Just as it is for men in the world of business, for women in business, life is just as hard and some would say harder. I’ve started a new business and know exactly how challenging the small business enterprise can be to get off the ground. Many women feel more comfortable in an all woman environment and actually get to trust other networking partners much quicker. There’s evidence to suggest that women network better than men because women focus more on the relationship building whereas men will focus on the end result of getting the referral. Having both networking partners in line is surely bound to deliver a faster and more powerful result.
Many women running small businesses also have to juggle family life and therefore feel an affinity with other women in the same situation. It may help build rapport or it may simply just help understand the challenges but whatever the reason it helps get to that point in the relationship where you know, like and trust the other person and so are ready to start giving and receiving referrals. Many traditional networking groups have been established over decades and probably don’t fit in with family life in terms of the meeting times. Women’s networking clubs understand this point and ensure that the meeting times are at a time of day that isn’t going to conflict with the school run. This may be the difference between being able network or not.