Combating Entrepreneurial Loneliness: Strategies for Connection and Well-Being

Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Align Soulful Success, And in this podcast we dive into skills, strategies, mindset, whatever you need as an empathic entrepreneur, as a sensitive entrepreneur, to be able to achieve your purposeful and profitable business that is aligned with your soul. So this week I want to talk about something that I've seen a lot in the news, experienced myself, have been seeing this in my clients And so and also give you some strategies to overcome this as well. So I'm talking about loneliness and loneliness as an entrepreneur. And so some of you in the, if you're in the US, know that the surgeon general came out and said that loneliness is an epidemic And it's much worse than it was before the pandemic, which kind of makes sense, right? So before the pandemic, I know that I spent a lot of time around other business people in person. We would, I would go to in-person networking events, meet other entrepreneurs, even just you know, I had a couple of masterminds in person. Oh, concept, right, In person. And you know there was this kind of sense of connection that you have that only can be achieved when you're in person with people. I mean, quite honestly, you may disagree with me, but there is a value to being able to meet virtually. I love that I'll be able to. I'm able to work with clients all over the world because I meet virtually with my clients, And then what can happen is that there's a sense of isolation and loneliness that you don't even realize is happening for some people. For some people, it's just like how they operate, right, They've just been working from home and online and they connect with people Like I do. I do connect with other entrepreneurs virtually, which I think is so valuable, right, But I was starting to feel like I really needed to be in person with people. I really started to feel that, And I didn't realize how much it was impacting me. Right, There was a lot of jokes, and I think there was an SNL skit about how, after being at home and only interacting on Zoom and all of that, when you meet in person, we almost forgot, like, the small talk and how to interact, right, And so it was like this weird awkwardness that happened in the beginning when you start socializing again. I don't know if it happened for you, but it was definitely an adjustment for me And I've heard this from others, right, And so then there's that one step of like more of this in-person socializing. But as an entrepreneur most of you that are entrepreneurs are working by yourself all day. You may have meetings with your clients, like this online in-person not in-person online video conferencing. You might work in a team, right. Maybe you have people that you work with or you have contractors or employees or whatever and you meet virtually, but there isn't much interaction in-person, And so that kind of like weird, surreal kind of life, like where it feels like the same day over and over again, can start to happen. Maybe you might feel it might show up and you may not recognize it as loneliness, but kind of like this irritability. For some people it's showing up as like this kind of obsession with social media and just like you know, because there's just kind of like desire for the connection and you know there are studies on the dopamine that's released on social media. That's a different topic, But there's this need, right, that we have as humans. So if you're feeling any of these things and oh yeah, one more thing, burnout. That's another way that it's been showing up, right, And so there's a sense of like I'm feeling burnt out in my business And I wonder if that's actually burnout. Is it that you're working all the time? Is it that you're not being around people? What is it actually right? So I think burnout is a complex feeling that it's really important not to ignore. So if you're feeling this kind of sense of loneliness in your business, if it's showing up in the ways that I've described, I'm gonna encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and do something in person with people. And, if you can, if you have the opportunity depends where you live, if you're an entrepreneur to be with other entrepreneurs, Cause there's something about the entrepreneurial journey that, although you know friends mean well and they're supportive, they don't fully get right And so being able to have those conversations about your entrepreneurial journey with others, you just feel like so much better, You feel support, right. So one of the steps that I took recently was I decided that I'm gonna go back to in-person networking. Now, it was not easy to find an in-person networking group because a lot of groups have switched over to virtual and I already have enough of that virtual connection, So I really wanted in-person. So it took some effort. I did find a group. it's a smaller group but I really enjoy the people there. They're really supportive And just going to that group, and talking I mean just being in their presence, right, Is it's just, it's so nurturing right Now, you know a lot of the purpose of these groups are to generate business and you know, maybe you know my hope is that we're able to refer each other. I'm able to support the women in this group, But really that wasn't the primary reason I joined. The primary reason I joined was I wanna, I want, to be around other entrepreneurs and I wanna support other women in business or other small business owners, And so if I can support them, I can hopefully refer to them, and maybe a side result is the other way around too, right? But I can tell you, just doing this I just started this, maybe three months ago I already feel more connected to people. I feel more kind of like this shift in my energy that it's kind of hard to describe, But I know that if you're a deep feeler, like I am, you know what I'm talking about, right? There's a sense of almost groundedness that happens right When you're around supportive people. When you're around the people that are, you know that like, feel like they know you and they understand what's going on. They may not know you fully, but they at least know, like what takes up a lot of your day in mind space. I know, as an entrepreneur, for me the amount of time that I think about my business is a lot more than the 40 hours or whatever is in traditional work week, right. It's like kind of always there and I don't have to actively think about it, but ideas will come sometimes And so just kind of like the sense of and it's because I love it, right, And it's just like that's purposeful for me And I, you know, and so it doesn't feel like, oh my God, I'm working all the time, although sometimes it does, but it's not because of those thoughts, It's not because I'm thinking about my business, It's because I overdo it in different ways, right, Which we all can do that, And so If you're feeling the loneliness, it's impacting you, it's impacting your family, it's impacting your loved ones and it's impacting your business. It may be one of the hidden things that is impacting the results in your business. Okay, so I've seen that. I saw that recently with a client and I saw that with myself, and which is why I decided to take that step, Okay, and so it feels good. I may do more of that. Right now I don't want to like overdo it, because that can be my tendency I get excited about something and then I start something and I'll do way too much of it. So I'm really holding back and I'm taking one step at a time, allowing to see how I feel. Is this sufficient for me? Are there other ways that I can connect with people that I'm not? There are people that I've heard. It's so interesting how many people have lost touch with their friends over this time and it's actually took. It was some re-evaluation that happened, right. Are these the friends that I want to be around? It just became so almost automatic before right, It was just like you just met, you just did, and it wasn't even necessarily people that you wanted to be around. So I spent a lot of time and I know my clients have and I know other entrepreneurs have where you re-evaluate your friendships and you think about like, who is it that I really want to be around, Who is it that I'm wanting to spend more time with but I'm not spending enough time with, and make those shifts and changes right. And sometimes those friendships have moved on and there's it's. You know, the season's over, right. So then you may need to branch out and meet new people, which can be difficult if you're introverted, like I am right, So it takes a lot of effort, but it's worth it. It's worth it in the long run, right? I want you to really check in to see if loneliness is there for you. If it's showing up, Do you feel disconnected? Are you spending a lot of time scrolling on social media? Do you feel a little irritable? Do you feel like all your days are exactly the same and are you feeling a sense of burnout? Those may be some ways that loneliness is showing up for you. Take some steps to support yourself, Be in community, Be in supportive community, And so, if you have questions, you have some ideas and you're not sure, I'd love to hear from you. You can definitely contact me. I love to hear from my listeners And I hope for you that you're able to feel some reconnection with people and feel more grounded and present and just like, just feel more alive in the world. Believe me, this will just help you have a richer life. So this is Kavita, with Aligned and Soulful Success, And I will mention briefly that I am offering that 90-minute intensive one-on-one session. I don't do that often. I don't offer one-off, one-on-one sessions. This is a session where I will send you a questionnaire to see where you are with your business. I will do the pre-work to prepare for that call with you. We will spend 90 minutes together working on your business and specifically some things the things that you really need and then create a plan together. And so if that's something that you need and you want to get ready for the fall, go ahead and book that spot right. The summer is a great time to do that And if not, no worries. Have a wonderful rest of your day, week, month, whatever. Enjoy the summer and also keep staying on track with your business. This is Kavita. With Aligned and Soulful Success, Take good care. See you here. Bye.