From Lurking in the Background to The Success Circle: Nikki’s Story

I want to tell you about Nikki.

Nikki Reeve runs Insignia Limited, a promotional merchandise company that has been going since 1981. She took over the business in 2023 and is brilliant at what she does. But for a long time, nobody outside her immediate circle knew that.

Because Nikki wasn’t going anywhere. She was, by her own admission, in her own little bubble. Her husband checked Life360 one weekend and pointed out she hadn’t left the house since the previous weekend. She knew something had to change.

What happened next is one of my favourite stories to tell. And I’m so glad Nikki said I could share it.

Stage one: the lurker

Nikki had been following Women Inspired Network online for a while before she ever came to an event. Watching from the background. Looking at the photos. Reading the reviews. Seeing the smiling faces.

This is actually really common. We have just under two thousand people in our Facebook community. There is absolutely no way that two thousand people have come to events. A huge number of them are exactly where Nikki was — watching, waiting, wondering whether to take the leap.

For Nikki, there was also something deeper holding her back. Fifteen years earlier she had been to a networking event with a company she worked for. She walked into a room and everyone stared at her. She was asked to stand up, completely unprepared, and talk about what she did.

“It was awful,” she told me. “I really wasn’t prepared for it. And that’s what really turned me off networking. It scared me.”

She didn’t go to another networking event for fifteen years.

One bad experience. Fifteen years of staying away.

I share this because I think it is so much more common than we realise. And it makes me so determined to keep doing what we do at WIN — because nobody should ever leave a networking event feeling like that.

Stage two: the online session

This year, Nikki decided enough was enough. She “pulled her big girl pants up” — her words, not mine, and I love her for it — and booked onto one of our online networking sessions with Sharon.

She chose online first because it felt safer. She could get a feel for how WIN worked, meet some of the faces, hear the conversations — all from the comfort of her own home. No driving somewhere unfamiliar. No walking into a room of strangers. Just her, her laptop, and Sharon’s wonderfully calm and welcoming energy.

And she loved it.

I want to pause here because I think this is so important. The online sessions are not a lesser version of our in-person events. For a lot of women they are the perfect first step. A way to dip your toe in, see that it’s nothing like the networking horror stories you’ve heard, and build just enough confidence to take the next step.

For Nikki, that next step came very quickly.

Stage three: the in-person event

That same evening — the night of her online session — Nikki booked onto an in-person event in Bury St Edmunds.

I remember when she walked through the door. I’d looked at the directory beforehand, as I always do, so I knew who was coming and what they did. And when Nikki arrived I went straight over — hi Nikki, you must be Nikki, you do promotional merchandise, so lovely to have you here.

She told me later that moment meant everything.

“You knew exactly who I was and you welcomed me with open arms,” she said. “You almost gave me a hug. Even if you didn’t, it felt like a hug because of the way you greeted me. And it has been like that at every WIN event I’ve ever been to.”

I want to say clearly — that’s not an accident. I do that on purpose. I study the directory before every event specifically so that nobody walks through the door and feels invisible. Because I know how it feels to walk into a room of strangers. And I never want anyone to feel like that at a WIN event.

Nikki had a brilliant time. She connected with women she would never have met otherwise. She listened to a guest speaker. She laughed a lot. And somewhere during that event, something shifted in her.

Stage four: the moment that surprised us both

During the Bury event, Nikki and I were talking about The Success Circle — our premium monthly membership that meets at Hintlesham Hall. It’s a more intimate, deeper level of networking for women who are ready to go further.

I’ll be completely honest. When we were chatting about it that day, I didn’t think for a second that she would actually book it. She’d only just come to her first in-person event. She’d been nervous to come to the online session. The Success Circle felt like a big confidence leap from where she was.

She left the event. And booked The Success Circle.

I was genuinely blown away.

From lurking in the background online. To an online session. To an in-person event. To The Success Circle. All within the space of a few weeks.

That is what happens when someone finds the right room.

Where Nikki is now

Watching Nikki’s journey over the past few months has been one of the things I’m most proud of in running WIN.

She has met women in industries she would never have crossed paths with otherwise — coaches, health advisors, menopause specialists — and has started using some of their services herself. She has shared her own expertise and experience to help other business owners navigate tricky situations. She has built genuine friendships.

And most significantly of all — she went to two corporate networking events last week. On her own. And was absolutely fine.

“There’s no way I would have gone if it wasn’t for the confidence I’ve built,” she told me. “I feel like I know my business better as well. Before I was just keeping my head down. Networking has made me sit back and look at where things are. It’s a confidence thing. Without the confidence, you can’t move forwards.”

From not leaving the house for a week. To two corporate networking events on her own.

That is Nikki’s story. And I think it’s incredible.

Nikki’s advice for anyone sitting where she was

I asked Nikki what she’d say to the woman who is exactly where she was a few months ago. Lurking in the background. Watching. Wondering. Too scared to book.

“Look at all the stories that are going on and how much it’s helping people. Look at the photographs of the happy faces. All those ladies started like you. I would say probably 95% of them did. They were really nervous.”

“Try an online session first. See how you get on. And then book one in person and just go and try it out. Honestly, the hardest thing is actually booking it. It’s not turning up. It’s having the thought to book in the first place. And I really think you should do it.”

If that’s you — if you’ve been watching from the sidelines and wondering if WIN is really for you — Nikki’s story is your answer.

It is. Just book it. 💛

About Nikki

Nikki runs Insignia Limited, a promotional merchandise company supplying branded products for businesses of all sizes — from pens and notebooks to bespoke items. If you need something with your logo on it, Nikki is your woman.

Find Nikki here:

🌐 Website: https://www.insigniauk.com/

📸 Instagram: @ínsigniapromo1

👤 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsigniaukLtd

Want to hear the full conversation?

Listen to my full chat with Nikki on the Women Inspired Networking Conversations podcast, available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DM7Ooc5nLezg4u91OklYo?si=83acff1303aa4471

📺 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDVCZqf8LiBs92aTeEHZsWrtoNRJEVCXn&si=kfsbmnaQYm0lelUk

Come and find your people:

🌐 www.womeninspirednetwork.com/events

👤 Facebook: Women Inspired Network: Networking For Women In Business

📸 Instagram: @women_inspired_network