Several months ago, I wrote a column entitled, "Women Building Women." It evolved from my belief that I had about urging women everywhere to share their financial wisdom, insight, and intuition with each other to help take financial control of their lives and their futures.

Little did I realize that those words would touch a nerve among such a number of women. The size of the response has convinced me that Women Building Women (WBW) has the potential to be a national or even international organization. And I've already begun to move it in that direction.

By working together, men and women can make a difference for women in all facets of their lives.

WBW is about empowerment. It's about getting women to understand the power they have financially, emotionally, and instinctively and to act on those assets. That means using their collective skills, wisdom, and intuition to invest in various sectors of the real estate market and achieve a return on their investment.

It's also about women sharing their knowledge and positive attitude to encourage other women who are still in the process of internalizing that sense of power and self-confidence to act. Finally, WBW is being clear about your goals and taking responsibility to succeed as well as becoming aware of what I call "negative cultural conversations" that have limited women's belief in themselves for too long and replacing those voices with positive affirmation. It's time for women to catch up to their male counterparts in the investment game.

If this is your initial foray into the real estate investment arena, you couldn't have chosen a more profitable time to get involved. Thanks to the subprime mortgage debacle, it's a buyer's/investor's market.

It can still be a hot market for house owners looking for somewhere to invest their equity. For sellers, my best advice is to hang in there. We haven't seen the bottom yet.

From a kernel of an idea only six months ago, WBW today is becoming a dynamic nonprofit organization committed to the idea of helping women not only to be financially self-sufficient but to share the wealth -- financially and educationally -- with other women throughout the United States. WBW intends to facilitate and be a catalyst for women finding each other and creating what they need to succeed.

On the other hand, WBW will NOT encourage or enable women to continue the conundrum of "doing it all, all at once." From personal experience, I know that the only thing you get out of being all things to all people is exhausted, with nothing left over for yourself.

One area that I am particularly excited about and that is connected with Women Building Women is the development of separate groups of women investors that I've named Women Building Wealth. I've organized two of these groups in Connecticut and New York with 15 women (eight in one group; seven in the other) who are each investing $25K. My goal with Women Building Wealth going forward is to be a catalyst for groups like this all over the country.

Women Building Wealth investment clubs are a business growth opportunity. When I last checked, the National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC) reported nearly 90,000 investment clubs around the U.S. and one million members. Women account for nearly 67 percent of NAIC's members and the majority invest in real estate.

I envision "Women Building Wealth" investment clubs as a chance to help smart, determined women -- sorry, gentlemen, these are for ladies only -- achieve financial success and freedom through real estate investing. Its members will share their talents and skills to guide each other to financial independence thereby empowering each other, their families, and other key people in their sphere of influence.

Membership in each club is limited to 11 investors, at least 21 years of age, with a minimum of $25,000 to invest within six months of joining. As with any investment opportunity, there is no guarantee of return and the investors must be willing to accept the risk of losing her initial investment. We welcome the seasoned investor as well as the newcomer, and seek women with initiative and the motivation to grow personally as well as financially. WBW clubs invest primarily in luxury properties under construction or renovation, and located in prestigious residential communities, either established or on the way up.

Though still in its infancy, Women Building Women has an array of programs and seminars we intend to roll out shortly. They include:

• Separate workshops for mothers and daughters: "Self-esteem for Tweens and Teens" for daughters; and "Is Your Daughter a Queen Bee or a Wannabee?" for mothers. Both groups come together to share a meal and important takeaways at the conclusion of both sessions.

• Re-entering the Workforce for Stay-At-Home Moms: resume building, interview skills and how to dress for success.

• What's your Mantra: An Introduction to Meditation and Yoga for Daily practice.

• "Women Building Wealth" Investment Clubs.

These programs will feature speakers and facilitators who are experts in their given field. They will include authors, entrepreneurs, executives and professionals from the fields of finance, career coaching, health and beauty, fitness and spirituality.

I'm particularly proud of Women Building Wealth. It is fast becoming a network of women's investment clubs similar to the one I joined more than twenty years ago when I had my first success in the real estate business. We launched this initiative within the last two months and already we have two active clubs; one in Manhattan and one in Fairfield County, Connecticut. I have plans to take the concept of these clubs nationwide with the next chapters planned for Texas and California.

Another unique quality of "Women Building Women" investment clubs is its leadership-training ethos. Each club elects a leadership team consisting of the President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer, a three-person membership committee, and a two-person investment Scouting team. The two remaining members of the club are considered leaders-in-training. They are expected to be willing to assume one of the leadership roles in subsequent years in the event a member of the leadership team becomes unable to fulfill her duties.

In other words, our goal is to operate these clubs like a small, dynamic enterprise where everyone operates as an integral player in the business and where everyone pulls her weight. It's a business model more companies should emulate.

My motto is: "Believe, Create, Achieve."