Beth Meixner

As an avid networker with a passion for people, Beth's vision was to create a unique women's organization that promotes generations of women in business. In 2008, Beth founded Moxxie Network, a member-based network of senior-level women from the corporate, nonprofit, academic and entrepreneurial fields. In 2012, Beth established Moxxie Mentoring Foundation Inc, a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation whose mission is to support and foster the career advancement and leadership development of young women. Moxxie has been voted the #1 Network for two consecutive years by the LI Business News’ Reading Rankings.

In her previous sales & marketing position, Beth did a tremendous amount of networking and truly enjoyed it. She, however, became increasingly disenchanted because she wasn’t meeting the people she needed to meet – people who were decision makers, people who could write checks and people who could hire others.  There were also countless women’s networking groups (many of which started 25-40 years ago), and she assumed their mission was to promote women in business. "Sure they had good speakers and I enjoyed myself at the events – but shouldn’t there be more? Shouldn’t we be addressing the lack of women in leadership positions? Shouldn’t we be discussing ways to support and develop each other as well as the young generation of women?" she thought. 

In the fall of 2008 just when the financial crisis hit, Beth quit her job and started Moxxie Network. Her idea was not to form another women’s networking group but rather to build a network of senior-level women; a women’s business community. After 12 months of developing a small member base, she began their first mentoring program for female college students called Jr Moxxie. The next year they developed a group mentoring program for young professional women called Ms Moxxie. 

The mentoring programs grew and after much consideration, she made the decision to take all the mentoring out of Moxxie Network and create a 501c3 nonprofit. Its mission was to support and foster the career advancement and leadership development of young women through generational mentoring. In 2012, Moxxie Mentoring Foundation Inc was established. It doesn’t stop there, however, they also invite men into the community through various events and mentoring programs.

Beth has done several presentations on the Art of Networking and understands the objection and fear that many people have. To make networking less intimidating she suggests:

1. Hone your 10 second and 30 second elevator pitch. And practice it on others.
2. Arrive early and stay late – the best networking does not happen during the program.
3. End your conversation with a future. Such as: I’ll email you that article we discussed;  I’ll send you that person’s contact information or I’ll meet you here next month.
4. Find an anchor in the room (a person, the coffee station, etc) rather that wondering aimlessly and feeling lost. When someone comes along, introduce yourself and make small talk. Tell them it's your first time here and would they mind introducing you to people. Most people want to help others so don’t be afraid to ask.
5.  Look for tables that have a few empty seats and ask if you can sit there. NEVER sit at an empty table.
6.  Bring a colleague for support and go with the intent of meeting new people and possibly separating during the event
7. Walk in with a positive mindset that you could meet someone remarkable. No one wants to hang out with a Debbie Downer so smile and exude confidence and professionalism. 

Moxxie is an incredible organization, and there are so many ways to get involved in any capacity, as a member or guest speaker for Moxxie Network or as a mentor, mentee, or volunteer with Moxxie Mentoring Foundation.  You can visit their two websites at MoxxieNetwork.com and MoxxieMentoring.org for detailed information about everything they offer and all upcoming events.