Today we’re having a very intimate moment. We’re in bed together. I just woke up like 20 minutes ago. That’s why I have a sexy raspy voice. I’ve only had two sips of my coffee. I don’t have pants on. I am in glasses. I am a vision if you could see me now. So if you are new or you have been tuning in, I am doing 30 days of podcasting. I don’t know what day it is anymore. I don’t even know what day of the week it is. I think it’s Tuesday. And today we are going to talk about the power of connection and collaboration. In building a business, you’re gonna hear me taking steps because… morning coffee, you know. So I would say that one of my superpowers in this lifetime is connecting with new people.

I love to connect with new people. I am genuinely so curious about people. I want to know why people are the way they are. How did they get to this place? I like to know about people’s childhoods. I like to know about their relationship dynamics. I like to know everything about people as much information as people will give me, I really do like to dive into. So as I have been building this business over the past couple of years, you know, connecting with new humans has been something that has been pivotal for me. And while I’ve always been a human connector, I didn’t quite understand how human connection and business were built because I understood it to a certain degree. When I was in practice as an attorney. Yes, connections got you jobs, but sometimes and sometimes in practice, I felt like it was a bit of manipulation and it was a bit of using people to get what you want. That’s not always true in corporate America, it’s just that I worked for a very manipulative person who would use people to his advantage. And I didn’t see him as manipulative. Its hindsight is 2020, right. And I would just see how he would use people in a way to get the things he wanted when he wanted them. And one of the things I promised myself was when I started my business, I would only connect and collaborate with people who I really, really liked, or like, really had some genuine interest and connection with. And so far, that has been my journey for the past couple of years, I get to work and collaborate with people who I genuinely really like and vibe with. And so I want to talk you guys through some of the things I did. So if you don’t know my backstory, I’m from Philadelphia, I grew up on the East Coast, you can’t tell by the hints of a trashy accent that come out. And so I’m from the East Coast, I left for periods of my life, but then that’s where I lived in practice law in Philly. And when I left my practice, I moved to Phoenix, Arizona. And the only person I knew when I moved to Phoenix was my gay best friend. I call him daddy. He’s my gay best friend. And he was my only person here. And so I had to really make a lot of new friends and connections to get my business started. And I’m going to share with you some of the tips and things that I took to heart as I was doing this, I also want you to know that within a year of living in Phoenix, I was able to host an event that 100 People bought tickets and came to, I’m telling you that because when you put yourself out there and you actively pursue the types of relationships, you’re really seeking, your business will be successful. It can’t NOT be successful. But I’m also going to tell you that I hustled my ass off, to make friends, to meet people to connect, and to build community, because I knew that community building was a priority and a necessity. So yeah, a couple of different things came to mind when I was thinking about how you collaborate and connect with new people. And one of the first things is you really have to put yourself out there, you gotta put yourself in places and in rooms with people who you genuinely want to be with and you who you have a shared interest. So I really put myself out there. I had a stretch of a couple of months where every day, five days a week, I would meet. It was a rule, I had to meet and connect with a new person. And that could be a podcast, that could be being on a podcast, that could be a Zoom meeting. That could be coffee or lunch. That could be a networking event.Every day I had to meet new people. If you don’t put yourself out there, you’re just not it’s not gonna work. And I know that we live in funny times, we live in COVID-y times. But things are starting to shift back to more normalcy. And if you live in the state of Arizona, you have no excuse like, life is pretty much back to normal here. Same thing with Texas and Florida. If you live in stricter states, look for things that are happening. Look for online events. Look for ways to collaborate. Somebody told me the other day, she was in a virtual writing group once a month and they meet for four hours. You know, like if you want to meet people, you gotta put yourself out there to find them and connect with them. And anyone who tells me that they can’t find people, you’re just not looking. There are people everywhere. There are people at every fucking turn. If you want to grow a community, if you want connections, if you want friendships in this process, you got to do the work, man. It’s not like when you’re in school, and you just are exposed to 40 people who are in your class or however big schools or classes are. Join a gym. When I went to CrossFit and Philly, that’s where all my friends came from. I go to F45 Here in Arizona I met so many people at the gym. You gotta put yourself out there and you gotta put your face out there and if you can meet people in person, it’s even better. Okay, so the first thing is you got to put yourself out there. 

The second thing is you have to be curious. You genuinely have to get to know people like who they actually are. You need to find out what lights them up. You need to get to know another human. We need to step outside of ourselves and really see Who are you? What’s your genius? What are you doing on this planet? Let’s connect, be curious. The next thing is, as you’re getting to know people and connecting, you have to be really fucking bold and really honest, when you meet people that you have a connection to tell them that like, you’re fucking awesome. I’d like to get to know you more, I feel like there’s synergy between us. Have you ever thought about collaborating with someone, because remember, this is all with the intention of making connections and collaborating and doing business with other people. Another thing is, you have to dream really big. And you got to bring other people into your vision. So as you’re really being curious and getting to know people, you can see if their dreams and your dreams intersect in any way, and how you might be able to collaborate with each other. I have a call today with a couple of women who it sounds like we all have big dreams that might coincide with one another. So we’re gonna chat about how we do that? How do we maybe make all of our dreams one big dream together? The final step is not really a step. Don’t take it personally, if somebody doesn’t want to collaborate and work with you. There’s got to be the right vibe with somebody and you got to be really aligned with somebody to do work with them. And it’s got to be a fuck yes, whole body, yes, for both of you. And so if you want to collaborate with someone, and they’re like, not really interested, or they said they’re interested, but their actions are showing different, that’s okay. They’re not your person to collaborate with. They’re not your person to build the business and connect with. And that’s okay. They’re doing their own thing. And maybe they don’t know how to or, you know, aren’t communicating it super effectively, but their actions will show you. 

And that’s another thing to think about, you know, collaboration with another person in business is a really intimate thing. To collaborate with someone like you’re really getting to know the inner workings of somebody’s brain and how they work and how they show up and do all that stuff. And if somebody is telling you, they want to work with you, but they’re not showing up the way you need a partner to show up in collaboration, let it go. Let them go. Let them go with love. You know, the people that I’ve collaborated with, there are very few people I’ve collaborated with, but the people I’ve collaborated with, are fucking amazing. I love them. I trust them. Like one of my best friends, we’ve done stuff together, wholeheartedly trust her different women in town, I’ve collaborated with people who’ve been at my events, one of my good guy friends, like, I wholeheartedly trust these people. And I know that we are both going to hold up our end of the bargain. And it’s a beautiful thing. So collaborations are beautiful when it’s with the right people. And just think about those steps that I laid out about putting yourself out there being curious, being bold, dreaming big and bright, inviting people into your vision. And then also not taking it personally, if people don’t want to come into this with you. Something else just popped into my head that I forgot to say at the beginning.

Something else is really powerful about collaboration and connection with people in business. You know, when it’s just us, it’s us in our network. When we join forces with other people, it expands our reach, it expands everyone’s reach, right? So if you have 20 people that get together and collaborate, that’s 20 networks that are coming together to grow. And it’s a fucking beautiful thing. So it just helps us grow faster, it helps us grow together. And I think it’s more fun to do business with other people. Entrepreneurship can be really, really lonely. And so when we get to do the things we’re doing when we get to scheme and dream with other people. That’s fucking amazing. That feels so, so good. So with that, get out there connect, collaborate, make friends, and see where it can take you in your business. With that, I hope you have a beautiful day. 

Regina Lawrence Esq. is a former trial attorney and law school professor turned soulful business & life strategist. She has found that so many entrepreneurs have these brilliant ideas and dreams but don’t know how to take the dream and create a system or structure to make that dream & idea profitable.  That is where Regina comes in.  With discipline, consistency, systems & structure, we can’t help but create profit & fulfillment from our soul-driven business ideas.

Regina’s approach to coaching marries her background in legal analysis, spirituality, mindset coaching, holistic nutrition, and neuroscience to create an experience that will assist you in getting into alignment, get clear on what you are here to do and what steps and systems to implement to make that dream a profitable reality.

You can find Regina on Instagram @reginaalawrence.