This week, our CEO Barbara Wichmann is receiving an award at the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) 2014 Summit and Salute in New Orleans, LA. Started in 1997, the WBENC organization is the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women throughout the United States. It is dedicated to providing the best resources for female entrepreneurs to network with the right businesses. Since we joined the organization, ARTÉMIA Communications has benefited tremendously with forming business partnerships and building friendships along the way.

Being a member of a business association can tremendously help your organization in many ways. However, it is important to join a group with like-minded business owners that can provide value through the correct network of people.

The first step to finding the right business network is to identify your business structure. Is your leadership team comprised of people from various ethnic backgrounds? Is it an LLC or a partnership? Identifying your business structure will help you define which organization your business can belong to. This will then assist in recognizing to whom your product or service can be marketed. This will help you identify what other organizations you can belong to as well.

The second step is to set clear intentions. Once you have identified if your business is a business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C) model, a business group can bridge the gap between you and your customers.

The third step is to actively seek opportunities for the other members in the organization. It is important to keep referring other business owners in the group with no expectations in return. Business is about forming relationships, and the ones you form with a trusted and solid foundation will last longer and give back tenfold in return.

Being in the right business networking group is a valuable resource with both the contract opportunities it provides as well as the shared experiences with other entrepreneurs. In an age when businesses rely on human interaction behind a computer screen, being in the right networking groups provides a way to build genuine relationships through face to face meetings.

To learn more about the benefits of choosing the right network and the WBENC organization, here’s a video of our CEO’s experience:

Barbara also shares her insights on other matters in marketing, communications, public relations, and more through her blog, B’s Notions. Subscribe to her blog and learn more about specific industry events and best practices.