The Soap Box Podcast
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The Soap Box Podcast
Why networking works better when you stop trying to get clients, with Emma Ahlert
Networking doesn’t have to feel like business speed dating.
In the latest episode of the Soapbox podcast, I’m chatting with Emma Ahlert, founder of Elsie – a networking space for people working in female and sexual health that actually feels good to be in.
We talk about:
• Making friends before making sales
• Why some rooms feel instantly wrong (AI + golf, anyone?)
• Online communities that don’t drain your soul
• And building something ethically, without fear-based messaging
If networking has ever made you want to fake a phone call and leave early, this episode might change how you think about it.
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Emma, it's really lovely to have you on the Soapbox podcast. Thank you for coming to see me.
Oh, hi Peter. Thanks for having me.
Not a problem. , So you and I know each other because of the networking group that you run, or networking. It's not really a networking group. You're gonna do a much better job of explaining it than I will. Um, but for people who do not know who you are, uh, can you give them a bit of an intro into who you're and what you do, and how you got there?
Yes, of course. So I'm Emma. Um, I have a background in facilitating workshops about healthy relationships and domestic violence prevention. Uh, and that led to my research that I did for my masters with. Was about how sex education as adolescence ties to emotional wellbeing as adults. Um. That led to some grassroots campaigning about abortion access in Scotland where I now live.
Um, and then that led to lots of freelancing in the sector of female and sexual healthcare. So focusing primarily on content and social media and all the pain points that I experienced along that whole journey were very spec, uh, sector specific and nuanced. And so, uh, now I run lc, which is a community for people who work in female and sexual healthcare.
Cool. And I'm a very proud member. Um, we love lc.
Mm-hmm.
thing that winds them up or that they, um, can't stop talking about? Or like you just said, um, off recording the hill that they will die on.
Mm-hmm.
Emma, what's your soapbox?
I think that whether it's personal or professional, I think I talk a lot about networking and meeting people and um, just how much abundance is out there for connection that as adults, I don't think we. Kind of let ourselves capitalize on, and I think it's harder as we've got partners or kids and understandably so.
But, um, having moved abroad, uh, and being put in a really unique position during COVID, after COVID, et cetera, where it's, you know, the only way. To build up a life is to go out and leave your flat and introduce yourself to a barista or talk to someone in an airport. And I used to think I was an introvert, but actually I've realized kind of by necessity, like necessity that I am quite an extrovert.
Um, and so in me trying to make friends and build community, I gravitated towards people who care about the same things that I do. And we clicked and there was synergy. And so, and that's how I got so much of my professional work is because. I got along with someone and then they had a cousin and then the person next to 'em at a restaurant.
And so, um, I'm really interested by how we sort of shake up the way that we make friends and meet like, like-minded professionals and we get clients and I think these, it's a much more tangled web than we sort of treat it societally. So that is what I talk a lot about in Elsie, but also just I've made all my best friends through networking as well.
So I think there's so much more to it if you let it be more.
Definitely I have done my fair share of very boring networking meetings that feel a little bit more like, you know, business speed dating than
like building any kind of connection with somebody.
Yeah. Yeah. They're certainly not all created equal. Definitely. And, and for somebody else maybe that's amazing, but that's sort of the nuance of, I think when you find ecosystems or groups or communities where either it aligns with you professionally or maybe it's out of the sector you're interested in, but you really love the energy and the people, um, I think it takes some rooting around to find where you feel that, and then sort of just kind of, you know, going to the places where you know you're welcome and you always get something out of it.
Yeah, that makes sense. Do you think that. It's controversial. Do you think that that's a more feminine way of looking at networking?
I would imagine so. Yeah, I would imagine so. And I think it's, it's more feminine in energy and also it's sector specific is what I say too, which is where I think that space was for Elsie. And like, I think there's an inherent empathy, humor, warmth, um, patience. Like there's just a real. I get chills when I talk about it, like, because I have such a privilege with what I do that I get to jump on calls with people from over 15 different countries and it just, there's just this thing that people have in common.
Um, even if they're different age, different, um, country, different topic expertise, they do different things. There's just some sort of synergy. So I think, um, you know, if you. If you go to like a finance focused event, the energy might be different. And actually, when I was really looking to make friends, I was just going to any networking event I could, and I found myself at, uh, an event that was about the intersection of AI and golf.
And I cannot articulate how much I looked around and said, I am not in the right place. Topic-wise, energy, age, gender. There was no, it was not the right place. It's the first event where I was like, this is lovely. You guys are having fun, but this is not for me. And then I left. Um, and then there's been the opposite experience where I've gone somewhere and I'm like, this is the right thing.
So I think it, I think going to networking, I do not take for granted how overwhelming and anxiety inducing it can be and how weird it is when you feel like you're in the wrong room. But conversely, feeling like you're in the right room is really special.
I am so curious how you ended up at a networking event that was to do with AI and golf.
When you need friends, you really need friends.
What kind of friends am I?
I looked up ne, I looked up marketing, networking. I did not read the event description. I didn't read the panels. I didn't read a single detail about it. So it was certainly not their fault. They were just doing what they advertised and it was my fault for, for, for going. Um, but, but I, yeah, I think it's just, I think it's so good to go and try, like I go to a lot of events that are like sustainability focused and, um.
Like that's not, you know, everything should be sustainable, particularly in female and sexual healthcare. So like water soluble wrappers or that sort of thing. So there is more of an intersection, but I go there just, it's called People Planet at Pinett in Edinburgh. And you just go and have a pint and chat about work and life and um, you know, that's something that if I read it on the tin, I'm not sure I would be.
That's where I'm gonna get clients, but it's somewhere that I've gone and I've had a really lovely Thursday night and met cool people around the city, and I guess it's just, there's, there's so many different things you can get out of an event. Um, so when you see it, like with that, you know, if you want to go and make sure you leave with a client, like I can't promise you that, but I can, you know, I can promise, at least at my events, I hope that people leave feeling like they laughed a little bit or they met someone cool or they got to unwind and you know, so I can promise that.
And confirm on all cats. See, that's really interesting because I. I think, and obviously that this is, I have no evidence to statistically to back this up, but I would imagine, based on my kind of anecdotal conversations, that most people go to networking events or consider going to network events because they are looking for more
Mm-hmm.
Um, but you don't approach it in that way at all.
Mm-hmm.
Um, is that like, is that, or how you've always approached it or, uh, was it a change?
Yeah, I think I just didn't like, so basically I think I became so involved with networking out of a place of quite literally like. I, I'd had a relationship here in Edinburgh and that was completely enmeshed with his family and his friends. And then it was during COVID, so I didn't really have any of my own friends.
And so when that ended I just can't even, like, there would be like. Days on end where I wouldn't speak out loud because I didn't know anyone and it was, it was such a wake up call of when you don't nurture your own corner of the world, whether that's personally or professionally, like, and you live abroad.
It's like you, like it was really big wake up call for me. So I guess because I never, when I really got. Interested in networking. It was from the perspective of I really would love to make some friends. So maybe because I've not had it the other way, I'm not sure. But I can say that because I approached it from that perspective.
That's where like, you know, when I look at my birthday party that I had, I can say that was that networking event that was the friend of that person I met at an event. But that's actually how it happens a lot is I go and I meet someone and then I inherently get along with their friends and then their friends become my friends and then.
You know, and so there just has been this multiplicity that I never could have expected that when I went to this networking event that I was at her wedding in Belfast over in December. Um, or I was at a Beyonce concert a few weeks ago with someone I met in an event or, um, so. That's not the only, of course, people have to pay the bills and want business as well.
And equally, um, I've gone to an event before where somebody's, their former coworker's cousin, I think worked in fertility. Um, and so even though I was at an FMCG event for like food and drink and stuff, I ended up getting a new fertility client because, you know, I was just chatting. So I've had more, I've had enough of things like that happen that they don't feel as.
Um, like bizarre as, as you might think. Um, and, and I guess the last thing I would say is I think with networking, I really approach it as the long game. Like this person, it's happened so many times where they don't have something open at that moment, but I get on their radar and we LinkedIn message every four months or, you know, and something kind of comes from that versus at least maybe it's this field or how freelancing is, but I don't really have it where I'm gonna leave with a client that I didn't have when I came.
Yeah, that's really interesting. I talk a lot about and have done for years, well, since I started my business, really about the fact that. I don't think these days you can make that clear divide between personal and business,
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
anywhere really. I don't think, especially after COVID, I don't think it's possible.
I'm pretty sure it's not healthy and, um, and I definitely don't, I don't think that it's something that, that I wanna do. Um, it feels like your approach to networking is, is more of that like. I am me. This, this is me. Hello. Um, like, I like meeting nice people and interesting people and having those conversations and making those connections. Um, and as part of that, I run a business or I do this type of work. Um, and there are connections that I can find through that, through those relationships, through those kind of conversations that I've had.
That will also positively impact my business or that, or that I can positively impact other people's businesses.
It feel, it feels a little bit more like, um, an ecosystem rather than a, like, this is, this is my friend space, this is my business space.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And again, I think that's just sort of how, I don't know if I lived back in Chicago and I had people from college and high school and how that might. Change things. But I guess, like I said, um, although now that I've met more friends through networking and stuff, I found that in life I'm more open to like meeting people.
So, you know, I'm having dinner next week with some people I met at, in line at the airport and like took the bus with, and we just got along. So, um, but I, I do think, um. Uh, when I did because of COVID is sort of when I started my career, I, I was like a social media specialist, content specialist, but I really, what I loved when I was an undergrad was facilitating workshops and talking to people and training people how to give workshops and, and I think I sort of lost touch with like the community manager side of me that I never really got to be.
And so I think Elsie is kind of me. I can do a deliverable and I can execute stuff and do graphics and captions and copy and, and, and that's so important. But I've just found that like what I really think I'm good at, I'm still discovering, but it is that sort of how do I be professional and appropriate, but also bring me to it.
Um, but also when I'm at the pub, like I'm talking about lc and I'm talking about how many subscribers have got and that LinkedIn posted well because I really care about it so organically it comes up in both places.
Yeah, that makes sense. And it's those connections, like, like you said, it might not be that person, but your conversation sparks an idea in them that they can go, then go away and talk to that person who is
like interested in that kind of area.
Yeah.
Um, talk to me a little bit more about, um. The an so online networking and online communities versus in real life, because it strikes me by the time we've spent together, the conversations we've had, um, the things that you've written that I've read, um, personal connection is really, really important to you. And the assumption might be that that means that you value in real life over and above kind of anything online. But Elsie is, like, Elsie has in in real life events, but Elsie is essentially an online community. So, um, how does that kind of, do you think that, that that still fits in with your idea about those real life connections?
Mm-hmm.
Ooh, that's such a good question because it's sort of like, like it's kind of funny 'cause you can have a shallow connection in real life. You can have like a really in depth connection virtually. And I, I have to remember. But not everybody is me. And so, well, in general we have to remember that. But um, but I'm someone for example, who I, like, I can feel really deep relationships virtually.
And so for example, like I've done therapy every week for three years with the same person. She lives in Edinburgh. Um, but we've never met before. It's all virtually. And sometimes I just think about like. She's, there's no per, I mean, my mom and dad, you know, whatever. But like, you know, she just, it's such an intimate thing in a way, and I don't, people are like, oh, don't you wanna go meet in person?
I'm like, no, we've kind of got our groove. We don't have to worry about it. I comfortable, do I need tea? It's just, we, we jump on and we do it. And like, um, I'm not sure if you remember, Lucia was my first. Um, quote unquote boss ever, like at, uh, the Tampa company like five years ago. She was Elsie's first member, my biggest mentor.
Um, she gave our first workshop. We've never met in person actually. So she's somebody who I, so I guess. The, the in-person stuff is really nice. Now that we've got people from so many different countries, like, you know, there isn't gonna be that option for everybody. And so it's like how do you build digital spaces where people can feel as connected as it allows for?
But I personally, and again, maybe it's just me, I think you really can feel energy across screen for me at least.
So how do you build digital spaces where people feel that comfortable?
Well, I'm working on it, but um, I don't know. And this is something definitely. You know, it, it, it just, it's still, I'm figuring out is it about cadence? Is it about we've got something once a month, or you've got something once a week and that makes you like, I'm, I'm online every Wednesday, 4:00 PM for any lc members who wanna Jo, um, jump in and they can talk to me about yoga class or their recipe, or they can tell me about whatever they wanna talk about, feedback for their website, you know, lashes to space for people to have, um.
Or is it people really liking our workshops and our, our workshops have been, you know, I think there's a. With Elsie. I think there's been an energy, I hope, throughout anything that we do where there is warmth and lots of exclamation points and lots of smiley faces and emojis and, um, I hope that that warmth and the energy and the messaging carries through and maybe that supplements what some of the, what lacks a little bit, but definitely still figuring it out because I know that there's.
You know, we're inundated with passwords and platforms and online, and I don't take that for granted. So it's like, how do you fit yourself into somebody's life comfortably? That it feels, people feel magnetized to it versus like, oh, it's another thing I've gotta do. Yeah.
Yeah, that makes sense. Because, yeah, so many people are trying to build communities now. Like it's the new, well, not the new, but it, like, there's been a huge kind of explosion in it over the last few years. Um, and I think some people get it really right, and some people, some people really struggle.
Um, it's really tough finding that balance, I think between giving people enough to do enough ways to connect
and giving people too much.
Yeah. Yeah, I'm always open to feedback, as you know, but. I think with lc what's been good of like it, because it's so funny when I explain it to other people, like if I'm on a date or whatever, if you're outside of the sector, like it's, you know, I can see the, the wheels turning. But anyone who I explain who's in the space, honestly, it takes about 20, 20 seconds for them to get it.
So I think. Because we, I tell people we're, you know, it's not just a bunch of people going on a platform talking about like, I don't know what words I can say, but like our, you know, favorite like position or we're not, we're not just like chatting about sex, like it's a, it's a networking professional group for people who work in female sexual healthcare.
So I think what's good about this is people, if you really. I, I really try not to position lc as a job board. Like I can't promise you'll join, find the perfect job and then leave. But it's a place where you can see what's happening in the sector. If you're interested in research, you can look at that. If you're looking full-time just to learn about companies, if you wanna make friends, you can do that.
Like I think having something that is, is more than just. We're providing support for each other. That's a part of it. But you know, there is ways that you could, whether it's through education or meeting collaborators or job postings, I hope there are tangible ways that people can, can further their business in a way that they, you know, they would still move forward outside the community, of course.
But I hope that lc helps push you along in the right direction.
Do you think that, sorry.
Oh no, I was just gonna tack on. I think something I'm really sensitive with, whether that's, and I think that's from a female healthcare perspective, is I never wanna position anything, whether it's a community or product as like, you won't succeed or you won't be well unless you have this, um, which is maybe not the best business tactic, but I've.
I never felt comfortable of like, well, if you don't join lc, you'll fail. 'cause I don't believe that. I just hope that it takes some of the, like, it makes your life easier, you know, it saves you sifting, it makes a connection with someone who you might not have met. Um, so I hope that that comes through in my, when I, when I talk about it and post about it and stuff.
Yeah, it might not be the best business decision, but it is the best ethical one, I think.
Yeah.
Do you think talking about the sector. Do you think that people in this sector approach networking and business relationships like really different? Differently because the subject matter, I guess, is that much more personal than golf and ai, for example.
Okay. I think that's definitely a really big part of it. Um, I think, like what I said earlier, I think there's like an inherent empathy and compassion and humor, um, that exists in the sector in ways that I think probably is there in other realms of the world and finance and legal in. All the other things that are there.
When I previously did my first version of the business, it was a lot broader. And so I found myself at bizarre events that probably in hindsight I didn't super belong in. Like I used to work for a cereal brand and I was doing like a linen brand and you know, so I was briefly in these spaces and I can say that attitudinally, it felt really different to me.
And so the only way that I, I can think of that is just because I think there's so much. Nuance in this, in this sector in terms of like societal, taboo and, uh, stigma and censorship. And I think when you find other people who, um, instantly know where you're coming from. And also there's kind of a, like I mentioned earlier, when I try to explain what lc is or, you know, working for different, a condiment lube brand or working for that, you, when you are around the same people, you can cut out the.
The quirkiness of that, and you can just talk about, oh, how is that going? How's their sales? What are their brand colors? And um, I think when, like at an Elsie event. Um, I mean, people within 10 minutes are talking about different pelvic health options in London or something. Um, and I, I have found in lc and at our events, we never have, I mean, knock on wood, I haven't felt like there's a sort of oversharing or.
Everything's, you know, it has felt like a discernment of like we're professionals who are in the same space, who are excited by the same things in the world. Um, but it is also like a professional space. And I think that lc members strike that in a really beautiful way that I don't feel like I need to facilitate.
Yeah, that makes sense. I think, yeah, it, there is definite value in being able to jump into that kind of shorthand and understanding and not having to spend 20 minutes explaining context before you ask a question in order to get an answer that makes sense for what you're trying to do. So, like I'm a member of, of a fair amount of online networks, um. And, and some of them are brilliant and some of them are, are, are fine.. So if I could jump in and ask a question, for example, about, , a new sports bra brand that I did the messaging and the website for.
, A few months ago, there was a question around, , videos that we wanted to put on site in terms of like, bounce when you are running a new sports bra and like what we could show and what we couldn't and what would be the best way of doing it and like, and all that kind of thing. If I jump into a, a more general networking like channel and go, this is what we're trying to do, anybody know? I know that I'm probably gonna get a bunch of answers of people trying to be incredibly helpful, but who do not know the space, who do not know what's going on around censorship or what's going on around burning or what's going on around all that kind of stuff.
Mm-hmm.
And that's even on, that's even on a brand that's kind of on, more on like the edge of, of
that kind of industry. So if you, if you are moving into like sexual health, if you're moving into therapies, if you're moving into like toys, all that kind of thing, you wanna go to a space where you're like, this is the problem that I'm having and I need advice that is gonna work for this industry.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
And there's, there's huge value in being able to, to do that.
Yeah. And, and whether the people who are, you know, online at that moment have the direct answers. I think just having a place where you could, you, you know, your question will be like, understood and met with. Um, and I think, yeah, even someone had a business card and she like alluded to like, I think there was like sort of a clit sort of situation.
And, but she was, but it was very like an outline and it was, it was almost like if you just looked at it, it was sort of like a polka dot, you know? It was really, and she, because she didn't wanna, like, we have a lot of people who do female sexual healthcare, but they do other things as well. So there's a thing of, you know, which is so, which is.
Which is equally valid. But so she was wondering if her marketing was skewing too far into this niche that it would ostracize, which is like such a great business question of how do you position yourself? So you're open to work, but you have a focus. Um, and I have found, like I went to, I pitched Elsie in Berlin.
And that was an amazing experience. And to be in the most sex positive subset of Berlin was just wild in the best way. Um, but someone who was like a dominatrix came over and she was talking to me and she was like, I feel like I've got, this is gonna sound crazy. She's like, I've got so much to learn from you.
I was like, no, I like, I was like, I, I guarantee in most ways, like, definitely not. But um, but she wanted to talk about like how to. Uh, clip her YouTube podcast or something, or like the best, you know, it was just the most, like, it's, what's really cool I think is if you strip back all of these, what society would deem quirky context, all the pain points I have found are designing, pricing, pitching, sustaining.
Um, and grow like upskilling and keeping up with AI regardless of your country, what you do like. So I think when you can find people who are in the same sector that can like help you answer those professional pain points that are sector specific, it's really valuable.
Well, yeah. And you don't have to wait for them to get over the kind of the shock or the, the stigma or the embarrassment of whatever the particular businesses that you run.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love that in my job of just getting to, to talk to so many fascinating people who do so many things that I don't know about. But what I can do is I can draw on, you know, here's different website platforms or here's my ethos about networking or here's, and not as a cop out, but just that, that genuinely I feel like underpins a lot of it.
And so even though the cultural context or the subject matter will be different, like if you can meet that with the sector specific information about these core things, I find that it can like help a lot of people.
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, because if you are essentially whatever your business is or running a business, those, yeah, like you said, those core problems are the same, the core pain points that come in these different buckets. Um, and yeah, and when you layer on that sector specific knowledge, that's really
Mm-hmm.
Um, so let's talk a little bit about messaging. So you mentioned earlier that you, um, with your previous kind of platform, it would take a, it would be really difficult to explain or it would take a while to explain.
With lc, it feels like it's a lot, kind of, a lot clearer,
um, when you are talking about female and sexual health. In the business, kind of in business networking spaces, how does that go?
I find it's the old version of the business was basically like freelancing for people who were across, you know, any type of quote unquote, purpose driven freelancer, which. You know, there was a lot of issues with it. It made sense in terms of like, if you need to come up with a business for an immigration thing, which was my situation, it made sense on paper.
But then in practicality, people don't fit into boxes that neatly things should be more intersectional than that. What does purpose driven? What, what's, um, so I think I felt, and that was really defeating for me, was because I feel like. You can tell when it doesn't register with people. Like whenever I go through the um, uh, gates or whatever at the airport and they see my visa and they're like, all right, what's the business?
I would always hate it because I was like, they have got no idea what I'm talking about. And I think I felt insecure because I didn't really either. And so, um. Now still it's, when I'm talking to people who aren't outside the sector, there is definitely a lot more explanation required. Um, but I think because I've got clarity on it now, uh, and I'm still evolving, like the clarity on exactly what we offer and at what cadence and to who and how.
But, um, the, the extra clarity that I feel about what it is and why we have it, and after seeing the impact of it, um. Through, through customers or through ad events or through feedback, and I'm just a lot more confident when I speak about it. So I never have. So yeah, I think it goes, I think it, it goes well.
Um, it's interesting to me. It's just interesting how one person I speak to will instantly understand it and the next will go, oh, okay, cool. And in my head I'm like, you don't know what I'm talking
I did.
But that's okay. 'cause like maybe it's, you know, I feel clarity now at least that I'm explaining it clearly.
And maybe somebody else, they don't know what a freelancer is or they don't know, you know? Yeah. I don't know which part they don't understand now, but I am, I'm still working on like, 'cause that is a good challenge is how do you explain it to somebody who's got no skin in the game? Um, so yeah.
That's, and when you are talking, so you are active on LinkedIn and on Instagram you may well be active on TikTok, but I apparently am far too old to have a TikTok account,
Can't do it.
no, I just don't have the Headspace. Um, and there's too much video and it starts playing automatically when you log in. I'm
very old. Just all too
I don't think that it's just because I, I, like, I, I downloaded it once around my dissertation and I just would lose hours. Like it's just the dopamine hit and the way that it targets your sense of humor. And so, yeah, no, I'm off it as well.
Okay, so you're all on a, your whole bunch of different platforms. Um, I am constantly seeing, um, posts or, uh, on all these platforms about people, mainly women, um, getting banned, properly banned, or getting shadow banned or getting suspended. Um. This is not, this is not an easy time on these platforms to talk about things that might be considered taboo or controversial.
And, and what you fit into those definitions is like, can be ridiculously wide.
Um, there's, do you, you follow Cindy Gallup
on Yes. Yeah. So there's a whole conversation, um, with Cindy Gallup, who is a brilliant woman who everybody should go and follow on LinkedIn. Um, like she has tens of thousands of followers. And like her posts get like 20 to a hundred impressions at
time. Um, and her, she's arguing that she's being kind of like that. She's being suppressed. Um, there are a whole other, a lot of women who are saying the same thing. How do you navigate talking about a topic that is generally considered taboo
across a lot of the world, um, on public platforms like that?
Yeah. I'm still figuring this out. I think I'm in a unique position where. I'm not pushing a single, like in the past and I've done work with clients like I'm working for a bladder care brand or period care or, um, menopause or, and you know, we're going deep in the weeds of each of those topics and we're, you know, educating and we're trying to sell a product and that's where I've had a lot more.
Whereas like with, I think I'm trying to, I, I really focus on curation more than. Selling any particular thing. So whether that's highlighting, here's five research events, here's five posts or, um, job posts or gigs, or here's five members or five events that are happening. Um, so, and, and I really, some people don't wanna use the asterisks and stuff because we shouldn't need to, but I, I do tend to be really careful with it.
Um. I, I don't find that, well, I mean, knock on wood, but I find that I'm adjacent enough from it and that I'm like, I'm a networking professional thing for people who work in a certain sector. Um, but I do think more and more as we go into the current climate that we're in, I think that having spaces off of meta.
And off of LinkedIn. And those things are gonna be really important so that you have spaces where you can ask the questions that you need to in the way that you need to, to get an answer. Um, but also for, um, employers as well, to be able to find the right talent requires that their posts are getting enough, uh, traction too.
So going to newsletters and going to third party, um, uh, communities is gonna be more important in the sector as time goes on, I think.
Yeah, that's true. Cool. And, and you have people like Amari in the community who have been doing a lot of work around kind of stopping companies, getting shadow banned and,
Yeah,
all that kind of thing.
Maria and uh, Amari have met through Elsie, which is really sweet, and so they co-hosted a workshop together. Um, which, and their workshop had 150 attendees like it, you know, it's, it's such a massive issue that so many people from all over the world are experiencing. Um, and a lot of these platforms are like founded in the US as well.
So that unfortunately has a big impact on it. Um, they're doing another, um, an updated new workshop for us in November too, just for like some tips and tricks to avoid getting shadow banned and then what to do if you think you are. Um, but yeah.
That's very cool. Okay. Um, before we wind up. For people who are, who have been listening and have always gone, networking is very boring and to do with, I don't know, a bunch of men in white suits, and I don't want to go and give my three minute elevator pitch 105
Mm-hmm.
What is your advice or what are your tips for making network or for doing networking more the way that you do it?
Yeah, I think I, I think it's like finding a therapist or something. You know, you might go, you might do it the first time and hate it, but there's so much value on the other side of it if you shop around or date around until you find the right fit. So I think like. There are certain professional circles or types of work or things where it's like, that's amazing for, for that.
But it's, it's, it might not be your thing and the only way to figure that out is if you go, um, but I would just say like, look at what's local to your city and stuff that you care about. Stuff that you think is interesting because, you know, after work, I also understand if you've just work nine to five, why would you wanna go spend your night talking more about work?
So for me, I think about it as like. I really. Maybe this doesn't apply to everyone's sector. Maybe if you're in legal, you don't need to go talk about more law at night. I'm not sure, but I can talk, I can talk to people like I'm really interested in how tampons are, how are we innovating in the period, care space?
Well, you know, what color are we? You know, this bladder care brand is using orange instead of blue because it's more like, and maybe I'm just a nerd, but like I love talking about that. So. What are things that you care? And I also go, I'm really involved with like creative Edinburgh and that's just arts focus.
And I go to, you know, all, all their stuff. Um. Like, what are just topics that you care about that light you up? Um, and go and just with a sense of like, I'm Emma who, or insert name, I'm Emma. This is my business, but I'm here as Emma and just wear what makes you feel beautiful, whether that's polka dots or flowers or, you know, so I, I would just really think about it as an opportunity.
To meet other people who care about the same thing. And then what comes from that is a gift, basically like what come, whether that's a new friend or a coffee date, or um, a new client. But what I have found is a friend will usually know a client, or a client will have someone who can, who can become a friend.
So. Um, I don't take for granted how hard it is, but I just, I, I can't articulate how much my life is multiplied because I had no choice but to go to things alone. And so the universe rewarded me, I think. I think it rewards us for our bravery and our courage when we go do it.
I love that. Yeah, and like releasing any kind of expectation about the outcome and
Yeah.
going for the experience.
And someone's tip might also be, go with a friend, find a buddy. But I would say if you go to an event and sit in a corner and talk to your friend, you haven't like you, you two can have a lovely night and that's great. But I think there is something really liberating about going on your own and a networking event is a unique.
Context where it's, you know, you can just walk up to a group of people talking and that's, you know, you can do that at a, at a pub if you're braver than I am. But a networking event is a time where it's like, you know, you can, you can walk up to people and put your hand out in a way that, you know, is, is really unique I think.
And the right sort of event will be really happy that you've walked up to them and the wrong sort of event. You don't need to be there.
No, that's true. Yeah. Like if I'm, if I'm going to something with a friend, then I'm going, 'cause I wanna spend time with that friend.
So the idea of like leaving them alone and going to make more friends doesn't, yeah. Doesn't
make a huge amount of sense to me. But yeah. No, I love that. And you're all in the, I think, yeah, remembering that you're all in the same boat is really important too.
Like you are not an interloper. Like you're all kind of Yeah, you're all together in the same place.
yeah, yeah,
I love that.
yeah,
Cool. Thank you so much. That was really helpful. I hope that lots of people are gonna go and do lots of really impactful networking now.
yeah. I hope so.
Be good. Um, for people who want to come and find you, find out about what you do, find out about Elsie, where should they go?
Yeah, so as you've mentioned, you put it gently that I'm into LinkedIn at the moment. LinkedIn is like my, my current, my two fixations at the moment are my new Nintendo Switch and LinkedIn, so that's my current. I like social life, but No, I'm joking. But, um, I, I, yeah, I love LinkedIn. I try to do lots of a mix of like, content about me as a person, but also lot.
It's a good place. If you were interested in female sexual healthcare at all, like I'm trying to really like, have an entry point for people to learn more about the sector and get involved if they'd like. Um, so just Emma Allert on LinkedIn. Um, we are very Elsie on Instagram, which I'm starting to put more kind of time and attention into.
Um, and then our, our website is very lc.com, which is getting a big spruce up at the moment. Um, we're coming out with some new tools and some new pages and actually, um. A calendar of events is particularly in this space. So basically there's Elsie events, which I host, but I also am passionate about helping other people learn about all the events that are going on in the world.
'cause it's hard enough to turn up to an event as we've spoken about. So how do you make it easier for people to get things on their radar? So if that's something I'm excited about.
Well that's Fab. I will put all of those in the show notes and people can go and find you. Um, thank you so much for coming to chat to me. This was lovely as I knew it would be.
Thank you for having me and thank you for being such an amazing member from so early. I'm really lucky to have gems like you and Elsie, so thank you for having me.
you are welcome. Cool. Well, have a good day.
Thank you.