STRONGER TOGETHER: CONNECT, GROW AND BUZZ AT THE WBE

Connect, Grow and Buzz at the WBE

AGATHERING OF STRONG WOMEN IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH, FOR SURE.

When women, full of ideas, ingenuity, leadership, creativity and wisdom come together, who can imagine the depth of creative and inventive energy that will surge into the community?

That’s what the Women’s Business Exchange of Fargo-Moorhead is all about … encouraging and inviting women of any and all professional walks to join together in exchanging ideas, creativity, wisdom and fellowship. One of the oldest women’s networks in the city, the Women’s Business Exchange (WBE) started over ten years ago when a group of professional women in Fargo-Moorhead were looking for a way to connect and network with other women who shared similar passions and goals. Over the years, the WBE has been a means through which area women have grown together, exchanged ideas and mentored one another.

This year the WBE is focusing on “Building Bridges.” Every woman is a piece of the bridge, connecting one to another to make our community thrive and serve well. As the exchange has evolved over the years, they have chosen mentoring to be a new emphasis. “Bridges Mentoring” is a new program they are instigating, using a questionnaire to match mentors with any woman who would like to be mentored professionally. Mentorship creates a channel in which wisdom that was gained the hard way can flow more easily to a newer professional woman. As Karen White, president of the WBE said, “When women connect with other women, everyone is empowered.”

White appreciates the WBE because as an exchange, they are not there to sell to one another, but to grow with each other. All women are welcome … no matter the capacity or profession in which they serve–business execs, entrepreneurs, direct sales, freelancers, stay-at-homemoms–every woman is a professional in some capacity, and the WBE can be a place for her to connect and grow.

Another new initiative for this year is “Buzz Talk…” designed to get women meeting one on one with each other; to take mere acquaintances and develop them into friendships and partnerships. Rather than flippantly saying to each other, “Let’s do coffee sometime!” and then never doing it, a Buzz Talk is scheduled in advance … it’s a way to be intentional about your coffee date for the purpose of personal and professional growth. Get your buzz on!

The WBE is a non-membership organization, making the commitment level as doable as possible for the busy woman who is already juggling her home and professional life. An event-based organization, the WBE invites women either out to lunch or out for a girls’ night for their once-amonth meeting time. Some of the luncheons have a speaker who teaches on a specific area of professional growth, while other luncheons are focused on mingling and developing connections. The evening events are social in nature. When a woman attends a meeting, she ought to bring her business cards for the Discovery Table, which displays business cards and materials for every woman in attendance. At each meeting, one business is drawn as the next month’s WBE Spotlight Business.

If a woman feels like this dynamic group of women is a place for her to belong and connect, they would love to see her at their next event. The WBE has recently gone social, so find them on Facebook www.facebook.com/WBEFM , Twitter @WBEfargo , or Instagram @womensbusinessexchange . The best place to find information and event registration is Facebook.

And, for all the women out there wondering “Is this for me?” – in the words of Karen White, “It’s a place for anyone – whatever you do, you’re a working woman.” [AWM]

UPCOMING MEETING DATES :

February 9 (Tuesday Luncheon, 11:30-1)

March 14 (Monday Evening Social)

April 12 (Tuesday Luncheon, 11:30-1)

May 10 (Tuesday Luncheon, 11:30-1)

June 13 (Monday Evening social)