by Ivy Hughes
March 16, 2008

I typically do not enjoy networking. Being forced to make small talk with business-card-peddling strangers isn’t my favorite pastime. I find it mind numbing, and when I’ve done it for about half an hour, my face hurts from smiling and I feel like a bobblehead from nodding so much.

I’m a writer, but I spend the bulk of my time asking questions and listening — and by the end of the day, I don’t want to be forced to talk or listen. But, when I received an invitation to attend an after-work wine tasting, I simply thought, “Wine? I’ll be there.”

Call me dense, obtuse, oblivious, but I didn’t realize the wine nights I was attending were Inforum social networking events until I’d been…twice. The first time I went, I showed up late and was so wet from a thunderstorm that my feet were sliding out of my heels. I looked more like an experienced wino than a “young professional.”

I didn’t know what I was getting into and was prepared for the record-scratch effect when I walked into the PR firm hosting the event. My dapper presence was hard to miss, but no one said a word about it and all welcomed me warmly. I didn’t feel excluded from the conversation at the table I was placed at, and no one stopped talking or gave me a sideways glance when I told them I worked for MIRS. I was handed a wine wheel rather than a business card, and no one read me her resume. Though politics came up occasionally, the bulk of the conversation revolved around wine, traveling, the holidays and amazing Halloween costumes.

At the end of the evening I collected a few business cards — but I was the one who asked for them, and I asked for them because I liked the women, not because I thought they could do something for me. The evening was laid back and personal, which is why it took me so long to realize I was attending a networking event.

Through Inforum, women in Lansing, Detroit and Grand Rapids have found a way to make networking more relaxed. They use lunches, wine tastings and book clubs to unite professional females.

When Inforum was founded in 1962, it was called the Women’s Economic Club. At the time, Paula Blanchard Stone was vice president of Detroit PR firm Casey Communications. Stone, who is now president of The Paula Blanchard Companies and founding partner in McCarthy-Blanchard, said she was intrigued by the club’s mission, which was to empower women and help them succeed.

“The Detroit area had been so dominated historically by the auto industry’s Big Three and its tier-one and -two suppliers, which were male dominated,” Stone said. “A lot of women who joined would say, ‘I work in an all-male environment and I don’t have any women to turn to in my work environment.’”

Stone joined Inforum while it was still the Women’s Economic Club because she was interested in its guest speakers, which included U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Lansing and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-North Carolina). She also wanted to develop her own network of professional women.

“As I moved through my career, I found that the women who became my colleagues through Inforum became my go-to group,” she said. “They were the first people I picked up the phone to call if I had an important project or if I needed some expertise or some resources.”

As women expanded their presence in the workplace, so did the Women’s Economic Club. To keep drawing in young women, its board of directors exchanged the “Club” name for a younger, cooler “Inforum.” The name change also enabled the women to differentiate themselves from the larger, more staid and heavily male Detroit Economic Club.

By 2003 Stone and several other Women’s Economic Club members and other leading business women started the Lansing Inforum Chapter. The organizing group included a solid core of business, association and government executives, among them: Deb Muchmore (who followed Stone as local chair), Sarah Hubbard, Kelly Rossman-McKinney, Carol Conn, Nancy McKeague, Linda Gobler and Teri Takai. Public relations executives, business owners, graphic artists, lawyers and lobbyists are prominent in the Mid-Michigan group.

Although the Lansing groups’ numbers have remained steady at 200 members, Inforum has had to work hard to keep every member. “I think it will always be a challenge for an organization like this to compete for time and resources,” Stone said. “That’s why the programs and groups need to be spot-on in terms of what members need.”

Why it works
Not only does Inforum’s statewide network far exceed female networking groups in other states, it also listens to its members, allowing them to join large or small groups. The three Inforum chapters in Michigan — Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids — all host large luncheons, which are attended by guest speakers. Hearst Magazines President Cathie Black was the most recent Detroit speaker, sharing her experiences as a businesswoman, manager and writer. While these large gatherings are extremely popular with Detroit professionals, Lansing women prefer smaller groups, Stone says. Lansing Inforum members have created interest groups of their own: a book club group, a coffee group and a wine group.

Deb Muchmore (left) and Paula Blanchard Stone helped establish the Lansing chapter of Inforum.
Photo by David Trumpie

“This may be a funny thing, but I think geography has a lot to do with it,” Stone said. Detroiters who have to drive at least 45 minutes across town to attend a meeting are less apt to show up for a 30-minute coffee. Lansingites, who can get just about anywhere in 15 minutes, can easily participate in smaller meetings.

Daphne Rezink, marketing director for Visioncare Associates, started an affiliate morning coffee group because she prefers more intimate networking opportunities. Other members who like small settings or don’t have time to network at after-work events can stop by for 10 minutes or an hour, grab a coffee and make new contacts.

“Some people feel the opposite and bring clients to big events,” Rezink said. “I like that no matter what your interest and no matter what your level of networking ability, there’s an option.” She adds that any member with an idea for a valuable affinity group can approach Inforum about establishing it.

Angela Brown, an attorney with the Honigman Miller law firm, hosts the Mid-Michigan wine nights. Each event revolves around a certain theme, such as “Wines of Michigan.” The relaxed atmosphere and common interest make it more comfortable for the women to get to know each other on a personal level, which is often good for business.

The members frequently build social relationships before building professional ones. Rezink said it may take years before she uses an Inforum contact for business. However, when she needs a graphic artist, for example, she’s more likely to look for an Inforum member first.

Another reason Inforum works well, the women say, is that no one is made to feel excluded. Women of all ages and from different professional, ethnic and social backgrounds are invited to attend. Basic member fees are $150, a manageable fee for most professional women. “There’s a much greater diversity in the membership, which is a very good sign in terms of the health and vitality of the organization,” Stone said.

Another important aspect of Inforum is that it doesn’t foster competition. There are plenty of women who own PR firms or are vying for similar law clients, but Inforum brings them closer together rather than pulling them apart.

“The [Lansing Regional] Chamber focuses on economic development and business development and helping its members grow their businesses,” Stone said. “That’s great and it’s very much needed, but it’s not focused specifically on helping women lead and succeed, and that’s what this organization does like no other organization.”

Lorri Richar Jandron and her business partner, Angela Artibee, used Inforum when they left Sparrow Hospital and launched their own communications company, Edge Partnerships. “We have received nothing but support,” Jandron said. “It seems that a lot of these PR firms are owned by women, and when we have to compete, we’ll compete, but it will be fair.” In fact, when Jandron and Artibee started, an Inforum member who owns a larger PR firm started sending them clients. “There’s enough business out there for all of us,” Jandron said.

Men welcome
The founding members of the Women’s Economic Club created the organization at a time when women continued to fight for equality in the workplace. They knew they needed men as allies.

Men have sat on Inforum boards and participated in Inforum networking opportunities for years. Ed Barclay, executive vice president and general manager of Carlson Marketing Worldwide’s Midwest region, has been a member of Inforum for two years and was invited to become a member of its board last spring. His wife introduced him to Inforum, but he joined because the makeup of his firm was predominately female and he believed this networking opportunity would succeed where others had failed. “There’s no doubt bringing this group of people together builds an energy and dynamic other organizations just don’t have,” he said.

Barclay prefers the large luncheons because he can network with several people in a small amount of time. At one luncheon, he says, he learned about a ballot initiative that he hadn’t understood, but felt he should know about. He’s also received some great business advice. “The business issues that are discussed are relevant to everybody. Be it the tough economic times or human resources benefits, there are so many things that affect our business today,” he said.

Lansing’s numbers are holding steady, and statewide demand for the organization is increasing. Women in other parts of the state, such as Port Huron, have asked if they can create a chapter. Stone said she’s unsure whether more chapters will be added, but said the interest reinforces the value of Inforum. “This is a way for women to put together deals and make things happen.”

Ivy Hughes is development and innovations editor of the online business publication Capital Gains.