The new women in business: Little Black Book chapter connects female students with area business owners

Before joining Southeast Missouri State University's chapter of Little Black Book: Women in Business, organizational management major Taylor Kirn says she would not have attended a chamber of commerce meeting.

But with the launch of Southeast's chapter last January, Kirn says the intimidation factor of going to a meeting, especially without knowing anyone, is no longer a concern.

Kirn, 24, is the chapter's president and is earning her master's degree while also raising a 5-year-old.

Through the program, she says, students' eyes have been opened to the business world by giving women of all backgrounds an opportunity to network and share ideas.

Together, the chapter's members attend meetings, workshops and other events, allowing them to meet area business owners. And if a member misses an event, the others are sure to fill them in on what they learned.

"If you would've asked me before Little Black Book if I would ever walk into a chamber meeting by myself, the answer would be, 'Absolutely not,'" Kirn says. "Being able to go in with the girls, and we all had our matching name tags on, really helps kind of comfort everyone, knowing we had somebody there to talk to."

The program also has led to internships for some students who say Little Black Book gave them the opportunity to meet more business owners and professionals.

Dr. Erin Fluegge-Woolf, a professor of management at Southeast, says it has always been her dream to start a women's organization on campus. So when she learned about the not-for-profit Little Black Book, she didn't hesitate to help launch the organization's first collegiate chapter that will serve as a blueprint for other interested universities.

Little Black Book began in Wentzville, Missouri, in 2012, when its co-founders, Angel Magasano and Tess Henley, were discussing the challenges of trying to run a business while also running a family and home.

The main topic was their inability to commit to existing networking groups because of their hectic work and family schedules and the costs and commitment required by existing groups, the organization's website says.

Then the women came up with the idea to form Little Black Book. Its mission is to provide helpful strategies and purposeful networking events that focus on balancing the often demanding life of a woman in business. Little Black Book also helps the community through charitable giving opportunities.

"It's just a really amazing organization," Fluegge-Woolf says. "It's doing lots of great things. And all the business owners and entrepreneurs who collaborate together, they're not competing against each other. They're learning new sales tricks or they have workshops where they learn more about different tips for social media. You name it, they do all of it."

Shannon Hoff, a senior at Southeast, is earning a bachelor's degree in management before becoming a graduate student in the MBA program -- all while raising a child. She then hopes to go to law school.

Hoff, 24, is the Little Black Book chapter's vice president and has been involved since the program's launch at Southeast.

"Basically, it has led to some really great connections for me," Hoff says, adding the chapter helped her land an internship at Statler Law Firm in Cape Girardeau.

Little Black Book has more than 60 members in western St. Charles County, Missouri, and at Southeast, which has about 12 members who gather once a month. The organization also plans to host more chapters in Missouri and Ohio by the end of 2015.

Fluegge-Woolf says some of Southeast's members are mothers, some are just starting graduate school and others have a few more years of school to go.

"It's a very eclectic and diverse but fabulous group of women," she says.

Members of the Southeast chapter also hope to launch a Cape Girardeau chapter after they graduate, Hoff says.

To learn more about Southeast's chapter of Little Black Book, email erfluegge@semo.edu. Those interested in learning more about the future Cape Girardeau chapter are asked to email tlkirn@outlook.com.