When it comes to networking, I have found women in business love the buzz and success of other women. They find the creativity and movement exciting and inspirational, and they help one another. Who wouldn’t want to get to know power women like that?
I learned how to network after retiring from a career as a Sales Executive and Manager. Funny that it was an unconscious way of business building until I became a small business owner, a soloprenuer. Then it became part of my plan and very conscious. Then it was one of the legs on my marketing table. Of course, this was before online marketing became a necessary addition to being seen and found. Now, it is necessary to have your voice out there in the communities you want to serve.
I joined a woman’s networking group the second year in my Coaching business and three years later when the owner of the business network moved into another career opportunity, I started my own Network group, The Professional Woman’s Network. I had it going for almost 6 years and I loved it. I loved the educational aspects, the community, the resources, the friendships, and the additional business from members and their referrals. It was only after a family member’s medical needs required my attention, that with regret, I closed it down.
At our monthly meetings, we had time for each member to introduce herself and we had time for an educational ten minutes that gave great value to the members. I loved hosting it and appreciated the team of women who took a leadership role.
For the last 16 years, I have been active in BNI, Business Network International. It too has been a large contributor to the success of my coaching business. In fact, I find I do between a quarter and a half of all new business from BNI.
In another blog post, I will share about creating an awesome commercial so you can be easily remembered and stand out.
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