Business women come together in Snoqualmie
July 2, 2008
By Laura Geggel
Many of the women in the Snoqualmie Valley Women in Business group agree – having an all-female assembly helps create a positive, connecting group dynamic.
“Women have a different way of communicating than men. We’re much more verbally communicative and more trusting and more inclusive,” said Lesli Williams, founder of Snoqualmie Valley Women in Business and owner of Bliss Spa on the Ridge.
That’s not to say many men don’t embody these traits. But, “when women are together there is a sense of synergy and trust,” said Williams, who is also a member of the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Williams and her bevy of women will get to test this assertion. Williams began talking with her colleagues about starting the group when she realized how much the Valley would benefit from a network of businesswomen helping each other and the community.
Good news travels fast, and news of a businesswomen’s group circulated the Valley so quickly that Williams’ e-mail inbox experienced a rapid influx of messages. Every woman who wanted to join seemed to know two more women interested in becoming members.
Williams hopes the women in the business group will help each other share best business practices, refer customers to one another and be resources in areas ranging from home life to professional marketing.
“It can be a way for women to bond and really network with each other,” Williams said. “From, ‘Hey do you have a babysitter you can trust? To, I have a business plan, can you read this and tell me what you think?’”
At their first meeting – a luncheon for 15 held at the Salish Lodge – the women discussed technicalities, like the tagline and logo, and long-term goals, including holding biannual fundraisers for charities that have a presence in Snoqualmie Valley and benefit women, like Encompass or the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Jennifer Manning, an associate broker for Windermere Real Estate, lives on the Ridge and is part of the group.
“I would like to do a community service day for a needy neighborhood or organization in the Valley,” Manning said. “It would be great to go clean up the Y or go to Momma’s Hands.”
Manning said she would like to use her experience to help other women learn how to market and negotiate. If they can manage their businesses more efficiently, everyone benefits, she said.
“When people have systems in place, I can do my business much quicker,” Manning said.
Karen Granger, executive director of the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce, would like the group to mentor high school women and offer scholarships.
Snoqualmie resident Susan Livingston, president of the Lasso Group – a Snoqualmie based marketing and brand development firm – said she has belonged to other professional networking groups, including the American Association of American Women. Livingston said she is excited to join the Snoqualmie Valley Women in Business group, adding that it would help compliment the Valley’s other business communities, including the Chamber of Commerce.
“It will help unite our business community as a whole,” said Livingston. “It will tease some women out who are working in isolation from home-based businesses.”
Williams is already expecting to double membership at the next meeting, held the third Wednesday of every month. Any woman can join, she said. To learn more, e-mail Leslie Williams at lesli@blissontheridge.com.
Reporter Laura Geggel can be reached at 392-6434 x221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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