Consulting Women is a unique community of professional, talented women with notable accomplishments as consultants, contractors and business owners. Our members represent a number of fields and industries from throughout the Washington, DC metro area.
Consulting Women is DC's professional forum for women to network and share best business practices among area women who have their own businesses and provide services to non-profits, candidates, businesses and government.
In 2004, CW founder Karen Mulhauser wrote the a brief history of Consulting Women. In 2011, she added Chapter 5.
Chapter 1: Formation
The group was formed in 1990 when a few of my friends approached me with questions about forming their own businesses. I had been in business for just over two years and friends wondered how I got started, how I figured out how much to charge clients, how I promoted my business and how I drew the line between my numerous pro bono activities and when I would charge for similar projects. These were all good questions. I had to confess I hadn’t really been all that strategic. I just made it up as I went along. We agreed to meet from time to time, share ideas and perhaps work together with clients. A small group of men and women met for a year or so. ...
Chapter 2: Further Definition
After a while, for whatever the reason, the men stopped coming. We decided to limit participation to women and call ourselves Consulting Women. When this happened, we found ourselves comfortably admitting that there were things we did not know – and we would help each other learn. We discovered in helping each other and sharing information, we were also sharing power and that this level of collaboration felt good. There were no feelings of competition, but increasingly stronger feelings of collaboration. There were times when several of us responded to the same RFP. We all celebrated when one of us would get it. Some self-employed women formed legal partnerships. There were times when we’d write each other into contracts, and often send job notices to each other if there was too much on our own plates.
At this time, the group was only 30 or 40. Those who attended the monthly meetings came to know each other well and looked forward to our gatherings. ... there was a comfort level about certain topics being raised. I started providing a salad and others began bringing something to share – bread, cookies, something else to eat or drink. We came to think of ourselves as the “other food group,” which contributed to the intellectual exchange as well as the collaborations. There were some regular topics such as how to market our efforts, how to assess the legal aspects of our endeavors, how and when to subcontract, and how to determine when an assistant a staff person or a sub-contractor.
During this chapter, I collected brief descriptions of each of our bios and client activity. We often referred to this list to make referrals or to remember whom we wanted to connect with for professional or personal networking. This document was not for external use or publicity, but for our selves. I continued this effort until the group grew to more than 100 participants.
Chapter 3: Growth!
Because we were each in our own ways benefiting from the group, the word got around. More and more people joined. I never felt we should limit it. Yet as more joined, we lost the intimacy but expanded our reach. Some would come only once or twice to our meetings, and benefited from the assurance that others had similar “getting started” experiences and then they continued only virtually. During this period of growth, I continued to believe we should not formalize ourselves by charging membership fees – everyone was welcome....There were months when 35 or 40 people would come to my modest conference room for meetings.
Also, during this time we created our web site, which eventually replaced the participant list I mentioned above. This growth and use of the Internet had an interesting effect – it both equalized our ability to communicate with each other since one did not have to attend meetings to share information. But it also caused the loss of a level of equality we once had. Before, everyone was “on the list” if she sent me the information. With the web site, only those who paid the very minimal fee were able to have their contact information and client services listed.
Chapter 4:Where we are in 2004
Entering the Internet age also meant I stopped sending paper notices of meetings and we started the listserv. We set some guidelines about how to use the listserv, such as not using it to promote ourselves. But we were never really clear if the electronic conversation should be limited to professional information exchanges only. Occasionally I’ve used the list to send notices of activities I am involved with, because at one time I knew that the women in the group would be interested and they urged me to do so.
It is time to consider how to write the next chapter. Because the group has grown and changed so much over the years, we do not really know who we are other than we each started our own businesses or consultancies. We probably should not make assumptions as to how Consulting Women should continue, including how to use the list. The electronic conversation is possibly replacing the face-to-face meetings. I miss knowing who everyone is. And I, for one, would like to know who “we” are now that we are approximately 300 self-employed women!
Chapter 5: Fast Forward to 2011
Hard to believe, but we are now in in our 21st year and more than 630 women strong. According to a survey of our basic members in November 2011, Consulting Women have chosen to consult for many reasons. One member sums it up: "flexibility, autonomy, dynamism, and engaging work on issues that I like. And the sheer challenge of it." Some of us have been consulting for more than 35 years and others are just starting, with an average of 13 years of consulting experience. Some CW members have been here since the beginning and others have come on to the listserv through our website.
Our listserv continues to serve as a means of connecting us with one another. Almost daily, someone may post a query for professional advice or a business reference or list a job opening. The International Consulting Women subgroup, founded in 2010, is expanding. The NoVA (North Virginia) subgroup, open to all CW members, hosts monthly gatherings.
As CW looks to the future, we're planning on increasing what we offer both our basic and our full members. Webinars and more in-person meetings on professional topics are in the works. Potlucks will continue to bring us together. We're looking to more aggressively market CW members who become full members to organizations, businesses, government agencies and campaigns that need our services.
We need you to make it happen and help us write the next chapter. Please join us and become a full member of Consulting Women!
We welcome you to become part of Consulting Women's next chapter.
Please join Consulting Women today!
