Sister Snog

Do you remember, on your way to Blackpool, Brittany or Berwick-upon-Tweed, frantically waving out of the back of the car at the ever-so-slightly embarrassed driver behind you?
Do you remember 20 questions? Or I-Spy? I-Spy! That's brought it all back. I-Spy Wild Fruits and Fungi. And they’re about to re-launch them too. 

But come on guys & gals, why I-Spy On A Car Journey? Get with it, Big Chief! Bring I-Spy bang-up-to-date? I-Spy Killer Heels.  I-Spy FitFlops. I-Spy TV Bags.

Look. In any case, we're all spying these days. Linking in (link in video). Following.  Tweeting. Sharing photos. There's so much out there to spy on. So much useful information to gather. New friends to find. The beauty is there's no cloak and dagger about it. No furtiveness. All collaboration. And no need to work for MI5 any more!

Power Pants

Hands up if you’ve had to stand in front of an audience, and present.  What are you wearing?  Statement or safe.  Charcoal-suited.  Naughtie navy.  Cheeky pinstripe.  Zebra or leopard.  Or are you ‘Legally Blonde’  in an immaculate shift dress?

Actually what’s on the outside is possibly not as important as what’s on the inside.  How do you feel?  What do you want to project to your audience?  Power.  Control. Knowledge.  Expertise.  Something else?

Whether you want to blend in or stand out, wear something that makes you feel like a Princess.  Queen of the stage.  Dame of the moment.  In the undergarment department.

If you’re looking for a confidence boost be sure to wear a pair of Power Pants  at your next presentation.  Forget Imposter Syndrome. Pop on a pair of sunshine-yellow nick-nocks if you’ve got a challenging day ahead.  They never fail to cheer you up.  If yellow's not quite your colour what about risky red ?  Passionate purple?  Or Spanx for higher power.  Feeling good on the inside makes you feel good on the outside.  So go on.  Get yourself a pair, and wear them with pride. No one will ever know.

Penned by Myfanwy Neville
Berg Kaprow Lewis

Just about everyone has a favourite chocolate indulgence. What's yours? Bet you'd really love some white chocolate. Right now! Or maybe dark's your thing. The darker the better. The purer. Maybe 100% pure. Makes you feel better. Because it's eco-tastic as well as something to die for.

And it's not just about how crazy you are for it. What do you feel about the brand itself. The associations. What do you think of the girl with the flakey stuff? Or the flyboy in the shop who can't resist the crispy creamy stuff? Stuff about chocolate can make you smile. Laugh out loud even. Come over all fruity and nutty. Or rather territorial. Particularly if you've got a thing for Terry. And your favourite colour is Orange. Or is it All Gold? Chocolate can make your heart skip a beat. Man. Polo neck. Boat. What the Lady loves. Or feel high class with a bit of black magic?

There's a lot to learn from the world of chocolate for anyone who's in business. The passion of the true chocolatiers for one. Packaging another. Brand extension. Festivals, fountains and celebrations. Like Chocolate Week. Bringing fans and brands together in chocolate heaven. For tastings, samplings and soirees. Over dinner. Or The Ultimate Chocolate Indulgence Afternoon Tea. Now there's a thought!

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Girlfriends in High Places was an eye-opening study about the rise and rise of the New Girls Network. The study published in 2004 showed how these networks were forming an essential part of the business framework. Each with their own brand, identity, personality and loyal fans. Today that’s still the case. Even more so. If you’re in business, being a member of a business ‘network’ or two is essential if you want to build up your resources, enhance your reputation, create opportunities for your empire or career and get a step closer to your next customer or client.

The New Girls Network
Women have been networking as long as men, if not longer. The only thing is  women have been doing it slightly longer on a different and rather more subtle level. The fairer sex, have been getting together in far more imaginative settings than the golf course or a dusty private members club. In fact, a trip across the channel demonstrates the power, impact and far-reaching influence of women’s social networking dating way back to the seventeenth century.

The women of French Salons

Interestingly enough, by delving into history and looking to France we can find the forerunners of the intelligent, self-poised, clear-sighted, independent modern woman who now forms the backbone of the New Girls Network. These were the women who provided a beautiful, unwitting blueprint for today’s entrepreneurial woman. Their remarkable variety and originality made the French Salons of the seventeenth century so influential. The Salons were a place where intelligence blended with practical knowledge.  These progressive women were usually very clever and rather brilliant. And it was their cleverness and brilliance that was exercised to bring into stronger relief the talents of their friends. They may have taken centre stage when it was their turn, but they also made sure they dipped into the wings at the appropriate moment. Everyone should know when their fifteen minutes of fame is up and it’s someone else’s turn! Their peculiar gift was to inspire others and that’s the case with today’s inspirational women.

Similar but not the same
By the same token, the real New Girls Networks don’t see men as a threat.  Quite the opposite. It’s all about equality in terms of ability but different in terms of make-up. Similar but not the same. The differences are complementary and should result in harmony. Men and women simply do things differently, relish different things and operate at their best in different environments.

A curious nature
Women are also naturally curious with a healthy appetite for information and want to find out about each other. And this hunger for tasty tit bits goes way beyond the business arena. In fact, business talk often comes way down on the agenda at the early stages of a relationship.

Balls in the air
Women share certain characteristics.  And multi tasking is one of them. They know what it’s like to juggle work and home by looking after the children, cooking for the freezer, making sure legs and armpits are hair free, keeping the team at work happy, balancing the balance sheets, being energetic in the bedroom and ensuring clients and customers are totally and utterly delighted.  Phew!

The ultimate trump card


It’s certainly not a major disadvantage to be female in business. Actually it’s a trump card if played well and with confidence. The only barriers to success are personal demons coupled with a lack of drive, determination or dedication. Why did Sex And The City become a must-watch-series and a blockbuster? Because it glamorised different female stereotypes. What’s more it made it more than ok to be one of those stereotypes. There’s no doubt there’s a breed of business woman who gives the V-sign to convention and actually sets her own standards.

Lunching or lobbying
So, if you are a woman in business or climbing the career ladder and you haven’t joined forces with a bunch of like-minded business women you’re missing opportunities.  Whether you’re into lunching or lobbying it doesn’t really matter. There’s a club or group that will ring your bell and open doors for you that may have otherwise remained shut.

So, what are you waiting for?

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Kathryn and Nicola are hands-on Directors of Lime Food Design. A zesty catering company with a little citrus twist that create fabulous-tasting-stylish-looking food for all occasions. There’s a three year gap between them. They’ve been Sisters in Business for 5 years.

Kathryn
What was it like growing up together?
Great. Very Play School. And we started many a café!

What do you have in common?
A work-hard ethic. A sense of humour.

What are your biggest differences?
I love presenting and exhibiting, sales & marketing. Nicola likes the operations side.

How do you divide your roles? I deal with the paperwork. Finances. Marketing. Nicola directs all the events on a day to day basis.

How would you describe your working relationship? Calm. Open. Honest. 100% trust. Couldn’t. Wouldn’t want to do it without her!

What do you most admire about your Sister? Her ability to just get on with it.

What do you think are your main strengths as Sisters in Business? We’re The A-Team with passion for our business.

Where do you see the business in three years? To be established in well known, as well as funky venues with a celebrity wedding or two under our belt. With two café outlets we won’t be stopping there.

Nicola
What was it like growing up together? Kathryn being the oldest would always look out for me. I would be chasing her on my bike trying to keep up. She also had the money making ideas. Setting up a library. Hiring out books whilst selling sweets to our friends. Raising money for Blue Peter Appeals. I would always be the organiser. Hmm! Not much changes.

What do you have in common? The will to succeed. A very strong work ethic.

What are your biggest differences? Kathryn is very much an ideas person. She can also be quite impulsive!  I like to think about all the options. Weigh up the pros and cons. Then make a decision.

How do you divide your roles? I head up the events and cost out new ideas. Kathryn looks at marketing and PR and manages the rubbish bits. Like the finances!

How would you describe your working relationship? Strong with shared goals. Trust. Essential when dealing with everything running a company throws at you.

What do you most admire about your Sisters? She’s always striving to find ways to make Lime bigger and better.

What do you think are your main strengths as Sisters in Business? We pick each other up on bad hair days.

Where do you see the business in three years? Have gained a reputation as being the caterers in London and the South with a fully booked diary for that year. And the next. And the one after that.

Who's Sybil?
Ever seen the film Sybil? An award winning TV production starring Sally Field as Sybil, a real woman possessed by 16 different personalities. It’s an absorbing account of Sybil's struggle with a multiple personality disorder and the 11-year psychiatric treatment that helped to integrate all her personalities into one. Bit of a tear jerker. Supply of hankies essential.

Inside out
Sybil isn’t the only one with multiple personalities and a number of characters to her name. Everyone’s pretty complex. How many times have you met someone with a Jekyll and Hyde personality. And what about the Id, Ego and Super-Ego. Different aspects of the human psyche. Studied by Freud. Characterised by Beckett .

Face the music
In fact there’s a train of thought that the way people embrace different social media channels speaks volumes about the type of people they are. According to Howard Lindzon everybody lies on Facebook. People represent a kind of false self, so that it’s hard to really know what a person is like from their Facebook profile. He feels differently about Twitter and holds the belief that people's tweets are a much closer representation of their true self than Facebook. In his view, someone who is a jerk on Twitter is likely to be a jerk in real life. On the other hand someone who is thoughtful and careful in their tweets is also like that offline.

Say cheese
Whether Facebook rocks your boat or Twitter rings your bell, they both have one thing in common. A rogues gallery of cheesy mug shots.

Strike a pose 
Let’s face it. Few of us are truly photogenic. They say the camera never lies but surely it depends on the camera. Why is it that so many online profiles include photographs that have a photoboothesqueness about them, at best. Or at worst, can only have been taken with a disposable camera. Not very flattering. Go on. Take a look. Ask yourself. Is this is really someone I'd like to go on a blind date with or find myself in their company on Come Dine With Me. Never mind connect with them in the digital world. You wouldn’t. Would you? First impressions and all that.

Mini me
So, why don't more people have some fun and create their online-alter-ego. The beauty is anyone can become immortalised as a caricature and join The Osmonds and The Jacksons. Step aside hip-hop celebs. There’s a queue in the cartoon hall of fame.

Cartoon yourself
Thanks to all those teckies with a big fat brain. There’s a world of avatars to discover. Even a film. Directed by Mr Cameron. With an avatar you can step into Toontown and become a Toonlet. Turn yourself into a Simpsons  character or a squat rotund brat from South Park. Fancy something arty and abstract? Feel like a manga? Or a zwinky? Find yourself a doppelganger. Play around. Cartooning yourself really is pretty ABC.

Sister Snog goes retro

Sister Snog likes the idea of being a Sister of the sixties. That’s why everyone at Snog Towers is crazee-mad for Mad Men. Hats off to the artist behind the vintage-y Mad Men illustrations. The very talented Dyna Moe. She’s nobody’s sweetheart!