Business Tip

"New Study Finds that Networking can be Enriching for Female Entrepreneurs "

April 3rd, 2011 by Cynthia Zwahlen from the LA Times
The interaction with other business owners is one way to get around entrenched, old-boy groups to grow sales, but it goes beyond building relationships. Women need to leverage their networks, one expert says. For the first eight years that she was building her company, Carmen Rad didn't pay much attention to events put on by business networking groups.

Now Rad, who is president of the CR&A Custom digital printing company, goes to at least one a week.

"There is a tremendous advantage to joining, and you can't just join one. You need to join more than one because each organization will have a different added value," said Rad, who is on the board of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Assn. of Women Business Owners.
She said her involvement with networking groups has helped her secure new contracts, bank loans and associates. She even found her accountant through one.

Female business owners — who sometimes have to work around entrenched, old-boy networks in order to expand their businesses — have found networking events to be particularly valuable.

"Creating strong networks, building those relationships, comes out time and time again" as key advice from successful women business owners, said Sharon Hadary, an author and former executive director of the Center for Women's Business Research in McLean, Va.

The number of women-owned companies grew twice as fast as those owned by men in the 10-year period ending in 2007, according to U.S. Commerce Department data. But female-owned firms are typically smaller than those owned by men, according to census data.

Only 1.8% of women-owned firms had revenue of $1 million or more in 2007, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released last month. Six percent of men-owned firms topped the $1-million mark in 2002, the latest year for which census data are available for that group.

Marketing communication consultant Marny Lifshen isn't at the million-dollar level yet, but she attributes her successes, in large part, to networking. She learned from her mentor — an Austin, Texas, lobbyist — that it's not enough to just attend events.

"Women oftentimes tend to focus on building relationships and maintaining relationships, but they don't understand that the true power of a network is leveraging it," said Lifshen, co-author of the book "Some Assembly Required: A Networking Guide for Women."

She said members of a group should be constantly on the lookout for opportunities to make referrals.

"I have a sticky note on my computer that says, 'Who do I know that can help?,'" Lifshen said.

She recently tapped a networking group, which included competitors, to find media contacts for an environmental project for a client.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/03/business/la-fi-smallbiz-networki...