When Laura Maginess launched the original Glasglow Girls Club in 2016, she already had a wealth of marketing and networking experience to draw from. Having started her professional life at Blue Chip Marketing as a Senior Account Manager, her multi-award winning team valued her ingenuity and expertise. With VisitScotland as a major client, Laura garnered valuable experience in how to liaise across all areas of marketing with a focus on destination marketing and sales promotion to deliver the very best outcomes for noted brands.
A bold move to Fake Bake in 2014 saw Laura hit the ground running from a client and product marketing perspective. The world’s leading independent tanning brand had its home in Scotland, with a small, family-based and close-knit team. Her official title of Marketing Executive and later Marketing Manager saw Laura working with each of the brand’s departments to strategise and plan marketing output, whilst managing and driving forward social media campaigns and growth.
It was during Laura’s time at Fake Bake that her love of getting people together, and staging promotional events sowed a future seed in her mind. Working across the UK, with other agencies including leading PR teams, Laura was part of a team which coordinated parties and events at luxury locations, often collaborating with prestigious complementary brands. Teaming up with the professional arm of Fake Bake, which dealt with premium spray-tanning artists across the nation, Laura helped to nurture valuable connections for the brand which saw them being involved in major TV events such as Dancing On Ice, The Full Monty, The National Television Awards, The BRITs and the European MTV VMAs.
After meeting so many like-minded women during her career so far, Laura launched Glasglow Girls Club in 2016, initially as a free community on Facebook. It soon grew arms and legs and Laura took the leap into launching her own business initiative, utilising all of the skills she had honed so far. Initially aimed at networking events, in 2018 Laura made the decision to create two distinct sub-membership groups within GGC: a social club membership, and a business club membership. The former was aimed at bringing together women from all walks of business life to mix and mingle, whilst the latter would have a more business-based atmosphere, but still with the emphasis on meaningful connection.
The main aim of GGC is that all of its members grow and glow both personally and professionally, by meeting others, trying new things, and pushing themselves to not just achieve their potential, but to have great fun while they are doing so! With over 39,000 members on Facebook and over 19,000 on Instagram, both strands of the Club engage with women for all walks of life. The social side of Glasglow Girls Club enables members to attend an exciting array of events: from bi-monthly brunches, to sushi making masterclasses, dog healing workshops and events that see members regularly getting out in nature, these get-togethers are all about enjoyment and making new friends.
The business arm of the Club also includes relevant training courses, networking, and meet-ups including all sorts of innovative locations, with guest speakers on-hand to provide inspiration. From motivating events to netwalking amidst stunning Scottish scenery, the emphasis is also on boosting human connection and mental health awareness.
“As a young mum to a daughter, and taking into account my previous business experience and career high points, I wanted to create something really special with Glasglow Girls Club. When the business really began to take off in 2018, we had just gained a strong foothold when lockdown happened which was a real challenge. However, it also enabled us to reach out to our members as they were also feeling isolated: I think we learned a lot from the experience as a collective. Creating this amazing forum is a dream realised for me – in my younger years I loved original internet chat rooms, connecting people from any location. Virtual communities massively expanded an individual’s circle. I wanted to harness that power and also incorporate the value of in-person networking.
We now have members who are self-employed sole traders through to women in industry-based roles for large organisations, and every type of role in-between. Each brings so much to the GGC table, and we know that a lot of mentoring occurs when women are able to reach out. All of our meet-ups and occasions have a fun element to them, and we ensure that we include some of the area’s very best restaurants, bars and locations when it comes to choosing venues. We have also found that being outdoors in nature is also of equal appeal.
Glasglow Girls Club is a community at heart, and I personally enjoy watching both professional connections and personal friendships flourish. We now have so many members that lots of us look within the group first if we are searching for a business or service: we usually don’t have to reach too far! Our Facebook group remains a free resource and within that are business members can shout about what they do – members love to support each other, we really do ‘all rise together’. We use our community to listen out for what our members most want in life and we develop events and content to suit.
I am excited for the future of the community. Very soon I plan to relaunch the Glasglow Girls Club Podcast, which has always enjoyed great traffic since its inception. It also allows us to reach outside of our membership: I know we have listeners engaging from all over the UK and further afield.
It is also in my future plans to get our very own members hub in Glasgow and to franchise the Glow Club, so that it can be adopted in other cities. I know from my own contacts list that there are thriving business communities packed with female entrepreneurs from London to Liverpool, from Cardiff to Birmingham, and from Belfast to Newcastle to name but a few.
What started off as a way of connecting with other women has really grown into something I am really proud of in Glasglow Girls Club. Keep your eyes on our website and socials, and I am happy to welcome new members, guest speakers or anyone who has an interest in the authentic work that we do.”
Awards won by Glasglow Girls Club:
Leader of the Year and the Global Womens Business Club Awards 2022
Woman of Influence at the BWC Circle of Influence Awards 2023
Leading Community and Membership Club 2023 at the UK Enterprise Awards
For further reference head to Glasglow Girls Club socials, website and YouTube here:
https://www.facebook.com/GlasglowGirlsClub
https://www.instagram.com/glasglowgirlsclub/
https://www.glasglowgirlsclub.com/