Women’s Empowerment Network: How Building Your Support Circle Changes Everything

I spent the first half of my life trying to blend in with the wall.

Making myself smaller, quieter, less visible. If you had told the teenage version of me that I’d one day run a financial planning practice, lead a community of women, and write a book about money, I would have laughed. That girl didn’t believe she had anything worth saying out loud.

What changed? Community. Specifically, the women’s empowerment networks that showed me what I was capable of before I could see it myself.

That’s not a soft, feel-good sentiment. It’s the most practical career and life advice I can give you. The right support circle of women will change your trajectory. It changed mine.

The Communities That Shaped Me

Girl Scouts: Where Personal Growth Begins

I grew up a Girl Scout. And I know that might sound quaint, but the truth is, that’s where I first experienced what happens when girls are given space to lead without being told to tone it down. We learned how to set goals, manage money (hello, cookie sales), work as a team, and show up for each other. It was my first empowerment group, even if nobody called it that at the time.

My mom was actually our troop leader for a while, which is something I think about often now. She was modeling community leadership before I had the language for it. She was showing me that women show up for each other, not because they have extra time, but because it matters.

Bryn Mawr College: Surrounded by Women Who Believed

One of the most transformative experiences of my life was attending Bryn Mawr College, an all-women’s college outside of Philadelphia. I was surrounded by smart, ambitious women and supported by educators who genuinely believed in us. There was no competing with men for airtime in class. There was no being talked over. There was just the expectation that you had something valuable to contribute, and the encouragement to figure out what that was.

That community didn’t just change my college years. It’s continued to support me through decades of friendship. Bryn Mawr alums have become clients, referral sources, thought partners, and some of my closest friends. When I started my business, fellow Mawrters showed up. When I lost my mom last year, they showed up again. That is the power of a women’s support network that holds you across every season of life.

If you’ve never experienced that kind of environment, where you’re expected to be capable and brilliant and supported in becoming both, I want you to know: it’s not too late to find it.

NAWBO: Community as a Business Strategy

As I built my financial planning practice, I got actively involved with NAWBO, the National Association of Women Business Owners. This wasn’t just networking for the sake of collecting business cards. NAWBO gave me a women’s empowerment network of business owners who understood the specific challenges of building a company as a woman. The loneliness of entrepreneurship. The pressure to do everything yourself. The guilt of choosing work over being present for your kids on a random Tuesday.

Being part of NAWBO taught me something I now teach other women: your network is a financial asset. The relationships you build, the women who refer you, the colleagues who become collaborators, that’s not separate from your financial plan. It IS part of your financial plan. Financial empowerment doesn’t happen in isolation. The women I’ve met through NAWBO have become some of my most trusted referral partners and sounding boards for major business decisions.

Called to Lead: The Room That Changes Everything

More recently, I’ve gotten involved with Called to Lead, a women’s leadership movement created by Kelly Roach and Sandi Glandt. I was a sponsor last year, and I’m thrilled to be sponsoring again in 2026. The live event takes place October 1 in Boca Raton, and it’s exactly the kind of room I’m describing in this article: ambitious, generous women who are building something meaningful and want to do it alongside other women who get it.

But here’s what makes Called to Lead different from a typical conference. When you purchase your ticket, you don’t just attend a one-day event. You become part of the Called to Lead community for the entire year. That includes monthly virtual networking sessions, pop-up events across the country, and ongoing connection with women who are serious about growth, leadership, and impact.

I’m personally hosting the virtual networking session in September, and this summer I’m co-hosting a pop-up event in Chicago with a couple of my colleagues in July. These are the kinds of experiences that turn acquaintances into collaborators and collaborators into lifelong friends.

If you’re looking for a women’s empowerment network that combines world-class business strategy with genuine community, Called to Lead is one I can personally vouch for. Click here to grab your ticket.

Why Women’s Circles and Communities Work Differently

I’ve been in co-ed professional groups. I’ve been in rooms where I was the only woman at the table. And I can tell you from experience that something shifts when women are in a room together without having to perform, compete, or explain themselves.

Women’s circles create space for a different kind of honesty. The kind where you can say “I don’t understand my 401(k) and I’m embarrassed about it” and nobody flinches. The kind where someone shares a win and the room celebrates instead of competing. The kind where asking for help is treated as a strength, not a weakness.

Research backs this up. Studies on community-based women’s empowerment programs have found that participants don’t just gain knowledge for themselves. They share it with others in their networks, creating a ripple effect that extends far beyond the original group. When one woman gets financially confident, she talks to her sister, her daughter, her best friend. That’s how real change scales.

What to Look for in a Women’s Support Network

Not every group is the right fit. I’ve been in communities that energized me and communities that drained me. Here’s what I’ve learned to look for after decades of experience:

Shared values, not just shared demographics. Being in a room full of women isn’t enough if the culture is competitive or performative. Look for communities that prioritize honesty, generosity, and mutual support over status.

Education with application. The best empowerment groups don’t just talk about personal growth in the abstract. They give you tools, frameworks, and accountability to actually implement what you’re learning.

Space for the whole you. The communities that have mattered most in my life didn’t require me to show up polished and put together. They let me show up grieving, confused, excited, overwhelmed, all of it. If a group only wants your highlight reel, it’s not a real community.

A mix of learning and connection. Workshops and seminars matter, but so do the conversations that happen after the formal programming ends. The best women’s support networks create opportunities for both structured learning and genuine relationship building.

Mentorship and Female Leadership Within Community

One of the things I valued most at Bryn Mawr was the relationship between students and professors. It wasn’t hierarchical in the traditional sense. There was a genuine investment in our growth as future leaders. That experience shaped how I think about mentorship and female leadership development today.

Good mentorship doesn’t require a formal program (though those can be wonderful). It requires someone who’s a few steps ahead of you and willing to be honest about what the road actually looks like. Not the curated version. The real one, including the failures, the pivots, and the moments of doubt.

My mom was my first mentor in this way. She didn’t have all the answers, but she had wisdom, a calm presence, and the financial wherewithal to help me think things through. After I lost her, I realized how many women don’t have that person. Someone they can call when they’re facing a financial decision and just need a sounding board.

That realization is a big part of why I created The Empowered Sisterhood. I wanted to build the kind of women’s circle where every woman has access to that sounding board, whether she’s navigating a divorce, making her first investment, negotiating a raise, or just trying to figure out what comes next.

Building Your Support Circle: Where to Start

If you don’t currently have a strong circle of women supporting you, that’s not a character flaw. It’s just something you haven’t built yet. Here’s where I’d start:

Get clear on what you need. Are you looking for professional connections? Emotional support during a transition? Financial empowerment and education? Accountability for your goals? Knowing what you need helps you find the right fit.

Show up before you feel ready. I was terrified the first time I walked into a NAWBO meeting. I didn’t feel successful enough to be there. I went anyway. That’s how it works. You don’t wait until you feel like you belong. You show up, and belonging follows.

Invest in the relationship. The women who have mattered most in my life are the ones I’ve shown up for consistently, not just when I needed something. Community is a two-way street. Give before you ask.

Look for communities that combine education and connection. The empowerment groups that have had the biggest impact on my personal growth didn’t just offer networking or just offer learning. They offered both. That combination is where real transformation happens.

The Empowered Sisterhood: A Women’s Empowerment Network Built from Experience

Everything I’ve experienced in women’s communities, from Girl Scouts to Bryn Mawr to NAWBO, taught me what’s possible when women are surrounded by the right support circle. The Empowered Sisterhood is my attempt to create that same kind of container for women who are ready to take control of their financial lives but don’t want to do it alone.

Inside the Sisterhood, we’re raising the bar on financial literacy through the Intentional Money Method™, a framework built on six pillars: clarity, values, mindset, strategy, action, and support. But it’s so much more than a financial empowerment program. It’s a community where you can be honest about where you are, get practical guidance on where you want to go, and be surrounded by women who are on the same journey.

Our members have gained clarity on their complete financial picture, started investing with confidence, negotiated raises, and made career moves aligned with their values. But the thing they tell me matters most? They don’t feel alone in it anymore.

If you’re looking for a women’s support network that will hold you and lift you up, where you can bring your questions, your doubts, and your ambitions without judgment, I’d love to have you join us. You can learn more at watchherthrive.co.

The right community won’t just change your financial life. It will change how you see yourself. I know because it happened to me.

And I’m still becoming.