As the founder and coordinator of the ESTA network I am in the privileged positions of having a good overview of what everyone within the network is doing.
With over 160 members (and growing) I am never going to have a perfect overview, but it is good enough to be able to make meaningful connections for a lot of members.
You might be noticing an ongoing shift of emphasis in the ESTA narrative and the way things operate. When we started nine years ago there were not that many business and networking groups in the area, especially for freelancers. Now there are numerous networks and business support groups in the District, which is a very positive development. Online social media platforms have also evolved considerably in that time. Therefore, whilst face to face meet ups are still important, I no longer regard them as centre stage. What is proving more effective is making and brokering strategic connections between and for individual members. These connections often prove to be very valuable to the parties involved.
We still put on face to face networking ‘seminar-type’ meetups, which are always characterised by our informal friendly yet curiously productive style, but it seems more efficient and beneficial to also signpost whatever other networking events and workshops are out there, so that members can benefit from ESTA taking a stronger signposting role.
Fifteen years of local networking has taught me that context is at least as important as content. What are you all doing in the context of what else is happening in your sector locally and further afield? What are the trends and local initiatives that you should be aware of? Could your business, social enterprise or project benefit from increased collaboration with others to create local infrastructure and resources that are more people, place and planet friendly and which will also serve to move on your own agendas?
I spend a lot of my time attending a wide range of networking events, workshops, focus groups and forums in the Lancaster & Morecambe area to build on my knowledge of what is going on, what the various strategic agendas are and who is doing what.
This gives me a unique and powerful set of connections that extends well beyond the ESTA network and into most of the larger anchor institution’s in the District. These include both our universities, Lancaster and Morecambe College, Lancaster City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, the two Business Improvement District organisations (Lancaster and Morecambe), the local primary care trust as well as many more grass-roots initiatives.
This allows me to take a very strategic approach to development and work along the full size scale and range from the very large to the fledgling pre-start-up.
When cross-referenced with a full list of business sectors and a growing list of targets, aspirations, declared needs and strategic plans this creates a powerful set of tools for connecting and helping where needed.
I am always looking to promote the interests of ESTA members at the many events I attend, and the local micro-businesses, freelance and social enterprise sector.
For example, last summer I presented a report and new information to Lancaster City Council on the value to the local economy of local small businesses.
The growing stresses on our wider economy, social and environmental infrastructure are increasing by the day and we need all the help and support we can get to develop systems and processes that function in a healthy way. We can make a difference locally and, where we succeed in finding innovative solutions, we can over time, make our influences felt further afield.
ESTA members tend to offer goods and services that are future friendly, with an eye to improving their four bottom lines. Everything we do can be distilled down to two general aims: to use physical stuff more intelligently and to empower other people to be the best that they can be. Gaining local control and agency over digital processes to make sure they serve our own local community serves as a noble third agenda.
By the nature of things, if you are an ESTA member we want to support what you are doing. But to do that in an effective way it helps to know what you need. So, I invite you to be proactive and let me know what you need, and if there is anything I can do to help I will.
So, there is no need to feel left out if you can’t get to a meet-up. Just make contact and let me know what you need. (Have I said that three times now?)
Michael Hallam
Network Coordinator
With over 160 members (and growing) I am never going to have a perfect overview, but it is good enough to be able to make meaningful connections for a lot of members.
You might be noticing an ongoing shift of emphasis in the ESTA narrative and the way things operate. When we started nine years ago there were not that many business and networking groups in the area, especially for freelancers. Now there are numerous networks and business support groups in the District, which is a very positive development. Online social media platforms have also evolved considerably in that time. Therefore, whilst face to face meet ups are still important, I no longer regard them as centre stage. What is proving more effective is making and brokering strategic connections between and for individual members. These connections often prove to be very valuable to the parties involved.
We still put on face to face networking ‘seminar-type’ meetups, which are always characterised by our informal friendly yet curiously productive style, but it seems more efficient and beneficial to also signpost whatever other networking events and workshops are out there, so that members can benefit from ESTA taking a stronger signposting role.
Fifteen years of local networking has taught me that context is at least as important as content. What are you all doing in the context of what else is happening in your sector locally and further afield? What are the trends and local initiatives that you should be aware of? Could your business, social enterprise or project benefit from increased collaboration with others to create local infrastructure and resources that are more people, place and planet friendly and which will also serve to move on your own agendas?
I spend a lot of my time attending a wide range of networking events, workshops, focus groups and forums in the Lancaster & Morecambe area to build on my knowledge of what is going on, what the various strategic agendas are and who is doing what.
This gives me a unique and powerful set of connections that extends well beyond the ESTA network and into most of the larger anchor institution’s in the District. These include both our universities, Lancaster and Morecambe College, Lancaster City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, the two Business Improvement District organisations (Lancaster and Morecambe), the local primary care trust as well as many more grass-roots initiatives.
This allows me to take a very strategic approach to development and work along the full size scale and range from the very large to the fledgling pre-start-up.
When cross-referenced with a full list of business sectors and a growing list of targets, aspirations, declared needs and strategic plans this creates a powerful set of tools for connecting and helping where needed.
I am always looking to promote the interests of ESTA members at the many events I attend, and the local micro-businesses, freelance and social enterprise sector.
For example, last summer I presented a report and new information to Lancaster City Council on the value to the local economy of local small businesses.
The growing stresses on our wider economy, social and environmental infrastructure are increasing by the day and we need all the help and support we can get to develop systems and processes that function in a healthy way. We can make a difference locally and, where we succeed in finding innovative solutions, we can over time, make our influences felt further afield.
ESTA members tend to offer goods and services that are future friendly, with an eye to improving their four bottom lines. Everything we do can be distilled down to two general aims: to use physical stuff more intelligently and to empower other people to be the best that they can be. Gaining local control and agency over digital processes to make sure they serve our own local community serves as a noble third agenda.
By the nature of things, if you are an ESTA member we want to support what you are doing. But to do that in an effective way it helps to know what you need. So, I invite you to be proactive and let me know what you need, and if there is anything I can do to help I will.
So, there is no need to feel left out if you can’t get to a meet-up. Just make contact and let me know what you need. (Have I said that three times now?)
Michael Hallam
Network Coordinator
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