An Underestimated Women's NetWorking Group

When we are considering what women’s organization we are going to join to boost our business success, we typically look for groups like E-Women Network, The Joy of Connecting, ABWA, or Women in Technology. Most women do not even consider the resources which are available in their children’s Parent Association at school. Now parent associations are not designed to be “women networking” groups and are open for fathers to be members. However, the majority of these parent associations are made up of women and are a valuable resource into your community. The other common thought around these organizations is that mainly non-working mothers attend them so how could they possibly support me in my business. This article is going to bust both of these common misconceptions and hopefully encourage you to take action into utilizing this great cache of contacts.

Some of you have never participated in your school parent organization. You may pay the dues to be a member and then leave all the volunteering up to the other moms or dads. Then there are going to be a portion of you who do actually volunteer and your volunteer time looks like you show up do your time and split as soon as you are done. Networking in the association is exactly the same as networking anywhere else. It is about building relationships. It is about communicating and being interested in what is going on in another person’s life. You showing interest in their life will give you the opportunity to share what is going on in your life. Now here is the real challenge…Talk about something else besides your kids. Yes, your kids are the common denominator in what you have in common and it is very easy chit chat, however let’s stretch and expand our horizons. Find out what they do when their kids are in school. If they are not currently working, they may have worked before they had kids and still have contacts in that industry. They may have a home based business or a hobby that you share in common. Explore what their husband does and what goals they have for their work. Get to know them on a more personal level and you will be amazed at what can show up for you in your business.

With our need to work today and have dual incomes in the home, more and more parent associations are made up of working moms. We will use my daughter’s school as an example. Last year I was the president of our parent organization. I work. I work a lot. The vice-president worked, almost as much as me. Out of our board of directors which consisted of 9 women only one did not work and mid term she needed to resign from her position because she took a job. The person who replaced her, worked. Are you getting my point? We actually organized this year a business fair where parents could come and have a booth in the school to share with the other families what they do for a living. It was a great networking event. Now we have parents who are aware of what the other is doing and networking for each other outside of the school. It is really great.

As women we are naturally great networkers because we are born with a gene that makes us want to help everyone. If the women in your parent organization can get to know you on a different level and know what you need next for your business they will support you. So I challenge all of you working mom’s out there. Get involved in your kids’ parent associations and use it as a network. Joining the association is usually a lot cheaper than an official networking group and you are getting to support your kids at the same time. For those of you already doing it, thank you for being a shining example for others.

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Contact Kenda-Le Pernin at KendaLeP@TheNationalNetWorker.com or Post a Comment on TNNW Blog.