In the New York Times, Adriana Gardella blogs about women doing business with women, and how they help each other out. Perhaps we could learn a thing or two about how women network to do business with each other. Of course, as some of our readers have pointed out, men and women don’t do business in the same manner, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use some of the same tools.

So how do women do it?

Here’s a hint as to how women’s networking operates:

You raised important points, many of which relate to topics that will be considered in future posts. Among them is the issue of women doing business with other women. For example, Janet commented:

“One of the things I have noticed is that a lot of my work comes from other women. It’s not that I consciously focus on women as prospective clients or colleagues, but somehow that’s what tends to happen. I wonder whether other women business owners have had similar experiences.”

It seems that women deliberately favor each other in business and referrals. They have a network.

In fact, Gardella’s blog itself, which she calls “She Owns It,” is intended to be a networking platform:

With this blog, I hope to highlight the challenges and successes of women who are business owners and entrepreneurs across industries and disciplines, and at many different stages in the growth of their businesses. I think the women we highlight will be sources of information, inspiration and connections to your peers. She Owns It is intended to help you reach your business goals, whether that means getting your tech start-up financed, earning a spot for your consumer product on Costco’s shelves, making your first hire or conducting less painful layoffs.

Most important, it will be a conversation. I want to hear from you and provide a forum in which you can connect with other owners. This blog will be what we make it, and I look forward to beginning this adventure with you. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below, or, if you prefer, by e-mail ([email protected]) and please follow me on Twitter, where I hope we can connect and work to develop the stories that are most important to you.

There’s nothing revolutionary here. Networking is how you do business. It’s very difficult for anyone – man or woman – to get off the ground without connecting with others. It might even be impossible.

I’ll let you all in on a little secret: I use women’s networking lists, and have made money off them. I simply subscribe to the lists (it would be illegal for them to exclude men, and I’d simply use a gender-neutral email in that case anyway), and look through them from time to time for leads. You’d be surprised how many companies post to these lists looking for services.

Companies might not do the same for a men’s list, but guys could easily post leads and tips, helping each other out and passing info along.

I think someone ought to start a men’s version of Digital Eve, or something along those lines.