Women Business Owners Find Value in Networking

After reading an article about marketing to female entrepreneurs, Lorrie Madden wanted to form a group geared toward women business owners in Northwest Arkansas.

“Women business owners are the fastest growing business group,” said Madden, executive vice president and sales manager at Arvest Bank-Rogers. “I felt like this was something important to have in Northwest Arkansas.”

Madden said her intent was not to replicate existing professional women networking groups in the region, but to create an informal environment where women would be comfortable asking questions about everything from financial issues to health care.

She invited six female Arvest employees to a brainstorming session to determine what the value of such a group would be and how they could go about creating the group.

About 15 women gathered for the first meeting of Investing in Women in December 2007.

“I got overwhelming positive feedback that this would be an outstanding thing to do,” Madden said.

The group now meets once a month at the Arvest Bank Village on the Creeks branch in Rogers.

Arvest began hosting the meetings in 2008 after seeing the potential for new business.

The bank was looking for an opportunity to expand its customer base, Madden said.

“We needed to figure out a way to reach segments we weren’t reaching as well,” she said.

The bank has gained several clients from the group since it began meeting.

“It has benefited and the investment has been rather small,” she said.

Meetings generally feature a brown-bag lunch and a presentation on topics ranging from the mortgage industry to communication skills.

Arvest also uses the meetings as an opportunity to market some of its products or services, such as health savings accounts or its new $100 gift card referral program.

The last part of the meeting is spent getting updates from the women about their businesses.

The most popular meetings are the ones that feature roundtable discussions. The women share their knowledge about managing business risks, planning for the future and career growth.

Tami Greever, a realtor and business broker with Crye-Leike Realtors, said she was invited to the group by several respected business women and has attended about seven meetings so far.

“I gain three things from every meeting: a new friend, a new goal and something I can implement right away,” she said. “Plus it’s just fun to have food and fellowship.”

Carla Sloan, a professional life coach, gained employment.

“I’m an Arvest employee now,” she said. “Through connecting with Lorrie (Madden), I got hired as a compensation professional.”

Sloan said she also gained clients for her life coaching business.

Many of the women have gained business through the group.

Madden said she’s constantly getting e-mails from members wanting contact information for the attorney or the realtor they met at a meeting.

It’s a true networking group, she said.

Women are encouraged to bring their friends to meetings and Madden said the friends often return the next month.

There were 26 women at the March meeting, with seven new faces, she said.

Madden predicts the group will ultimately outgrow the conference room where it currently meets but hopes to keep the informal format of the meetings.

The women like the casualness of the meeting, she said, because it encourages open communication.

“I’ve had people describe it as the most fun networking event they’ve ever been a part of.”