WNA held its first networking lunch in Perth last week and the event was sold out with more than 80 women attending.

One of the biggest benefits I have enjoyed since launching www.connectedwomen.net.au earlier this year has been the opportunity to meet hundreds of successful women at the networking events I regularly attend. I have travelled to events from Blacktown to Brisbane, Melbourne to Manly and soon I will take ConnectedWomen even further into Perth and Hobart.
 
As a business writer for many years, this move has opened up a wonderful opportunity to move my business forward within a collaborative community. It’s fairly obvious that today women are a force both inside and outside the workplace, but what many people don’t know is the energy that we put into networking our own businesses and that of our employers. 

National group for all women
Women’s Network Australia (WNA) is Australia’s leading network for working women and is one of the business communities which has embraced ConnectedWomen. Its success is owed to 18 years of effort by founder and managing director Lynette Palmen, whom I believe networks 24/7. 

Now, she has taken the Brisbane based business national. After launching her network into the Sydney market in 2005, Lynette has expanded her footprint into Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart. Only last week she held her first networking lunch in Perth with more than 80 businesswomen attending that event. 

This is good news for the consumer electronics industry as it means that women working within the industry in those cities will now be able to meet with other businesswomen with similar interests. It also gives leading brands an opportunity to “breathe” within that environment and to take their messages to a new and open market. 

Tell hundreds of women about your business
Lynette’s advice: “This is your opportunity to tell hundreds of women about the business you work for, how it will benefit them and how you can form collaborative partnerships.” 

Despite the economic difficulties surrounding the country at the moment, WNA has doubled in 2008 and Lynette is preparing for more success in 2009 with the opening of additional networks in Darwin and Canberra. One of her strongest networking tools is the WNA e-noticeboard which is sent out to 20,000 members every Monday afternoon. 

New phenomenon in Australia
Compared with traditional men’s clubs, women's networks are a relatively new phenomenon in Australia, although they are powerful force in the US. If you are looking for a competitive “edge” to take you further his year and into 2009, consider harnessing the power of networking, particularly to women and for women.