Redefining Ladies Who Lunch

Networking Groups Cater To Female Executives, Entrepreneurs

By Megan Kuhn

There are dozens of networking groups out there, and in honor of National Women's History Month this month, Loudoun Business wanted to provide businesswomen with a listing of several groups dedicated to their interests. Some are well-established, while others are just getting off the ground. From formal countywide organizations affiliated with the local chamber of commerce to casual neighborhood get-togethers, the groups listed below offer opportunities for all personalities.

Informal Startups

Last fall a group of work-at-home moms began meeting for monthly networking sessions, usually during lunchtime. The Ashburn women had discovered when they dropped off their children at the school bus stop that a number of them were working from home and were having similar experiences. The unnamed group has no formal structure or set meeting date, but roughly 15 women gather to act as sounding boards and offer each other support.

"It's pretty laid back," said Molly Steele of Steele Photography. "When you do work from home and you're not around other people, it's nice to have adult conversation. It's nice to get out of the house and socialize when you do work from home."

The group is open to Ashburn work-at-home moms. For more information, send an e-mail to the group's founder, Anne Marie Ames, at anneames@smartneighborhood.net.

Another businesswoman would like to take the same concept and extend it to the community at large.

Jessica Harden couldn't make the Loudoun Women Business Forum meetings because they met at the same time that she was attending her weekly Business Networking International chapter get-togethers at River Creek Country Club.

So, the home-based distributor of XanGo, a nutritional supplement drink based on the mangosteen fruit, decided she would try to start her own women's networking group.

In early February, she posted a query on the Virginia message board of babycenter.com asking if any readers would be interested in joining a Professional Women in Loudoun group.

She's gotten several responses and is trying to coordinate dates and locations to accommodate women entrepreneurs from around the county. While she welcomes all working women, she believes that home-based business owners may get the most out of the group she's trying to build because they typically have the most flexible schedules. As a stay-at-home mother of three daughters ranging in age from 1 to 8 years old, she understands the demands of many home-based business owners.

"I want to make it easy for everybody to attend," she said, adding that the networking opportunities extend beyond the professional. "Meeting other stay-at-home moms might give them the opportunity to find someone who lives close by them and find a good babysitter."

She envisions the group would initially meet once every two weeks for lunch at different locations in a relaxed setting. Instead of having outside speakers providing information on various topics, she'd prefer to have the members give 30- to 45-second pitches about their businesses, similar to the BNI networking format.

"I'm looking to create something more informal," something that would enable members to forge not only business relationships, but personal ones as well, she said. "I want something very laid-back but definitely about business."

For more information, contact Harden at 703-297-6051.

Divas After Dark

Lisa Marie Barbieri created Divas After Dark in December after moving to Lansdowne from Fairfax. A senior financial adviser for Ameriprise Financial, Barbieri said she wanted to create networking opportunities and, more importantly, make friends.

The group held its second event last month in Sterling. Nearly 20 women, with varied backgrounds such as yoga instruction and events management, dined on beef and chicken kabobs at Pomegranate Grill in Sterling. The group is aimed at female business owners and is meant to be low-key and welcoming of newcomers.

Divas After Dark meets for dinner and drinks at 7 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of the month at Pomegranate Grill. The cost is $25. To register, or for more information, call Barbieri at 703-226-0002 ext. 222 or send an e-mail to lisa.m.barbieri@ampf.com.

Loudoun Women Business Forum

Rebecca Harrigan and Sherri Fawzi wanted a comfortable environment for businesswomen to network and establish friendships. After another organization fizzled out, they started the Loudoun Women Business Forum in September 2005.

"A lot of these networking groups want to charge all these outrageous fees. Have all these rules. It just makes it too uptight for some people to even want to join," Fawzi said. "I wanted to give it a more relaxed networking atmosphere. [You're] not forced to bring leads. [There's] no required meeting attendance."

She credits the forum's welcoming and casual atmosphere for its popularity among women between their late 20s and 50s. Attendees also play an active role in deciding how the group functions by suggesting and selecting the monthly speaker, said Fawzi, who runs Family Health Thermal Imaging in Leesburg. "That's why we have people coming back because they're getting what they want out of it," she said. "[It] takes the stress out of it."

More than 200 women have attended the organization's events, with between 25 and 35 attending the monthly luncheon on a regular basis. Regulars are a mix of self-employed and corporate types, with bankers, accountants and direct sellers well-represented.

The group meets on the first Thursday of the month at River Creek Country Club in Leesburg. The forum's premise is women network differently when it is just women versus a coed setting, Harrigan said.

"Sometimes it feels like it's a boys club when you're out networking," said Harrigan, a self-employed massage therapist in Leesburg. "With [the forum], you might not talk about business. It's nice that it doesn't always have to be about business. Yes, we're all business-minded and we do want to work ... but we can let our hair down and shake loose for a couple of seconds."

The forum's current project is raising funds for a Web site, which Fawzi said they hope to launch this year.

Monthly luncheons cost $15 and Harrigan appreciates RSVPs. For more information contact Harrigan at Rebecca.harrigan@gmail.com.

Success in the City

Success in the City, a self-described networking group for divas, is in the process of formally organizing and a Loudon chapter may be in the works. The group holds a variety of events including Grits and Greens luncheons at the Tower Club in Tysons on the first Friday of every month.

Cynthia de Lorenzi created Success in the City because she wanted to meet other female entrepreneurs and senior level executives when she moved to Fairfax from Dallas in 2002.

"Once you have peer relationships or friendships, deals on heels are much more likely to follow," said de Lorenzi, CEO of GoGawGaw, a Fairfax Web development firm.

The strong female friendships in the HBO series "Sex in The City" was the impetus for the organization, she said, joking that she requires members to wear lipstick and heels to events. Relationship building, not business deals, is the focus of the group, de Lorenzi said.

The group has about 500 women on its unofficial member list, most of whom are in their late 30s through early 50s. Participants typically are entrepreneurs or senior level management.

Visit www.successinthecity.org for more information or send an e-mail to de Lorenzi at CdeLorenzi@successinthecity.org.

Women in Business Alliance

Indra Books did not think there was a need for women's business organizations when she first started her business, ON THE GO 4 U. But then she spoke with other female entrepreneurs.

"We haven't come as far as I thought we have" she said, explaining that women business owners often deal with the "same issues ... we were talking about 10 years ago" such as salary inequities, health and child care, and whether to work or stay at home to raise families. "We've made progress but we're still struggling with the same everyday issues," the Leesburg entrepreneur said.

Books organized the Loudoun County Chamber's Women in Business Alliance in November 2005 to focus on educational and networking opportunities for businesswomen in the county. WIBA sponsors workshops and seminars that are open to men and women. Committee chairwoman and BB&T business banker Anne Alvord said WIBA would also like to start a mentoring program for female high school students.

The group has grown to include 12 women on its planning committee. Between 20 and 40 people attend the networking events and educational seminars. Participants range in age from their late 20s to mid to late 60s and represent a variety of fields.

WIBA meets on the last Wednesday of the month, alternating among breakfast, lunch and after-work meetings. Cost varies. Meetings are open to non-chamber members, but only chamber members can participate in the planning committee.

Visit www.loudounchamber.org for more information under the committee link. You can also call Alvord at 703-771-7260 or e-mail her at aalvord@BBandt.com.

Women in Technology

Women in Technology-whose slogan is "Connect. Lead. Succeed"-was created in 1994 because "there was this need to give women more visibility in the technology field. There are some perceived and real barriers," WIT communications chairwoman Jen Norman said. Another concern was that "it seemed like fewer women were entering the science and technology field." The coed organization strives to promote women in technology and help individual women achieve their career goals. The group also works with students to encourage an interest in math and science.

Technologists and people who work for technology companies, as well as college students make up the membership base, which is nearing 1,000, including roughly 300 who either work or live in Loudoun County. Members come from Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC.

Most of the Alexandria-based group's events are held in Northern Virginia. The general monthly meetings typically occur at the McLean Hilton the third Thursday of the month with a networking hour at 6 p.m., followed by a guest speaker. Past topics included venture capital funding.

WIT also has five special interest groups that address audience-specific topics including diversity outreach, executive women, women business owners, technology and sales and marketing.

Membership is $95 per year with a reduced fee structure for those who attend meetings. Student membership is $35 per year. Visit www.womenintechnology.org or call 703-683-4003 for more information.

Women's Networking Lunch

T-shirts for the Women's Networking Lunch are emblazoned with the informal group's slogan, "We're cheap, we're easy and we're not that picky," which is based on the experience of three businesswomen.

One of the group's organizers, Toni Reinhart, had just started her Comfort Keepers franchise in Herndon. She joined a chamber of commerce and began attending networking events, where she usually hid in the corner. "It's hard for people who'd never done it," she said. Reinhart decided it would be easier for newbie business owners to network in a same sex environment because "we network so differently than men. Women are much more into relationship building than men. I don't have a doctorate in any of this. I'm just looking around the room."

As a new business owner, Reinhart wanted to maintain a tight budget, and she wanted the same from a networking group.

"I wanted it to be cheap. I'm just starting in business. Everything seemed so expensive. Nothing against the chamber, but there's only so many you can join."

The group also maintains a drop-in attitude, and women participate when they can. There are no attendance policies, dues or referral quotas.

Started in 2002, the group regularly attracts between 40 and 50 participants. Participants represent a variety of industries including banking, elder care, law, real estate and sales.

Luncheons are at 12:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of every month, except December, at The Amphora Diner in Herndon. The cost is $15. Contact Reinhart for more information at 703-435-2500 or send her an e-mail at reston@comfortkeepers.com.