First Networking Breakfast of 2023

The Networking Breakfasts are Cuppa Daisies’ flagship networking events, and the first event of 2023 was amazing, rewarding, special, interesting and delightful in every possible way!

With a gorgeous mix of Daisies and Chelles, plus some Burgundies and Newbies, the event was a spectacular kaleidoscope of different personalities, skills-sets, business offerings but ultimately, just a great group of women supporting each other in a safe space.

The Speed Networking experience was first introduced to the Daisies last June and proved to be an effective way to quickly build one-one-one relationships with other networkers.  This experience was used again at our event on 1 March, and it was enjoyed and appreciated yet again.  

The networkers at the event included:

Contributions to the Goody Bags and to the variety of Lucky Draw Prizes are a practical way of getting your brand and products into the hands of the networkers and, as always, the Daisies didn’t disappoint with their amazing contributions.  Thank you to you all!  Terry Bez, Robyn van Huyssteen, Ronel Higgo, Lee-Ann Silver, Tania Slade, Smokie le Grange, Faz Perin, Marchelle Stone and Michelle Longman.

Networking with Chelles Event, 8th February 2023

Cuppa Daisies Networking started the 2023 year with a fun and energetic networking event at the historic Wynberg Club yesterday.

Hosted by Irma Brummer, Chelsea Kitchen, the Networking with Chelles events are a collaboration with the fiercely passionate Tupperware Team Leader, Marchelle Stone of Marsulas Tupperware.

Liza King, Liza King Proactivator, is always riveting to listen to and yesterday was no exception; sharing with us incredibly useful tips on setting goals that are aligned to who we are!

The networkers who joined yesterday’s event included:

Anneline Grundlingh – supplier of luxury sweets and other treats

Debbie Pretorius – NuSkin: specialising in anti-ageing skincare

Jackie de la Porte – Accessorise Your lifestyle

Jackie Buss – Just Inspired: Digital Creator

Karien van Niekerk – Bugzies: murals, theme bedrooms also MC and Performer

Tamzin Slade – Crochet plushies, tutor and scribe

Tania Slade – TreatStore: Aloe Ferox products, mallow nuggets & peanut clusters

The goody bags were laden with goodies:

Aloe Ferox Sample – treatstorect

Avon Her Story Body Lotion – Michelle Ann Longman

Bookmarks – Angie Collins, For Today Journals

Guess XL Paper Bag – Terry Bez

Lip Balm – Michelle Ann Longman

Mallow Nuggets – treatstorect

Roll-on – Michelle Ann Longman

Crystal Wave Tupperware – Marchelle Stone

Valentine’s Biscuits – Homebaked at 23

Valentine’s Candle Holder & Candle – Cuppa Daisies

There were so many lucky draw prizes, that some guests won two prizes! Thank you to our sponsors:

Tania Slade – Aloe Ferox Body Wash & Hand Cream

Michelle Ann Longman – Avon Far Away products

Kassina Jewellery & Accessories – Beautiful Necklace

Anneline Grundlingh – Goodies Hamper

Marchelle Stone – Tupperware Quick Shake and VentSmart

Homebaked at 23 – Valentine’s Biscuit Bundles

Thank you everyone! See you at the next one!

Property Valuations and What You Need to Know

One of our regular Networking Daisies, Jennifer Cherry-Cunnington, from Complete Coastal Properties recently shared with us how important valuations are for property owners, and we felt it was worth sharing in a blog post. 

Valuations are free and take place at the convenience of the property owner.  It’s important to note that valuations are not just for selling the property; it’s about understanding the value of your asset and the benefits thereof.  

LOCATION:

Location is the biggest factor in a property valuation with views, nearby attractions and the safety of the area all playing an important role.  Property values vary from one area to another and this often depends on the proximity to amenities, the general appearance of an area and access or close proximity to busy highways.

ABOUT THE VALUATION:

When we do a valuation of a property, we research and review the prices at which other similar-sized homes in Big Bay have been sold for and we also consider the price at which the property-being-valued was last sold for.   Advertisements for properties on sale in an area can be misleading as properties often sell for way less than the advertised price.

PROPERTY MARKET:

It is extremely important to consider the current property market when preparing a valuation on a property.  As we mentioned previously, the perceived value of a property is not necessarily the actual selling price and there are various factors that play a role in this process. 

South Africa has been experiencing a buyers’ market, due to the record low interest rates but this is now changing, as a result of the interest rate hikes. 

What this means is that there are too few properties listed for sale, however there are plenty of buyers ready to purchase. This low supply, in a market of high demand, means that buyers have to fiercely compete with one another for a limited number of homes and therefore sellers are able to attract high property prices.

THE CONDITION OF THE PROPERTY:

A well-maintained home stands out from the other properties currently on the market and this creates a better impression on buyers.  The location of the house on the property also affects the valuation as does the size of the erf, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, even the kitchen layout. 

Other factors that influence the valuation include the age of the home, the state of any garden, aesthetic elements such as flooring, furnishings, built-in-cupboards, etc.  If the property requires work (e.g. repairs, painting, garden work), the valuation will be downwardly affected by that.

HIRE A PROPERTY CONSULTANT

It’s always best to go to a professional when wanting a valuation as they are equipped to provide a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) which takes into account the current status of the market along with the value and selling price of other properties in the area.

Jen and her partner, Jacqui, “eat-sleep-and-breathe” property so have an intuitive sense of the factors that play a role in property valuation. 

Contact them now if you have a property in Big Bay that you would like valued or if you have any queries about property on the West Coast and follow their page to get up-to-date information about the property market.  https://web.facebook.com/JaxJenCompleteCoastProperties

Jennifer: 0826014520, jennifer@completecoast.com 

Jacqui:  082 412 0050, jacqui@completecoast.com

Bye for now.

Michelle Longman

Cuppa Daisies | Networking Daisies 

A Networking Celebration

The Networking Daisies (aka the West Coast Daisies) celebrated a year of networking with a gorgeous event on 2 November.

All the West Coast events take place at the super-duper M&M Music and Performing Arts Academy where we are so totally supported and encouraged by the owners, Rolf and Michelle Pearson, as well as the fabulous barista, Philip Masanga and the friendly kitchen team.

The Event:

30 networkers booked to attend this celebration and arrived in the suggested “Black, White and Purple with touches of Gold” outfits.  It made for an elegant and sophisticated look; thank you to the ladies for embracing this!

Guests received a welcome drink of bubbles and had the opportunity to peruse mini-stalls that some of the networkers had taken-up to show-case their products.  The event was not the typical networking event (where each person has the opportunity to introduce themselves); this was encouraged, rather, while standing in the buffet queue, during the open time, the shopping time, etc.  From the sounds of laughter and chatting that was continuous throughout the event, we would say that networking definitely took place!

We are always treated to the most delicious vegan buffet breakfasts at Michelle Pearson’s Cafe (within the music academy) and she certainly pulled out all the stops for this event; the food was next-level-delicious, thank you!

Liza King (Liza King Proactivator) ended the event with an address on how we can use visualisation to change the outcome of our future (we all did a little visualisation exercise right there and then – it was super cool).  She also referenced an initiative for next year –  #barffest2023; watch this space!

Accomplishments:

During the event, we shared some of our accomplishments in the past year and challenged the Daisies to answer some questions regarding these accomplishments (see image for the details).   Lameez Bailey won the competition for getting 6 of the 10 questions correct and Liza King won the competitor’s lucky draw prize. 

We were also able to share the amazing donations that, collectively, the Daisies have made to the charitable communities.  These include the following:

The Pad Project:  this was a project that Cuppa Daisies ran to provide sanitary pads for Girl Code Conversations.  An amazing R2,500 was raised which which translated into packets and packets and packets and packets of sanitary pads as well as other much needed toiletries that were requested (soap, toilet paper, roll-on).

We also raised R370 for Pigs ‘n Paws and recently we concluded a campaign Home of Hope which raised over R1,600.  Thank you so much to all the supporters!

Thank You To The Daisies:

As a way to say thank you to The Daisies, I rewrote the words of Thank You For The Music which was beautifully performed by Lehandra Riley.  Please enjoy listening to an extract of her performance; the lyrics are below as well.  

Thank You To The Daisies

I also gifted every Daisy with a gift with some lovely goodies:

Goody Bags & Lucky Draw Prizes:

As always, we were spoilt with the most amazing items for the goody bags and these included:

Equally, we were amazed by the stunning lucky draw prizes:

  • Aloe Ferox Body Wash & Hand Cream (Tania Slade)
  • Avon Far Away Splendour (Cuppa Daisies)
  • Avon Full Speed (Cuppa Daisies)
  • Avon Rare Onyx (Cuppa Daisies)
  • Eyebrow Threading (Ralene Livingstone)
    Wooden Key Holder (Tania Slade)
  • Fruit Cake (Smaragh Geldenhuis)
  • Home-Made Apricot Jam (Liza Odendaal)
  • Music Vouchers (Lehandra Riley)
  • Woolworths Toiletry Bundle (Smokie le Grange)
  • Woolworths Towels (Smokie le Grange)

2023

Lastly, the dates for 2023 West Coast events were shared; networking will start again in February 2023 and will run until November 2023 – two events every month!  What a blast it’s going to be.

Please enjoy perusing through some of the photos and video clips below, as well as some of the other photos from the event prep and thank you to you all.

Michelle Longman

4 November 2022

September Events

September represents a special time in South Africa as not only do we recognise and celebrate the cultural wealth of our nation, it’s also the start of the season of spring.  Spring is that season when the natural world revives and reinvigorates after the colder winter months. Plants begin to grow again, new seedlings sprout out of the ground and hibernating animals awake.  

And for many humans, this time sees the birth of fresh ideas and new initiatives; a time to brush off the winter cobwebs and to plan for the runup to the summer festive season.  It’s also the time for wonderful spring events!

I’ve already attended three events this month, and it’s only the 15 of September, and I wanted to share these experiences with you today.

Friday, 2 September
Day of Joy
Joie de Vivre Events
https://web.facebook.com/Joiedevivreevents

An event which was a first of its kind for Abbygale, the owner of Joie de Vivre Events, was a beautiful experience for us.  It included an opportunity for all the guests to share thoughts around what makes us feel good and what makes us feel beautiful and then, to support the process of feeling beautiful, we were guided to apply the perfect make-up by the talented Helga Strydom.  Understanding which brush to use, when and why, has made such a difference to my make-up applying process and then the use of simple techniques and hand movements now makes it so much easier for me to apply make-up without my glasses on!   Helga offers clients The Glamour Experience, https://web.facebook.com/TheGlamourExperience – the opportunity to have make-up and hair done professionally and then a photo shoot, for that Boss Lady look!

The venue, The Stone Shed, is so incredibly beautiful and certainly created the most special atmosphere for this event.  https://web.facebook.com/stonesheddurbanville

Thursday, 8 September
Networking Hour
Cuppa Daisies
https://web.facebook.com/cuppadaisies

The first Networking Daisies event of September was Networking Hour and was well attended by both new and regular Daisies.  The topic of discussion was bartering.  We discussed the benefits of bartering (there didn’t seem to be any negatives) for services and products and the group felt that bartering was a good and successful way to work in business as there is definitely spin-off for greater business, from this process. 

We also discussed the random house-hold items that people collect for various charitable initiatives.  These include large coffee and mayonnaise jars (for making soup packs for families), bread tags and plastic bottle tops from milk, juice, medicine containers, that go towards wheelchairs for the disadvantage.   We also chatted around the uses for the toilet roll inners and one of the networkers shared this cute video on how to make Christmas gnomes:  https://tinyurl.com/facebookgnomes  

Please contact me if you would like to add your goodies to these collections and then to further enhance the bartering experience, Networking Hour on 20 October, https://www.facebook.com/events/1108087033126830 can be paid for with a product and / or service to the value of approximately R150.  Be sure to reach out to me at whatsapp 060 917 7940 should you wish to join us at that event.

Wednesday, 14 September
Business Marketing’s Spring Networking Breakfast
Business Marketing
https://web.facebook.com/businessmarketinggroup.co.za

Yesterday, I enjoyed attending Business Marketing’s Spring Networking event. It was lovely to be a guest at a networking event rather than the organiser and I enjoyed the spoils of the venue and the lovely spring touches (pink flowers, pink sweets, pink serviettes).  

We received so many goodies from the networkers themselves including a pocket-sized first aid kit, home-made wax-melts (that smell so good), stationery and loads of business cards and flyers (i.e. leads).

The guest list was impressive with so many different businesses represented and I loved the variety of personalities that were present.  There were those people that I naturally gravitated to and wasn’t surprised when I found an instant connection with them.  Thank you to Adrie Thiart and her strong team that pulled together this impressive event. 

Thursday, 29 September
The Big Daisy Event
Cuppa Daisies
https://tinyurl.com/TheBigDaisyEvent

The last event to be discussed is one that is still happening and this is our event for Women AND Men.  

Rolf Pearson, owner of the M&M Music Academy will be our guest speaker at the event and I am looking forward to hearing him share his business story.  The academy has become a second-home to me as I have all my West Coast events and business meetings there and I just love the vibe and culture that Rolf and his wife have created there.  Thank you!

It’s worth noting that this is my last event of this kind; I have decided to stick to my original focus and convene events for women only.

And now, it’s time for coffee because as we know “interesting things happen over a cup of coffee!”

Michelle Longman
15 September 2022