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EP 2: The Power of Connections - Building Community and Business Relationships
118 Plays1 year ago
In this episode, we explore the power of personal and professional connections.
We'll share our experiences leaving corporate careers to become successful business owners and how fostering past corporate relationships allowed each of us to open unexpected doors. From defining our businesses confidently to leveraging LinkedIn's benefits, we touch on reconnecting with colleagues so it can lead to more business referrals and friendships.
Tune in to discover how embracing our narratives and authentic connections supercharged our personal and business growth. Whether you're a seasoned business owner or still toying with the idea of starting a business, this episode provides insights into networking and creating a supportive community around you.
Follow us online & come say hi!
- The Business Playdate Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebusinessplaydate/
- Lindsay White's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaywhite.co/
- Betsy Moorehead's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betsymoorehead.biz/
Learn more about Lindsay's marketing agency here: https://thewhitelabelcreative.com/
Learn more about Betsy's marketing services here: https://betsymoorehead.com/
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Transcript
Introduction: From Corporate to Entrepreneurship
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the Business Playdate, a podcast hosted by Lindsay White and Betsy Moorehead, two internet strangers turned business besties. We're two marketing professionals living across the country, raising our kiddos while running our own individual businesses. We built these businesses based on our experiences working in corporate management roles with the end goal to be able to show up for our families first. And we did it. We're so happy you're here with us. Now let's get into this week's episode.
The Power of Relationships and Community
00:00:31
Speaker
Hey guys, welcome back to the Business Playdate. We are so excited that you're here and back again for another episode. Yeah. Hey guys. This week, we're going to be diving into relationships and connections. If you listened to our last episode, we talked a little bit about how Betsy and I connected and we wanted to really bring that full circle to what connection and community can mean in this business space. I know it can feel really lonely sometimes, so we wanted to talk about that today.
00:00:56
Speaker
Yeah, before we dive in, should we just kind of talk about what's going on, tell everyone some life stories?
00:01:03
Speaker
Yeah. How's your week going?
Color Analysis: A Journey of Self-Discovery
00:01:05
Speaker
My week is going really good. Um, I did something really cool. I got my colors analyzed. Love it. And I know you and I've talked about that and it's been so fun to learn more about that. I'm an autumn. I love it. All my colors. Like I'm currently, if you know, we use a clip from this, I'm currently wearing one of my colors. I love it. Did you expect to be an autumn? I kind of.
00:01:30
Speaker
I kind of figured I was going to be like a warm undertone.
00:01:34
Speaker
And I wear gold jewelry all the time. So whenever I sat down on the chair and she's like kind of talking through the process of how they're going to like figure out if you're warm or you're cool, I was like, if you tell me I can't wear gold jewelry anymore, I might have to leave. That's how I felt about wearing the color black. And now I'm like, I'm not allowed to wear the color black. What do you mean? That's my whole wardrobe is black. No, I know. It's so funny. I told a friend the other day that I got this done and I said, just so you know, this is going to be my whole personality for like two weeks.
00:02:02
Speaker
We'll see where I go from there. Where it goes from there. So since you've been wearing your colors, have you gotten a lot more compliments? Well, I don't leave my house except for to go to daycare, you know, so. So no.
00:02:14
Speaker
Um, Ryan has told me a couple of times, like how nice I look, but, um, we, uh, yeah, I mean, I think I can see why I'm an autumn. Like it was really interesting. I know you did yours online, but like doing it in person, seeing the colors in real life, like in the mirror, it was really, really, really neat experience. I mean, you could literally see, Oh God, no, that color does not look good. Like my, it brings out the worst, you know, or it competes with something going on.
00:02:44
Speaker
Yeah, but it was really neat. I'm very excited. And the girl that we did it with is local, and I went with some friends, and it was a whole day. So it'd be a really fun thing for people to do if they're interested. And now I'm kind of considering changing all my branding for my business. I love it. Yes, you should. When I did my colors, I didn't tell my husband that I was doing my colors. And so I started wearing the colors that I was supposed to be wearing, my warm spring colors, which are
00:03:13
Speaker
like Easter egg colors, very unlikely to wear any of them. And every time I wore my color around him, he would go, oh wow, you look really cute today. Oh, you look really pretty. And not that
Body Confidence and Self-Acceptance Post-Motherhood
00:03:23
Speaker
my husband doesn't ordinarily compliment me, but he really doesn't notice things like clothes. And he'd be like, oh, that sweater looks really nice. And I'm like, huh.
00:03:30
Speaker
Maybe there's something to this. Right. I know. It was funny in the whole process. It felt like I have a therapy session and like side note, the girl that did ours is like actually a licensed therapist. So it was like kind of, you know, nice, but yeah, we were all in there talking and she's like kind of asking us why we wanted to do this and how we learned about it. And I'm thinking as we're all talking through, this is going to be like, this could potentially be like a life changing.
00:03:58
Speaker
moment. I mean, you learn what looks good on you and how you feel more confident and what you're wearing. And I mean, I, you could probably resonate with this. Like you've like motherhood changes you in all these ways, but like this second time around, it has given me this body confidence that I've never had before. And I don't know if it's like, I just am accepting that this is like
00:04:23
Speaker
This is who I am now. This is it. And I'm so proud of what my body's done and had two children and I've fed them all this stuff.
00:04:36
Speaker
I think I wanted to get my colors analyzed because I'm almost a year postpartum with my second and something about the way I've been dressing lately just has felt very comfortable and that is so not like me in the past. I have always really struggled with finding clothes that fit. I'm very tall and I just have an interesting body type. I'm very tall, long torso.
00:05:06
Speaker
Do you mean like comfortable like you are liking the clothes you're putting on your body and like they're making you happy? Yeah. It's so interesting because I'm the total opposite. Really? I'm like, oh my gosh, I hate the clothes that I have. None of them look good on me. None of them are like right. They're like too young or too old. I either look like a matronly old lady or I look like I'm trying to go to like the club. And I'm like, this is not who I am.
00:05:34
Speaker
And I think that that's part of why I can see how you could say the colors would be a life-changing event, because I was like, I need to start feeling better in the clothes that I'm putting on my body. And I feel like part of that is almost getting the approval from someone else. You look good in this. And so knowing my colors and almost being empowered of, OK, I know that hot pink is a color for me. And so it immediately makes my options in my closet A really slim, because I don't have any clothes that are hot pink until now.
00:06:03
Speaker
Um, but I would go to the mall and be like, Oh, there's, I know this color looks good on me. So that's half the battle. I know it's going to light me up. Yeah. It puts you outside your comfort zone, which then like, like challenges your mental game a little bit. Cause you're like, okay, well I know this color looks good on me. I'm not super comfortable in it, but I'm going to wear it and then see how I feel. So no, I totally agree. Yeah. I'm feeling more comfortable with the clothes I'm putting on my body, despite the fact that I work from home and like,
00:06:33
Speaker
Um, I wish I had done this whenever I like actually had to get dressed and go to work because that would have been an interesting experiment, but, um, I, yeah, I want to start getting more clothes, um, that are again, are comfortable for me to wear in this mom bod, you know, that I'm so proud of, but that look.
00:06:55
Speaker
good color wise and like bring out the natural features that are just, you know, God given. And like, I don't have to try so hard. So that was really fun. I think you were, you actually told me that you had gotten your colors done and I had been thinking about it for a while. And then a friend of mine.
00:07:12
Speaker
So she wanted to do it too and we just happened to like randomly meet this girl at an event here locally that did it and we set it up and it was the most fun. So highly recommend anyone getting your colors analyzed if you have it. I love that. Well, I think this is a really good segue into our topic for the day, which is all around building community and relationships around you.
00:07:32
Speaker
because one of the things that I think is really cool about like you met that woman at an event in person in your local town and I feel like as moms and business owners, we're probably not going out in the town very frequently unless it's for a very specific purpose and you met someone who brought value to your life and like you help feed their business literally through going out and having like a girls night or something.
Building Community and Local Connections
00:07:56
Speaker
Absolutely. It was 100% that. And you're right. I mean, I think we don't get the opportunity to go out very much as moms. And if we do, we're probably going out during the day and either bringing our kids with us or it's like on the weekend and we're going to the park. But yes, I like made it a point to go out with my girlfriend on a mom's night. We met this woman
00:08:18
Speaker
And we were helping local businesses, making connections. And then now she's somebody that I can reach out to for business advice, for personal advice, for all these things. And I totally agree. Yeah. I put myself out there a little bit. It was fun. Absolutely. And so did she. I mean, you would have never known about her business if you didn't
00:08:42
Speaker
if she didn't say I do colors, you know? And I think that's one thing that I've always struggled with in business and I've gotten so much better, you know, over the, I don't know, how long have I been doing this, like five years? Over the five years, four or five years that I've been doing this, I used to not say anything and people would be like, oh, like, are you a stay-at-home mom? And I'd be like, yeah. Or like, oh, do you work? And they'd be like, oh, I freelance. But now I'm so much better about saying very explicitly like what I do, who I help and how I do it.
00:09:11
Speaker
And I mean, that brings tons of a relationships for you to just make friendships with people who resonate with you and do similar types of businesses, but also brings you clients. You can't get clients without people knowing what you do.
00:09:26
Speaker
Cause you never know what somebody else does for a living either when you just randomly meet people out and what kind of connections that is going to bring, you know, other contractors or specialists in whatever they do, or maybe their friend is a web designer and they're like, Oh, let me connect you with my friend. And then, okay, check there's somebody that you can put in your Rolodex for lack of a better term.
00:09:47
Speaker
to then maybe reach out to if you need somebody in that. Have you stayed in touch with anyone from your corporate days that has helped kind of benefit what you do with your business?
Leveraging Past Corporate Connections
00:09:59
Speaker
Yeah. I would say almost all of my clients come to me from some source of referral, like what do they say, the seven connections of the world. Degrees of separation. Yeah.
00:10:09
Speaker
Seven degrees of separation. All of my clients have come to me through some degree of separation from someone in a past corporate life or someone that I have worked with in the past. I actually had a couple of my biggest clients come to me through one specific referral who worked with me in corporate. I mean, he's since retired, but even when you're retired, you're so connected to the world that you used to live in. I mean, when you're 65 and you've worked at the same company for 30 years, all of your friends and
00:10:38
Speaker
like family members are going to be kind of integrated with that. And so me saying, Hey, I'm a freelancer. I have a marketing agency for financial services firms. It immediately is like, Oh, everyone I know in my circle needs that because I used to work in financial services. So I've gotten a ton of clients just through being open and honest about what I do and who my business serves. Yeah. A hundred percent. Which I think is really, really hard to do, especially when you are, Oh, I know you and I have talked about this. Like when you're thinking about,
00:11:09
Speaker
you were in a corporate job where you were highly regarded and then you kind of leave and you leave in this, everyone kind of is like, why are you leaving a good job? And you put yourself, you put yourself low on the totem pole. No one else is putting you low on the totem pole. It's only your own brain putting you low on the totem pole. And so until you start treating yourself like you need to be, like you are the high person on that totem pole that you are,
00:11:32
Speaker
No one else is going to treat you that way. Like you have to hold yourself like that in society and say, Hey, I own a business. This is what my business does. And this is how I can help you. And then they're like, Oh, that's amazing. You are probably great at that because when you worked with me in corporate, you were great at X, Y and Z. And instead, a lot of us are telling ourselves these stories of like, Oh, I left corporate because I was a failure or I couldn't make my motherhood and career work at the same time. And now I'm doing something that's not as good.
00:12:00
Speaker
Or I think you get in these like plateau points, you know, where it's like you're raising yourself higher and then you're like, no, I'm actually not that good. And then you raise it a little higher. It's like, no, I'm actually not that good. And so continuing to challenge that. And I think one of the best ways to challenge that is by talking about what you do with people who make you feel a little bit uncomfortable.
00:12:19
Speaker
Oh, for sure. Um, the inevitable imposter syndrome. Right. I mean, I don't think I ever felt that in my corporate job, but here I am now, you know, owning my own business and, um, it just creeps in all the time, but you're right. You have, you have to be, I think you've, you like gave me a pep talk one time on boxer. Like you have to rewrite your own story. Like you have to rewrite the narrative around, no, you're about us. You're doing this because this is what you want to do. And you, you do know what you're doing and you are successful.
00:12:47
Speaker
because it is very easy to stay in this negative mindset of, yeah, well, I left a good job. I left a corporate job. We all work from home. We work from home. I feel like it's nice to work from home. I love the ability it gives me to be flexible and do things that I want to do at home during my days.
00:13:07
Speaker
But also, it's really depressing. You don't talk to that many people in person. When the only person I talk to all day is three, it's like, you're not really a boost in my confidence that much. You just yelled at me about getting a snack.
00:13:19
Speaker
Yes, I know. I don't want that. I know. Oh, I know. You said something interesting about using these connections that you have had in your corporate life that have brought you referrals, and I can resonate with that too, especially when I first started my business, people that I make connections with in my corporate job. I was in the same job for 10 years. I know you were in the same job for a number of years too, and I had, again, worked my way from a coordinator position to I was the director of a department whenever I left.
00:13:49
Speaker
I had made so many connections. It was a large event here in the Houston area. We were working with different contractors for print purposes and advertising purposes and agencies and all of that. When I left, everyone was very excited for me and I appreciate that very much. It was me being in my own way, trying to be like,
00:14:12
Speaker
I'm leaving and yeah, I'm going to freelance and making it smaller than it was essentially. Yes. It wasn't until I left in a couple months and I had a number of people that I used to work with in my previous life reach out and say, hey, I might have a job for you. Or hey, we want to bring you on as a contractor. We think you would be great. And it was just such a boost of confidence early on in my business to stay connected with those people.
00:14:40
Speaker
on a personal but professional level that it brought me a lot of work in the very beginning and led to some really long-term clients that I was able to learn vastly from and continue to build my business the way that I wanted it to be. Don't discount the people that are from your previous life, even if
00:15:04
Speaker
Even if your previous job, like even if you left it on not so great terms or, uh, maybe like you left for a specific reason and it doesn't bring these like warm, fuzzy feelings to you. Don't discount the people that you think connections that you made in that.
00:15:21
Speaker
Fun fact, I didn't tell my old job what I was going to be doing at all. Really? I just left. Yeah. I mean, I gave them like six weeks notice, but I left and I was like, yeah, I'm going to go figure. I don't want to be doing this anymore. This is not the career path for me. I'm going to go figure it out. And they're like, what? Like I could have literally been a pottery barn manager. They would have no idea. And so a lot of these connections that I
00:15:47
Speaker
now have from my corporate life are ones that I physically had to resurface myself. I had to put myself out there and make that almost like a reintroduction. Reset what my narrative is because I left and was just like, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm figuring it out. But you did, right? You already knew what you were going to. I did figure it out. Yeah, I knew I was going to be freelancing. I didn't know what the
00:16:12
Speaker
picture was going to look like, of course. I mean, I don't think any of us do when we just start our business. Um, but I knew that I was taking a bet on myself and I was going to make it happen no matter what it was. And obviously I did. I'm here, you know, five years later, but, um, be successful. Exactly. We don't have to get too crazy here, but, um, I think that you have to, again, like you have, you're the only one who can tell your story.
00:16:42
Speaker
You can't rely on someone else to do it. Yeah. No, I agree. I think too, like we and I've talked about this a lot, but, um,
00:16:51
Speaker
Like you said, you had to resurface those connections. And for me, I had to put out on LinkedIn that I was doing this. And I think we forget about LinkedIn a lot because Instagram is so our comfort place as service providers and business owners in this online space. But once I put it out there on LinkedIn, what I was doing and just stayed in touch with people from my corporate job on LinkedIn,
00:17:17
Speaker
Some really great referrals came through that way. It actually was one person that reached out and said, hey, I'm starting an agency too. I'm a new mom. How did you make this work? I would like to know how this worked for you. It was interesting to me because
00:17:38
Speaker
This person was so successful already. I mean, she was just killing it in the space that she was in. And when she reached out to me and was like, how did you make this work? How did you leave and start your own business? And how is it going with now? I think it was right before I had my second kid. I was like, how are you managing this? And what is it like?
The Role of Referrals and Business Growth
00:18:01
Speaker
That actually
00:18:02
Speaker
just like really boosted my confidence in, okay, like someone else is paying attention and seeing what I've done and how I've built a business to fit into my family. And she and I have since met several times, had coffee together, had lunch together, um, have stayed in touch regularly. And I've gotten a couple of clients from her as a referral source because her agency, you know, doesn't, doesn't do that type of work or can't take on that type of work.
00:18:29
Speaker
So continuing to foster that relationship and connect with her on the things that we have in common personally, like you and I do, but also in business. I mean, we could live in the same world, has brought me work and has helped her as too in her business, learn how to run an agency and still have a life.
00:18:51
Speaker
like be there for your young children and, um, you know, not have to, um, uh, like depend on this like massive marketing campaign for your own business. I mean, being, having referral sources is, is massive. I know both of us get a lot of our clients from referrals. So.
00:19:12
Speaker
Yes. And I think that a lot of, I mean, this is a totally different topic, but a lot of people get really in the weeds of marketing their own businesses where it's like, Hey, you could capitalize on a lot of relationships that you already have that you don't even realize you have. Um, and I mean, not to mention to connecting with that woman also brought you clients, but it also probably brought you a lot of fulfillment. Oh, for sure. Yeah. To help someone else overcome the same issues that you and I and many other women have had working in a corporate industry where
00:19:41
Speaker
It's hard. I mean, I've seen the same thing. A lot of people that I know from my past corporate job, I've seen weave corporate because they were having kids or it just wasn't working for them in their schedule anymore. And they're like, Hey, there's more out there. I don't have to be stuck here.
00:19:56
Speaker
in the confines of the corporate structure that I was given. Oh, for sure. And then you have something to connect. If you talk to those people after they leave, then that's just another level of connection that you have with them, another topic that you can resonate with each other on of like, we've left this world that we were in for so long.
Identity Transformation: Corporate to Business Owner
00:20:19
Speaker
It's almost like that kind of now what feeling or like, I think I was talking to some people who left the place that I used to work long-term and one person brought this up and I don't know if you felt this way, but there was almost like a little sense of a feeling of guilt leaving a little bit because you are so tied to this job and this organization and this place that you work with and you've made all these friends and these personal connections.
00:20:45
Speaker
You're gone. And like you were saying, I mean, if you're there for a long time, and I can only speak on my experience because I was at the same place for 10 years and it was like my personality. It's your identity. Yeah. My old job was my identity and my husband worked for the same firm that I worked for. So we together, that was our identity. And he worked there for a couple of years past me, but I mean, it's who I was.
00:21:12
Speaker
Oh yeah. It took me a long time. It probably took me almost two years or I guess I've been gone from my corporate job two years. So about a year and a half, about six months ago, it was the first time I finally think I let go of like, oh, Betsy used to work at this place and that's, you know, she's Betsy from the this. And it's like, no, I'm
00:21:33
Speaker
I'm Betsy. I am who I am. I am this on my own. And it was just me in my own way, right? The whole time thinking that. But the where I used to work has such is such like a big part of the community that we live in that it's like once you tell someone you used to work there, it's like, oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Like I know that place. And so it was kind of hard for me to escape for a while. And until I just like said, nope, this isn't like
00:22:00
Speaker
I'm Betsy, a business owner, a mom, a founder of my own marketing consulting business, and I used to come from this place. Until I rewrote my narrative, essentially, it was like, no, I'm not letting... Of course, I learned.
00:22:21
Speaker
So much like I wouldn't be where I was today. I'm not trying to discount that by any means, but I don't know if anyone listening can resonate with this as like when you are in something for so long or maybe you, um, you know, came from the classroom or something like that. I know there's a lot of teachers that have kind of moved into this space over the last few years. It's like your identity is so much more than where you used to work because you're trying to figure out how to balance that. And there's like this sense of guilt of like,
00:22:50
Speaker
I'm leaving all of that behind, but now I'm trying to figure out how to make it all work in this space. And should I be working as much as I was then? And should I be, you know, behind my computer all day, every day? And it's like, no, like you make this what you wanted. And I think like, like talking to people who have since left where I used to work, we all felt that way. And then now we're all just like reveling and loving what we're doing because
00:23:18
Speaker
We finally were like, okay, you just got to let go and move on. So I think that's just another thing, like you said, to connect with people on.
00:23:26
Speaker
And I think too, when you first leave that job, that was like your identity and it was a big organization that was way bigger than yourself,
Transitioning Standards: Corporate to Business Ownership
00:23:34
Speaker
right? Like huge company, huge business, whatever, huge event, like whatever the case may be, it was so much bigger than you. And then you're, you're out and it's just you and you're trying to then compete with that business, not necessarily from a direct competition standpoint, but in your mind, like I need to be as big as my big organization.
00:23:54
Speaker
I need to be able to hold myself up to the same standard that that huge fortune 500 company was holding themselves to. And it's like, no, you're not going to be able to do that. You're one person. You're one person today. So making sure that I think that that was one of the hardest parts for me in business was like, okay, how can I hold myself to the standard that I want to be held to, but not set my standards so high that I'm always going to feel like I'm failing because I'm not able to do the big
00:24:23
Speaker
corporate job that I did before. Right. Do you reach out to people directly from, well, I know you're still in touch with a lot of them, but do you go to lunch or coffee? I used to do lunches a lot with random people. Now I live in a different city. That's true. Oh gosh, I forgot. Oh, we didn't even talk about that.
00:24:46
Speaker
Yeah, I live in a different city now, so can't do that. But I do keep in touch with a lot of people and occasionally we'll do a happy hour. I mean, now I live in a big city where there's constantly people coming through for business. So we are definitely in touch with, I try to stay in touch with past connections. And I think over the years I've realized how important it is to stay in touch with past connections.
00:25:09
Speaker
and how much they can bring you from a business perspective and a fulfillment perspective, and also make you feel like you have a circle. Because, I mean, coming from a corporate job where I had people I ate lunch with every day, I was talking to people. I was popping in people's offices, talking about their days.
00:25:27
Speaker
I loved those relationships and that's always been the biggest part about working a nine to five that I miss is I miss those in-person relationships that I had about like, oh, how was your weekend? What did you do? And now I don't really have that many people.
Creating a New Support Network
00:25:41
Speaker
And I think that's why it's so important to also create these connections with past employers and past people that you worked with
00:25:46
Speaker
but also other business owners like yourself, like Betsy, me and you now talk all the time. And I have other business friends that I talked to all the time, but it took four years to find like a little circle of community that
00:25:59
Speaker
I can talk to and kind of get that social fulfillment that I need out of my days. Do you feel like, I think sometimes it's uncomfortable to step out and find people in this space. So now we're not talking about our corporate life anymore, but we're talking about now the online business owner world. Yeah. And find people to connect with that do the same thing because we all do the same thing.
00:26:30
Speaker
I've never felt this way, especially with you, but I could see how it can be intimidating to reach out to somebody who does something similar to what you do because you're afraid. They might know more than me. They might not think that you're still this imposter syndrome in your head. But if you're looking for somebody in this space that does something similar to you, don't make it about business when you reach out. Make it about, hey,
00:26:55
Speaker
How are you? What are you up to? I would love to just get to know you and how you got to where you are. I mean, I talk to people all the time who are also ads, Facebook ads managers or Google ads experts, you know, and we aren't talking about like.
00:27:11
Speaker
the awesome things we're doing for our clients. We're just talking about the daily struggles of doing this. And if you can find that topic of what you can get into to connect with someone besides being like, oh yeah, I've got all these clients and I'm trying to make it work and what are you doing? And it's a little less like, I think we've talked about this,
00:27:36
Speaker
community over competition, right? We all have something individual that we can bring to clients. So we've all got to be in this together. Yeah. And I think too, I mean, you were talking earlier about how Instagram is where we feel comfortable, but Instagram is also where most people are just posting their highlight reels.
Overcoming Networking Fears and Benefits
00:27:53
Speaker
And it's super scary when you're seeing these people and you're like, wow, look at your highlight reel. It's
00:28:00
Speaker
You're so impressive. I am just a peon in comparison. I can't reach out to you for a community building. And then it's like, it's so funny. I have so many people where I was like, I was like, Oh my gosh, they're wildly much more successful than me. They wouldn't want to be my friend. And now I have all sorts of friendships. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, like, no, I was just so in my head that I wasn't good enough.
00:28:23
Speaker
Yeah, I totally agree. It's like you got to get over that hump and put yourself out there because it's scary to put yourself out there, but every single time I've put myself out there, I've never regretted it. Have you ever had a regret? No, not at all. Yeah. Absolutely not. I've lately started telling myself the worst thing that I always, I've been telling myself, what's the worst thing that can happen? They say no, they don't respond.
00:28:46
Speaker
Okay. I can handle that. That's fine. Oh, I know. Sometimes I will even just reply to our message, like really big accounts, not knowing that they won't respond, right? Just because it's like, if you happen to see this DM, I want you to know that there's somebody that resonates with you in this way. And I'm sure you've got a lot, a lot of people doing that.
00:29:10
Speaker
Just, just do it, you know, just put yourself out there, make these connections and you never know what it'll bring you. I mean, I too, like you have gotten most of my business from referrals or from, um, putting myself out there either locally or online and, and making a connection with someone, not necessarily from direct marketing, my business. I, I.
00:29:32
Speaker
I'll be real honest, I haven't really gotten maybe one or two small clients from the direct marketing efforts that I'm doing. But most of them have come from people who I've engaged with and connected with or locally I've networked with. And it's just, that's why connections are so important in this space and in any job.
00:29:54
Speaker
I was talking to someone one time and they were like, yeah, well, I need to figure out my elevator pitch. If I had an elevator pitch, I would be able to get more clients. I'm like, I just don't think that the elevator pitch is really where it's at. I think it's the, I just met you at a coffee shop or I'm sitting down at the airport bar and my flight just got delayed and now I'm stuck here and there's a stranger sitting next to me. There's absolutely no bar. You're not trying to pitch yourself.
00:30:22
Speaker
I'm just meeting you. Hey, this is who I am. That's where you're going to make these connections. And I think that also, I mean, I could be wrong here, but like, I think that that's where your business is going to grow. That's where you're going to get those client referrals.
00:30:35
Speaker
Absolutely. Oh, a hundred percent. I mean, right. Oh yeah. The meat. And that is, so the girl that did my colors, she called what we all had a meat cute. And I completely agree. We were just out going. It was a flower crown event at a local florist and she and her group of friends just happened to be sitting next to me and my friends and we just got to talking and that is exactly what it was.
00:31:00
Speaker
It was not a, I'm going out. I think this is so silly, but I think about it. Like, you know how people are always like, when you're not looking, you'll find the one. It's like that. It's like when you're, when you're just being yourself and authentic, and we haven't even taught, said the word authentic. I don't think on this episode, but like when you're just being who you are, that's when they will come. Right. I mean, just being authentic, being confident and. Hello.
00:31:30
Speaker
quick break while Lindsay takes a call from her daughter's daycare. Thank you. Bye. And just like that, folks. Just like that, I have to go pick my child up from her mom's morning out program. Oh, man. Bless her heart. She hasn't stopped crying. I'm like, that sounds about right.
00:31:55
Speaker
Oh, she is like, uh, no ma'am, you're not going to take me somewhere and let, let her stay at home. I don't think so. One day we were going to go shopping for some baseball gear after this, but you know, she'll just come. It'll be fine. Oh, that'll be fun. Well, I think we have gotten the point across. We have talked to everyone about this important topic of just having connections, putting yourself out there, being confident in what you do.
00:32:20
Speaker
Go out and have a meet cute. You never know who you'll meet and what it'll do for your business. Let's end this with a couple of tangible tips. Okay. So my first one is think up what your airport bar just meeting someone spiel is. We're not calling it an elevator pitch, guys. No, you're not pitching yourself. You're literally just describing who you are.
00:32:48
Speaker
who, what you do, how you help people, who you help. Yep. Mine is reach out to somebody that you used to work with in your former life and go to lunch. Just reconnect, go to lunch. Don't even make it about business. Don't even make it about anything. Just how the heck are you?
Tips for Sustaining Business Connections and Networking
00:33:07
Speaker
What are you up to? Let's go have lunch and do that this week and see, see what comes from it. Maybe just like a friendship, a friendship again, just somebody that like you used to talk to all the time and now you just want to talk to him again. And another thought is if you like me have moved to a new city and you don't have anyone to reach out to, which I highly believe is probably not the case, but let's say you don't, you're making these excuses in your head, write an email, send them a thank you card that's handwritten.
00:33:37
Speaker
do something, reach out to someone who you haven't spoken to in a while. I love that. A hand-written card really, really does go a long way. My mom would be proud of me for saying that. It really does. Well, yeah, thanks, guys, for listening this week. Again, you can follow us at the Business Playdate on Instagram, and I am at BetsyMoorhead.biz on Instagram. And I am at LindsayWhite.co on Instagram. So give us all a follow. Yeah, and we'll see you next time.
00:34:12
Speaker
you