The Power of Support: It Works!


Today was an exciting day as I coordinated with Jill Salzman, founder of a growing network of meet-ups, to become the newest host in the Momtrepreneur Exchange network — a national network that has literally blossomed by Word of Mouth and with the aid of Social Media.  Requests to start groups came to her in a stream she had not anticipated and deservedly so, in my opinion. For her heart and mind were in the right place when she created the Network based on her own personal experiences as a “momtrepreneur” running a pair of businesses and oh yes, taking care of family…

And here is the WOW factor… 26 groups in 17 states have formed in the last five months!

Sounds like she recognized a need and filled it! A need she wanted for herself and others…

Sounds like her authentic vision to build a network of support in a way that is easy and affordable to the participants is on fire for good reason.

Are you both an entrepreneur and parent? How’s it going? I have been since 2007 and it’s one of the best choices I ever made. Another best choice I made was to say yes to motherhood.

Seriously though, isn’t it fun balancing growing a business and raising a family? (For me the ” musical sound of 2:25″ is a gentle reminder via my cell phone the school bus lands in 10 minutes!)

Support Benefits Everyone Involved

So ask yourself, gentle reader and business professional (be you a small business or a solo-preneur) Would a community of support that provides gentle accountability, business education and creative masterminding and inspiration help your new and developing business or re-energize your established business?

October 14th I am pleased to be facilitating the Inaugural Gathering of the Momtrepreneur Exchange in Bellevue, WA.  I join a network of 25 other meet-ups in 16 other states.

Each meeting (except the inaugural) will offer a brief speaker on a topic of interest and ALWAYS  leave ample time for connecting and dialogue.

My favorite style of events these days are those that allow ample time for a real conversation. That kind of conversation that we have to tear ourselves away from! You know what I am talking about!

I’m so excited to be launching the newest city and hub of the Momtrepreneur Exchange Network! Funny thing was it took no time at all to get things organized and rolling today, ONCE, Jill Salzman, Founder, and I connected. We played phone tag for a week  or more first and that was fun in its way (smile.)

You could say that she and I were both equally, pleasantly persistent. And that persistence made all the difference.

What Jill created based on an elegantly simple model is a great vehicle for building community, developing one’s business, and sparking prosperity and creativity! It takes a village I say.

My own monthly group will meet the 2nd Thursday monthly from 1-3 at Friends, Philosophy and Tea in Bellevue, my personal center of the Universe (smile). I am SO excited!

Yes, I chose my favorite place to congregate and a time convenient for me BUT I have luck with this place and this time slot for a weekly event I host for Writers and Bloggers, that is typically attended by 12+ regulars and new faces week after week. We have come to depend on each other for gentle accountability (or “friendly harassment”) and sparking our creative minds back into action. New people come and are immediately “absorbed” as they want to be. It’s mighty magical every week

That blogging and writing is getting more consistently and joyfully done each week by group members in between meetings tells me something is working. It’s working. The support and encouragement is working!

I read decades ago in San Francisco Focus that Amy Tan credited her writer’s group for the fact that the Kitchen God’s Wife got completed. This remark of hers has stuck with me for a long, long time.

Are you a Lone Wolf when doing business? Writing? Blogging? If it works for you, more power to you. And through the years  I have heard it said time and again, how it really helps to have true and unconditional support. I know I come to life with a pinkie’s worth of support.

We are living in wonderfully collaborative and innovative times. Technology makes it simpler to start a movement and get the word out.

Why do some movements and ideas go viral quickly and grow like mushrooms after the rain? I propose the AUTHENTICITY at the inception and in the core makes it just that much more attractive to people.

How would you create a network of meaningful support around you and for others?


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