In this short episode, I share a heartbreaking story that highlights the growing issue of loneliness, especially for solopreneurs and remote workers. It got me thinking about how important it is to stay connected, not just for our personal well-being, but also for our business success.
I talk about simple ways to reach out to others and build meaningful connections—whether it's checking in on neighbors, joining social activities, or nurturing professional relationships. If you’ve been feeling isolated lately, I hope this episode gives you some ideas to break out of that loneliness and strengthen your connections.
Key takeaways:
The importance of checking in on those who live alone.
Fun and easy social activities you can try.
Practical ways to nurture both personal and professional relationships.
RESOURCES
Don’t miss this episode and let me know your thoughts after you listen. I always love hearing from you. DM me on Instagram @jen_lehner
[00:00:00.000] - Gary Vaynerchuk Hey, guys, it's Gary Vaynerchuk. You're listening to the Front Row, entrepreneur podcast with our girl, Jen.
[00:00:12.660] - Jen Lehner A while back, I was scrolling through the news and I ran across this story, and I'm going to read you the headline. It says, A Wells Fargo employee found dead in a cubicle four days after clocking in. This woman, 60 years old, was pronounced dead at 4:55 PM on a Tuesday. She had scanned in to work that morning on a Friday and had not scanned out since then. A security guard just happened to find her. There was no foul play involved. She just died at her cubicle, was gone from her home the whole weekend. Nobody at work and nobody at home noticed this woman was gone. I thought that, what are we doing that can happen? What does that say about her neighbors? And what does it say about just the culture that we're living in? And that should not be true for anyone. No one should go missing that long and have no one else in their life notice that they're missing. So you might be thinking, Okay, Jen, this is super depressing. And what does this have to do with business? It does. Hang in there with me, and we're going to tie it into business.
Read more...
[00:01:24.780] - Jen Lehner But first, I want to say, if you know someone who lives alone, Why not reach out to them? Let's just take a moment to put a little reminder. First, jot down a list of any neighbors or people that you know who live alone. Then let's go to our calendars and set up a little notification to remind us to just check in with them. It could be It could be an email, could be a phone call, could be a little we pop by their house to bring some cookies or flowers or just say hello. But let's make sure that we're checking in on each other. But maybe you're the one that lives alone, or maybe you have been isolated recently and you have been getting lonely in your business as an entrepreneur because so many of the people who listen to this podcast and so many of the people who subscribe to my programs are solopreneurs, and they are pretty much alone all day. It doesn't mean they don't have families, but during the day, they're alone, and it can be incredibly lonely. We've talked about this in other episodes, but I want to talk about some of the things that might get us motivated to step outside of our business and create some relationships, just literally outside activities.
[00:02:37.350] - Jen Lehner Hiking, meaning outside of your work. Hiking, maybe picking up Mahjong, learning how to play pickleball, joining a book club, going to meetup.com and seeing what's available. Just type in the name of your city or even the area of your city, and you're sure to find some interesting things. What about right now with politics being what? There are tons of opportunities to volunteer for your candidates by going door to door, doing some phone banking. Trivia night, so many bars. I'm not a drinker, but I have gone to a couple of different clubs in the area to participate in their Trivia Nights. It's so much fun. What about a Zumba class or other dance class at your local YMCA, YWCA, JCC, local gym? Then those old friendships and relationships in our lives, new and old, but basically any friendships, friends and family that we have in our lives, wouldn't it be a good idea to just be in the habit of sending one email to that friend you haven't spoken to for a couple of years, old college roommate, Somebody you really care a lot about, but you haven't spoken to in a long time, take it off of Facebook.
[00:03:50.820] - Jen Lehner Send them a direct email with an update about your life and ask them what's going on in your life. Going to Amazon and just buying a whole bunch of funny funny blank cards. Better yet, go to your local bookstore that has a nice card selection and buy some funny cards, keep them in stock. Then when somebody comes to mind, jot off a nice card to them and let them know that you are thinking of them. You could schedule some social thing and invite them to go grab lunch, go for a walk, go to your local museum, go on a bike ride, go roller-skating. I remember the other day, we have a great roller-skating rink not too far away, and I love to roller skate. So I've got that on my list to do in the very near future. And then professionally, let's talk about that. What can we do to enhance our professional relationships? Not just for what we're going to gain in our business per se, but just it all fits into the bigger package of overall wellness, business wellness, personal wellness, all of that. These aren't new ideas, but just a reminder for you, Do you have a coach?
[00:05:01.340] - Jen Lehner Get a coach. The periods of my life when I have not had a coach in business have been the most lonely. There's so much to be said for having a mentor or somebody you can just check in with to feel connected. Joining a mastermind. I'm not saying spend a lot of money on one of these $30,000 masterminds. This could be a mastermind that you put together with some colleagues, peers who you're all in the same place in business and you don't pay anything. Guys just all decide to meet up on the third Tuesday of every month or once a week, every Monday, whatever. But creating a group of people to check in with. What about going to a live event? I think that slowed down a lot around the COVID period. I don't know that we've completely picked back up to where we once were. I'm going to a conference I'm very excited about in October. It's the Kajabi Live event in, I think it's in LA. It's definitely in California. I don't know if there's tickets still available. If you want to If you want to opt into that and meet me there, I would love that.
[00:06:03.550] - Jen Lehner I'm hosting an event in Charleston that's already sold out, so I'm not pitching that to you, but you could create your own live event or attend somebody else's live event. And boy, that does one vendors for making you feel more connected and less lonely in your business. I just had to address this topic because I think there is an epidemic of loneliness out there. We see it in our teens, we see it in our elders, and we see it in these businesses as we become more and more removed. My son has started a fantastic new job about a year ago, and he's living in this wonderful city. He's living in Boston. But his employer doesn't require these folks to come into the office. I think maybe they have to go in once a week. I don't love that because I think that while the employees might think it's great because they can sit on their laptop, be on their sofa and walking their and all the things during the day, ultimately, I don't know how they develop as people. I don't know how they develop these true connections with other people and create the networks and get the attention of the higher ups in their business.
[00:07:16.540] - Jen Lehner I don't know. The whole notion of that really is bothersome to me. It's really funny to be in this position talking about it like this when just a few years ago, I know those of you who have been in an online business for as long as I have or longer will nod your heads. We always thought we were so clever because we were able to do our business and our consulting remotely, never taking a meeting in person, always doing it over Zoom. But it's now that everybody's doing it and it's becoming more the norm that we meet virtually as opposed to in person. That flip of the model, of the business model is a little disturbing to me, a little concerning. When I read this really heartbreaking article, I thought, You know what? I want to talk about this. I want to talk about how important it is for us to stay connected to each other. If you have any thoughts on this, as always, I would love to hear from you. The best way to connect with me is in a DM on Instagram, and I am @jen_lehner. Until next time, I'll see you in the front row.
