 In 1999 Sharon Connolly decided to radically change her career, from computer trainer and programmer to Image Consultant. She wanted a more "social" career and something that would fit in better with her growing family.
"I knew I would have to grow my new business in a completely different way from the computer business" Sharon says, "so I decided to join the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce. This is where I met Mary Flavelle and was introduced to the concept of networking, and in particular women's networking." Within a few months, not only had Sharon grown her business but she also had a fantastic new circle of friends who completely understood what it was like to try to grow a business from scratch. 10 years on many of these women are still Sharon’s best friends who motivate and support her every day.
 The networking was brilliant and Sharon had everything she could to grow her business and make more connections. "However," as Sharon explains, "when you start to get busy you don't have time to network, and no networking means no more business. I needed to keep networking but I just needed something that didn't take such a chunk out of my day, and didn't need to be booked months in advance. And networking can be expensive too and I just couldn't afford to pay all the membership fees when I couldn't find the time to attend the meetings."
Her solution was to draft an email to about 30 women she'd previously met at networking events to see if they just wanted to have an informal coffee without the usual cost, agenda or speaker, and without it taking out a whole chunk of their day. She entitled the email "lets be Ladies Who Latte" and with that simple email she had the accidental conception of Berkshires biggest networking success in 2007. A year later Sharon asked "Networking Queen" Mary Flavelle to hop on board and assist with the running and promoting of the organisation which continues to thrive, and grow.
 Like most successful ideas it is a very simple one. The ladies loved the concept and, one by one, new groups were formed. After one year there were over 700 ladies on the mailing list who meet on a regular basis. LWL has never been advertised; the business had grown by word of mouth and is stretching far and wide. At present LWL operates in 30 areas along the M4 corridor and is expanding all the time - even internationally with groups in Singapore and France, with Spain and Ireland launching soon.
No one competes with what LWL offer. The meetings are child friendly, even during the school holidays, as they are held at a mum friendly hour, usually 10am in the morning, and above all else the meetings are free. It doesn’t matter if you drop in for 5 mins or stay for 2hrs, all you have to do is purchase your own refreshment(s) and join in, it’s as simple as that. People do business with people they know and women are such great communicators - there is no problem getting down to business as soon as you arrive and meeting all the others in the group.
 The formats of the groups may vary slightly dependent on size. Some groups chose to have a ‘round the table’ chat, where the ladies can introduce themselves to everyone attending. Other groups have no set structure and ladies just move around the groups, which seem to form natural. Whatever the chosen format, one fact remains the same; LWL group leaders are very special ladies. Their business is supporting other women in business by offering friendship, advice, contacts and business leads.
We have amazing success stories of women making connections and being given opportunities that they never could have dreamed of finding on their own. We are all women with imagination, drive, enthusiasm and hope and we are enjoying sharing out success because ... It's no good being fabulous on your own! | 
