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