What if the next opportunity to grow your career, build your business or reach your biggest goal isn’t about meeting more people—but building stronger relationships with the people already around you?
That was the challenge Sandra Yancey, founder and CEO of eWomenNetwork, brought to more than 200 women at the Women’s Alliance of McKinney’s 2026 Women’s Business Conference.
Centered on the theme “From Potential to Power: Leaning into Connection & Mentorship,” the annual conference brought together women leaders and professionals for a day focused on the relationships that help women grow personally and professionally.
For Yancey, those relationships have been fundamental to building eWomenNetwork into a $100 million business—and remain central as the company works toward an ambitious goal of growing tenfold in 1,000 days.
The difference between a contact and a connection
Yancey asked attendees to think about all the names stored in their phones—and then consider a much smaller number: How many of those people could they call and know they would hear back from within an hour?
That gap, she explained, is the difference between having contacts and having connections.
“A card is a contact. It’s just a name that you’ve gotten,” Yancey told attendees. “A connection is a relationship, and what makes it a relationship is that you have to cultivate it.”
It’s a lesson Yancey learned throughout her career.
After working in corporate America, Yancey moved to North Texas and began networking as she built her own business. She quickly discovered that simply being in a room with the right people wasn’t enough. She needed relationships that could lead to introductions, opportunities and genuine support. That realization eventually helped inspire what became eWomenNetwork.
Five ways to turn contacts into connections
Yancey gave attendees a framework for approaching networking differently: LINKS.
Rather than entering a conversation thinking about what you want someone to know about you, she encouraged women to become genuinely curious about the person in front of them.
Listen. Enter conversations to discover rather than impress. Learn someone’s name, ask about their story and give them your attention.
Inquire. Ask better questions. Instead of the standard “What do you do?” Yancey suggested asking questions like, “What excites you about what you do?” She encouraged attendees to ask people to example, explain and expand on their work and interests.
Notice. Pay attention to the details—the upcoming vacation, a child’s birthday, a new project or something you have in common. Those seemingly small details can become the foundation for a deeper relationship.
Keep track. Make notes about the people you genuinely want to know better. Yancey’s goal isn’t to leave an event with hundreds of new contacts. She told attendees that even 10 strong connections can have an enormous impact on a career or business.
Stay connected. The most important work happens after the event. Yancey challenged attendees to follow up within 48 hours and begin intentionally cultivating the relationships they started that day.
Start with five words
Yancey illustrated the power of that approach through stories from her own career—from relationships that opened doors to major corporate clients to an unexpected friendship with music-industry executive Ken Kragen.
Her approach, she said, consistently comes back to five words:
“How can I help you?”
Instead of entering relationships focused on what she could gain, Yancey described looking for ways to contribute first—whether through an introduction, expertise or simply taking the time to listen.
“Help someone because you help someone,” she told attendees, encouraging them to trust that generosity and genuine relationships create opportunities over time.
It was a message that reflected the heart of this year’s Women’s Business Conference: moving from potential to power doesn’t happen alone.
Sometimes, the most important step isn’t adding another name to your contact list. It’s slowing down long enough to turn the people you meet into relationships that matter.
