Local small-business owners Jennifer Ross and Eileen Weilbacher first met at a networking event at the Small Business Development Center in Stony Brook last year.

“Something was wrong with me; I wasn’t effectively networking,” Jennifer remembers. “I felt like a fish out of water. But, when I walk, my creativity comes out.”

I walk and talk with my clients,” Eileen adds. “They open up more about things you didn’t necessarily think about when meeting inside. We [Jennifer and I] like the activity and the outdoors.”

Jennifer says, “I have always been very conscious of health and diet. When I first met Eileen, who is a holistic health counselor, we talked about how to feed my kids healthy foods. We scheduled to meet [again] for a walk at the Holtsville Ecology Center.”

Networking and activity were two things that Jennifer and Eileen had in common, and after their “walk and talk,” they launched ActivEntrepreneur (AE), a business networking group for entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs striving to lead active, healthy and eco-friendly lives.

“We established the name and put an ad in the [New York] Times,” Jennifer recalls. They received a call from a woman from California who loved the concept. Jennifer and Eileen weren’t expecting to branch out that fast, but felt that this was their time. So they went ahead with the California trademark and franchise agreement, and have since added a Massachusetts AE chapter.

The LI chapter now has more than 70 members, and their monthly networking events include walking, hiking, volleyball, dancing, yoga and other activities.

“We want people to connect off-line instead of on a conference call, to communicate through activity,” Jennifer explains. Eileen agrees: “Our biggest mission is to get people up and moving.”

There is no typical member, but AE seeks people with an entrepreneurial spirit. Eileen says, “It’s completely diverse. People have a lot of things going on in their lives.”

Jennifer, a “hybrid mom” of three, is the founder and president of Intuitive Marketing, Inc. in Farmingville, and is involved in marketing strategy, consulting and career development. She is also a marketing strategist for Vocation Vacations, whose mission is to enable you to test-drive your dream job. “I try to find companies to work with that I believe in,” she says.

Eileen, a self-described health and food adventurer, is a certified holistic health counselor with a private practice in Rocky Point.

“People are inspired and have a high energy level after meeting like-minded people in this network,” Eileen says.

“In the past year I have been to so many places on Long Island that I never knew existed [because of this type of networking],” Jennifer says. “We have been meeting so many new people and they tell us, ‘You have to come and network here.’ We try to keep [meetings] as local as possible,” Eileen adds.

ActivEntrepreneur is hosting their first fund-raiser, “Paddle to Protect Our Waters” on June 21st on the Peconic River. In the spirit of AE’s mission, the event is a kayakathon

10-mile race or 5-mile paddle with the proceeds benefitting the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, Peconic Baykeeper and the Sierra Club LI Group.

“I believe in building relationships, and we are doing it in a slightly different way,” Jennifer says. “Promoting good health while building your business: That captures what we are doing.”

For more information, go to www.ActivEntrepreneur.com or call 631-736-8996.

If you know a super woman who deserves good Fortune—and a profile—e-mail your nominations to Beverly at bfortune@longislandpress.com.