business. That just shows me that you can just build an audience.

At my event, we have got people like, you know, Bhan, who's actually a henna artist. She's been a henna artist for over a decade. She's got Henna displayed in S, she's been on Dragons. Then we've got Grace Andrews, who's actually. Led the most successful podcast in the world. Like of course, I wanna learn from these people.

They're gonna know things that I don't know. And that's the type of events that I tend to go to where I, you know, I get invited to a lot of things, but I'll always go to events where I think. A, are the nice people going? Can I connect with people? But B, also can I learn from my lead, come from leaders, not peers.

And that's what's gonna be really, really important. So really seeking out those events is gonna be really, really powerful for you. The other thing I want to also mention is use Instagram as a research tool. So have a folder saved on your Instagram, that says like, networking events. And if you find like events that you think, oh my god, like.

That has interesting people attending it or, oh my God, the organizer looks amazing. Just save it, save it down. you know, into, into your, Into your folders and then obviously reach out to them and say to them, okay, next time you have an event, please can you put, put me, like, put me on the list. Like I'm gonna be going to an event in March.

And they only have, they, I think they hosted the private members. It's invite only, but they only have six figures and multiple six figure business owners. You are not really allowed to attend if you are not at that level. I'm sure if you're a little bit below that. But it's also 200 pounds to attend.

It's 1 1 9 7. So you know, the people that are again, pay to be there, they're gonna be high quality people, people who value themselves. and then the other thing I would also say is that look inside high quality Facebook groups. You know, if you are in Facebook groups that are high quality, that are quite engaged, that you know that again, maybe it's area based and it's affluent.

Have a look in those. You can also use the search bar, Instagram, you know, Instagram is like Google now you can search in there, for events. So it might be in your area. Could do hashtag events Birmingham, hashtag events, London hashtag events, Liverpool or network hashtag networking events. London, you know, try, try to seek out these events because honestly, like if you can get, if you know that networking has worked for you.

Like in terms of collaborations, clients, or any other opportunity? Then it's definitely worth going to. I wouldn't be going to like loads every week. However, if you feel like that your, your networking brings in clients, then absolutely do that. But then I think the other important thing to say here is that if you are relying on networking events for, for clients, which is totally fine, make sure the backend of you, your, your business is optimized such as your, such as your landing pages, your sales pages.

your. Website because what you don't also want to be doing is going to all these networking events and then you are falling down on the backend because most people will check, your Instagram, will check, your website, will check your sales pages, and that is a deal breaker if they want to work with you.

So how do you actually stand out during the event? So most people just show up and simply attend and that's fine. But what I want you to do is show up and add value. So. I have been to events, actually, I remember I went to an event, I think it was last year, when someone just literally was leaving the event and they slammed a business card in front of me, like on my table.

And I was like, it was literally that. It was literally that. It was like, hi, and then hi, I'm so-and-so. And then she slammed the business card down and then she walked off. And I was like, so how you actually want to be doing this is, You know, at, at the actual event, it's like a party, right? If you go to a party and just talk about yourself, then that might mean that people don't like you, so you actually wanna be really thinking about the other person.

So obviously introducing yourself with clarity, who you are, who you help. And asking them also thoughtful questions in conversations, you know, be warm, be approachable. People buy into energy before they buy offers and share insights generously without turning it into a pitch. You know, support other women in the room.

Connection leads to conversion, so be helpful, be grounded and confident. Leaves a really strong impression that any sales tactic ever could. So when I'm actually going to an event, you know, I won't be straight up and there and be like, oh my God, like. So, I'll give you an example. I went to a really high caliber event last year.

I think it was like a hundred pounds plus to attend. And I was able to speak to a couple of people there. and then that person then came onto my podcast. I was able to get her WhatsApp number, so I've got a cl you know, she's a, she's won an MBE, so she's quite influential, but also really lovely. And then I was able to just WhatsApp her like.

A couple of weeks ago and say, Hey, like, will you come and speak on my panel? So again, that connection happened because I actually went to the event and actually like. Spoke to her, connected with her, she remembered me and obviously she's, she then has been seeing all my events and she's also said, oh, you know, your events are a really high caliber, they look great.

And one of the things she actually said to me a couple of weeks ago is she was like, yeah, I'd love to be involved because you're just so lovely. And I think this is the other thing people really miss and actually talking about that. And a bit of a side note. I literally, as soon as I announce the speaker for my event, I get so many pictures, so many pictures like, can I come and speak at your event?

Can I come and speak at your event? We potentially have one paid slot available for my event, so if that's of interest, do reach out. But it's normally like me, me, it's normally a pitch in the dms. Normally it's like, hi. Not even like, hi, how are you? you know, like, your event looks incredible. It's so great to see that so and so was that, and nothing like that is literally, hi, I can come and speak to your event.

I can talk about this and that's it. And I'm like, it, it just feels really, it feels kind of like. To me anyway, I would never approach anyone like that firstly. And it just feels very like me, me, me, energy, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I think you have to change your approach. And there's someone who's actually interested in speaking my event next year and she's like, you know what, like I always say to everyone, if you are interested in speaking in my event, please come and attend the event.

That's, that's the quickest way to build a relationship with me. Not through dms, but please see, attend the event. We can connect, I can see what you're about, I can feel into your energy. And that's then how people get onto my stages. You know, meet her from naturally nourish, who's my, one of my really good friends now, but also a previous mastermind.

One of the ways that we connected was, of course she was a client, but she actually came to my event a couple of years ago and then she's been on my stage three times. same with one of my, you know, healers best friends, cam from smi, you know, we were able to connect in person and she's, she's one of the only people that I do actually collaborate with.

So it's really important. I'm not just saying this from my event, but if you actually want to. You know, speak at future events like are you attending the events? You know, my strategy moving forward, 'cause I want to speak at more events next year, is, first of all, let me book a ticket. Is there a VIP option?

can I, can I have dinner with the co-host? Like, you have to be really strategic. I think that like cold pitching in dms now, without building a relationship, without even following the person, without even saying any kind words. Like it's not gonna cut it. People are just not gonna listen to you because A, they're gonna be getting so many other requests, and B, it comes across.

I think energy is so important and I think that, you know, the other thing I would say is that when you go to these events, you don't wanna be thinking, oh, what can I get outta it? You know, of course you wanna be thinking on like a, a level that, you know, I wonder what opportunities could rise, but if going with an energy of life.

I want clients need to send five clients, and I'm gonna introduce myself to this, this, and this. Or going in with the energy of, oh, this is gonna be such a wonderful event. I'm gonna connect with some awesome people. Let's see what happens. You know, I'd love to put myself out there and connect with like-minded women.

That's a very different energy, right? So hopefully that's helpful. And the other thing is what to do after the event. This is where most people go wrong. This is the part which everyone forgets, but where the actually opportunities the clients and the money is. So follow up with people afterwards, you know, with voice notes.

Voice notes are so important. They create intimacy, connection and genuine rapport. So, you know, you can send them a voice note and say, it was so lovely to meet you. you know, let's stay connected. Or you could say something like. So, and that, that does keep the door open. I know some people will say, oh, wait, if you just say It's so lovely to meet you, let's stay connected.

That might not. That does, I've, I've seen that firsthand, and I'm gonna share with you guys how I managed to get one of my biggest speakers through this strategy, just because, again, like I've just built up a relationship with them. But again, it could be something like. Maybe you do have a collaboration in in mind.

n your strategy in general in: 2026

So this is actually how you then turn one event into new partnerships, new collaborations, momentum, new clients potentially. And with clients as well. I think, you know, I've talked a lot about here speaking, like speaking to kind of people with influence influencers, business leaders, but of course like you can pick up clients at these events because when you speak about how the problem you solve and how you can help people, you know, if that's relevant to them at the time, of course they'll, you know, as well, as long as you pitch it confidently and pitch it well, of course, you know, fuel service.

Solves a problem that they've got, then of course they're gonna wanna work with you. Right? So I wanna finish this by saying networking isn't about being everywhere. Some people think, let me just attend 50 networking events this month. Great if you can do that, by the way. But networking isn't about being everywhere.

th of February,: 2026

The link is in the show notes. And one thing I also wanted to finish off on is saying that. Coffee Catchups. Let's have a little little word about this, because this kind of feel, goes into networking realms. So a lot of people, again, approach me for coffee, catchups. Now I live in, obviously in Oxford, but even if I lived in London, unless I, you've got really good energy, there's definitely synergy there.

Or you've got, You know, there's a mutual opportunity available there. I'm not gonna be going for coffee catchups with people because I used to do this a lot in my wedding planning business from Milton. 'cause I used to live in Milton Keynes from Milton Keynes. I would literally travel into London to meet like one person for coffee and nine times out 10 people would just, back then obviously I think it's a little bit different now, but back then people did just used to meet up for coffee, catchups.

load probably once a month in: 2026

So there's people that I wanna speak to, just to share knowledge, see if there's a collaboration, how we could potentially collaborate. But also just finding out, just expanding my knowledge really. It's not really, oh, I wanna get them as a client. but it's, I'm gonna block book like say three coffee catchups a day, then a, you are making most use of out of your time, you're on a roll and then you can like block book it in one day.

So I think, you know, when people just say, oh, let's book a coffee catchup, let's book a coffee catchup, I think you really wanna be thinking like. You know, my time is really valuable. How much does it actually cost me to get out of the office? Not just your train cost, but also you know, your hourly cost.

You know, hopefully in business by now you've got an hourly cost, like how much is your hourly rate? And if that, like, if a whole day you are out of the office, you wanna make sure that that's like really, really valuable for you and that you are gonna be, you know, getting something from it. And I think the other thing I just wanna finish on is that.

Working from home is really, really isolating. and it's also really lonely. Like I have a team, and I speak to my team mostly in Trello every day, my project management tool. Or I'll get on calls with my team and obviously I've got my mentor that I can voice note, but in general it can be really lonely.

And I know from previous clients that when you are stuck in your head at home, you're not socializing. Things become bigger in your head, like maybe it's business problems, client problems, just life problems, mindset problems. They come, come become a lot bigger and you get stuck in your story. And I think events such as the one I'm doing, and I'm not just saying this, but I think events like that, when you bring together amazing like-minded women, you bring together beautiful energy.

You bring together people that actually wanna be there, like you can really zoom out of your business and like. Look at it from a bird's eye view and remember your potential power, because I know it's coming up to the end of the year. Like, you know, some people may have smashed at year this year, brilliant.

But some people might be like, oh my God, I didn't get. Where I wanted to, I didn't do this, I didn't do that. And that's absolutely fine. You're all human beings having a human experience. But I think the other thing with networking events, one really amazing thing can be that burst of motivation. Now, I say at my events is not just a motivation, empowerment, your work, walking away with like real tangible strategy that you can apply to your mindset and business.

But I know the empowerment, motivational piece is so important. You know when you are in a room and you're dancing with other women and you are connecting, and I'm hugging you, like that energy, you just can't replicate online. So even from like a mental health perspective, not, this is not just about my event, but getting out into other spaces, getting out into.

Other events, other networking events, even for your own mental sanity, that can also be just as valuable. I think I really wanted to finish on that. That can just be just as valuable. Then, you know, getting clients opportunities and proximity, you know, feeling good in your business is so important.

Vibrational frequency is so important and anything you can actually do to keep that frequency high, whether that's attending events or whether that's. You know, meeting up for coffee catchups with people that actually light you up and don't drain your energy, that's gonna also gonna be just equally as valuable.

So thank you so much for listening everyone. I've really, really enjoyed sharing this episode. If this episode resonated with you, please do rate and review the podcast. I would absolutely love to see you at the London event. We will leave , the link in the show notes. Otherwise you can DM me on Instagram, on Sean, mentor, with the word London, and obviously the link is also in my bio over on Instagram as well.

Thank you so much. Have a wonderful speak, and I'll speak to you soon.