Women Grow Business

Ever since this blog made its debut almost a year and a half ago, the one thing Jill, and then I, focused on, was building, and connecting to, our community.

We try to do this by giving you a range of topics to read about, but all focused on and for women entrepreneurs.

Because if we give you content that’s relevant to your life as a woman entrepreneur, we’re making a connection with you, no matter how ephemeral it might initially seem.

Making the Connection

From the connection point of view, May’s been a really interesting month for Women Grow Business. Well, every month’s a really interesting month for us, but this month has been particularly interesting, because:

• We held our second #wgbiz Twitterchat with Lori Saitz
• We had our first “IRL” happy hour (thank you, Network Solutions) where many of us met for the first time
• We announced the first-ever Women Grow Business Boot Camp (are you registered yet?)

I shouldn’t be, but continue to be amazed at how strong these connections are. Even though our Twitter chats are still very new, we get a great range of participants, not to mention learnings that you can apply in almost every field, regardless of your industry niche.

Consider these tweets from this month’s chat on customer appreciation:

Do read the entire trancript of the #wgbiz chat with Lori. There’s great stuff here that we can all apply in our businesses.

The #wgbiz happy hour was a long time coming. Don’t they say if it’s worth it, it’s worth waiting for?

That’s how I felt and hopefully others did as well. It was delightful to see some new Women Grow Business friends and supporters out for the first time (check out the photos, and that’s Faith Dow, Frank Gruber and Jen Consalvo that you see above), and I loved this note I got from someone new to us:

“I often feel very awkward at networking events, but tonight’s was fun and relaxed. I enjoyed it.”

How cool is that?! And Frank gets mad props for adding a touch of testosterone to our hen party.

As we gear up for June, I’m really looking forward to the Women Grow Business Boot Camp, sponsored by Network Solutions and Steptoe & Johnson LLP.

After connecting with each other online for so long, we’re finally going to have several #wgbiz contributors and supporters in the same room. I can’t even begin to imagine how high the energy will be.

Thank you for allowing us to connect with you. You are why we’re here.

Image © Shonali Burke, used with permission

Shonali Burke is editor of Women Grow Business and one of the country’s leading business communicators, who was named to PRWeek’s inaugural top “40 Under 40″ list of US-based PR professionals. She specializes in creating and implementing integrated (online and off), results-based, measurable communication programs for clients both large and small at Shonali Burke Consulting. An accredited business communicator, she is also Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University’s M.A. in Communications program and active in the local communications community as President of IABC/DC Metro. Talk to her via her blog, Waxing UnLyrical or Twitter.

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Are your shoes made for walking?

May 23 – 29 is National Small Business Week.  There are events all over the country sponsored by the Small Business Administration and state or local agencies to celebrate the contributions of small businesses and to help such businesses grow and succeed.

This is a great opportunity to enhance your knowledge and build your network. Or to help you re-energize after a tough winter.

It is also a fine time to remind your clients or customers of what you offer and give them another reminder of why they buy from you!

Take a few moments to figure:

How can you use the week effectively to enhance your marketing?

What could you say or offer to bring in some referrals or repeat business?  New business?

How many contacts have you “been meaning” to send a note or add to your social media marketing efforts, and how could you target them this week effectively?

What could you do with 15 minutes a day of concentrated effort this week that would upgrade your game?

If you are in Metro DC, check out the National Small Business Week 2010 Conference, May 23-25.

Wherever you are, these resources are likely to be useful:

• Regional events/celebrations during the week
• An online conference for women May 26th
• The IRS list of seminars and events for small business owners (and yes, it covers more than IRS events and taxes)

Carpe Diem!

More:

• Patricia’s recent “tale of business infrastructure“
• Jen Consalvo’s pre-launch checklist for your small business
• Katie Kemple on defining your corporate culture

Image: uggboy‘s Flickrstream, Creative Commons

Regular contributor Patricia A. Frame is an experienced management consultant, speaker, and executive with expertise in human capital. Launching a new Women Grow Business series on human resources for small business, Patricia is founder of Strategies for Human Resources. She helps small to mid-size organizations achieve their goals through more effective human capital strategy and management. She can be reached through her website SHRinsight.com, where archives for her ongoing management series can be found.

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Of dogs, guacamole and groupies

When I started editing Women Grow Business, I knew it would be a trip and a half, but I don’t think I realized what a wild ride it would be. Seriously, I think WGB has spam groupies who insist on trying to sell men’s shoes. Whaaa… ??

Couldn’t we get a flash mob instead? Image: Richard Wood, Creative Commons

But anyway, founding editor Jill Foster came over one afternoon in January to walk me through the ins and outs of it, and afternoon turned to evening, through which we fortified ourselves with wine, olives, chips and guacamole (my dogs were particularly interested in the latter).

As we worked, we chatted about our hopes and dreams for WGB. We already knew what a phenomenal community we had (I give you the terrific contributors as well as the many guest bloggers who bring so much value when they share their thoughts and experiences). Of course, we wanted to grow that (which we’ve been doing slowly, not just on the blog, but on Twitter, LinkedIn and Amplify as well, are you connected to us there?).

What we really wanted to do, though, was take this vibrant, thriving online community and move it offline.

Particularly in a world where so much of our work and interaction is virtual, we’ve all seen how important it is to actually do stuff “IRL.”

Drum roll, please!

So it truly gives me great pleasure to announce (drum roll, please) the first-ever Women Grow Business Boot Camp, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, in downtown DC.

If you’re a woman entrepreneur in the DC area (or want to be one), I hope you’ll attend this half-day, FREE workshop where you’ll hear from women business owners, many of whom contribute to and/or have supported Women Grow Business since its inception.

I mean, it’s not every day you get a chance to meet Kathy Korman Frey aka @ChiefHotMomma and our keynote speaker (W00T!), as well as powerhouses like Marissa Levin, Patricia Frame, Shana Glickfield and many, many more.

What you’ll learn

Speakers will share their experiences in growing their businesses, and after the keynote, you’ll split into four breakout groups to learn more about four key areas of growing your business:

• Money, Honey: the financial and infrastructural side to your business
• Legal Eagle: the legal, IP and related issues we need to be aware of
• What’s the Buzz?: marketing your business, including using PR and social media
• Are You Being Served?: defining, reaching and retaining your ideal customer

We’re going to repeat these tracks after a short break, so that you can move to another group and learn about another area (and the speakers will change as well).

So by the end of the workshop, you should come away feeling empowered, armed with practical tips, and have done a ton of networking… at least, that’s what we hope you’ll come away with.

It’s on a Saturday, so hopefully that will make it easy for you to carve the time out of your busy schedules. And did I mention it’s FREE? Thank you, sponsors Network Solutions and the Intellectual Property Group and Diversity Committee of Steptoe & Johnson LLP.

Sign up!

You can register here, and do share the word with those you think would be interested… and maybe we can even come up with a flash mob of our own. Whadja say?

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If you’re in the DC Metro area, here’s a great event coming up you should know about: the Social Media Soirée, hosted by our very own Terri Holley and Creative Blog Solutions, on May 19, from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at Silver Spring, Md.’s, Eggspectation.

Here’s why:

• Small businesses are increasingly investing in social media marketing including blogs, Facebook and LinkedIn to stay relevant and competitive… as I’m sure you’re doing.
• According to the Small Business Success Index™ (SBSI), sponsored by Network Solutions® and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business,  the adoption of social media by small businesses has doubled from 12% to 24% in the last year.

The Social Media Soirée is designed for small business owners who are interested in honing their social media skills. If you attend, you’ll learn from eight featured expert users who will give live demonstrations on the latest social technologies.

Eight! And all during breakfast!

Regular Women Grow Business blogger Melanie Spring is one of these experts, so if you attend, you won’t just walk away with great networking and learnings, you’ll get to meet two of your favorite columnists… IRL.

What’re you waiting for? Register here… and let us know how you enjoyed the event, won’t you?

Image: Jim Manka-Taylor, Creative Commons

Shonali Burke is editor of Women Grow Business and one of the country’s leading business communicators, who was named to PRWeek’s inaugural top “40 Under 40″ list of US-based PR professionals. She specializes in creating and implementing integrated (online and off), results-based, measurable communication programs for clients both large and small at Shonali Burke Consulting. An accredited business communicator, she is also Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University’s M.A. in Communications program and active in the local communications community as President of IABC/DC Metro. Talk to her via her blog, Waxing UnLyrical or Twitter.

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Calling all would-be foodpreneurs!

Our own Lori Saitz has a great event coming up for foodie-preneurs in the West Palm Beach, Fla. area, called You Should Sell That.

I asked her to tell me what made her decide to do this, and she said:

“Over the years that I’ve been building Zen Rabbit and promoting The Gratitude Cookie™ and Zen Crunch, I’ve frequently gotten phone calls from people asking how I got started. Last year I put together a 3-hour workshop to share some basics and tips. The problem was, there’s so much to know that 3 hours wasn’t nearly enough time.

“For example:

“When you’re starting a food business, some states permit you to use your home kitchen and other states don’t. But there are reasons why, even if you are legally allowed, you still might want to find space in a commercial kitchen. For example, the equipment in a commercial kitchen is just so much more efficient and you’ll probably have more space.

“Or if you have a cat or dog, no matter how well behaved the animal, and how much you clean that kitchen, at some point, fur WILL get in the food.

“There’s hardly an industry in which it’s more important to incorporate and insure your business than the food industry.

Knock on wood, but what if someone gets sick from eating your product? Even if it’s not your fault (they left your salad dressing out overnight, despite the recommendation to refrigerate, and then ate it and got sick!). You absolutely must have liability insurance. And if you’re not incorporated, you could lose every personal asset you own, including your home.

“No matter how good your brownies, granola, or salsa are, your product will not sell itself. Thousands of new food products are introduced to the market every year. What makes yours so special?

“I recommend telling a story about your recipe or journey; something that differentiates your treats from the next item and endears your customers to you.

Think Nantucket Nectars or Endangered Species Chocolate.”

Lori recruited Tim Lymberopoulos, co-founder of Fooducopia and, between the two of them, they created a much more comprehensive road map for the Start Up Food Entrepreneur. It’s two full days, April 30-May 1 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

During this two day workshop, the would-be gourmet food entrepreneur (that’s you) will get answers to the confusing questions and challenges that come up when starting out in this industry. You’ll go on a step-by-step journey to establishing your own company, including:

• Setting up your business structure
• Funding your business & establishing a budget
• Locating a place to produce your product
• Buying ingredients
• Getting distribution
• Deciding on a target market
• Choosing a company name
• Determining pricing
• Formulating a marketing plan that works
• Implementing creative, fun tactics to get attention & customers

Plus, you’ll leave with actual plans in place for going forward (not just the knowledge), a binder of recommended resources, and a strong network of colleagues to call on for support and feedback.

Sounds pretty neat, huh? You can get more information and/or register here, or contact Lori if you have more questions.

And remember to share your bounty with the rest of us at Women Grow Business!

More from:

• Lori on how an entrepreneur overcame hurricanes and more
• Monika Jansen asks, “Are you an entrepreneur or a small business owner?” at Grow Smart Business
• Building a values-driven business from Inc.com

Image © Ed Bullinger Photography, used with permission

Shonali Burke is editor of Women Grow Business and one of the country’s leading business communicators, who was named to PRWeek’s inaugural top “40 Under 40″ list of US-based PR professionals. She specializes in creating and implementing integrated (online and off), results-based, measurable communication programs for clients both large and small at Shonali Burke Consulting. An accredited business communicator, she is also Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University’s M.A. in Communications program and active in the local communications community as President of IABC/DC Metro. Talk to her via her blog, Waxing UnLyrical or Twitter.

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Never let it be said our Women Grow Business contributors keep their smarts to themselves.

Melanie Spring of Sisarina, a new addition to our team, is doing one of those things that qualifies as, quite simply, a bright idea.

Here’s the gen:

Sisarina & Simply Leap are offering a series called 3 Steps to Success. It’s all about business growth & how to stay focused, know what you need to get the growth you deserve and how to network with the right people.

The three steps are:

• April 20: Step 1 focuses on Vision, Passion & Focus
• May 4: Step 2 gives the Nuts & Bolts
• May 18: Step 3 is all about Purposeful Networking.

Three entrepreneurs speak in each workshop, share their personal experience and offer advice. There will also be guided networking sessions to get you talking about what you need.

I can see this as being great not just for new businesses, but also established growing businesses and non-profits.

If you’re interested and in the DC area, you can join them for $20 a pop or sign up for all 3 at $50. I’m told there are limited spots, so I’d get my foot in the door now, if I were you. It’s being held at James Hoban’s Irish Restaurant in DC’s Dupont Circle, so you’ll not only network and learn, but if you get lucky, you might find a leprechaun or two.

You can register here.

And if you attend, will you let us know what you learned?

More food for thought from WGB:

• Regular contributor Patricia Frame’s three-part series on capacity building
• Brenda Harris’ guest post on 3 qualities women entrepreneurs need to succeed in a man’s world
• Lori Saitz on how building one business led to launching another

Image: Christopher Fritz, Creative Commons

Shonali Burke is editor of Women Grow Business and one of the country’s leading business communicators, who was named to PRWeek’s inaugural top “40 Under 40″ list of US-based PR professionals. She specializes in creating and implementing integrated (online and off), results-based, measurable communication programs for clients both large and small at Shonali Burke Consulting. An accredited business communicator, she is also Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University’s M.A. in Communications program and active in the local communications community as President of IABC/DC Metro. Talk to her via her blog, Waxing UnLyrical or Twitter.

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Time is your most valuable and only non-renewable resource.

Today is fleeting with every tick of the clock (image: Chris Metcalf, Creative Commons) and, well, tomorrow may not get here.

Attending professional conferences, conventions and meetings are good ways to connect with clients, vendors and potential new clients among other things.

But conferences can be among your largest wasters of time and money if you don’t plan properly.

To make the most out of conference experiences, you need to be strategic, just as you are in every other aspect of your business.

Conferences are typically packed with sessions, workshops, receptions, panels, keynote speakers, banquets, happy hours and so on. Pre-planning is a necessity if you want to get the most out your time there.

1. Figure out your objectives for attending

Conferences are expensive. You have to pay registration, hotel, travel, food and other associated costs such as a dog walker or kennel, extra childcare and trip preparation. You can’t afford to go there and come back empty-handed.

Before you register, ask yourself: how does attending this conference help me to meet my objectives for this year? Are there other conferences that won’t cost as much and will give me the same benefit?

2. Make a plan

“Reading is fundamental” is as true today as it was when the famous literacy campaign began in 1966. Many conferences email materials to attendees ahead of time, so if you don’t have the option to pre-register for sessions, be sure to make a schedule for yourself.

You don’t want to waste time walking the halls, trying to figure out what is going on where and whether or not you should attend.

3. Take care of yourself

Be sure to schedule time for on-your-own-meals, work you need to do, rest and exercise. There are only so many hours in a day and you need to eat, sleep, work, attend sessions, network, check on things at home and so on, don’t overdo it.

Pace yourself.

4. Attend the social events

The parties, happy hours, receptions, dinners and brunches are as valuable as any session if not more so. Go to the events, armed with your elevator pitch, business cards and a smile. Be prepared to start conversations with strangers and politely jump into group discussions.

Good networkers are ready to offer advice, as well as ask for support.

5. Test ideas

Conferences are meccas for the pioneers, innovators and rock stars of your field. Take a few extra minutes at a book-signing or after the workshop to bounce an idea off of someone. Get different perspectives on a idea by holding an informal focus group with colleagues during breakfast or a coffee break.

6. Do CASE studies

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery then CASE studies are the best thing since sliced bread. Copy and steal everything is the premise of utilizing an organization’s or person’s best practices and infusing them into your enterprise.

Good ideas make the world go ’round; using them makes it go ’round easier.

7. Follow-up, follow-up and follow-up

Email, call, tweet or write a letter. Use all of the business cards you collected to remind people who you are, where you met and how you two can work together.

Most importantly, have fun at the conference. Relax, enjoy the change of pace and look forward to your future as the “rock star” at next year’s conference.

More from:

• Reem Abeidoh’s “5 Goals I Set Before Attending a Conference“
• Women Grow Business contributor Jen Consalvo’s 5 tips from the CES floor

Shannon Mouton is the social media and mobile marketing manager for an online higher education institution. She is passionate about utilizing social media for the greater good, information sharing and networking. Shannon has nearly 20 years of community building, outreach and relationship marketing experience. She is the owner of The Mouton Group, a real estate investment firm, and a principal at Topaz Consulting, a public relations and marketing consulting enterprise. She serves on the board of directors for the In Series and a regular volunteer at Calvary Women’s Services. Her blog, Shannon Sez So, examines life, its joys, pains and idiosyncrasies. Shannon is also a contributor to Gridiron Gals, as a die-hard fan of the Washington Redskins. Contact her on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

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I have a love for knowing what is going on in technology, whether it’s the latest Internet start-ups or the next generation gadgets. So, when I had an opportunity to go to Las Vegas for the 2010 International Consumer Electronic Show (CES) I couldn’t pass it up.

I knew going into the 4-day event that it would be a major challenge trying to juggle the daily needs of my new ventures with the morning, noon, night and pre-dawn activities around CES. With a couple of weeks of recovery now under my belt, here’s some perspective on how to make the most of time away at such events.

Pre-event prep.

My partner and I were both attending this event so we actually took time to ask ourselves how we could use this event to help our businesses and what we wanted to accomplish. It’s helpful to do your homework first.

Who will be there? Whom do you want to talk to? Why? What would make you feel like you accomplished something when it’s all said and done?

And so we lined up as much as we could before we set foot on the CES floor.

Carve out time for work.

We took advantage of various blogger lounges at CES throughout the day and also left some time between the show and dinner activities for some hard core focus back at the hotel. We also scheduled meetings with West Coast colleagues who were in town for the show and had one of our best strategy sessions to date, leveraging an Intel meeting area that they let us use. Intel is, after all, a sponsor of tomorrow!

Carve out time for fun.

I don’t get to Las Vegas very often and would be sorely disappointed if I didn’t have at least a little fun. The event happy hours and parties were fine but we did take one night for “off campus” dinner and drinks with friends – it was definitely the most memorable night for me.

Take advantage of every moment.

Founders need to strike that balance where they evangelize their businesses everywhere yet can still have a non-business conversation.

CES was great for this because it was filled with industry people who liked to talk about technology, new websites & businesses and brainstorm ideas. Whether I was talking to a company at their booth on the CES floor or mingling with people at a cocktail party, there was plenty of time to talk about Thankfulfor, get input and new ideas and even forge some potential partnerships.

Absorb it all.

Going to an event like CES is an opportunity to step outside your daily environment and find inspiration. Don’t force it – just take it all in. Talk to everyone. Ask questions. Get lost in the glow of the show. Then get lots of sleep and don’t be surprised when the next shower you take rains down a flood of ideas. Julia Cameron called it “filling the well.”

Whatever you want to call it, as an entrepreneur or business leader you need to take the occasional break and refill your well or else eventually, you may hit some pretty bad dry-spells on your day-to-day creative energy.

I’m finally feeling rested and (almost) caught up and I think my night time dreams that were filled with neon signs, flashing LED’s, 3D images and brand after brand after brand are starting to subside. It feels good to turn my focus back to my business with renewed invigoration. My well has been duly filled.

More from:

• Alexis Rodich and lessons for the emerging entrepreneur.

Guest contributor Jen Consalvo writes the Women Grow Business series on all things related to launching product (pre and post launch). She is co-founder of Shiny Heart Ventures, a new technology startup focused on building community driven products that remind people of the joys of life. For almost 14 years, Jen has led teams in a range of product areas such as digital imaging, social platforms and personalization. The majority of her career was at AOL, planning and building products used by millions of people globally. Also find Jen at jenconsalvo.com, bodysoulconnect.com and twitter.com/noreaster.

Image used with permission from, and by, photographer and blogger Jen Consalvo.

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Last Monday, J-Lab i.e. The Institute for Interactive Journalism hosted the New Media Women Entrepreneurs 2009 Summit in downtown Washington, DC. The one day event brought together female panelists from diverse backgrounds in journalism to discuss how new forms of online journalism are emerging new entrepreneurial opportunities – and the steps you can take to cultivate them.

From savvy bloggers to entrepreneurship
Many of the panelists have had their own successes in transitioning from local bloggers, niche bloggers, and citizen journalists to full-fledged new media entrepreneurs just by being savvy online publishers.

Here are just a few of my takeaways from the summit including the keynote speaker from Placeblogger’s Lisa Williams:

• It’s okay not to know everything, just start.
• Include your personality in your site and take a personal approach.
• But don’t let your personality be so engrained in your site that it could not function without you (be able to let go).
• There are revenue models that work, often in combination (consider business models around ads, conferences, and content).
• Don’t do anything for free that you wouldn’t do for free indefinitely.

The gist?
As the journalism landscape is rapidly changing, new media entrepreneurs see this as an opportunity, while traditional media outlets see it as a threat.

So whether you are exploring a career – in blogging, online community building, citizen reporting, aggregating, publishing, creative writing, or any other forms of interactive journalism – it’s absolutely possible in today’s online environment. There’s a career there if you carve it out!

More from Women Grow Business:

• Shana Glickfield and her series on starting a business and event coverage for business owners;
• Top women in tech entrepreneurs and the SmallBizCool video series at Blogworld Expo this year;
• Jen Consalvo on bold entrepreneurship.

Guest post by Shana Glickfield, regular guest contributor to Women Grow Business and Founder of DC Concierge. Shana’s company directs the online community for NextGenWeb, the blog of USTelecom, a broadband association. Shana can be reached at www.twitter.com/dcconcierge.

Pictured:
From the New Media Women Entrepreneurs Summit are Maria Ivancin and Jan Schaffer (among others) presenting a new study of women and media. The image is used with permission by photographer Anna Tauzin.

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Ladies, I’m back.
-with more of the top 10 women’s networking groups in the DC area. I hope you found the first five of this list useful. And the added suggestions from Women Grow Business readers to that list were fantastic (so if you have any more to add, please do in the comments for this post!).

1. YES!Circle.
   YES!Circle is the creation of Margarita Rozenfeld, who is an exceptional career coach, and completely committed to both entrepreneurship and helping others. YES!Circle brings together entrepreneurs from all industries, in all phases of the business lifecycle. Many of the YES!Circle events are held in the downtown DC area. The events provide an intimate setting of brainstorming and learning, and are true peer advisory groups for anyone looking to learn the nuts and bolts of entrepreneurship. One of YES!Circle’s most popular annual events is a weekend-long visionary retreat. The next one happens June 26 – 28, 2009 at Berkley Spring, WV. These retreats are for entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and creative types who want to get crystal clear about their vision, mission and action steps to get to their next level of business growth. There are still a few spots available, so check the website for details if an immersion in entrepreneurship interests you. Yes!Circle meets monthly, and the meetings are always full of successful, passionate entrepreneurs looking to connect with like-minded individuals.
2. Executive Women’s Roundtable.
   EWR has evolved into an outstanding group of executive women from all facets of business and government in the DC region. This rapidly growing group meets monthly at Maggianos in Tyson’s Corner, VA. This wonderful setting provides great networking opportunities, and the luncheon speakers are among the best that any networking group has to offer. Speakers include leaders and business owners from all types of businesses, government leaders, political experts, national news correspondents, business coaches, chefs, international authors, women’s rights advocates, health experts, and many more. The leadership of Executive Women’s Roundtable is extremely strong, which ensures top-notch programming and ongoing participation from the best and brightest in our business community.
3. eWomenNetwork.
   eWomenNetwork has been around for many, many years. What started out as a small networking group has mushroomed into one of the most far-reaching women’s networks in the United States. The group has hundreds of networking events occurring during any given month, and the DC Chapter is particularly active. It is run by Susan Wight, who has transformed the DC chapters (meeting in both Tyson’s Corner and Leesburg, VA) into excellent networking events with strong speakers and great attendance. The unique aspect of eWomenNetwork is its national reach. The founder of this group had a vision to create a nationwide, cost-effective network for women, and she has achieved it. There are annual conferences, an author’s network, a coaching network, a speaker’s network, and many other benefits. You can find Susan’s information on the main website, under Managing Directors.
4. National Speakers Association.
   I am a newcomer to NSA, but I attended an event last week, and I know the President of NSA, Susan Trivers. I also know several incredibly gifted colleagues (Sally Strackbein, Jennifer Abernathy, Vernice Armour) that are active in NSA, and they are among the best speakers you could ever hope to see. Not only was I very impressed with the quality, talent, creativity, and diversity of the speakers I saw at their monthly June meeting; I learned so much in the short time that I was there. Professional speaking is truly an art. It is a discipline that requires knowledge in many aspects that extend way beyond an understanding of a specific topic. If you have any interest in pursuing a speaking career, or if you are required to give presentations in your line of work (and most business owners are required to do so), you should consider attending a NSA event or explore their membership options. I hope to be spending more time with NSA.
5. Women’s Business Center of Northern Virginia.
   The Women’s Business Center of Northern Virginia is one of the SBA-run women’s business centers around the United States. It is the flagship women’s business center; truly setting the standard for what all women’s business centers should be. These centers fall under the supervision of Ana Harvey, President Obama’s appointed Assistant Administrator for the Office of Women Owned Business within the SBA. Ana is dedicated to ensuring all of the Women’s Business Centers nationwide provide the resources that women business owners need to thrive. This center offers so much to women business owners. It provides classes in virtually every topic, from writing a business plan to securing financing. It provides excellent conferences and workshops, and is a phenomenal springboard and resource for all women business owners.

So there you have my top 10 list. I hope you found a few resources that you have not experienced, and I hope you have been inspired to get out there and connect with other like-minded women.

One more resource
I would like to mention just one more resource. The Hot Mommas Project was launched by an amazing, inspiring woman named Kathy Korman-Frey — who has contributed to Women Grow Business. She’s been teaching women’s entrepreneurship and leadership at George Washington University for years. And here is a description of the Hot Mommas Project:

The Hot Mommas Project is an award-winning women’s leadership program housed at the George Washington University School of Business. The research initiative started in 2002 to fill a gap in the education system:

Scalable access to role models, particularly female ones. Thus, our mission is to increase self-efficacy of women and girls across the globe through exposure to role models. To accomplish our mission, we are building the world’s largest women’s case study library to produce not just vignettes, but credible academic tools that can be utilized in a classroom environment.
I encourage you to visit Hot Mommas to learn more about this groundbreaking program, and to be inspired by heroic tales of entrepreneurship from across the globe.

Thank you for reading my post … more valuable information to come for sure. And what other networking groups and events have been a great support to you in the Washington, DC area?

Happy Networking!

More from Women Grow Business:

• Marissa Levin and her series on sales strategy and leadership;
• Liz Scherer and building quality partnerships (hint: would you marry them?);
• Patricia Frame and women entrepreneurs: value of building your development plan for 2010.

Guest contributor Marissa Levin is Founder and CEO of Information Experts. Launching a new Women Grow Business series on sales strategy, Marissa was named a 2008 BRAVO Award winner by SmartCEO Magazine (which honors the region’s 25 most influential women CEOs) and recently was listed in Washington’s 100 Technology Titans by Washingtonian Magazine. Describing her true passion as “helping other business owners be successful with their own business growth”, Marissa can be reached through her blog Marissa Levin.

Image High Five by LinksmanJD, Creative Commons.

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