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The following article was published in the Charleston Post & Courier's Business Major, a featured monthly column in the Business Review Section on July 27, 1998. Women discover power of creating networksBy DOROTHY P. MOORE Special to the Post and Courier Networks have led women entrepreneurs in many directions, but this much is clear: Networks are important in one's professional development, irrespective of the career phase. Sherie Conrad, a Louisiana entrepreneur, opened her business when there were no women's networks groups. So she started with a round table, each month inviting 12 women to talk about ideas. She set up her board of directors by choosing 12 people from corporations she respected. When problems such as growing to the next business stage arose, she says, "I could go to them and ask for advice. Not all the entrepreneurs came into networking through the same door, and not all turned to other women when constructing networks. Nancy Smerz, President of Air Comfort Corporation, in Broadview, Illinois, who took over a family business and totally revitalized and revamped it after her husband's tragic death found herself in a male-dominated business environment. She made it clear that, to her, only one thing was important - workmanship. She operated under the theory that, while it didn't matter whether her firm's CEO was male or female, if the workmanship was shoddy her firm was not going to be invited back and if the workmanship was good she had an account for life. Meanwhile, she finessed the gender problems. "I don't want to play golf on Saturday morning anyway," she says, "There are ways around these things. You aren't necessarily frozen out because you have these disadvantages. You adjust." Darlene Drake, President of Fitness Pro Health & Exercise Equipment in Lexington, Kentucky, deals with fitness equipment in markets that are predominantly male and where networking is the cornerstone of business. She also adapted. Her problem was to convince large organizations to install a fitness center in their corporations. Because most of her corporate contacts were men, she developed a predominately male sales staff and trained them carefully to deal with potential clients. She notes, "When you are talking about weight lifting equipment and things like that, customers are just more comfortable. They think men know more about these things. So I send them out to the field." Some interesting research suggests that perhaps the ideal number of people for a network, what is called network density, is six to eight. But the real secret may be in how many distinct and unique networks each entrepreneur maintains. As one study has noted, "A network with two people has but one possible match, one with four people has six, and one with six people has 15. A network base of 50 has potential matches of 1,225 people." The mathematics can apply in real life. Says an Atlanta entrepreneur, "The best thing I have done in years was to join the women's network. The opportunity for interaction with so many really terrific women was great. The contacts I have made and the opportunity to peddle my products has really astounded me." Researchers commonly agree that networks are most vital when people value them without expecting benefits. Suzan Kotler, a Cincinnati entrepreneur, explains, "You have to put out more than what you expect to get back and it will usually come back to you more than one hundred fold. If you don't do it that way you usually end up with zip." For Questions/Comments about this site, contact dot.moore@comcast.net. Site designed by Jackye Cocoros. |