By Mary Runser

Tammy was a stay at home mom for years. She had always wanted to own her own business, but was definitely more interested in raising her family. But, she ended up divorced and found herself thrown into the work force, and had to raise her two boys on her own. She’d had a few jobs and been laid off, and one day she just decided, “Knowing I would have more control over the amount of time I had with my kids and my own income, I decided to take the leap with Women Making Connections in 2005.”

She had been involved in memberships with the NACW and the NBO; all the acronyms for women’s networking organizations, and suggested that they have a big party and invite all the women’s groups to come so they could network with them. Of course, there was hesitation because some of the women would not be members of these various organizations, even though they might be able to do business with them. They didn’t really want to do that, so Tammy contacted the president and explained that she was throwing a party, and that she would like to have her there to set up a table to recruit new members, “and that I’d like to invite non-profit organizations like Safehouse, and Habitat for Humanity, and other organizations that really support women.”

Tammy contacted some business owners that she knew, told them about the event that she was holding at Kerrytown in downtown Ann Arbor, and invited them to the party. “That first year, 180 women showed up! I realized then that there really was a need for this kind of networking in the area.” Since that time, there are different businesses in the area that support and sponsor the events. Currently, the group has a monthly event as well as a large event in the spring of the year. “We mix business with pleasure at these events.” Tammy said, “We have good food and treats donated by various local businesses, and once we even had a Texas Hold’em tournament. But the key is in getting the women to mingle with others who aren’t in the same career fields to see how they might possibly work with one another and grow their businesses. And that’s my specialty; I love making introductions, and then just watching to see what will happen.” Now, more than 400 women attend the Women Making Connections events.

The Women Making Connections website is a free membership website, to encourage women to become a member so that they can log-on and promote their business with their name and a link back to their own website. “Once you do that,” Tammy said, “you get notified of all the events that are going on. We’re currently working on a full workshop to be held in the fall, and the plan is to grow the site in a franchise form, one in every state, but without the franchise fee. I want women to be able to afford to get involved and to make a living.”

Tammy learned early in life to make fast and strong friendships because they moved so often. “I’ve lived in more than 20 places, always in Southeast Michigan, but instead of using that as an excuse to not get involved, I learned to make relationships quickly. I think that’s why I am so good at what I am doing with Women Making Connections.”