DPWN expects you to attend the chapter meetings so you can build the relationships necessary for your success. DPWN expects you to pass an average of two qualified internal and/or 3rd party referrals to each meeting and to bring qualified guests in the desired categories. DPWN expects you to be ethical, professional and experienced in your line of work. DPWN expects you to help all of your sister members to be successful as they are expected to do for you.

Depending on the nature of your business, it may take a bit of time to earn the trust of your chapter members, to become adept in the networking arena, to learn to promote yourself and your business with ease. If you expect instant reward, DPWN is not for you. If you want to build long-standing business relationships that will earn you qualified referrals for years to come, then DPWN is for you.

Actually DPWN believes that in addition to your DPWN membership, you should be an active member of your local Chamber. Your Chamber of Commerce is good for your business and your community. The difference though between a Chamber and your DPWN chapter is exclusivity and the level of the relationship you build. You “own” your category when you join DPWN and your competition is excluded from your chapter. Chambers, by their very nature, cannot exist without being inclusive. You will also cultivate stronger and deeper bonds with the women of your chapter because of the level of loyalty you build with them.

Because we focus on actively generating business for the other members of our chapter and know that they are doing the same for us, we encourage guests to visit our meetings for the purpose of joining our family. Members are discouraged from referring business to guests because of this mutual objective. For this reason we have created a policy where visitors may visit the same DPWN chapter twice or may visit two different DPWN chapters once.

A visitor may visit the same DPWN chapter twice or a visitor may visit two different DPWN chapters once in a 12-month period.

To ensure that you are able to support the sister members of your chapter as well as they are supporting you, DPWN membership is reserved for women who do not belong to another category exclusive referral group.

Your fee’s provide you with exclusive category representation within your chapter and help support your chapter. DPWN provides the process, tools, resources, administrative and support services required to help you and your chapter members generate quality referrals and business for each other. Your fees pay for the supplies you use each week in your meeting, training and communicating with the membership and Leadership Team, the Corporate Office that supports your chapter as well as the functionality and maintenance of the www.OurDPWN.com website.

Chapter meetings are run on an efficient agenda which will allow each member the opportunity to give their business infomercial at each meeting and on a rotational basis, to give an in-depth presentation to additionally educate the members on how to support you. (The total number of presentations you give each year depends on the size of your chapter)

Referrals are critical to every member’s success. Members are encouraged to bring qualified internal and/or 3rd party referrals to every meeting. Qualified referrals are those which have complete contact information on them and that have been pre-arranged.

DPWN recommends a chapter’s capacity to be at 25 members and should not exceed 30 members to ensure every member has sufficient time to promote their business and learn about the other members.

The makeup and dynamics of each chapter does vary, but the members are all entrepreneurial women who either own their own business or work for a business and are looking to increase their clientele. To ensure a good balance in the membership, each chapter can only have a maximum of 25% of its membership belonging to direct selling organizations.

Members are prohibited from attempting to recruit other members and/or guests for the purpose of growing their business during their chapter meeting.

To ensure that you are able to support the sister members of your chapter as well as they are supporting you, chapter membership is only available to one chapter for each member.

DPWN provides exclusive category representation to its members from a defined category list. Members are required to remain focused on the category of their chosen membership and may only represent an additional category with another paid membership.

Since DPWN only accepts one representative of any professional discipline, it is not unusual to find your category filled in the chapter location you desire. At this point you have two options: you can find an alternate chapter to join or you can contact the director of the chapter you are interested in to be placed on a waiting list.

There is a one-time registration fee of $50.00 and a $300.00 yearly membership fee. If you want more exposure, you may want to consider a Professional Member to get those additional benefits. Your individual membership selection will be handled at the chapter level and will be administrated by the Leadership Team of that chapter to determine any category and/or networking conflicts, to determine if the applicant in working their business on a full time basis, and to determine if the objective of the applicant supports the objectives of the organization. You can apply online, but your chapter Leadership Team may still want you to complete the qualification questions on the bottom of the paper application. When applying, your payment must be submitted for application to be considered. Payment will be returned for all denied applicants.

Yes, fees may be paid on or before the due date with a company check or credit card. However, if your company does pay for your fees, be advised that a DPWN membership is issued to an individual not a company. The person who completes and signs the DPWN Chapter Membership Application is the member of record.

Although DPWN is a women’s only membership organization, men are welcome to attend as a guest or as a substitute for a current chapter member.  Visitor policies apply equally to men which is a visitor may visit the same DPWN chapter twice or a visitor may visit two different DPWN chapters once.

Representing multiple categories is not appropriate. It hinders the growth of your chapter because members are not likely to bring in visitors if they think they are crossing your category. In addition, it will reduce your access to qualified leads because the members may be confused about what you really do.

Many businesses provide products and services that cover more than one business category or that fall outside of their core business. The result is you may have products and services that cross with another members or an un-represented category. When you join DPWN you select the business category that best represents your core business or the part of your business you want to promote and grow. Promoting only your core business to your DPWN members does not prevent or preclude you from selling all your products and services to the clients referred to you by your fellow DPWN members outside of the DPWN meeting.

If you change professions, or change the focus of your current business you may change categories within your current chapter, if that category is open. Keep in mind that when you change categories, you may no longer represent your old category and your old category becomes available for any new or existing member. You may also experience a period of time where you do not receive leads as the members need time to acquaint themselves to your new focus. To initiate this change, a new application must be submitted to your chapter director along with the professional business card and applicable administrative fees.

Most chapters pay the restaurant for each person in attendance. Even if it’s not mandatory to eat, a minimum fee will be required to pay the restaurant for the proper head count.

If you drop from your DPWN chapter in good standing you may be eligible to rejoin a DPWN chapter after a six month waiting period. Applications for Members wishing to rejoin a DPWN chapter must be reviewed and approved by the DPWN Corporate office.

DPWN membership is for individuals and may not be sold or transferred to another individual. If you wish to have someone take your place when you leave your chapter, that individual must go through the standard application process and pay their own membership fee.

While we wish we could allow this, it would undermine DPWN’s ability to guarantee a non-competitive atmosphere and chapter growth potential.

Yes. Introducing a visitor to DPWN is the best way to grow your network and your business. You are encouraged to bring visitors from businesses not currently represented in your chapter. A visitor may visit the same DPWN chapter twice or a visitor may visit two different DPWN chapters once.

If a visitor’s category is currently represented in the chapter, the visitor may come in as a “Silent Visitor”. The visitor may only observe the meeting activity. The host should introduce the visitor explain that the visitor is just there to observe your DPWN meeting. The visitor should be given a DPWN brochure and should be assisted to find a chapter better fit for them. They may also visit the www.OurDPWN.com website or contact their Regional Director or DPWN Corporate office at (888) OUR-DPWN to locate a chapter with an opening for their category.

DPWN knows that sometimes missing a meeting is unavoidable. To insure that you get the most out of your DPWN membership it is important to attend the meetings. The more meetings you attend, the better your chapter members get to know you and your business. The better we know you and your business, the more opportunity we have to pass you quality leads. Members are permitted three absences during each six month term. (January through June and July through December) More than this may terminate membership and open their category. No additional absences will be granted. A leave of absence is available for serious personal illness or injury or activities adversely affecting the chapter dynamics. A leave of absence can only be approved by the Regional office

A leave of absence is given for up to 2-months of non-attendance. It is approved by the corporate office for serious personal illness or injury or activities adversely affecting the chapter dynamics. DPWN chapter members on an approved leave of absence must keep their fees current. Non payment of fees will result in you being dropped from your chapter. A leave of absence can only be approved by the Regional office.

Yes, Members on leave of absence may attend chapter meetings. Attending a meeting will not extend your leave of absence and does not erase accrued absences.

If a member cannot attend, she may send a substitute to the meeting to ensure that they are represented at the meeting and that they will not incur an absence. The substitute should be prepared to participate in the meeting by reciting the member’s infomercial, sharing their promotional materials and by passing and receiving leads. A member may not substitute for another member in another chapter. A substitute can only attend two times in accordance to our guest policy.

Transfers are permitted when a member changes the location of their business or if another chapter opens that may be geographically more convenient for their networking success. Changing chapters must be considered carefully. Although this will give you more exposure to new women, you will lose the relationships you formed from your old chapter. If a member desires to transfer into another chapter, they are to request a Chapter Transfer Form from their Chapter Director, complete the form as directed, agree with the terms outlined in the form and submit it for approval along with any applicable administrative fees.

Yes, you can be asked to forfeit your membership to DPWN for failure to adhere to the terms of the member application and or the Dynamic Professional Women’s Network Policies or Bylaws.
Some reasons include but are not limited to:

• For exceeding the allowed number of absences.

• For representing or promoting anything other than the business category listed on your DPWN Chapter Membership Application.

• For unethical business practices.
• For activities that adversely affect the chapter dynamics.

No. All fees are non-refundable; according to the terms of the DPWN Chapter Membership Application you signed when you joined, so there would not be a refund extended.

Membership renewal is not automatic. All memberships must be reviewed prior to the renewal date of said membership and renewal approval will be based on prior year’s attendance record, referral generation, guest invitations and overall chapter contribution.

You must arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of each meeting. This will give you time prepare for the meeting with the team and greet visitors who often arrive early. You should also be prepared to remain up to 15 minutes after the meeting to review the meeting with your team and speak with visitors or members. Maintaining the chapter’s paperwork, taking prospective members phone calls and communicating with the Regional Director may require additional time outside of the chapter meeting. Maximum time spent on Leadership activities is dependent on the size of your chapter and your dedication to its success.

Yes. We have online training for our Chapter Directors as wll as a very comprehensive leadership manual. Leadership training is mandatory and must be completed before the start of your term and maintained during your leadership. This gives you a full opportunity to learn about the leadership position you’ll be filling, giving you the information you’ll need to have a great leadership experience.

Yes. DPWN is a dynamic and growing organization. Every training session offers new information, ideas and materials to help you run, improve and grow your chapter. Individual training teaches you the roles and responsibilities for your assigned position. Group training helps you understand the dynamics of a DPWN chapter, the role and responsibilities of your team mates, takes you through a typical meeting and provides time and guidance for goal setting. Additionally, these orientation sessions are great networking opportunities for your business.