AN ABC News war correspondent who wants to start a Web site for brides-and grooms-to-be. An event planner with aspirations to create an organic soap company. A mortgage banker who is writing a guidebook to New York City's theaters. All these aspiring entrepreneurs have one thing in common: They are led by Beth Schoenfeldt, co-founder of "Ladies Who Launch," to help make their dreams a reality.

These three were part of an eclectic group of women who gathered recently in a loft-like office space in Manhattan's garment district to participate in a Ladies Who Launch "Incubator Group," guided by Schoenfeldt. These group therapy-styled meetings bring together a dozen strangers who together take their first step in realizing their aspirations - by pitching it to the group. They critique each other's ideas, motivate each other, and most of all encourage one another to move forward. And Schoenfeldt is their biggest cheerleader.

Schoenfeldt's office is overflowing with proof of the enterprises Ladies Who Launch helped … well, launch - from eye-catching handbags, scarves, jewelry, art, and books, to more obscure items like CitiKitty, a cat toilet training kit. Schoenfeldt, an attractive, tall and slim 38-year-old, gets up from her desk and twirls around, modeling a dress made by Kathlin Argiro, another Lady Who Launches. How's that for support?

A Step a Day Toward a Dream

"Ladies Who Launch is just about that, launching. It's about going for something, having a dream, and taking a step toward that dream. If you take one step toward your dream every day, your life will get better and better. I did. And I wake up every day excited about what I'm doing," she explained. "We have a group of phenomenal women who come together to make things happen. I just got an e-mail yesterday that said, 'Ladies Who Launch has been the most empowering experience I've had outside of having my children.' Now that's amazing, to think you're having such an impact and influence on someone's life."

Ladies Who Launch is a place for women who want to start their own companies to network and get focused. It's the "My Space" for women entrepreneurs, Schoenfeldt said. Here's what it's not about: the nuts and bolts of starting a business, financing, or writing a business plan. It's about inspiring, building confidence, and connecting people.

Each week participants are given homework, such as to get the description of their product or service down to a shorter than two-minute elevator speech, and practice it on at least 10 people. Other assignments: write a press release about their enterprise, and list the top 10 reasons someone should purchase their product. The results of these assignments are then bounced off the others in the Incubator, "their own personal think tank," as Schoenfeldt refers to it.

Launching Ladies Who Launch

Founded by two refugees from the corporate world, attorney Victoria Colligan and Columbia M.B.A. graduate Schoenfeldt, Ladies Who Launch brings together both aspiring and established female business owners. It was started out of necessity, said Schoenfeldt.

"Victoria and I were looking for a place to go and network with women who wanted to combine success and lifestyle. We couldn't find an organization out there that spoke to us … an organization whose main focus was on women launching," she explained. So they got together more than three years ago and did something about it.

Today, Ladies Who Launch Incubator Groups - a four-week program costing $300 - have spread to 22 cities across the country. Incubator "graduates" have the option of paying $500 for a full-year membership to join the group, which gives them access to larger peer groups. Meetings, events, and/or parties, are held at least once a month. In New York alone, some 150 women are members.

That's just the beginning. Colligan and Schoenfeldt are working on a book, Ladies Who Launch - The Essential Guidebook to Launching Anything and Everything, to be published in January of 2007 by St. Martin's Press. There are more than 20,000 subscribers to the Ladies Who Launch free weekly e-mail that highlights a successful woman and her lifestyle. More than 100,000 people visit the Ladies Who Launch Web site (www.ladieswholaunch.com) every month. And corporations are taking note, with State Farm Insurance, Naturalizer Shoes, American Greetings, Equinox Fitness Clubs, Avon Salon & Spa in Trump Tower, and Commerce Bank signing on as Ladies Who Launch sponsors.

Colligan and Schoenfeldt are clearly on to something. According to the Center for Women's Business Research, women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men. Plus, according to the Center, one in 11 adult women is an entrepreneur. "Seventy-five percent of our members are entrepreneurs. Others work in the corporate world but would like to launch something some day. Still others are artists, writers, and creative people," she explained.

Members read like a "Who's Who" of female business owners. There is Lillian Vernon, founding chairman of mail-order giant Lillian Vernon Corporation; best-selling author Barbara Taylor Bradford; Julie Aigner-Clark, founder of Baby Einstein, the popular videos that entertain little ones with classical music, puppets, and poetry; Sara Blakely, founder of undergarment company Spanx. But what makes Ladies Who Launch unique is that heads of multimillion-dollar corporations rub elbows during events with those who are just starting out in the world of business.

And not all entrepreneurs aspire to lead Fortune 500 companies.

It's the independence most crave, the desire to break the bureaucratic chains. Many would be happy to make between $50,000 to $100,000 a year, said Schoenfeldt.

A nationwide survey of readers of the Ladies Who Launch weekly e-mail revealed that women launch for more freedom and flexibility, said Schoenfeldt. "Launching is good for self-esteem, creativity, and happiness," she noted. More results from this survey will be published in their upcoming book. Inspired by a Mentor Schoenfeldt experienced corporate bureaucracy firsthand as the director of education development for cosmetics giant Clinique. A creative, independent spirit at heart, it may have been a much shorter stint than the five years she was there, if it wasn't for Sherry Harris, vice president of human resources and education, and the head of her department. Not only was Harris her mentor, but her inspiration as well, she said.

"She would tell me to embrace my creativity, not stifle it. She thought it was an asset and I in turn started to think it was an asset. If I hadn't had Sherry as my mentor, I wouldn't have developed confidence in my creativity. She encouraged me to be very creative, something that is not often allowed in corporate America. She is a perfectionist who has the highest standards and when she started to believe in me, I started to believe in myself. She allowed me to be who I was." Schoenfeldt left Clinique to join ibeauty.com, an Internet startup company that is no longer in existence. "It was a crazy, chaotic, sink-or-swim environment. There was no leadership in place at all. There was no one to tell you what to do or how to do it. I loved it. I became successful and thrived. It led me to where I am now. I would have never known this was my forte if I stayed in corporate America."

Passionate to a Fault

Today, Schoenfeldt leads six employees in the Manhattan office of Ladies Who Launch as well as 22 Incubator Leaders based across the country.

"A leader is somebody who is very passionate and enthusiastic. That's so important. People can't help but be behind you and around you if you're that way. A good leader is also a good listener. They allow people to discover their talents and go in that direction. Openness, vision, and enthusiasm are important as well," she noted. An employee called out from an adjoining space, "Beth is also inspirational, motivated, positive, and oh, so energetic."

She is a big proponent of taking care of yourself. "I do a lot of yoga. I have spent a lot of time getting myself clear and in a good place. I'm constantly learning and improving," she said. She emphasizes this to all those future entrepreneurs who come through her door. "In order to have an enjoyable ride on this entrepreneurial journey we're on, you have to have fun," she told one recent Incubator Group. "You'll never get through your to-do list when you're a business owner. If you do, you should worry. You're not thinking big enough."

She stresses the importance of treating yourself at least once a day: "Yoga, a massage, a manicure, a pedicure, getting my hair done, the only constant in my day is that I will do at least one good thing for myself."

Schoenfeldt is extremely confident in who she is. "Ladies Who Launch is about knowing who you are and being who you are. I know who I am, what I believe, and am passionate to a fault. Similarly, Ladies Who Launch attracts very motivated, creative, giving, generous women. Not everyone would like our group. We're not trying to be anything we are not."

Andrea Doyle is Convene's senior writer. The Leading by Example series is sponsored by the Canadian Tourism Commission. Visit its Web site at www.CanadaMeetings.com.