The Connection Economy
i was crying
on the floor of my walk-in wardrobe my
first business had ended
before it had even begun and my dreams
of ever doing anything meaningful or
important with my life
had been ripped to pieces
if you want to go fast go alone
if you want to go far go together
this quote both inspired me and
challenged me
well not the fast part fast part was
easy
as a young girl growing up in innisfail
i would ride round the streets on my
bright red bike
and when you’re on your own and the
winds in your hair
you can ride really fast and fast was
the hustle
that kept me up day and night trying to
get it right for my business
no it’s far that was hard
far meant that the best university for
me was 300 kilometers away
and far meant that the best business
conferences happened in brisbane
an 18 hour drive away
and far meant getting to china to meet
with manufacturers
seemed actually impossible
and far meant that the opportunities for
me to succeed
often seemed just out of reach
especially when my children were young
making it difficult to even get to local
networking events
as an entrepreneur in regional australia
i felt isolated
and alone where were my people
now i’d like you to take a moment
to close your eyes and imagine a time
where you felt utterly alone
and now i want you to imagine the people
who helped you through that time
okay open your eyes because no matter
who you are
where you live or what you do we all
need connection good evening ladies and
gentlemen
my name is peace mitchell and i’m
co-founder of the women’s business
school
an online community of 50 000 people
connecting experienced entrepreneurs
with those just starting out in business
i’m so fortunate to be surrounded by an
incredible community of women
who inspire me every day to follow my
calling
reach for the stars and dream bigger
tonight i will be talking about women in
entrepreneurship
but the strategies principles and ideas
can relate to
everyone in the room whether you’re
students
entrepreneurs or business leaders
i’ll be talking about the connection
economy
how it works and how resonance
reciprocity and relationships can open
the doors to brand new opportunities and
experiences
but i’ll never forget the day larry came
to town
destroying everything in his path
larry was a category 5 tropical cyclone
who forced his way into our home at 240
kilometers an hour
blowing out the windows with an almighty
bang
and a bone-chilling shattering of glass
i hid under the bed and held my babies
close
shaking and singing them songs to drown
out the hideous sounds
of the rain forest outside being torn
apart
and distract them from the nightmare
that was unfolding before our very eyes
in the aftermath of disaster the
structural repairs happen first
the roofs are tarped the roads are
cleared and the power lines are
untangled
but it’s the emotional repairs that are
harder to clean up
and often overlooked
feeling helpless and literally left at
home holding the baby
i called my sister katie and two close
friends
and together we formed a non-profit
organization
called mothers helping others
we were inspired by quentin bryce the
governor general at the time
who urged us to look after the mothers
because they’re the glue that holds the
community together
and they’re the ones who lift everyone
else up
we form partnerships with local and
state government
schools local businesses and corporate
brands
and focused on ways to bring our
community back together
we rebuilt playgrounds hosted events and
shared the stories of local families
through children’s art
and writing what we didn’t realize at
the time
was the common element running through
all of these projects like a thread
was connection
we won awards for our work and really
did play a big part in the recovery
process
we discovered the magic of connection
but then it was time to try something
new
i’d been bitten by the entrepreneurial
bug and my first business idea
was hand embroidered bikinis
i had such big visions for this business
colorful designs
luxurious ribbons sparkling crystal
beads
and golden threads i had the creativity
the vision and the ambition
but i lacked the connections
without fashion experience or a mentor
to guide me
without warm introductions to retail
stores that never returned my calls
without a connection to a manufacturer
who actually understood the quality i
was looking for
this business was destined to fail
my first business failed but it was a
big part of my eventual success
because i realized that the problems i
faced with a lack of connection
was something that women all over
australia were facing
my story is not unique australia is home
to hundreds of
thousands of moms in business they
launch global empires from
spare rooms and remote cattle stations
they bounce between play dates and nap
time and school all the while
bouncing products into international
markets and juggling deals
so many of them are doing it by
themselves
but not just by themselves they do it
alone
i realized that this problem was
something that i could solve
so i called my sister katie and we
started dreaming up plans
for an online community that would
connect women all over australia
a place where you would always feel
welcome
and included and supported a place where
you could share your challenges
and your wins and a place where you
could find
the connections that you need to succeed
if you need an accountant a graphic
designer
the contact for the buying agent at
walmart or harrods
the chances were someone would know
someone
who could connect you
we discovered the magic that we’d found
in our local community
but now it was happening all over
australia
as if the volume had been turned all the
way up
we’d created a connection economy
the connection economy is a beautiful
discovery
with elegant simplicity the better
connected you are
the more value you create and experience
and so do all of your connections so the
collective
rises together
our success has been hyper accelerated
by the internet
but as the australian ambassador for
women in tech i can tell you without
question
that there’s a big difference between
reach and connection
so why do we need connection well
with connection we’re better able to
solve complex problems
we’re healthier and happier and we have
access to a whole range of new
experiences and opportunities
so why is connection so hard to achieve
well the challenge of distance is
something that women in remote rural
and regional australia all face but
talking to women in the cities we
found they face isolation too and then
there’s an emotional distance
and it’s taught to every girl from a
young age
disney films tell us you can’t trust
other women
and then at school we’re taught to
compete and strive for individual
achievement
and then in the world of business you’re
told to be aggressive
get a good lawyer and make sure everyone
you meet signs a non-disclosure
agreement
because you never know who’s out to
steal your idea
with messages like this distrust
competitiveness aggression it’s no
wonder connection is hard
it’s no wonder nearly 50 of all women in
business
feel guilty about having a business at
all it’s no wonder that connection is
hard
but it doesn’t have to be this way in
2016
my sister and i launched the women’s
business school
not just to teach business skills but to
teach the art of connection
it’s gone on to win australia’s best
incubator for women at the women in
digital awards
why because with connection incredible
things can happen
take georgina mcenroe george is the
founder of sheba
the female only rideshare service
designed to be
so safe you’d happily send them to pick
up your kids from school
george told me that when she told
investors about her idea
they couldn’t understand why on earth
she would start this service
when uber already exists and perhaps
some of the men in the room are
wondering the same thing
but the women are probably thinking
finally
george understood that problems won’t
get solved by people who don’t
experience those problems
so she turned to her community using
equity crowd funding
to give them the power to be the
investors
she raised three million dollars from
the very
people her business is designed to help
or how about ayumi more aoki who in just
two years is the founder of women in
tech
and has launched chapters globally
partnered with the un
and held events all over the world
hosted by passionate ambassadors
or oprah winfrey’s favorite guest the
incredible
doctor terrorized trent whose vision for
generational change through education
has leveraged her connections to build
11 schools
and educate over 38 000 african children
these women are incredible leaders they
give
back in incredible ways and they
understand
that we rise by lifting others
you could call them super connectors
we’ve discovered that superconnectors
share certain qualities
and these qualities are things that we
can all learn to cultivate
the first of these is reciprocity
reciprocity is the act of giving
generously
without the expectation of something in
return
understanding that when you’re kind to
someone that kindness will be returned
to you
not necessarily by the person that you
gave the favor to
or even anytime soon but trusting
that kindness comes back to you
the second is relationships
super connectors understand that it’s
not about the title or the position
someone has it’s about the person and
who they are
have you ever been to an event where
someone asks you
what do you do as if to ask do you
deserve
to be here super connectors never do
this
they look beyond the person’s title or
position
to discover more about them so tonight
at interval
i would love to encourage you all to
give this a try
introduce yourself to someone new and
instead of asking
what do you do try asking what brings
you joy
or what lights you up you’ll eventually
learn what they do anyway
but you’ll discover so much more about
that person
the third thing is resonance we
gravitate towards people who are
wonderful to be around
someone with a great sense of humor a
warm smile
and positive energy is always someone
you want to be with
resonance is all about our energy and
when you surround yourself with positive
people
you naturally attract more connections
experiences and opportunities to your
life
so how do we leverage the power of
connection
as entrepreneurs and business leaders we
have a special opportunity
to build deeper and more meaningful and
authentic relationships with our clients
to collaborate with the businesses that
share the values for the change we want
to see
in the world the connection economy
provides a powerful force for change and
a unique opportunity to
co-create a brighter future for our
world
my sister and i won’t stop until we’ve
taken our connections global
breaking down barriers for women
everywhere as we do
and we’ll get there by showing up
leaning on and continuing to grow with
our community
we’ll get there by always asking what
can i give
instead of what can i get and we’ll get
there
because when things are tough as they
inevitably will be
we will ask for help early and often
and we will go far because we will
always
always go together
you