Today we’d like to introduce you to Lucy Miller. She and her team shared their story with us below:
In 2019, Lucy had been looking for a place to network with other women in business, in her city Franklin. Not finding exactly what she was looking for and then being spurred on by a Facebook post on a moms group of a woman looking for this same thing, Lucy started a “small” get-together in Franklin that began in January 2020. In January and through March Lucy held happy hours and lunches with other women in business and it began to grow! This continued for a few months before the pandemic put a pause on things.
Upon restarting in the fall of 2020, it quickly became apparent that women were craving in-person connections, and ways to grow their businesses, and communities. In 2021, Franklin Women Connect became TN Women Connect expanding to Brentwood and Nashville, and then in 2022 adding 8 additional cities with the total in the Greater Nashville area being 10 cities with 2 events in each city each month. The connection events focus on women in business (all business types and sizes) looking for authentic connections, business opportunities, and friendships too.
TN Women Connect has grown so fast in just 2 years with hundreds of women attending events each month and a growing membership with extra perks for members! 2023 holds more expansion adding Chattanooga, Germantown (Memphis area), and even going across state lines to Alabama starting AL Women Connect in Huntsville Alabama.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a totally smooth road. Starting this person’s events-based business during the pandemic was hard to navigate. Finding places to hold events, making decisions on protocols, and even knowing if people wanted to attend events in person were uncertain.
What they found though, was that women were truly ready and craving more opportunities to grow professionally, to be around other like-minded businesswomen, and to do this in a real and authentic way. Real conversations held over coffee and lunches or cocktails have been the key to the success of TN Women Connect. The events aren’t overly fancy, rather held at mostly local businesses to give support, keeping the focus on the people and connections.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Tennessee Women Connect is a network of business-minded women. We are professional, driven women—in small and large businesses—looking to make new connections and learn from each other. We come from many different industries, and unlike some groups, there is no cap on which women can join or what industries are represented. Sometimes we meet over lunch; sometimes we turn happy hour into something that can be fun and beneficial. No matter how we meet, we have become one another’s support system, sounding board, and friends, and we have each grown personally and professionally as a result.
TN Women Connect helps cultivate opportunities for relationships to grow and for our ladies to find more success and abundance in their businesses! Our women go from being isolated or wanting more business relationships and opportunities to being well-connected with other women in business and finding opportunities everywhere. With 20 events each month across our 10 cities in the Greater Nashville Area, there is plenty of times and places to plug in for more connections. We see women attending events in many cities enjoying this opportunity to meet women they might not otherwise have the opportunity to.
TN Women Connect brings value to Middle Tennessee and throughout the state with the opportunities we provide women to show up for themselves and their businesses. We encourage women to come as they are, bringing their hearts and mind to our events. The Connections we help create provide opportunities to build business success and opportunities our women might not have had.
Our expansion in 2023 is so exciting! Bringing this opportunity for women to Chattanooga and Memphis this spring is an honor and we cannot wait to be a part of those communities bringing women in business together. Adding AL Women Connect starting in Huntsville is another huge way we will be growing in 2023. The business community in Huntsville is excited and ready for our events to get started!
In addition to the unending relationships we see created at our events, to date, I feel our greatest accomplishments have been our Fall LIVE conferences we held in October 2021 and October 2022. Both years we have had a full day of fantastic speakers and trainers, pouring into our attendees on topics like sales, marketing, social media, motivation, inspiration, publicity training, and panel interviews of local successful businesswomen.
The day is also full of women making new connections, building existing relationships, and growing their businesses. Our 2023 Fall LIVE conference is set for September 28th at The Loveless Cafe Barn again for year three! Stay tuned for details and speaker lineup!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tnwomenconnect.com
- Instagram: @tnwomenconnect
- Facebook: TN Women Connect
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tnwomenconnect/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM-hqQombwJA_PtV0fZOiRw
Image Credits
Amy Allmand Photography
