How to choose a female founder community
We live a digital age where you can watch people's lives all around the world and yet we are more lonely than ever. Perhaps we need to realise that nothing beats human connection in person. Being a female founder is hard enough but so many founders have a secondary battle to fight, one of loneliness and isolation.
There has been a rise in in person groups as well as online networking groups in the last few years. With run clubs, book clubs and everything in between, showing us that there is a real need for actual connection.
Orlune was born out of that same need, fighting a loneliness that stemmed from a drive for success. How do you hold friendships down when you work every waking hour, you cancel people for work, you are never free and your world revolves around your business?
We have all lost friendships but there are now lots of ways to fight this. There are so many groups popping up that it is now hard to choose. Who wants to have to make another decision right? So I thought I would run through the type of groups you can find.
If you are looking for female founder groups in London then you are definitely going to be okay and be spoilt for choice as there are tonnes. Whether you want to dance it out with a group of women and chat about business after or if you want to meet over a dinner in a fancy restaurant, there is something for everyone.
If you are looking for a female founder event in Yorkshire you might struggle a little more. The midlands and the north are hugely underserved. Unless you are looking for the usual style networking where you can meet different business owners, swap cards and have a nice coffee you will struggle.
So, how do you choose a female founders community?
- Decide what you need from a community
- Decide if you want it to be in person or online
- Trial a few communities to see which you like
- Check out reviews and social media of prospect founder groups
- Check out who is in the group
These are really important, if you want a group of people who are your potential customers you would join a very different group to a group full of peers.
Joining an industry specific group can be so helpful, I am part of a marketing group because we share ideas, trends, new product, services and we all work together. But I also love Orlune to get fresh perspectives, strategies, access to other industry leaders. It is so true that you are only 2 people away from anyone in the world, you just need to know which 2.
Then I am part of a property owners group because they are all my clients, they ask me questions and I get work from it. Again, there are different groups and events for different reasons and you need to choose what is best for you or if you want all of them.
After I joined a few other female founder groups I found that they weren't offering me the support that I needed, they were more chatty and there was a lot of rules and engagement pods. I had no interest in pods so I was pleased that Orlune took off so well and I regularly hear people saying they love Orlune for that aspect.
If you don't want to make the investment right away, maybe attend an event first, attend a zoom call or something similar to get a feel for the group, the host and the other members. Then you can decide if that group is for you.
Our monthly strategy calls are exclusively for members but our in person events are totally open to anyone and everyone.
If you are looking for friendship rather than pitch and ditch groups, Orlune might be for you. If you are looking to go into a group and hard sell then it definitely is not for you.
Being a female founder is a power and utilising people around us is what we are amazing at so make sure to find a business community that works for you.
Best of luck,
Hatty