Because a good connection should have somewhere to go.
We’ve all been there.
You attend an event, meet some interesting people, exchange contact information, and leave feeling like you’ve made a few great connections.
The next morning, the photos appear on social media. Everyone had a wonderful time. We should absolutely get together again.
And then?
Well, life happens.
I’ve spent years attending networking events, organizing them, making introductions, and watching relationships develop. I believe in the value of bringing people together. Some of my most meaningful professional relationships started with a simple introduction.
But lately, I’ve been thinking less about the introduction itself and more about what happens afterward.
Because meeting someone is one thing.
Creating something together is another.
And that’s where I want to take The Other Women.
Over the past several months, I’ve been meeting women building all kinds of businesses. Restaurants, wellness practices, creative brands, professional services, and experiences that don’t always fit neatly into one category.
And somewhere during these conversations, my brain starts doing what it does.
What if we brought this business together with that one?
What if we created an experience neither could offer independently?
What if an introduction turned into a partnership, a new customer relationship, or an entirely new idea?
And what if we didn’t stop after one successful evening?
Now we’re getting somewhere.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between filling a calendar and building something that lasts.
I love a great event. I love seeing women discover a new business, meet someone unexpected, or leave with a connection they didn’t have before.
But I don’t want The Other Women to become another organization hosting events simply to have something on the calendar.
I want to be more intentional than that.
I want to identify women and businesses whose ideas, expertise, audiences, and ambitions might complement one another. I want to explore what we could create together and whether there’s an opportunity for something that extends beyond a single gathering.
Maybe that’s a recurring experience between businesses.
Maybe it’s a creative collaboration that introduces an entirely new audience to both brands.
Maybe it’s a partnership that develops into something bigger than either business originally imagined.
And yes, maybe it generates revenue.
Let’s talk about that for a minute.
Women are building real businesses. They’re investing money, time, expertise, and plenty of late nights into making those businesses work.
Supporting women in business shouldn’t stop at attending their events or applauding their accomplishments.
It should also mean looking for ways to create actual opportunities.
New customers. New partnerships. Greater visibility. Shared resources. Business growth.
That’s not taking anything away from the value of community.
That’s what community can make possible.
And it’s also why I’m becoming more selective about what we create through The Other Women.
Not every good idea needs to become an event. Not every introduction needs to turn into a collaboration. And not every partnership will be the right fit.
I’m okay with that.
I’d rather develop something thoughtful with the right people than fill a calendar with experiences that don’t lead anywhere.
There are already conversations happening, partnerships I’m exploring, and ideas that are still taking shape.
Some will become events. Others might develop into recurring collaborations or something we haven’t quite figured out yet.
I don’t have every detail of the long-term picture mapped out, and I’m not interested in pretending otherwise.
But I know the direction.
I want The Other Women to become a place where women and businesses are introduced to new possibilities—and where we have the creativity, relationships, and willingness to actually pursue them.
Not every connection needs a business outcome. I still believe that.
But when there’s genuine potential to build something together, I don’t want us to leave it sitting in a contact list.
The goal isn’t to fill a calendar. It’s to build something worth coming back for.
Because the introduction matters.
But what we create because of it matters even more.
XO,
Cleo
