Getting Ahead: Girl Power Hours

"I'VE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED in politics but not in being bored," says 31-year-old Megan Cosby, a D.C. business development lawyer. She'd never considered a career on the Hill, but she wished she could dip into the world of lobbying and legislating in a way that wasn't as dull as a farm bill hearing. "I don't see why politics can't be talked about among girlfriends over Cosmopolitans," she said.

But that was before Cosby discovered Ladies Who Launch, a networking group that supports and educates women looking to start their own businesses. She knew she wanted to write either lifestyle or commentary-type pieces about politics, and the group helped her decide to do so as a blogger. After going through an "incubator" at LWL, a sort-of guinea pig experience in which she shared her ideas with other members to get feedback and input, Cosby started the almost-daily political blog PoliChicks Online, the "It Girl's Guide to Politics" (Polichicksonline.com).

Posting everything from blurbs on Jenna Bush's book to clips of candidates pontificating, Cosby aims to give readers the juicy bits and need-to-know details of the political world. "Just enough to get by at a cocktail party," she says. The blog launched in mid-August, and by October she was getting thousands of hits per day.

Cosby is one of many women who have networked their way to new careers and side-businesses by joining femme-powered groups.

Ladies Who Launch is an international business was started in 2002 by Beth Schoenfeldt and Victoria Colligan, who had the vision of supporting female entrepreneurs through both online and in-person events. The company boasts 3,000 local members and 45,000 online subscribers who log on to learn how to successfully navigate a start-up.

It has a "Cashmere Mafia" type appeal, which draws many women in. "Their fliers were pink. It offered a very feminine presentation of how to start a business, and that was attractive to me," says Cosby, pictured right. "I could meet with other girlfriends but talk business."

"We're open to any woman who wants to launch anything," says LWL co-founder Beth Schoenfeldt. "We're for the woman who wants to make decisions for herself and wants to make things work on her own terms."

Schoenfeldt claims that women are starting businesses at close to three times the rate of men. Sure, they're interested in making money, but, she says, that's not the driving force for most female entrepreneurs. "They're motivated by lifestyle reasons, passion and fulfillment," she says. "Women want to do something they love every day. They'll take less money in exchange for freedom, creativity and flexibility."

Many women have found that such networking groups are a great way to make new contacts and generate referrals for their own businesses. Ladies Who Launch's "incubator" even lets women pitch their ideas for products or services at other members so they can dole out advice and feedback. Such input helps these wannabe entrepreneurs adjust their strategies and concepts before printing up their business cards and putting out "now open" signs.

Cosby says this approach gave her confidence. "I felt much more comfortable doing what I planned to do. I went into it wanting to present politics in a feminine forum, and the feedback I got made me more comfortable. Other places made me feel like I was dumbing down a topic, which isn't what I wanted to do at all."

Other girl-powered groups in the D.C. area offer more traditional meet-and-greet sessions. Capital Express Network (Capitalexpresssnetwork.org), the local branch of the American Business Women's Association, hosts regular gatherings where members schmooze and share referrals, resources and ideas. Michelle Hughes, a 30-year-old manager at a financial services company in Kensington, Md., is its president.

"I'm looking for a good, strong network of professional people that can help me," Hughes says. But the idea of an all-female group also appeals to her for a different reason: "Being in a career dominated by males, I wanted to find other women I could use as mentors." Married and planning on having children, Hughes also hopes this circle of friends can help her find the balance she seeks. "I'm trying to learn from other working women how they can work and raise families. I'd like to learn how they can do it all."

CEN members gather monthly — in this case, at 6:30 p.m. the first Thursday of the month at Tivoli Restaurant in Arlington. Over drinks and snacks, each person briefly introduces themselves and their business. A keynote speaker addresses the group on topics ranging from health and wellness to communications, and then a featured member takes a few minutes to explain her company in more detail in an effort to drum up new business. Hughes says their mission is straightforward: "Our objective is to provide a lot of earning and mentoring opportunities, so it's personal and professional development at the same time."

In addition to learning and teaching, many networking groups focus on helping members grow their businesses. This can require bringing in a certain number of referrals for other members each month. Some clubs are stringent about attendance, requiring members to be present at weekly meetings. That atmosphere didn't appeal to 31-year-old Meredith Maslich of Oakton, Va. She likes the more kicked-back feel of the Springfield Business Women's Network (Help@youralteregos.com), which meets at noon one Friday per month at J.W. and Friends Restaurant in Springfield.

"It was better than other networking groups that I've done because it's less structured. To me, structure equals pressure," she says. Maslich says in her group you can show up or not with no repercussions for missing meetings.

She also doesn't care for some networking groups' expectations to hand over a certain number of referrals just to meet a quota.

"I find the referrals I get in this group are much better — they turn into business more frequently," says Maslich. "With no pressure to pass a referral, the ones you get are really good ones."

"Women do business through their relationships, which is why we're a women-only group," says Paula Adkins, who calls herself the "co-conspirator" behind the Springfield assembly that draws 20 to 30 women each month who range from 20-somethings to retirees. "Our name tags don't even leave room for you to list your business name or profession. We want to know you as a woman before we determine whether we can use the service you provide."

"I have found that all women groups are more comfortable and generally more productive," Maslich says. "I never thought I'd be a person to say that. I like that we're allowed to be women, and that means we can bond over shoes as well as what we do for a living."

It's not so surprising that all-female forums work. Dr. Vicki Garlock, professor of psychology at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C., says women inherently understand each other. "There's an underlying assumption that you already have things in common," she says. "If you're struggling with feelings of being in a "good ol' boy" network, there's an assumption that [another woman] is struggling with that as well."

Garlock says women seek out others with whom they have things in common. "You can benefit from recognizing your similarities, but in the end, those are also the people you're comparing yourself to. It makes you peers."

Cosby says women really deserve the opportunity to lean on and learn from each other. "Women do everything for everyone else. They put their dreams on hold, and they need to take the time to pursue what they want to do, even if it's just five minutes a day."

She says her experience with female networking taught her that even if you don't have the means to start a business, "You don't need them. There are virtual offices, blogs and a lot of free or inexpensive ways to get yourself out there." She can't quit being a legal eagle to do the blog full time yet, but she dreams of the day that her networking connections will lead her to a life that doesn't include trials or traffic.

"I totally plan to move somewhere by the beach and never work again," she says. "I don't know if it will be PoliChicks Online that will take me there, but I'm definitely not going to spend the rest of my life working."

Written by Express contributor Lynn Thorne
Photos by Marge Ely/Express