Since the third week of August is “Friendship Week,” we thought it was the perfect time to talk about why forming business friendships is one of the best things you can do for your business and yourself.
As a business owner, it can be easy to fall into a mindset that prioritizes strategy and profit over everything else. However, making authentic friendships in business has serious benefits — for both your happiness and your company’s success.
In fact, business friendships have been shown to boost personal improvement, foster creativity, and increase your ability to serve others.
In one study from the University of Padua in Italy, researchers observed businesses that had been established with friends. They found that “low group cohesiveness” led to disorganization while “high group cohesiveness” and great company structure improved decision-making and boosted creative outcomes.
We’ve all been in situations where we’re discussing problems with a friend and, suddenly, we think of a solution we had never considered before.
Anyone who has a podcast knows that forming connections with people in your industry can be incredibly powerful. By hosting guests, you can spark new friendships and break down the barriers you may have been struggling with in your business.
The more people you meet and host, the more likely you are to build a wide network of allies and strategic partners who can help your business — and vice versa.
Michelle Calcote King, host of the Spill the Ink podcast, has experienced this firsthand: “In addition to creating new friendships, my podcast has helped me rekindle and boost existing friendships that had gone dormant. It’s a great way to give back to people in your network.”
At Rise25, we often hear stories about our clients meeting their podcast guests in person long after they featured them on an episode, like Andrea Heuston, host of the Lead Like A Woman Show. She shared: “I am blessed to have become friends with one of my amazing podcast guests, Fran Biderman-Gross. We’re meeting in person in Vegas this week for the first time!”
For us, podcasting was a life-changing decision that led to many real-life friendships. We feel privileged that we can help business owners across several industries create their own podcasts and make valuable business friendships along the way.
Adi Klevit, host of the Systems Simplified podcast, reminded us of that when she shared: “I consider both Jeremy and John great friends! They genuinely care about me and my businesses, they give me great advice, and I feel like they are always there for me.”
Thanks so much, Adi! That’s awesome for us to hear. We hope we — and you — continue to forge these friendships with our podcasts, businesses, and beyond!
Thanks for reading, friends.