I Have Noticed That People Genuinely Want To Collaborate And Connect: Cheryl Collins, Founder, Women Entrepreneurs Worldwide

Women Economic Forum is built on a massive platform of networking and the sheer amount of networking.

The power of networking and inclusion cannot and should not be ignored. Much of our social capital comes through and is strengthened by our social networks.

People view you as currency. Networks can be monetized or put to good use for charity purpose.

Cheryl Collins founder Women Entrepreneurs Worldwide had an interesting discussion on the power and importance of networking with BW BusinessWorld.

When you strengthen networks at any level, personal, professional or social, responsibility emerges which is what propels and sustains change.

Cheryl Collins, founder, Women Entrepreneurs Worldwide has a background as a paralegal. She was a global General Manager of a multi-million dollar company. In 2008, the global recession had just hit the world and she got the “itch" and wanted to come out of the corporate world, to do something different.

What struck her at that was the power of maneuvering relationships. The power of networking bridges and she decided to jump into entrepreneurship to empower women all over the world.

Important questions that emerged were how to build relationships and how to promote relationships. She has spent years wrapping her head around this quest.

She believes that it is not about handing out your card when you meet someone. Its how you engage in conversation. A larger question being what could I do for this individual?

How do you touch the other person's life? She believes that the success of Women Entrepreneurs Worldwide is because of her leveraging social media greatly. 

She spends time conversing with people. Connecting with them-Never less than 2 hours. 

“Ask people about themselves. Body language speaks a lot. It conveys a lot that is not said. Be cognizant of how you use your body language.”

She stresses that when you are at a networking event ask yourself, "Why are you here? What do you want from out of here? What does the person across from you want and need?"

Quickly scan a room and look at the audience. Work towards being an attention holder. And most importantly know how to close the deal.

Very often when we extend ourselves, it instills trust in them.

Be approachable. Be non-judgemental. Watch out for your movements be strong, not jerky. You don’t have to talk too much necessarily."

“It is important to get to know and find out about different cultures and actually engage with people at their level. Get away from behind the laptop and schedule time to talk."

Initially, Cheryl spent a lot of time on Linkedin and the connections kept coming up but then she realised that face to face interactions are priceless and have a domino effect. Once you win one person, you automatically win their network too.

Cheryl stresses that "In the social media culture of our times, profiles are important all the same. People notice the kind of relationships you have built, and gain faith from seeing the strength and goodwill that you have established already."

Cheryl comes from a space of wanting to connect with people when she enters the room. Sharing that “In fact when she got into this space many people reached out to her for coaching to mentoring but I have decided to stay away from it. I find network building and connecting more fulfilling."

She wants to break the glass ceiling and get more women into the workforce, having meaningful conversations from a-z. 

"A lot of women are being left behind. I want to carry them. I am working on meaningful projects-empowering women, assessing where they are and their cultural environment while network building. Extending my work to Indonesia, Kenya, the Middle East and Afghanistan apart from the US, and have noticed that people genuinely want to collaborate and connect."