By CASEY NEILL
WOMEN Making it Work isn’t about gender.
The Casey Cardinia business network’s vice-chair Megan Glew said women generally networked and built relationships very differently to men.
“There’s no right or wrong – it’s just different,” she said.
“It’s why we do have some male members.
“It’s still all about business but taking that more relationship-driven ethos that tends to fit much better with women than with men.
“You put a couple of men around the table at breakfast and at the end of that time they’ll probably know what each of them do for a living, they might know what car they drive, a little bit about their business.
“You put a group of women around the same table for the same period of time and they’ll not only know everything there is to know about each other’s businesses, they’ll know how many kids they have, how they managed the school run that morning.”
Ms Glew joined Women Making it Work about seven years ago when starting her family law practice in Berwick.
“I knew I was a good lawyer. I’d been doing that for quite some time,” she said.
“But trying to build a business was something that was very foreign to me.
“I had the benefit of some very experienced businesswomen who were very generous with their time and were prepared to sit down over a coffee and give me some tips and have a chat.
“I also find that I get a lot of satisfaction from now being in the position to give back to some of those smaller businesses and newer businesses, and give them the benefit of what I had seven years ago.”
Women Making it Work meets at different locations throughout Casey and Cardinia offices once a month for breakfasts and dinners with guest speakers.
Ms Glew said it was about education and connections.
“When you’re in a small business or a home-based business and there’s just you, while a record month of sales is really exciting, if you’ve got no one to share that with it’s hard to keep the momentum going,” she said.
The group’s secretary Annemarie Cross is a business and leadership consultant based in Hallam.
“I can get very isolated so it’s nice to connect with a supportive environment,” she said.
“It’s the friendships, it’s the collegial relationships and then it’s being able to tap into the expertise.”
Women Making it Work chair and mortgage broker Gail McTaggart runs her business from home in Bayles.
“Because I’m home-based, it’s not so much about the referrals for me, it’s about the support that I can get,” she said.
“I just love the company. If I need help on anything, they’re there. It’s very caring.”
Visit www.wmiw.com.au or call 0407 009 656 for more information or to get involved.
