We all have them - some are huge, built up over long numbers of years; and some are small, being built up gradually as we get more experienced as entrepreneurs. What am I talking about you might ask? Our contact books of course - those repositories of vital information on the people we know and have built relationships with over the years. The well-known saying “your network is your net worth” is so true, and our contact books are what keep us connected to our networks. We browse through them, we reach out to those contacts to say hello regularly, to find out what is happening in their lives, and of course to do business or connect to others we may need on our entrepreneurial journeys. As much as our contact books are good for us and our own businesses, it’s important to remember that they have so much more power if they are shared. We know how hard it is to build up those contacts and networks, we have all done it over the years. So maybe we should pay it forward and wherever possible help a fellow woman entrepreneur with a key contact or two that could help them on their journeys.

Personally, I love a great referral, those times when someone I know recommends a great supplier they have used, or a service they have rated as excellent - even a great restaurant I should try or a movie I should watch. Referrals are powerful ways of giving us the comfort of knowing that someone whose judgement we trust is recommending something or someone to us. We feel more confident in using that service, or setting up a meeting, or booking that restaurant meal or movie ticket. As women entrepreneurs, our networks are our best referral systems in business. Just think about it for a moment - our fellow women business builders understand only too well how important it is to use the most reliable suppliers and service providers. Getting a recommendation from them on who to use, or even better, using each other’s businesses in our own supply chains, and then when we have a great experience recommending them to others, means we all win. That’s the power of networks to provide trusted comfort in referrals.