From Isolated to Connected: Overcoming Loneliness in Business

Feeling lonely in business? You’re not alone... and it’s costing you more than you think. In this episode of The Visibility Impact Show, Crissy Conner shares why entrepreneurship can feel isolating, the hidden costs of working without connection, and exactly how to create a powerful inner circle that fuels both your business and your confidence.

Whether you’re an introvert who loves working from home or a social butterfly missing real conversations, this episode will help you create authentic connection, online and in person, that support your growth, visibility, and sales.

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Transcript

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Nobody talks about how being an entrepreneur, a business owner can make you feel more isolated. Not all of your normal friends understand what you're going through. Sometimes your spouse doesn't even understand what you're going through. And I've seen this, I've been doing this entrepreneur thing since 2012. And originally I had a business partner when I created my skincare business. So that was not as isolated as it feels, especially running an online business. You don't have to meet with people in person. You don't have to do those types of things. And so one of the things I realized in 20, definitely after 2020 is that there is high value when you can find connection in person. Now, networking groups aren't for everyone. going on awkward, like, excursion for introverts, going on awkward coffee chats, again, or coffee dates aren't for everyone. But I challenge you even as an introvert to find ways to do things like that. This, even if it's on Zoom, it doesn't matter. But stretch your comfort zone. As an introvert, we like to say, don't do that as an introvert. But as an introvert, you can do anything you want, right? Anything you put your mind to. And there's so much value in that one-on-one connection. And so I want to challenge you and maybe this episode will help you see, I'm not trying to convince you, but see what it can do for you. Because when we have connection, when we can shift our mindset on some things, when we have action steps to feel less alone while growing, it can be a game changer. So, There is so much loneliness in life, right? There are a lot of lonely people out there. And as we age and get older, it is a lot harder to have friends or find friends. If you have kids, you create a lot of friendships because the kids become friends. And so the parents are just together more often or they're in sports and things like that. But also a lot of friendships are created through work. Right? So if you have a full-time job or had a full-time job, like a lot of those friendships are created that way, but there is this hidden cost of isolation, which can be burnout, decision fatigue, overthinking, self doubt. I will also say like not being able to trust anyone is also a hidden cost of isolation because you feel like no one's trustworthy. Right? And when you feel alone, you shrink back and when you shrink back, your business shrinks with you. And so I wanna challenge you to find some ways to connect with others in this online world, right? So first of all, again, family and friends can't always relate to the challenges you're gonna go through. That's just the truth. And eventually they may get it, but you need to be around like-minded people, right? When we only show the wins online and we don't have anyone to talk to about those non-wins or the, I don't even want to call them failures, but the things that don't go the way we think they're going to, right? When we only show the wins and we only talk about the wins, we create pressure and disconnection. This is where a lot of imposter syndrome comes in because You are getting all these wins, but you also have all these things in the background that you're not talking about and you're not sharing. And then we also know that without a peer network and without mentorship or collaborative spaces, like again, it's loneliness. You're building, but without community. And that's nowhere that we wanna be. And again, I am a homebody. I don't like going anywhere. I love my house. I love going on vacations by myself. Like there are so many things that I can sit here and say as an introvert, I love these things, but I also know the connection. We started doing, well, it originally started out as two a year and then ended up being four a year in person with the visible inner circle. And this was a game changer because the relationships that were built in those in person, a lot of times were online, were busy. We have a lot of things going on, but you know what? We don't take the time to stop with connection, not the way that we do when we are in person. It's a lot harder to avoid people when you're in person. Now, I know some people may love that and be happy about that, but I want you to create more connection, right? And if you don't have anyone that you can meet with in person, like start with, like I said, the online, the Zoom chats, those can work, right? But when you can find... And curate like your inner circle where there two to three peers at your level or above we want to find people that are Where we want to go right who you surround yourself with really really matters. You can mix real in Person and digital connection. This can be masterminds local media meetups virtual co-working like again finding someone close to you Being really visible in your truth. So sharing those behind the scenes, not just all the wins, right? Sharing the hard stuff, sharing the things that you've went through or you've overcome. The other thing is investing in containers that hold you, coaching programs, masterminds, group programming, again, where you can connect with people and talk to people. And then there's also something I like to call daily micro connections. This can be voice notes and DM check ins and commenting with intention versus just scrolling. Commenting with intention to create true social connection, right? Because that's what social media was created for. And we know that loneliness thrives in silence. When we are visible, we're gonna create more connection. One of my favorite hacks is I am so visible. I'm not a fan of networking events. I'm just going to tell you that right now. But when I do go to networking events, because I'm so visible, people know who I am. I don't have to start the awkward conversation. They come up to me and they know me and they start the conversation. my gosh, you're Chrissy Conner. I see your videos online all the time. Oh my gosh. And then I go into finding more about them, right? So I've already broken the ice because I'm so freaking visible. And so visibility isn't about being known by everyone. It's being known really deeply by the right people. And so the fact that they're watching my videos is one of the reasons about three years ago, I didn't quit LinkedIn. I was about to quit LinkedIn because nobody was watching it. I walk in this networking event, three people tell me that they watch my videos on LinkedIn, specifically LinkedIn. I'm like, OK, that was a sign. Just because people don't comment, hello doesn't mean they're not watching. And then. When we can show up authentically, it attracts our community and clients. Again, when people see us in the real world, when people see us taking a photo in a group or with somebody else, like they know that's not AI, they know that's real, and they can feel that connection and they want to be a part of that. Every time I'm with the visible inner circle, no matter how many people show up, we always have an increase in sales because people love that. The workshop I did in June, like people want to be around that. And it's one of the reasons that I'm going to create some more free in-person spaces that work for female entrepreneurs in Columbus, Ohio, because I see it and I feel it and I know this is what people want. I know this is what my client, my long-term clients who have been around for four or five years love. I know it's how they thrive. And I know other people can do this too. So I want you to think about this. How can you intentionally build your community? Even if it starts online, right? If you... really want to find a way to create more connection, I create amazing intimate spaces. There's a lot of collaboration, there's a lot of connection, there's a lot of cheering each other on. And I have several business besties in some of my different programs. So the connection is there. And if you don't have someone, we can find you someone, right? And so really just think about ways that you can find connection with others. Again, even if it starts online, even if it starts in your local community group that you have, we all have those for our town on Facebook, connecting with those and just see what's going on. Sometimes they have like one of mine that I'm a part of has like a boss mom's Monday or something and you can promote your business. Even if you don't want to promote your business, you can go on there and see who else has business owners and connect with them. Sometimes it's that little uncomfortable thing about us being the one that reaches out, but it can not only change somebody else's life, but it could also change ours. So what are you holding back? Why are you holding back? What are you going to do next to create connections? Stop doing this alone. I want to challenge you. And when you find something that you're going to do, even if it's outside your comfort zone, make sure you reach out to me and share it what it is, because I want to know. and want to follow along and I want to see how much your life changes because of it.