When joining an entrepreneurial or networking group the hope is that your effort ends there. The thought is – “ok! I’ve joined this group now the referrals should start rolling in!!” Unfortunately, as you know that is not the case. And as much as we (the Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs) would love to the networking part for you – we just can’t. What we can and DO do is give you the foundation and opportunities to build relationships and make connections with other business owners and potential clients. We are going to give you 6 simple ways to use WCE to your advantage and grow your business.
- Attend Events!
Attending events is the best way to find success through WCE. If you do not attend events it is more difficult to make real connections with the other members & attendees – which results in very little referrals coming your way. As a paid Member of Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs ALL (yes, ALL) Coffee & Connection Networking Events are FREE. You may have joined under a your local “Chapter”, but you are not restricted to only attending your ‘Chapter” events. All Coffee & Connection Events are open to all members and guests which comes close to about 100 events per year! As a paid member you are also able to bring a new guest to each event. This not only gives your friend a chance to network it also grows the community of women and helps build a referral base. As you probably know there are other networking groups that have requirements for attendance and referrals to be a member. This is in place so that you (and they) can track your success. But, it also means you will be removed from the group if you do not meet the requirements. WCE does not enforce these types of rules because we know life can be unpredictable. But, as a business owner, this means you must take on that responsibility, take charge of your networking, and be present. Bottom line, if you don’t participate then you won’t necessarily see the benefits that are possible.
2. Create Connections, Not Sales!
Now that you are attending the events regularly you need to make connections! The connections we are talking about does not mean “make the sales”. When you meet someone at one of our events and you have a great conversation make sure to friend them on social media or exchange contact information with them. Begin to interact with them on social media as you would a friend, ask them out for coffee, etc. You want to build relationships from WCE, these relationships will grow into referrals which is better than making that one sale at the first meeting. And remember this is two way street! Make sure that you are nurturing the connections you have made with WCE by referring them to your friends and family too. The goal of WCE was never to pass the same $100 around, we want our members to help each other grow their businesses by referring each other and to be each other’s support system.
3. Be Active In the Group!
We have a Facebook Group of our Free and Paid Members. Use this group to your advantage and be active! This is especially important if you are in one of the seasons of life that is preventing you from being able to attend the in-person events, but you should really be active in the group even if you attend the events. On Mondays we encourage you to comment your social media handles so everyone can follow each other. In theory, every one in the group should have thousands of followers on social media if everyone participated in Follow Back Monday in the WCE Group! We also suggest that you take some time out and interact on each other’s social media pages as well – help each other with those dreaded algorithms. We also have a Tuesday Tips where you can share with everyone tips or life hacks, but don’t use this as solely self promotion – remember make connections! Wednesdays are the day for paid members to let everyone know about their businesses. We suggest making these posts fun and interactive! But, the group is more than just those specific days. Do you have inspirational quotes you live by? Share them! Did you just make a break through or find an amazing app that changed your workflow? SHARE WITH THE GROUP! The more you share and talk in the group the more your name and face will be recognized by people. Use this resource!
4. Use WCE’s Free Resources!
Speaking of resources – WCE’s whole blog is filled with Free Printable tools such as our Social Media Clean-Up Worksheet, our Finance Tracker Worksheet, our Create Your Elevator Pitch Worksheet, all the way to a Worksheet that will help you Set Your Goals just to name a few. These are Free for instant download for Paid members and you can find them in our Members Only section of our website.
Our blog also includes tips, articles, and quick tutorials that can help you tweak your day-to-day workflow. Our goal with these resources is to make your life as an entrepreneur easier – so use these to your advantage!
5. Dive Deep Into Our On-Demand Education!
Here at WCE we our mission is not only to connect women entrepreneurs, but also provide education and we do that through our resources, but we also have webinars, workshops, and on-demand education. Before the pandemic hit we held in-person Lunch & Learns where industry experts would give an hour long seminar about topics that would help our members & attendees become more efficient business owners. During the pandemic we moved these Lunch & Learns to an online platform and began holding webinars. By doing this it opened up our services far beyond the The Woodlands, TX where we started WCE and now we have a collection of on-demand education from industry experts from all over the nation! These webinars and workshops include learning how to navigate Facebook ads to creating beautiful photographs or videos on your smartphone or learning how to grow your Instagram following. We also encourage you to attend these trainings live! The benefits of attending the trainings live is that you are able to ask our speakers any questions you may have.
6. Promote Yourself!
We know. We know. We have been telling you don’t be too salesy. But, Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs has created ways for you to promote and advertise your business to your potential clients. Aside from sharing about your business in the Facebook group on Fridays (and also Wednesdays if you’re a paid member), you can also host an event at your space. If you are a restaurant, baker, caterer, own a coffee shop you have the opportunity to show off your food and/or beverages to our attendees at our events. We also have advertising opportunities on our webinars, as well as, in our newsletters that goes out to over 5,000 recipients with a 40%+ open rate. Advertising with WCE is a great way to get your business out there! If you are a Platinum Member you have a $100 credit already towards any advertising – don’t let it go to waste!
Our main mission at Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs is to help YOU! Co-founders Ali & Melissa created WCE so that solo entrepreneurs could have access to the same support that someone working for a corporate office. People who work in a corporate environment have somewhere to go when they have questions, give ideas and listen when things didn’t go as planned, and of course celebrate when things were a huge success. WCE was built to be a community where women entrepreneurs can do just that! They ask each other questions, learn ways to improve their business, get advice, collaborate, and stay inspired and passionate about their businesses and support one another through their journeys. WCE is focused building relationships with other women entrepreneurs so that we are a strong community of successful women. We don’t want you to do this entrepreneurial journey alone and with WCE you don’t have to.
If you have any questions please contact us at connect@wearewce.com. And remember WCE always has your back! If you are not a WCE member yet but would like to join you can do so by clicking the button below.
WCE Small Business Resources 