When Linda Burhans was seven, she made potholders and sold them door-to-door. A few years later when she was in 4H, she decided she wanted to be the top candy seller. Her little brother just happened to have a broken leg at the time, so she put him in a wagon and pulled him along as she solicited candy sales in her neighborhood and beyond. Not surprisingly, she was the club's top candy seller.
            That same instinct and determination is still alive and well in Linda, who just celebrated her 50th birthday. After starting on day one with two different companies and helping them grow into big businesses, she decided to put her CFO talents to work for her own business. The native of Long Island started a house cleaning business that quickly outgrew the pool of housecleaning people. She sold the business and threw a party on their last day. That spontaneous fest gave birth to her next business venture, The Party Crew, a party and event-planning business that handles everything from invitations to thank you notes, set-up to clean-up, and baby showers to funerals.

            Linda's husband of 32 years, Tom, is her partner in the business, after a career in construction. His availability to do payroll, manage employees, cook, and run errands means Linda is free to pursue her other meaningful work, the founding and operating of a new networking group for women.
            Linda started Professional Women emPower (PWP), called the "un-networking" group, in Pinellas County in October 2002 and by the end of 2003, additional chapters had formed in Hillsborough and Pasco counties. In its first year, PWP meetings hosted 5,000 women and its Website attracted 470,000 visitors.
            Linda attributes its quick success to some differences from traditional networking groups. "We don't limit each category of work to only one member. We may have two or three or more realtors, for example, who attend the same networking meeting each week. Believe me, this is not a problem. On the contrary, it reinforces the value of working together and cooperation, rather than looking at everything competitively," Linda says. Also, members are not chastised if they miss meetings or if they arrive late or need to leave early. Membership fees are low and membership includes a full-page ad on PWP's Website.

            Linda Burhans couldn't be happier. "More than anything, I want to motivate and inspire women to be the best they can be. Your power is in your thoughts. Sometimes, you need a little handholding to take the action to make those thoughts reality.
            "I'm so thrilled that my granddaughter will grow up being surrounded by strong, positive women. There will be so many more opportunities for her just as there are so many more opportunities for women now than even ten years ago."