Joining a new virtual networking community brings possibility. There are new names to learn, businesses you haven’t heard about yet, different experiences and expertise gathered on one screen, and the chance that someone you’re about to meet could become an important business connection.
There can be excitement in that. There can also be uncertainty about what to do with the opportunity once you’re there. That’s common when entering any new networking space.
Bloom Connections is a virtual networking community designed to help women build genuine professional relationships, strengthen their referral networks, and create opportunities for one another. Our Wednesday gatherings give you a place to meet women, learn what they’re building, share what you’re working on, and discover which conversations you’d like to continue.
Logging into Zoom gets you into the room. Building relationships is how you begin to leverage it.
There can be excitement in that. There can also be uncertainty about what to do with the opportunity once you’re there. That’s common when entering any new networking space.
Bloom Connections is a virtual networking community designed to help women build genuine professional relationships, strengthen their referral networks, and create opportunities for one another. Our Wednesday gatherings give you a place to meet women, learn what they’re building, share what you’re working on, and discover which conversations you’d like to continue.
Logging into Zoom gets you into the room. Building relationships is how you begin to leverage it.
You Don't Have to Meet Everyone
When you see a screen full of women doing interesting work, it can feel like there are a lot of people to meet in one hour. That’s one reason our virtual breakout rooms are intentionally small. We want you to have enough time to actually hear each other, not race through introductions before the timer runs out.
One good conversation can also take you further into the community.
You may be talking with someone in a breakout when she realizes there is another woman in Bloom you need to know. Maybe you serve similar audiences. Perhaps you’re looking for a particular kind of expertise, collaborator, or referral partner. She may simply hear something in your story that reminds her of a conversation she had with someone else.
Then comes one of the best things you can hear in a networking space: “Oh, you should connect with her.”
This is why you don’t have to personally meet everyone for the network to begin working. The woman in your breakout may not be the connection you were looking for. She may know who is.
That can only happen when you give the conversation enough room to go beyond a job title. Be curious about the woman in front of you, and give her the opportunity to become curious about you too.
One good conversation can also take you further into the community.
You may be talking with someone in a breakout when she realizes there is another woman in Bloom you need to know. Maybe you serve similar audiences. Perhaps you’re looking for a particular kind of expertise, collaborator, or referral partner. She may simply hear something in your story that reminds her of a conversation she had with someone else.
Then comes one of the best things you can hear in a networking space: “Oh, you should connect with her.”
This is why you don’t have to personally meet everyone for the network to begin working. The woman in your breakout may not be the connection you were looking for. She may know who is.
That can only happen when you give the conversation enough room to go beyond a job title. Be curious about the woman in front of you, and give her the opportunity to become curious about you too.
Help People Know When to Think of You
Your title gives people a starting point, but it rarely tells the whole story. Saying you’re a consultant, accountant, designer, attorney or coach tells us what you do. It doesn’t necessarily tell us when your name belongs in a conversation.
That is where context becomes valuable.
Talk about who you serve and what tends to be happening when someone needs your expertise. Share what you’re building or focused on right now. If there is a particular type of referral partner or professional connection you would like to meet, let people know.
You aren’t trying to squeeze your entire business into an introduction. You’re helping people understand you well enough to recognize a connection when they see one.
That connection might even be sitting somewhere else on the same Zoom call.
As women get to know one another across different breakout rooms and different Wednesdays, the community becomes more connected. Someone you’ve never met may already be one introduction away because another woman knows enough about both of you to bring you together.
The possibilities extend beyond Bloom too. A woman you meet virtually may be in another meeting weeks later when someone describes the exact problem you solve. She may be talking with a client, attending an event, participating in another community, or having a conversation with someone in her own network.
If she understands what you do, she can recognize when your name belongs in that conversation. This is the exact way we carry each other’s names further.
That is where context becomes valuable.
Talk about who you serve and what tends to be happening when someone needs your expertise. Share what you’re building or focused on right now. If there is a particular type of referral partner or professional connection you would like to meet, let people know.
You aren’t trying to squeeze your entire business into an introduction. You’re helping people understand you well enough to recognize a connection when they see one.
That connection might even be sitting somewhere else on the same Zoom call.
As women get to know one another across different breakout rooms and different Wednesdays, the community becomes more connected. Someone you’ve never met may already be one introduction away because another woman knows enough about both of you to bring you together.
The possibilities extend beyond Bloom too. A woman you meet virtually may be in another meeting weeks later when someone describes the exact problem you solve. She may be talking with a client, attending an event, participating in another community, or having a conversation with someone in her own network.
If she understands what you do, she can recognize when your name belongs in that conversation. This is the exact way we carry each other’s names further.
Don't Leave a Good Connection on Zoom
When you meet someone you’d like to know better, continue the conversation. Connect on LinkedIn. Schedule a one-on-one. Attend the workshop she mentioned. Send the resource you promised. If something she shared during an Educational Moment helped you, let her know you used it.
There doesn’t need to be an immediate referral, client opportunity, or collaboration waiting on the other side of every follow-up.
A one-on-one gives you something the Wednesday gathering can’t always provide: more time to understand the person behind the introduction.
You can learn about what she’s building, who she serves, what she’s especially good at, and what kinds of connections would be meaningful for her. She gets the same opportunity to understand you.
The next time you see each other on Wednesday, you aren’t starting over. There is context behind the name on the screen. Maybe you remember what she was working on and ask how it went. Maybe she has already thought of someone you should meet. Maybe you’ve come across something that would be useful to her.
That is how a virtual introduction begins turning into a genuine professional relationship.
There doesn’t need to be an immediate referral, client opportunity, or collaboration waiting on the other side of every follow-up.
A one-on-one gives you something the Wednesday gathering can’t always provide: more time to understand the person behind the introduction.
You can learn about what she’s building, who she serves, what she’s especially good at, and what kinds of connections would be meaningful for her. She gets the same opportunity to understand you.
The next time you see each other on Wednesday, you aren’t starting over. There is context behind the name on the screen. Maybe you remember what she was working on and ask how it went. Maybe she has already thought of someone you should meet. Maybe you’ve come across something that would be useful to her.
That is how a virtual introduction begins turning into a genuine professional relationship.
See What's Growing Beyond Wednesday
A lot of Bloom happens when the Wednesday Zoom room is closed.
Women schedule one-on-ones. They attend each other’s programs. They share resources, make introductions, send referrals, collaborate, and bring each other’s names into new conversations.
We created the Bloom Impact Dashboard because those moments matter. The dashboard helps us capture what grows from the relationships being built across the community and see the impact of connection beyond attendance numbers.
Women schedule one-on-ones. They attend each other’s programs. They share resources, make introductions, send referrals, collaborate, and bring each other’s names into new conversations.
We created the Bloom Impact Dashboard because those moments matter. The dashboard helps us capture what grows from the relationships being built across the community and see the impact of connection beyond attendance numbers.
The dashboard is also a way to see what is possible here. The value of a networking community isn’t simply how many people gather on a call. It’s what people are able to build, exchange, learn, and create because they met.
Visit the Bloom Impact Dashboard to see what’s happening beyond Wednesday. When something grows from one of your own Bloom connections, share that too. A one-on-one, introduction, referral, collaboration, resource shared, or opportunity created becomes part of the larger story we’re building together.
Become Someone Who Connects the Dots
As you spend more time in Bloom, you may begin listening differently.
You’re not only noticing who could be a valuable connection for you. You’re learning enough about other women to recognize connections for them too.
Someone mentions that she’s looking for a speaker, and you remember a woman whose Educational Moment made an impression on you. A client needs help with something outside your expertise, and someone from Bloom comes to mind. Two women you met on completely different Wednesdays seem like they need to know each other, so you introduce them.
This is what we mean when we talk about carrying each other’s names into rooms we’re not in.
It doesn’t require being in the same city, state, or country. A relationship built virtually can travel wherever the people in it go.
The important part is knowing enough about each other to recognize the opportunity.
That’s why making Bloom Connections work for you isn’t about collecting as many contacts as possible. Come to Wednesday. Participate in the conversation. Let people understand what you’re building. Be curious about the women you meet, and continue the conversations that feel worth continuing.
One breakout can lead to a one-on-one. That conversation can lead to another introduction. Months later, a woman you met through Bloom may hear your name belong in a conversation you aren’t even part of.
That’s when you’re no longer simply logging into a networking call.
You’re part of a network that knows how to connect the dots.
And the more we know about one another, the more opportunities we have to carry each other’s names further.
You’re not only noticing who could be a valuable connection for you. You’re learning enough about other women to recognize connections for them too.
Someone mentions that she’s looking for a speaker, and you remember a woman whose Educational Moment made an impression on you. A client needs help with something outside your expertise, and someone from Bloom comes to mind. Two women you met on completely different Wednesdays seem like they need to know each other, so you introduce them.
This is what we mean when we talk about carrying each other’s names into rooms we’re not in.
It doesn’t require being in the same city, state, or country. A relationship built virtually can travel wherever the people in it go.
The important part is knowing enough about each other to recognize the opportunity.
That’s why making Bloom Connections work for you isn’t about collecting as many contacts as possible. Come to Wednesday. Participate in the conversation. Let people understand what you’re building. Be curious about the women you meet, and continue the conversations that feel worth continuing.
One breakout can lead to a one-on-one. That conversation can lead to another introduction. Months later, a woman you met through Bloom may hear your name belong in a conversation you aren’t even part of.
That’s when you’re no longer simply logging into a networking call.
You’re part of a network that knows how to connect the dots.
And the more we know about one another, the more opportunities we have to carry each other’s names further.
Keep Blooming
Being in the room is the beginning. The next step is making it easier for people to understand who you serve and recognize the people and opportunities that belong in your world.
Next: Your 30 Seconds Aren’t About Selling Yourself. They’re About Teaching Us Who to Listen For.
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