Content Management Systems for Dummies

This subject could well bore most people, but here goes anyway.

I finally managed to do some major stuff today, backing up Live in Sweden.se and downloading/uploading a newer version of drupal. It is a huge relief to have that done - every time I went into the site I saw the red signs around the place reminding me of the necessary updates and the security alerts.

Until a couple of years ago I was clueless about web sites and once I decided to start Live in Sweden.se I had to work out how to build one. Sure I could get someone to build it for me, there are plenty of solo site designers around offering to do it for a cheap price, but I needed something I could make changes to myself and it had to have a whole lot more features than the standard flat website. One friend suggested going and doing an html course, but somehome I discovered content management systems - don't remember now how but I think it was a chain of events and I was without doubt influenced by this blog, I have learned a lot from the blogger tool.

Once I decided it should be a content management system I then needed to decide if it should be one I buy or one that is open source, which ultimately means it's free. I met with web companies and decided I didn't want to be dependent on one for their CMS - I mean what if I didn't like the results or working with them or if they went bust?? So that left open source and I contemplated three of the big ones, Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal. A number of people told me not to get too worked up about which one I chose, I could make a change at a later date and that they were really all much of the same. On the other hand I wanted something I could grow into and the idea of changing everything from one system to the other was mind-boggling. I found that the best way to compare is to go to CMS Matrix and check the boxes of the ones you are interested in. Assuming you have a clue about what you are after (this too is a long process for the novice!) and know all the necessary jargon, the results are really helpful. I'm guessing that if these people don't have a CMS listed, its either too new or not worth knowing about.

There are a ton of pros and cons for each system and for all the research I did it ultimately depended on whose opinion you asked and what their personal preference was. At the end of the day I was influenced by a couple of web companies that suggested Drupal was the better option for my site.

After having two web companies go bust on me (luckily I had not parted with any money) I finally found someone who was willing, able, and affordable. Buying services is tough when you are a novice, it is hard to envisage everything you need, especially fairly "technical" services. It was far from the easiest thing I have done.

Eventually, after many, many months of decisions, discussion and designing, I had the frame of my website, looking just the way I wanted it to. Then it was time to learn how Drupal works and start filling the site with content. It was pretty easy to navigate around and despite some minor frustrations that have led to changes, it hasn't been too hard to learn.

As with most projects, they change along the way and factors became evident that we hadn't discussed, hadn't solved or hadn't been obvious. All in all I felt I wanted more control over the site and decided I want to learn more about Drupal. I went along to the Geek Girl Meetup recently and listend to Annika Lidne share her thoughts, knowledge and experience of this CMS. It was enough to ignite a lot of enthusiasm and I was hoping the WPGirls or the WPFika group would be converted enough to start up a Drupal gang. Alas, that has not yet been the case. I'd be the first to sign up to learn more....

Annika did make it seem easy and I have decided to build a new site in Drupal. Myself. From scratch. More about that another time......

So while things have been going along relatively smoothly I have been getting increasingly nervous about the big version changes that are being made to the system and my need to update Drupal as well as do something about the security alerts!! I can't help but feel like I am way out of my depth. My manual from the web guy was far from complete but luckily a friend had a much better manual for her site. Still it was overwhelming and I hardly dared open it and look at it....

Today I managed to corner my darling other-half and force him to draw on his old IT skills by putting himself into the workings of Drupal. It took a while, and we worked through both my friend's manual and the accompanying Drupal instructions. We did it. Everything is finally, newly backed up and the latest version of Drupal has been uploaded - no more security warnings from the administration side!!

Thank heavens for that. Now it is on the the next task!

A celebration of the success of Nyföretagarcentrum. Thanks to Maud Olofsson for earmarking 1 million SEK!

Monday night was the Final Gala held by Nyföretagarcentrum in Gamla Stan here in Stockholm. Nyföretagarcentrum is a non-profit organisation with offices around the country, sponsored by government and businesses. Their goal is to promote start-ups and support small businesses in general - which it does with huge success. Of those who start a business with their support less than one percent have gone bankrupt after three years and 80% are still active and on average have 2 employees. That is pretty impressive results!

During 2008-2009 SNC has made a particular effort to encourage women not only to start businesses but to make use of the resources that are available - largely thanks to the money that has been eartagged by Maud Oloffsson. Våga Språnget, Starter Programmes, networking groups and inspiration evenings have been the focus of their Investment In Women campaign.

Monday night we were invited to attend a celebration of what SNC have achieved so far. We were treated to red carpet attention, champagne, dinner and a night of celebrating successful women.

The red carpet into Nalen.

A few of the Våga Språnget group from the spring of 2008.

Karin, Anne, Monica and Theresa

After the initial introductions from the evening's mediator Lydia Capolicchio, and Anna Nedeby Bar-Am, CEO for Stockholms NyföretagarCentrum we listened to a discussion on women in business held by a panel.

Carin Holmquist Professor Handelshögskolan in Stockholm
Mikael Wolf CEO Swedbank
Kicki Theander Founder Middagsfrid
Sten Nordin kuhiphr Stockholm Municipality

Some 350 men and (mostly) women listened and contributed with their own reflections - inlcluding the myth that it is difficult to start a business in Sweden.

While I was listening a security man walked up past me to the front of the audience - odd I thought. A few minutes later Maud Olofson Minister for Enterprise and Energy, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications stepped up onto the stage and I realised - ok, yes, I am in the presence of a national politician and I guess they do need their security force.

Maud was presented with a Thank You card by CEO for SNC Anna Nedeby Bar-Am on behalf of SNC as a thanks for ear-marking 1 million crowns to promote women in business. Maud went on to read some of the comments on the card written by the women (me included) who have benefited from this 1 million crowns.
As I listened to her speech about women, entreprenurialism, business, the recession and Sweden I couldn't help but be reminded of Pippi - seeing her standing there in her red shoes.

And finally, after dinner, wine and music the winners were announced and presented with their awards according to four categories.

From left to right

Angela Monroe, Monroe Design
Anna Kjellgren, Strå
Maud Olofsson, Näringsminister
Maria Rindstam, Båtskroten
Leyla Anabestani, Freja Assistanstjänst AB

And I didn't come away empty handed either - I got a nice diploma for participating in Våga Språnget.Monday's event was to celebrate the results:

• 1 666 women have started a over 1000 companies
• SNC have conducted 4 925 advisory sessions
• 388 women have participated in the Starter programme
• 60 women have participated in Våga Språnget
• Almost 300 women have participated in networking events.

Do you have an idea brewing away in your mind? Are you a small business in a period of change or in need of support, advice, expertise? I can't recommend SNC enough - they are a fantastic resource! Not only are their staff skilled and knowledgeable but they have endless contacts and have a huge range of experts available to assist those in need - all that and it is free too!

Final Gala - tonight at Nalen.

Women in business strengthen Sweden.

The beautiful Asknäs Gård - now being run by our friends Robert & Sandee

is a gorgeous property out on Ekerö, one of the islands of greater Stockholm, that dates from the 1700s. It includes a pub/cafe, a function room for up to 90 people, a bed & breakfast, rentable cottages, stables, a farm shop, stables, beautiful gardens with old apple trees, a fully functioning asparagus farm and all with a view of Lake Mälaren. It is on oasis close to the heart of Stockholm city.
This year our good friends Robert & Sandee will be running it with their friend Abbe. After last year's roaring success running Kafe Kajak, this season promises to be an exciting one - both for them and their guests! They opened this weekend for the summer season and let's hope this was a warm start to a long hot summer.

So if you are looking for a place to escape, head out to the idylic Asknäs Gård. Take a walk in the gardens, eat great food and explore. There are not many places like this around anymore, not this close to town.

You can also follow their adventure on their Catering Allt blog or on Twitter.

Successful Business Women Seminars in Uppsala, Kalmar, Karlstad, Växjö & Linköping

Next Monday will see the start of a number of seminars around the country offering solid advice and exciting examples of how you can be successful in business even in difficult times. Take the chance to mingle with old and new business acquaintances.
What sort of business thrives in difficult times?
Strategies from the small business organisation Företagarna reveals what works and how to turn your business around as a result of the crisis.

How do your customers think when times are tough?
Trend Analyst Ida Hult reveals what people really do when we are in an economic downturn, what we buy, what we pay for.

How do you sell yourself and how do you get paid well paid?
Sales Expert Ulla- Lisa Thordén gives simple advice which has a big impact on your profitability.
Program and prices
For the program, contents and prices - click on the following link to the town that interests you:
April 27th Uppsala


May 4th Karlstad
May 6th Kalmar
May 8th Växjö
May 13th Linköping
Members of Driftig.nu have the opportunity to attend this seminar which is sure to be both inspirational and a vitamin kick for business - at a discounted price (one that makes it more than worthwhile to join Driftig.nu).

Driftig.nu is a great Swedish resource for women in the early stages of starting a business. Membership is free and includes a regular newsletter, access to experts who write a wide range of articles, great information about what is happening in the world of small business, and a forum providing an excellent opportunity to ask questions, share advice and experience and an opportunity to both market yourself and network.
I have written before about Driftig.nu, Beautiful Business and Sofia Bergenstjerna and Frida Haavisto and have full respect for anything they are involved in.
So if you are worried about where your business is heading as times toughen up, in need of encouragement and inspiration or just starting out - sign yourself up for a seminar and get ready to network with like-minded women!

Looking for a competition in southwest Sweden to test your business idea?

Business ideas are a dime a dozen, I have met many who have one of two, and plenty who seem to have an endless supply of them. Unfortunately not everyone gets the opportunity or has the courage to take an idea through the steps and actually realise it, but then you don't need to start a business and launch into full-scale production either, not with the competitions that are available to budding entrepreneurs.


I discovered a new one a couple of days ago called MyMission 09 hosted by Brewhouse Innovation. This Göteborg-based incubator supports people in the start-up phase with business ideas in the creative industries.The goal of the competition is to bring focus to ideas, new thinking and potential. The winners are perfect for anyone starting up: start capital, office space, coaching, as well as a long list of special prizes from already established businesses.

The competition is open to all, regardless of age, gender or background. It is naturally not open to companies who already do business as described by the plan or idea in the application. It is permissable to submit several applications covering different ideas (independant applications), and teams may apply together. It is not necessary to submit a full business plan, but plans and ideas are limited to the creative industries.

So, does that get your brain ticking? Are you sitting on an idea? One that is close to the service and just waiting for some kind of springboard, or one that has been stored in the archives waiting to see the light of day?
If I have tempted you you need to act swiftly, the closing date is April 13th, just one week to go! Remember it does not need to be a full business plan, but the more thought you put in to your idea the better your chances. You will need to be able to navigate around the site in Swedish - and if you want to submit your application in English you might need to check with them first. Contact information is available on their site MyMision 09.

Best of luck to any budding entrepreneurs out there reading this!! Please let me know how things go.

Processing the Geek Girl Meet-Up

Fantastic to see how much Swedish publicity there has been since this event, with coverage from SvD both before and after (here, here and here), Aftonbladet, MedieVärlden and VeckoRevyn.

As I posted earlier, the day started with registration at 9.30am and as usual when I attend meetings, seminars and the likes I did not know a soul - the GGM was no different either. I have to confess I was a little star struck throughout the day, to think that I was mixing with girls that had attended the very exclusive (in my books) 24-hour-business-camp and I recognised some of the names and the projects discussed throughout the day.

The meet-up was opened by the three instigators Andie Nordgren, Heidi Harman och Mengmeng Du with Beata Wickbom as moderator.


Beata is by far the best moderator I have seen here in Sweden - her style was sharp, to the point and extremely productive. She encouraged networking to the max and gave the girls every chance to put themselves in the spot light, speeding up a process that can otherwise take eons. It kind of reminded me of the American style of the BNI meetings and each time someone in the audience made a comment or asked a question she had them up on their feet, concluding with what challenges they were facing in their work and what they were looking for.

In the lead-up to lunch she did the same thing, singling people out, asking their challenges and want they wanted, then turning to the rest of the group to ask if anyone could help with that. In minutes she had strangers making contact and then eating lunch together to discuss something of mutual interest.

It was potentially a horrifying moment for many - the sort of necessary pill that needs to be swallowed, but one that you feel all the better for having taken it. No jante law allowed here!

In the short term nothing sprang to mind, at least no immediate challenges that I thought this group could help me with, but had I had more time to think about it I could have used the moment more constructively - I will know for next time! I ended up joining others to talk to a venture capitalist - would love to have a little cash injection into my project..... or find someone to work with.

Even though it was very goal focused and we were asked even when we registered online how we would contribute, there was no doubt that the atmosphere was a friendly, relaxed one - everyone was there because they wanted to support women in the industry and be with other women from the industry. Many expressed their frustration of being in male-dominated world and were clearly thrilled at being a part of this gathering. And everyone was welcome - from students to experts. The range of women seemed to be wide, with the web being the common interest and surprisingly I didn't feel out of my league the entire day - I even got to contribute some information/tips during a couple of my conversations and send a link off to someone with something I had found (!) It seems I have gathered some knowledge in the last couple of years.

The presentations were only 30 minutes each, including question time, so things went pretty quickly. I made notes and with my laptop on my knee it was great to be able to get straight out onto the net and check out the things they were referring too. I got lots of ideas and inspiration but I think the most valuable presentation I listened to was Anna Oscarsson's use of Bambuser and how she covered the recent Pirate Bay trials. I was highly impressed by her and Bambuser and will be having a close look at it soon - as is often the case - I knew it existed but just have not had reason nor chance to find out what it is really all about. It opens up a whole lot of interesting opportunities. Watch her summary of the Geek Girl Meet-up here:



There were plenty of other presentations that I thought were great, interesting and would like to listen to again, so as to be able to better absorb them. There were also plenty of presentations that I missed and would like to have seen. Annika Linde made a live broadcast from each of the presentations although the connection was not the best so unfortunately they are not the best recordings. They are all in Swedish but you can check them out under Recent Activity on her Bambuser page. I plan to listen to what I missed! From what I understand it was a spontaneous action that was appreciated by all and I have no doubt that preparation will be made for filming at the next meet-up.

If anything was missing from this action-packed day it was time - it went so fast and there was little time to get your teeth stuck into anything and limited time to chat to the other participants. It was one of the few occasions here in Sweden where I have found it very easy to talk to people, everyone was open and approachable in a way I have not seen elsewhere. In fact I think I can safely say that the quality of this day was far superior to any of the other entrepreneur events I have attended here in Stockholm.

Most of the girls continued on and went to an afterparty in Gamla Stan - as far as I know everything from the day/evening was covered by an impressive list of sponsors. These girls have got talent - they pulled off a very informative and inspiring day, attracted all the right people and managed to get sponsors to foot the bill. That's quite an achievement. I will be much faster to sign up next time!

You can read more here: Twingly Blog Search, Flickr, Twitter (didn't manage to get my Tweets to register on there), Swedish Bloggy and Jaiku.

Geek Girl Meet-Up March 28th

Heading to an all-day conference on Saturday, which was brought to my attention by fellow blogger & Twitterer Kiwi Raiha.

I feel a bit like a fake as I have never considered myself a Geek Girl and programming friends immediately spring to mind before any vision of myself does.....

Saying that I am very interested in social media and the development of the internet, and almost all the topics on the agenda are extremely interesting.

The Web First on Internetworld
The change to thinking web before paper & how newspapers communicate through social media.
Miriam Olsson, Internetworld

Flash och 3D
Emma Nwaugo, talks about audio visualisation and Papervision as well as about her latest flash project, a quick game application in a whole lot of things I don't understand.....

From Idea TO Site With Wordpress And A Little Determination
Andie Nordgren shows how Wordpress can transform your idea to a site. With the right plugins and the right thinking Wordpress is a great system for much more than blogging. Build your own site on site, if you want, or just listen and learn.

Opportunity Capital
Venture capital industry rom the inside and what you need to know to get ahead.
Katja Lepola, Grädde Invest

From Idea To Mobile Service
Build your own service with tools from Mobilstart. Start immediately with a ready-made service or investigate your own solutions using Mobilstarts API.
Katrin Calderon, Telenor Mobilstart

10 Rules for Development of Services on the Internet
Paula Marttila

How I did a life report from the Pirate Bay-trials
Anna Oscarsson

Sociala media in large organisations - the culture is more important that the tool
Helena Lindh, IBM

The Apes' invasion of office life - technical and social toys
Paulina Söderlund Modlitba talks about her projects from MIT Media Lab. Monkey Business is about soft robots that can give a sense of what your colleagues are doing. GlobeToddler is a way form parents to communicate with their children through a soft toy that also lives in a virtual world.

Ada Lovelace and other stars from the IT heaven
Karin Adelsköld

Me and my beloved mobile!
I love mobile phones. Since 1994 I have had about 40 of them and tested over 100. I always have about 8 mobile phones with me which I change depending on what I am going to do. Get a peek into mobile passion taken to new heights!
Suzanne Fors

API and webhooks - what you need to know to understand the next level of the web
Andie Nordgren

The Future is Soon Here - media trends in the coming years.
Paulina Söderlund Modlitba talks about her work at Bonnier and the media trends they have identified for the coming years, as well as the challenges facing the media industry.

How do you create mobile content for girls?
I work as a project leader at Telia where girls are an important target group and one that we have started focusing on. We have created a mobile site for girls: http://m.tete.nu which is just the beginning of something I think is very interesting. I will speak a little abou how Tête evolved and what our intentions are for the future. I will talk and show material as well as ask questions and create a discussion if anyone wants to partake. If there are any applications, sites that you have created yourself that should be on Tête. If you want to see a Tête sms send one to 71160
Suzanne Fors

New Media - old organisations. A discussion about motivation and the spread of knowledge around social media.
A discussion about motivation and the spread of knowledge of social media.In my work I try to encourage colleagues and motivate why it is so important to keep an eye on microblogs and blogs as a part of the usual business intelligence, but often find opposition. What do you do to not lose heart and still have constructive and good arguments as to why it is important?
Sandra Jakob

Library 2.0 - lessons from an educational program about webservices for librarians.
Ingela Wahlgren talks about how the library world is taking on new web services through the use of course model 23 Things.

OPK 1998 – pre Geek Girls
Gitta Wilén and Lotta Holmström

Women + Computer games = True
Lina Eklund from Stockholm's University talks about her research of girls in the World of Warcraft and how girls react to games and the game world. Are you a gamer? Discuss the world of games and meet the rest of the game nerds at the Geek Girl Meetup in a discussion after the seminar.

Curious? If you can read Swedish you can follow the Meet-Up on the web.

Beautiful Business Awards: Sweden's Business Woman of the Year.

Headed out last night to Parken on Söder as the temperature was dropping and lone snow flakes were floating to their final resting place. It was lovely to walk in and be handed a glass of sparkling rosé, be stopped by a fellow Våga Språnget member and stand and chat while listening to the most amazing harp player I have ever seen or heard. I never knew a harp could be played like that.

We were there for the Beautiful Business Awards , being held for the second year in a row and hosted by Driftig.nu and Örlings PriceWaterhouseCoopers, supported by Nutek who this year added a category to the competition.

The evening's moderators were comedian couple Anna Mannheimer and Peter Apelgren who welcomed the audience and continued to entertain with their antics throughout the evening.

In their own words Beautiful Business Award 2009 is a national competition aimed to bring focus to exciting self-employed business women so as to inspire Sweden to more sustainable business practices. The Beautiful Business concept is about inspiring business that is characterized by sustainability, innovation and ambition. It is a mindset, that is equally admirable whether it be governing business thinking or general human behaviour. It is business with a conscience.

The competition awards Business Women of the Year, Service Developer of the Year and Challenger of the Year and is open to all women who have started or are running a business full-time. The first step is the nomination with the second being an application filled in by the nominees. It follows the BBA structure and requires the nominees to motivate why they are worthy of the award according to the following categories:

Sustainability: The company must be run with a long-term concept in terms of profitability, environment and ethics.
Innovation: The business shall be characterized by innovation and creativity in some way whether it be product/service, the approach, the industry, distribution channels or market.
Ambition: The individual shall have a strong involvement, great courage and strive from growth.

This year an amazing 1731 women were nominated with 432 of those submitting competition applications. Of those 62% have been running longer than 3 years and 60% are limited companies with 34% or the women born in the 60s and 24% in the 70s. All regions of Sweden were represented with 34% coming from Stockholm and 14% from Västra Götaland.

The evening progressed and the 12 finalists and their businesses, selected by a jury, were presented and interviewed. Following on, last years winners Lingon & Blåbär presented their company and talked about what the award meant to them. We then mingled, snacked and drank more wine before the awards were presented.

Business Women of the Year 2009 went to Nina Ottosson of Zoo Active Products AB who designs, manufactures and sells her dog toys to 25 countries around the globe. Click on this link to see her products and watch an interview (Swedish) with her here. It was no surprise to see Service Developer of the Year awarded to Kristina Theander of Middagsfrid. Kristina and her staff deliver cleverly packaged and planned groceries and matching recipes to health conscious households in Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö. She takes away the what are we going to eat tonight stress in busy households.

Business Challenger of the Year was awarded to three women: Petra Wadström of Solvatten, Jeanette Gorosch of Nannynu! and Britt-Marie Gyllensvaan of Utbilda.nu. This award brings recognition to relatively newly started companies deemed to have great potential.

Some of these women I have read about in business magazines, all of them were incredibly inspiring. They talked about the hard work and the determination that it took to get them where they are. It was wonderful to hear their stories and how thrilled they were to be nominated. Here is the whole list of finalists:
Nina Ottosson - Zoo Active Products
Jessica Löfström - ExpanderaMera
Mia Karlsson-Jonsson - Rex Bar & Grill
Bitte Ljungström - Vidilab
Petra Hammarstedt - Servicestaden
Katinka Bille Lindahl - LifeStone
Karin Bryskhe och Anna Stenstam - Colloidal Resource
Kristina Theander - Middagsfrid
Karin Almqvist - VICTRIX
Veronica Boxberg Karlsson - Better Business World Wide
Marianne Möllstam - Synergon
Veronica Hedenmark - VH Assistans
This fantastic award is the brainchild of Sofia Bergenstjerna and Frida Haavisto of Beautiful Business - themselves both very inspiring women. Fantastic that they have taken this opportunity to support both women and entrepreneurs.

Swede Runner-Up: Europe's Best Young Entrepreneur

Therese Albrechtson is having no trouble building her brand and is getting plenty of publicity to help her along the way.


Not only nominated but also runner-up for Business Week's Best Young European Entrepreneur 2008 this dynamic Swedish woman founded three companies by the tender young age of 23. While that might be amazing in itself, it is highlighted by the fact that an accident two years ago and a subsequent cerebral hemorrhage put her out of action for 12 months!

Still she managed to make her way back and now spends her days inspiring others.

Swedish Geeks' list of 53 new internet services

As the 24hr Business Camp comes to an end the entire list of 53 new internet services is available for your perusal. If you scroll down the live blog you can read (in English thank you very much!) each team's contribution outlining who they are and/or what they have come up with.

There are some great ideas amongst them.

Årets företagare - Business Person Of The Year - Stockholm.

While on the subject of business and networks I thought I'd mention Englishmen Jonathan Kirby and Martin Charlton who were awarded Business Person Of The Year 2008 for their Live It Experiences AB.

Their business concept is based on the fact that it is becoming more and more difficult to buy presents for people, so instead of buying someone a thing, you can get them an experience. They have gathered the best experiences Sweden has to offer and when you have chosen, ordered and paid for your gift an attractive Live It box is sent out with photos, booking information and a voucher.

Not only is it a great idea but the award was won by two non-Swedes. Both these guys are love-refugees, married to Swedes, and have been here for 8 and 9 years. Nice to know there is potential for all to be award-winning business people! Well done guys!!! After thier initial start in 2005 they now have 14 employees and have an annual turnover of 40 million SEK - not bad for a couple of English blokes!

Företagarna Stockholms Stad is a part of a national business organisation who present this award each year to a person/people not only for their accomplishments but also because they through their leadership are a good role-model and ambassador for small business people. are able to show extra creativity and are enterprising. They also need to be profitable and the owner/s must be actively running the company (SvD article).

According to the article Stockholm has 50 000 - 60 000 business owners, which makes for quite a few nominations. The winners are now candidates for the title of Swedish Business Person of the Year 2008. I'll hold my thumbs for them (and cross my fingers).

Women Entrepreneurs & Networks in Sweden & Stockholm

Went to the Venture Cup Inspiration For Women night last night and was truly inspired. I heard just what I need to hear and picked up a few ideas, some food for thought. The two speakers were Karin, founder of Grooming - Sweden's only grooming company aimed exclusively at men, and Caroline, co-founder of FUNtasi Fabriken whose goal is to bring dance to the people.

It is always interesting and inspiring to listen to others who have started a business and share their experiences - the good and the bad. And with only about 33% of Venture Cup applicants being women the organisation does what it can to encourage more to enter the competition and these women shared their thoughts about the difference between men and women in business.

Karin advised us to be clear in our communication, rather than talk around things as women often do. She also suggested that women are better at building relationships, and that this is something we can benefit from. She then went on to offer three very simple, practical, yet valuable pieces of advice:

1. ask questions and opinions and listen to those around you, but most importantly, listen to yourself
2. use your own network - talk to the people you know, rather than running around town mingling at different events and building up a very superficial network
3. have patience and perserverance. It takes much longer than you think it is going to. Hang in there - it is the same for everyone!

Caroline suggested we

1. have plans, long term and short term, but have a long term goal.
2. picture a number of potential scenarios right from the beginning and have a plan for how you will deal with them, that way there are no surprises.

Both before and after the speeches there was time for mingling. It is not that easy to stand amongst a bunch of strangers and mingle, in fact I don't enjoy it at all and I find it SO much harder to do in Swedish. So I was quite pleased to hear advice point number 2 and I go to these events mostly to hear the speakers - it really helps keep me motivated and focused on what I am doing.

There are a ton of business networks and organisations around and while many of them have events aimed exclusively at women, there are also a number of women-only networks around. If you too need inspiration and motivation, want a place to seek advice or companionship or are just curious about what others are up to, check out the following links:

Carpe Competencia - Sweden's biggest network for young academic women.
Driftig - Sweden's biggest online network for women who want to or have started their own business.
Kvinnliga Företagare - online meeting place for women in business.
Shenet - a network for women who want more out of their working life, bringing focus to female stars in business and inspiring others.
Göran - a network for women who want to share experience and advice on how to achieve balance in their personal and professional life.
KvinnorKan - an organisation promoting equal rights, obligations and opportunities for men and women.