In the highly competitive, hard-driving areas of commercial and residential real estate, women are fast becoming the growing force when it comes to investment and development. And women have an unbreakable bond when it comes to looking out for each other. Because I believe so strongly in that unique bond between women, I am on a mission to create an initiative where women can use the best of their best capabilities, instincts and experiences to strengthen every facet of their lives. I'm calling the initiative, Women Building Women. What exactly do I mean by Women Building Women? From my perspective, it's all about women taking charge of their careers, their lives and their financial futures. There are millions of competent women who are investors, builders and developers among other facets of real estate and they are all making a difference in their own right. With the Women Building Women initiative, they will be recognized. Women Building Women is all about empowerment - about getting women to jump in and get their feet wet. The water's fine. It's about teaching women how to fish, not just giving them the fish. And it's about a wealth-generating network where women share their financial wisdom, insight, investment strategies, and intuition with each other and the men in their lives. Since this issue of Connecticut Real Estate Journal honors women in real estate, I'd like to tell professionals like me, who are carving out success, that together we can launch this Women Building Women initiative. And once we have built the foundation, I know other women like us will want to become involved and offer their own success stories about empowerment at work and in other facets of their lives. The reality is that women have been building women for years, using their instincts to recognize their own potential and that of other women as leaders. I never cease to be amazed by the collective power of any women's movement. Here is how I plan to make Women Building Women work. The most important way will be to leverage the initiative with my own organization, BCA Real Estate Investments. Women Building Women will be related to the goals of BCA Real Estate Investments, which revolve around our philosophy of Believe Create Achieve. Women Building Women will empower women in all areas of their lives to invest in and care about themselves, professionally and personally. We believe if women focus on better health, stronger community and deeper spirituality, care intensely about their children and families and live as equals with the men in their personal and business lives, they will be completely successful. I've already initiated the Women Building Women concept through investment clubs I have organized in New York and Ridgefield, Connecticut and a program called A Second Chance which is for high school-age women from inner cities who are seeking an education. There is no mystique around Women Building Women. Part of the philosophy that I created around BCA Real Estate Investments was to provide women with strong opportunities to become investors. Now I'm moving our mission forward to enable all women to connect with an evolving national women's community. I have already started planning a series of Women Building Women programs beginning in the fall of 2007 and whenever possible, I plan to invest my own dollars in creating better opportunities for women. We are working on a web site and researching various women's organizations to show women where they can make a personal or financial contribution under the Women Building Women name. BCA Real Estate Investments is a limited liability corporation, headquartered in New York and Ridgefield, Conn., whose purpose is to create wealth through real estate investments for individual residential real estate investors. The company conducts regular investment seminars and is currently working on its first two investment projects in Westport and New Canaan. Wanda McPhaden, CRB, CRS, is the executive partner of BCA Real Estate Investments, headquartered in Ridgefield, Conn. and New York City.