I run a monthly networking group out of CubeSpace with the rather unoriginal name of "Women's Networking Group" (WNG). I acquired the group from Julie Wasserman who started it as a very informal group who met in people's livingrooms and socialized, with some networking thrown in.

Since I took over the group about a year go, the dynamic has really changed; some for the better and some for the worse. We now meet at CubeSpace, so the homey dynamic is gone and the gestalt of the group is a little more professional, rather than social. The group has also more than doubled in size, although the meeting attendance has dropped.

This month I decided it was time for a change. So over our dinner of middle eastern food from Nicholas' Restaurant, we had a very enlightening and useful conversation that began with a question about finding the right balance of time, money and capability when marketing one's business. Denise Mahon said that her website has been a very effective marketing tool, in part because she belongs to many associations that cross-link to her website which helps her search engine optimization.

Bridget Benton talked about how blogging really works for her. She finds the process challenging and time consuming (something I can relate to), but she also feels that her blog does a lot to convey who she is and offers a great deal of context into the kind of services she offers. [On a related note, we held a WNG meeting at Bridget's studio this past fall and she had us making collages from a whole collection of materials. Although I left the meeting much more relaxed that when I arrived (frantic and late), I really didn't think much about it. However, the conversation we had about collages did stick and ultimately led me to start thinking about the gift I am making for my newborn twin niecelettes].

There were, of course, many tangential conversations and there were more names and resources exchanged than I have ever seen with this group. I think having a central topic of discussion really helped and the entire group agreed.

So, next month, our discussion topic will be on Time Management. Once again, I will frame the discussion and then open it up to the group. I hope to see you all there on February 12th.

-Eva