Networking for Love & Profit

This single entrepreneur used the strategies that helped her launch her business to find Mr. Right.

By Ashley Pier

When Amy Schoen, founder of Heartmind Connection Coaching, was a busy single entrepreneur with her own clothing boutique, she realized that if she wanted to meet Mr. Right, she had to make time for it as she would for any business project. She hired a store manager to help with some of the responsibilities and free her up for more social activities and networking events.

“My business was very female-oriented, but at networking events I would ask women I knew if they knew anyone who was available and interested in dating,” Schoen says.

Putting herself on the dating market by joining several singles groups resulted in a happy marriage after a six-month engagement to her current husband. Schoen closed her boutique in 2003 and started Heartmind Connection Coaching after a career counselor suggested that she combine life-coaching with her past experiences. She has plenty of success stories to share about people she has coached finding dates while networking for business.

“If you meet someone at a conference, ask questions about the speaker or the workshop, like what they got out of it,” Schoen says. “When it comes to talking about businesses, ask them what it’s like for them and what got them started in the first place. If that goes well, ask them out for a cup of coffee or a casual lunch.”

Schoen urges businesswomen seeking a relationship to put themselves in places where they will meet men with compatible lifestyles, such as alumni club meetings, lectures and sports teams. She recommends coming up with a strategy to make the necessary time and effort.

“Today women are up front. Men find that refreshing,” Schoen says. “Guys like independent women who take a direct approach.”