By Laura Wiegmann

Anne Arundel County is chock full of networking opportunities, from three Chambers of Commerce to Business Networking International, Leads Clubs, and more. All these groups have events and meetings for the business professional to attend and develop avenues for business. They are effective and worthwhile, and without them, the entrepreneur is virtually without resources. However, there is a price tag, be it a membership fee or meeting fee or both, and attending several groups starts to add up.

Barbara Gill, a successful Melaleuca representative, got weary of this, and decided that there should be a way for people, specifically women, to get together and network without having to pay for it. She spoke with some women in her organization and came up with Coffee Connections, which started out as one group and has now grown to five, meeting in Severna Park, Annapolis, Baltimore, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Gill created a win-win situation for the hosts as well as the attendees. Each month, the leader of each chapter approaches a brick-and-mortar business and requests that they host the group from 8:30 to 10:00am. While some host businesses have to open up earlier than usual business hours, the meeting gives them exposure, publicity, and often a jumpstart for the day's sales. Businesses are eager to participate. Hosts provide coffee and refreshments, along with a special discount, and the ladies are only too happy to provide them with business. Attendees will often bring a door prize to be raffled off, giving their business more exposure as well. Gill said that one day, everyone went home with a door prize.

Anyone who has ever hosted a meeting, attended a meeting, or has asked to be put on the list is a member. There are no commitments, no fees, and no limitations as to how many groups one can attend. There is a City Coffee Connections Facebook Page, where anyone can post advertisements, specials, or announcements. The group is designed to be "informally formal," meaning there is no formality at all to joining, but there is some formality to the meetings. Beginning with open networking and refreshments, the group then moves on to short introductions. After that, the host business gets to give a short presentation on what they have to offer, followed by more open networking.

Occasionally there will be a joint event, like the upcoming happy hour at the Saucy Salamander in Annapolis, where everyone from all chapters comes together. These usually do carry a small fee to cover the cost of the meal and venue; in this case, $15 per person. The event will run from 5:00 to 7:00pm on Feb. 17, and with an RSVP, everyone is welcome.

Coffee Connections, is all about building woman-to-woman relationships, and helping everyone make money, without the cost. Through their meetings, they have fortified the local economy, and strongly supported the initiative to shop locally. They believe that when people spend money on neighborhood businesses, it strengthens the community as a whole, and promotes a “one for all, all for one” attitude.

The Severna Park group meets the second Thursday of the month, making the next meeting Feb. 9 from 8:30 to 10:00am. This one will be at Spark Running in Park Plaza. Call Tricia Goodman at 443-452-8001 for details. The Annapolis group gets together the third week of the month, but varies on the day. Barbara Gill is the contact for this one, and also for the Saucy Salamander event. Her number is 410-224-3337.