ISSUE No. 04 | SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 | IN HER POWER
We talk a lot about growing our networks.
More followers.
More LinkedIn connections.
More people on the mailing list.
More contacts in the phone.
More people in the room.
But I've been thinking about a different question.
How many of those people actually know what you're building?
How many know what opportunity you're looking for?
How many understand what you're brilliant at?
How many would think of your name if the right conversation happened tomorrow?
And perhaps most importantly...
How many of them would you do the same for?
Because that's when a network starts becoming something much more valuable.
I don't think we need to know everybody
Last week I wrote to you about proximity.
About the possibility that sometimes the next level isn't another course, another strategy or another piece of information.
Sometimes it's a different room.
But there's another part of that conversation.
Being in the room isn't enough.
You can attend every event.
Join every community.
Collect hundreds of business cards.
Have thousands of LinkedIn connections.
And still feel like you're building alone.
Because access to people isn't the same as relationship with people.
And I've experienced both.
I've been in very large rooms where nothing changed afterwards.
And I've had one conversation with one person that opened an entirely new line of thinking.
That's why I've become much more interested in the quality of connection than the quantity of contacts.
I don't need everybody to know me.
But I do want the right people to understand:
What am I building?
What do I know?
Where am I going?
Where could we help each other?
That's a very different way to network. 🤎
Natalia x
YOUR NETWORK SHOULD KNOW MORE THAN YOUR JOB TITLE
Here's a little test.
Think about five people in your professional network.
If I called them today and asked:
“What should I call her about?”
What would they say?
Would they know?
That's positioning.
Now imagine I asked:
“What is she trying to build next?”
Would they know that?
That's relationship.
And finally:
“Who would be useful for her to meet?”
Would anything immediately come to mind?
That's proximity beginning to work.
Because opportunities often don't arrive neatly labelled.
They happen in conversations you're not in.
Someone mentions a problem.
A project.
A speaking opportunity.
A contract.
A board position.
A collaboration.
An introduction.
And somebody in that conversation says:
“I know exactly who you should speak to.”
The question is:
Does your name come to mind?
BUT THIS WORKS BOTH WAYS
I don't want us building networks based entirely on:
What can I get?
There's a much more powerful question.
What am I holding that somebody else needs?
An introduction?
Information?
A contact?
Experience?
A lesson?
An opportunity?
A room?
Sometimes we become so focused on trying to reach the person ahead of us that we forget to look beside us.
There may already be a woman in your network whose next opportunity is sitting inside your phone.
And you haven't connected the dots yet.
That's community at its best.
Not simply a collection of people.
People paying attention to one another.
YOUR 15-MINUTE RELATIONSHIP AUDIT
I want you to do something practical this week.
Open your contacts, LinkedIn or WhatsApp.
Choose five people you already know.
Not five people you want something from.
Five genuine relationships.
Now ask:
Do I know what she's building right now?
Do I know what she needs?
Does she know what I'm building?
Does she know what I need?
Is there anybody in my world she should know?
Then choose one person and start a conversation.
No pitch.
No funnel.
No awkward:
“I hope this email finds you well. I'd love to pick your brain.”
😂
Just a human conversation.
“Hey, what are you working on at the moment?"
You might be surprised by what comes from it.
YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS NEXT WEEK 🤎
I've been deliberately talking to you about rooms, proximity and relationships over the last couple of weeks.
There's a reason.
Next week, we're opening the doors to the Top 100 Community.
And I don't want it to become another online group that you join...
introduce yourself...
and then forget exists.
I want women to come into it understanding something:
The value of the room isn't the platform.
It's who's inside it and what we choose to do with the proximity.
There will be different circles.
Different conversations.
Different women at different stages.
And somewhere inside that ecosystem may be somebody you need to know.
But equally...
somebody may need to know you.
I'll tell you everything next Tuesday.
ONE QUESTION BEFORE YOU GO...
Hit reply and finish this sentence:
“Right now, I need to know more women who...”
...have scaled a business.
...understand investment.
...work in corporate.
...are building in Africa.
...understand technology.
...work in media.
...are raising capital.
...are navigating career change.
...are building something similar to me.
Whatever it is.
Tell me.
Because the more we understand who is actually in this community and what women need, the more intentionally we can build the rooms around them.
On Thursday, I'll introduce you to another group of women bringing their expertise into our October Summit.
And on Saturday, we're going Inside Top 100 again — including another look at the very different rooms we're creating, from our global virtual Summit to the much more intimate Legacy Dinner in New York.
Then next Tuesday...
We open the Community.
And I cannot wait to see what happens when you start finding each other.
Until then, stay in your power.
And don't collect another contact this week.
Start a conversation.🤎
Natalia x
Founder, Top 100 Most Powerful Black Women
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