Hint: it’s your support system.

Listen, having a CRM and a task management system well built out WILL be life changing. Obviously, I’m very passionate about those types of systems.

But let’s talk about your support system.

We’re social beings, which means introvert or extravert–you need community.

A question I get asked all the time is how I have the energy to do so much in person networking. 

And yes, I started doing it more for lead generation when I started Worksimple, but now I very rarely go into a room with the intention of “selling.”

I go in with the intention of meeting people. By being interested instead of interesting.  

And as a result, I have a HUGE community of resources, I know who to refer people to, I know what friends to introduce to each other, I have someone to cowork with or bounce ideas off of, to celebrate successes with, and to help me through the hard parts.

And it wasn’t built overnight OR by accident.

It was intentional. I showed up even when I wanted to lay on my couch and veg. I found new groups and put myself out there. I reached out to the peers I had a parasocial relationship with and asked if we could have a call.

And it made ME and MY BUSINESS better.

Why running a connection-first business matters

I had a conversation today on a mastermind call about “why do we care if something was outsourced to another human vs. a machine?” and while I have a lot of ethical perspectives on it, my primary take is:

It deprives YOU of the opportunity to CONNECT.

Whether it’s you watching a youtube video to learn how to do it yourself, or you have the funds to hire someone with shared values to execute your vision for you; you, as a business owner connect with not only an expert, but another HUMAN. 

And when your clients connect with your business through your content, your work, etc., they are expecting connection to, again, not only you as an expert, but you as a person. 

girl, you do automation. isn’t that literally outsourcing to a machine?

This is something I get asked al the time as a systems girlie who is very pro-automation and very anti-AI. 

The difference to me is this:

Automation sends/posts something YOU wrote/created at all the right times, so your clients have the best experience possible.

AI sends/posts something A MACHINE THAT’S PRETENDING TO BE YOU wrote/created, often leaving your clients feeling disconnected from the actual you, leading to a lesser client experience.

The difference is HONESTY.

A client expecting engagement with YOU will feel bait-and-switched if they pay money and then are just engaging with a bot (because that IS a bait and switch).

And for those who are honest with how they use AI in their business or as a part of their program up front with clients, that’s the client’s choice to engage–but the expectations are set.

I LITERALLY AM GOING INSANE OUT HERE

And if you’re feeling like you’re going crazy out here with all the non-humanness being normalized, you’re not alone (in fact, statistically, you are in the majority). 

AND! I have a new project coming out to help you (and me!) combat this feeling!!

Coming soon: to everywhere you listen to podcasts

On July 2nd, join me in celebrating the launch of my new podcast!

Where’s Your Humanity – a podcast that explores how small business owners resist by prioritizing community and humanity in their businesses, and why it makes them EVEN MORE valuable.