It Pays to Be Connected: How Relationships Fuel Real Success with Hannah Schwartz

Summary

Podcast Summary:

What Are You Made Of? with Mike "C-Roc" Ciorrocco
Episode: It Pays to Be Connected: How Relationships Fuel Real Success with Hannah Schwartz
Date: January 6, 2026

---

Episode Overview

In this value-packed episode, host Mike "C-Roc" Ciorrocco sits down with Hannah Schwartz, business strategist and founder of the Connected Network, to explore the crucial role that authentic relationships and connections play in real success—both in business and personal development. Hannah opens up about her journey from feeling like an outsider to becoming a top connector, shares tangible strategies for meaningful networking, and provides the inside scoop on her innovative new platform. This episode is a powerful examination of how to cultivate genuine business relationships, overcome personal insecurities, and build a network that truly supports your mission.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ingredients of Success: Drive and Connection

• Hannah’s Origin Story ([01:10]–[02:49])

  • Hannah shares how, despite struggles in high school, she envisioned herself one day speaking to a room full of business people—a dream she eventually made reality.
  • Quote:

    "One day I was in the locker room and I remember shutting the locker room door and I said, one day I'll be speaking to a room of business people." (Hannah, [01:14])

  • She attributes her journey to a combination of relentless drive and a passion for authentic connection.

• Authenticity over Conformity

  • Both Mike and Hannah discuss the pitfalls of trying to fit in, especially for extroverted personalities who might be suppressed by their environment.
  • Quote:

    “If you’re not authentically yourself, you’ll draw the wrong people into your environment.” (Mike, [08:14])

2. Overcoming Early Adversity and Finding Your Circle

• Bullying and Loneliness as Catalysts ([03:55]–[05:53])

  • Hannah recounts experiences of isolation and bullying that initially made her desperate for connection, leading to some unhealthy patterns of people-pleasing and codependency.
  • Notable Moment:
    • Shares a childhood birthday party story, underscoring early struggles with belonging.

    "I remember... I had a grade of 40 classmates and I invited them all to a birthday party. And I remember, I think only four came." (Hannah, [03:58])

• Learning to Curate Your Network

  • Over time, she learned to be more selective, valuing quality over quantity, and understanding that outgrowing connections is part of growth.
  • Focused on helping others find thriving, supportive circles.

3. Authentic Networking vs. Surface-Level Relationships

• The Power of Solo Experiences ([10:24]–[13:16])

  • Hannah describes her practice of “solo dating” and “event hopping” in Toronto, intentionally going out alone to foster new and deeper connections.
  • Quote:

    "Going out by myself is how I've met the best people. It's how I also get centered in myself." (Hannah, [11:14])

• Being Intentional With Connections

  • Discusses the importance of not diluting authenticity by always adapting to fit in.
  • The difference between shifting energy in different groups and fundamentally changing oneself for approval.

• Letting Go of Outgrown Connections ([09:03]–[10:24])

  • Both hosts agree on the importance of recognizing when a relationship no longer serves mutual growth, even if it’s painful.
  • Quote:

    “Sometimes you outgrow people and they outgrow you. At one point, they were everything you needed.” (Hannah, [09:03])

4. Business Growth: From Strategy to Connection

• Hannah’s Business Focus ([16:34]–[18:34])

  • Started as a business strategist for six-figure earners, coaching on scaling teams and systems.
  • Realized that without genuine connections, businesses with the best strategies still stall.
  • Thus, she pivoted to focus on facilitating powerful connections—founding the Connected Network.

• Quote:

  "You can have the best business, the best idea, the best concept, but if you're not well connected, you won't go anywhere." (Hannah, [17:41])

5. The Art (and Limits) of Generosity in Networking

• Giving vs. Self-Preservation ([18:34]–[21:04])

  • Mike and Hannah discuss the tendency of ‘givers’ in networking—how to be generous but remain discerning.
  • Hannah avoids taking affiliate payments for connecting others, preferring to keep relationships in a “friend zone” which fosters deeper trust and reciprocal opportunities.
  • Quote:

    "Generosity builds generosity. If I start making every connection I have into a business connection... I won't actually get very far in my career." (Hannah, [19:24])

• Knowing When to Stop Giving

  • If people are unappreciative or exploitative, both agree it’s time to step back.
  • Protecting your own brand and reputation is essential.

6. The Connected Network: A New Model for Connection

• Platform Structure & Philosophy ([23:27]–[28:59])

  • The Connected Network is described as “LinkedIn, but with no follower counts and all independent careers.”
  • Members must be invited—either by an insider or directly by Hannah—which keeps quality high.
  • Features an “open room” for collaboration, separate industry channels, and an intentional “Promote it” space to contain spam.
  • Memorable Moment:

    "There's actually no way to join unless you get invited. ... I'm calling it proof of connection, proof of concept." (Hannah, [26:33])

• Next Phases: Connected Cities

  • Upcoming feature to allow members to join city-based networks and event calendars—facilitating in-person networking and local collaboration.
  • Plans for a Canadian tour and a docuseries to elevate the brand.

7. Protecting Community Integrity

• Quality Assurance ([26:33]–[28:59])
  • No public join links: limits access to strong-referral and direct-invitation only.
  • No tolerance for problematic members—admins reserve the right to remove anyone at any time without explanation.
  • Specific channels control and direct promotional activity, minimizing spam and maximizing value.

8. Vision for the Future

• Scaling With Intention ([29:06]–[30:17])

  • Targeting 1,000 members within six months—the “first 500” being the trench-warfare phase.
  • Focus on real engagement and utility, rather than rapid, indiscriminate scale.
  • Open to adapting platform tech as the community grows, but prioritizing value over design.

• Final Quote:

  "For me, I want something that has such high value that over delivers. ... The value is in the space and the people." (Hannah, [30:24]/[31:22])

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Authenticity and Connection:

  “If you’re not authentically yourself, you’ll draw the wrong people into your environment...” (Mike, [08:14])

• On Outgrowing Old Networks:

  “Sometimes you outgrow people and they outgrow you. At one point, they were everything that you've ever needed.” (Hannah, [09:03])

• On Building a Trusted Network:

  “Every time you make a connection, that person represents you. Both parties represent you.” (Hannah, [21:53])

• On Generosity in Networking:

  “Generosity actually leads to more connections, and it leaves things in the friend zone. And sometimes connections are best left in the friend zone so you could grow those connections further.” (Hannah, [19:24])

• On Platform Integrity:

  "We can boot you for no reason at all, at any time. ... In case we do have someone that comes on that just does not add to the community, we can simply let them go." (Hannah, [26:44])

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:10] — Hannah’s high school moment of resolve and the birth of her drive
• [03:55] — Bullying and early loneliness; longing for connection
• [09:03] — Outgrowing relationships and changing personal patterns
• [11:14] — “Solo dating” and event hopping: building a network through intentional solo experiences
• [16:34] — Transition from business strategy to building a connection-focused platform
• [19:24] — The boundaries between generosity and self-care in networking
• [23:27] — Detailed walkthrough of The Connected Network’s structure and features
• [26:33] — Platform access philosophy: invitation-only, strict moderation
• [29:06] — Vision for scale, upcoming features, and future development

---

Conclusion

This episode is an inspiring and practical guide to building a meaningful network in business and life. Hannah Schwartz shares her journey from outsider to expert connector and offers concrete advice on curating relationships that fuel success—and joy. Listeners will leave with new strategies for authentic networking, a clear understanding of Hannah’s innovative platform, and a reminder that relationships are the currency of real achievement.

Find Hannah:

• Instagram: @startwithhannah
• Connected Network: [Connected by SWH]

---

For more stories of grit, growth, and connection, hit subscribe and tune into “What Are You Made Of?”

Transcript

[A]

Welcome back to what do you made of show here on I'm sorry, from that one studio, it's your boy C Rock. Here I have Hannah Schwartz with us. She's like the ultimate connector. She's like a person of my own heart. Hannah, what's happening?

[B]

I'm having the best day. How are you?

[A]

Yeah, I'm doing great. Doing great. Getting ready for the holidays here, dialing in and gaining momentum more and more for 2026. But I'm glad to have you here. We've connected in the past and, you know, you became part of our network. I just love your energy. And we're working on doing some amazing things together. We just were chatting it up about a new opportunity in business, and I'm excited for you. So welcome to the show.

[B]

Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here. As soon as you welcomed me into the group, I was there immediately. And I'm on that place, on that group every single day. I love what you do. And we are, like, synergetically meant to be chatting.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. For sure. So we start the show the same way every time. And this show's about the ingredients that have gone into making you who you are to get you to do what you're doing right. And we like to hear the story of that so that people can see how people have evolved into the mission that they're on. And we start the show with this question. What are you made of?

[B]

I am made of drive and connection. I've been driven since I can remember, since, like, my grade 12 locker room. One day I was in the locker room and I remember shutting the locker room door and I said, one day I'll be speaking to a room of business people. I shut the locker room door and I walked away from the locker room. And I've been driven ever since to stand on stages and to speak with incredible, driven people and to get very well connected with not only entrepreneurs, but connecting them with what they need to grow in business as well. And in three and a half years, I've done it.

[A]

Why the locker room? What was the catalyst for that happening there?

[B]

I don't remember. I think I was just having a tough day at school in grade 12 and knowing that I was just not where I was going to be. We had all sorts of different classes that just didn't speak to me. Like, we had classes, the typical I high school classes. And then I just remember thinking, but, like, I want a business mindset and I want to be surrounded by people who are Building in business together. And I want to speak to a room of inspired people. And I just didn't feel like any of my classes hit any of those exciting pillars of my life. And so I just remember, like, it was almost like my own pep talk to myself. Like, one day I will be there. And then I remember I spoke on stage in front of 200 people, and they were all entrepreneurs in business. And I hosted an event where I welcomed to stage one of, like, my inspirations. And at the end of the night, I actually shared the story on stage and I went off script and I saw everybody, like all the management for the coordinators and the team, they were looking at me like, what's she going? What's she doing? And I shared with everyone that, like, my dream came true that day, like from the locker room of grade 12.

[A]

And you probably connected with a lot of the audience by sharing an authentic story, right?

[B]

I think so too.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I think, like, for many of us in the entrepreneur space, we didn't really get the classes that we would have loved in high school or in any school, like elementary. I would have loved like a speaking class about business, like make your own. Make your own company this semester. That would have been for me.

[A]

Yeah. It seems like they just create this curriculum that's kind of general and throw people through it. And that's what the problem is. A lot of the people that are super successful in life were C students because they just didn't have interest. They weren't peak. Their. In their. Their imagination, wasn't encouraged. And so they just didn't have a passion for it. And they kind of check out, you know, and you learn best on things that you have a passionate about or an interest in, you know?

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Yeah, I can see that now. A lot of people like us that are very extroverted and have high energy and love people and this. And that went through something. When we were younger, I noticed that have. Have. Was there certain things that you went through when you were younger that kind of brought this out in you?

[B]

Absolutely. I actually was very heavily bullied growing up, and I had really few friends. I remember there was one year where invited. I had a grade of 40 classmates and I invited them all to a birthday party. And I remember, I think only four came. And the worst part about that party was I really didn't want, like, my sister and my mom to join the party because I thought that was like, don't do that. Like, I want to have cool friends. But they felt so bad that they joined the Party to add numbers. And so for a long time throughout university, I really just didn't understand why I couldn't make friends. And then in university, everything switched and I started making friends. But then I started getting almost attached, like, don't leave. Don't leave. This is everything I've always wanted, right? So I'd get invited to parties, and I'd go to every single one because I was so scared that if I didn't go to a party, I wouldn't get invited again. And then something along, maybe about five years ago or so, I started to become more selective about the friends that I invite in my circle and the people that I have in my space, because I finally have become the person I knew I was in high school, in elementary. And I think when we're young and we're surrounded by kids, we all want to be like the other person. We all want to wear the same. I remember, like, there was this American Eagle T shirt that everybody had. I went to my mom, like, can I have this one American Eagle T shirt? She's like, why? I'm like, everyone has it. She's like, right. Why do you want it?

[A]

Right.

[B]

Meanwhile, now we're all just so different. And I think that's why we all connect. We connect over our differences and our. I believe that the more people you have in your circle, that can inspire you in different ways. Different from yourself is beautiful, but definitely, I think I view connection as. I want to make sure that everybody finds their people and every one finds their circle and feels not only included, but feels like they can thrive in the circles they're in. And I think that's really important to me when I help people get connected.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I agree. I can relate to the thing where, you know, the bully situation and craving connection and just wanting to be, you know, around people, and then you actually change your personality and shape your identity to try to fit in, and then you're not authentically yourself. But if you don't do that, then you get isolated. And it's a tough thing when you're a kid, you know, and the other kids, like, if you have a big personality, they. They get, you know, threatened by that. So they want to suppress you. They want to push you down, and. And then you stop being yourself, and it's. It. So one. A lot of the work that I've done in my life is. Is unsuppression, right? Like, take, like, you ever see one of those mattresses that comes delivered? I just saw a video on social media last Night, my wife and I were laughing. This mattress, it's like a memory foam mattress all rolled up. And then it says, be careful when you open this thing up. And if people don't pay attention, they open it up and they get thrown against the wall. But, like, that's the thing. It's like this, this suppression happens. A lot of pressure builds up, and you just need to get that thing to release so that you can live into your authenticity and be that one. Like I talk about being that one. It's because you need to find out who you are truly, after all that suppression and, you know, unleash it. And. And when you do that, that's when you become really successful in the world.

[B]

Because I couldn't agree more.

[A]

You're not wearing an American Eagle T shirt like everyone else.

[B]

I love that mattress example. I could see myself and like, when I first started making friends, that kind of happened to me. Like, oh, my gosh, Whoosh. It's happening. And it's true. I think especially when we're young. And also there are some people still today in their 30s, who are still trying to adjust their own self in different rooms. And in one sense, it's good to have people in different arenas in your life that get to pull different parts of you out of yourself. So, like, you're funny with this group and you're businessy with this group, but that's different to changing yourself to fit into a group. And there's such a beautiful difference once you find that out, that you can have friends in different arenas that bring a different side of you out versus having to adjust yourself like a chameleon to make sense for other people, which I also think makes people not really like you very much. Cause I think people can taste that. I think people can feel when you're not actually true to yourself. And it feels off putting.

[A]

Yeah. Here's the other thing though, right? Like, if you're not authentically yourself, you'll draw the wrong people into your environment and you won't really like and resonate with them. And then you'll be misaligned. And then when you're by yourself, you're like, what am I hanging out with those people for? Then toxicity develops. So the hard time that people have is. Is to be authentically themselves and be okay with people leaving their. You mentioned this, right? Like, I didn't want to lose them. Like, once I got them, I would want to lose them. And there's a codependency that develops. So we want to kind of make sure. That we are leaning in authentically to ourselves and being okay with people that are close to us exiting our lives because they don't resonate with who we're being. And so that's a real power move, because I've been there before where I kept people over in my environment that didn't really belong anymore. You know, so did you. Did you notice that, too? And you had to exit some people out of your life, but you didn't really want to.

[B]

Absolutely. I think you're also saying goodbye to a piece of yourself along the way, because sometimes you outgrow people and they outgrow you. And at one point, they were everything that you've ever needed. And then you get to a point in your life and you're like, actually, that pulls me back to a negative space of mine or pulls me back to being a person I don't like. I'm quite a mimicker. So if I'm surrounded by people and they all say a specific word, I'll end up saying that word a lot. I found that out about myself. And so that also could be a negative trait. If I hang out with people who are negative or when we all get together, we start speaking negatively, I'll just start. I'll take that, and I'll take that outside of that element, and I'll start being negative outside of that space. And sometimes I'll catch. I'm a big. I believe in patterns. We are. We create our own patterns all the time. Our brain creates our own patterns for us, and sometimes we have to catch the pattern to break them. And so I'll sometimes notice if I'm taking a pattern in regards to maybe negativity outside of that specific friend group, then I got to cut the pattern. And the only way for me to cut that pattern is to actually cut that friend group.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't want to be a negative person in another arena, in a. In another space. And we all have people that we rant to. That's different. But once you take a form that isn't genuine to yourself or isn't making other people happy, I think cutting some patterns is important. And unfortunately, that means sometimes cutting out some people in your life.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. For sure. What's a day in the life of Hannah? Like, what are you. What are you doing on a daily basis?

[B]

This one's fun. Because my life has no two days that are the same. I wake up and come to work in the room right next to my bedroom. So my office is right next to my bedroom. And I'm behind the computer figuring out different ways of connecting people all day, every day through either technology or in person situations. That's like my number one. And so a lot of my work is like me, quiet, by myself, sipping coffee, no music. Because I can't listen to music while I work. It just does not work. But then evening, I call it either solo dating or event hopping. I go out by myself all the time. Going up on myself is how I've met the best people. It's how I also get centered in myself and what I'm doing. And so I'll go to, as I mentioned to you earlier, I go to hotel bars, especially luxurious ones, and I sit by myself having a cocktail or a coffee and sometimes just a glass of water, sometimes a giant burger, sometimes a classier meal, and I'll meet just whoever sits next to me. And this is my way of getting connected with literally anyone and everyone. And then I event hop. So I get invited to events. Instead of bar hopping, I call it event hopping. So I'll get invited to different events and I'll see when all the start times are and when I think they're all going to, you know, hit their peak. And I'll just take Ubers around the city and I'll hop festivals and I'll hop events. And I do that almost every weekend. And that is incredibly fun.

[A]

Yeah, I can imagine.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, well, you know, when you go places with the people that you already know, a lot of times you get to the event and then you, you guys are just hanging out and you fail to get out there and extrovert into the crowd, you know? And what city is it that you live in again? Toronto.

[B]

I'm in Toronto.

[A]

Yeah, Toronto. So there's a lot going on there.

[B]

Yeah, I, I only bring people with me who I can leave. And I tell them this every time, because here's what happens. Have you ever solo traveled versus going traveling with someone else? Yeah, so I actually call it solo traveling in my own city. And I like to experience the world. And what ends up happening is if you go out with other people, which I'm not saying don't do that ever. Of course I go out with my friends, but when I'm trying to either experience life a different way or experience business in a different way, I have to do it alone. Because your eyes are open to the world, you're smiling at more people, you're not thinking about the inside jokes you have with the person next to you. And more so I think you might Be like me in this way. I always want to make sure that the person I'm with is having a really good time. And so a lot of my energy is taken up by, are they good? Are they happy? Are they speaking to the right people? Can I leave them right now? Do they need me to come back? Where? And if I go by myself, I really just get to travel by myself. I get to solo date, solo travel, and I also get to leave whenever I want. That's a big one, too.

[A]

Yep, yep. Because sometimes it's dead. It's just not going anywhere. And it's, you know, you just roll out.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then. And then the dating scene right now, like in, you know, you're in a big city. By the way, I'm married 22 years. I haven't dated since. I don't. I can't even remember. Right. I was in my 20s, you know.

[B]

Don'T go back to the dating scene. Trust me.

[A]

Yeah, so what is that? First of all, what is it like nowadays? And then how could that possibly change if you do find somebody you want to date with? Being able to get out there and do your thing? Because that's very important for the business that you have, right?

[B]

Absolutely. I do best when I date people who are also very vibrant and very extroverted and understand that or. And oftentimes the people that I get along best with are the people that love that side of me. I can't. You know, I went on a first date once and they said, are you going to change your lifestyle if we start dating? And I said, you're. You're asking me the wrong question. That can't be on our first date question. The dating scene is an interesting place. I don't know what more to say. I've been single for quite a long time now. I think as an independent woman who's so entirely focused on my career, it's very hard to shift gears. I can be on a dinner date and I'll just start talking to the waitress and be like, what do you do? What do you want to do? What's your dream? Last night I went on a business meeting and ended up talking to the server who's a dancer who wants to move into dance. And I'm like, great, connect with me. I want to connect you with someone. We'll get you on stages. And so I'm very easily, like, I meander very easily into conversation with other people. Some people love it, but some people feel like it takes attention away from them. And so it's an interesting space, but I would recommend to not, not reenter the dating world.

[A]

Yeah, well, but even as an independent woman, don't you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Sometimes get a crush on someone pretty quickly like that that you've run into? Like you have a first date and you're like, man, I got a little crush here.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

How do you handle that? Because if you're not going to be going further with it, like, how do you handle that?

[B]

It depends. I actually, I love love. I think love is just one of the most beautiful aspects of our lives. And to connect with people in different levels is literally everything to me. And I don't believe that the only connections you're supposed to have are in business. I have connections that are just friends and I have connections that are, you know, family. And I have connections that feel like family, but they're friends and I have business connections. And also business connections are all different levels. And so the connection of love, I think is possibly the hardest one because it's like a connection that can't be explained. It's one of those connections that's felt. Of course, I have crushes along the way and I date people here and there and usually they're very big people as well. Usually there are people who also stand on stages, but in different industries. And then we cheer each other on and share each other's contacts and we are so excited when the other person has something happen. And alternatively, I get along very well with people who are a little bit more introverted, who can ground me a little more when we're at home, who can actually, because I run driven every five seconds, every other minute I have another business idea and someone else I want to connect.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it is fun sometimes when someone can pull me out of that and be like, let's just actually watch a movie and finish it this time.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I can see that. Yeah. So tell the audience what you do though, now. Now what is your focus now? And then I have some questions on that.

[B]

Okay. So I started my career as a business strategist and I still do that and it's one of my favorite pieces. So I help entrepreneurs who are six figure earners grow and scale their companies. Typically, when you hit your first six figures, you actually start bringing home less money than you did before hitting six figures because you start building a team and putting any entrepreneur in the space of building a team who has never done it before. It's a very difficult undertaking to go after and oftentimes is done wrong. And so I help people fire people. I Help people, hire people and I help people expand their businesses. And through doing so, I've noticed that no matter how good the strategy became or how well our foundations were, if the person I was working with wasn't getting connected, they wouldn't go anywhere. And I sat with this for a while. I sat with this concept of I have these amazing clients. I've been doing this for over three years now. How do I integrate connection into the space of business? How do I showcase to people that you can have the best business, the best idea, the best concept, but if you're not well connected, you won't go anywhere. And similarly you'll see not so great businesses that are really making it and you wonder how they've done it. And really it's through connection. They're father had an uncle who had a cousin who had a friend and that's really the way the world works. And the truth of the matter is you don't have to have that first connection to get connected. You are the sole person who can get you incredibly connected in the world if you have the basis for what to share when you start connecting, if you start to understand the skills of connection and know who to connect with. And so I launched the Connected network by Start with Hannah and it now connects people across all industries. And two days ago I actually just launched Connected Industries within the platform. So now you can choose your own industry and jump into other industries and start connecting automatically. Like you're hosting an event and you're an event host, you join the events connects. But let's say you are someone in the tech industry that wants to make events. You could jump into events and ask for people in the events industry. And so I love it. I like live and breathe connection every day now and that's what I do.

[A]

Yeah, and so how so you know, I've run into this in the past where I just do so much for people, just give, give, give, give, give. Have you been in a situation where you were giving so much and then you're like, wait a minute, I got to start like taking care of Hannah too?

[B]

Well, yes and no one on one hand, the strategy side of the company does bring in a good amount of income and the connection based platform is a monthly membership and so I do make money. On the other hand, this is the part that is sticky for some people. I get offered affiliate opportunities all the time. So I'll meet with someone, they say if you can get me clients, I'll give you X dollars. And nine times out of ten, I actually say, no. I was actually on a call with someone from your network and they said, you have clients for me. I feel like you do. Send them to me. I'll give you a good chunk of change. And I said, no, I'm not going to take any money. And then she looked at me with shock in her face and she goes, how about a spa day? And I go, I'll take all the spa days. I'll take them all. Give them all to me. My reasoning is because generosity actually leads to more connections, and it leaves things in the friend zone. And sometimes connections are best left in the friend zone so that you could grow those connections further. Generosity builds generosity. And so if I start making every connection I have into a business connection where we have to exchange money or we're not connected, I won't actually get very far in my career. And so there is a give and take. On the flip side to all of this, if I've connected someone multiple times, but I feel as though they don't speak my name well, in rooms, I'll just simply stop connecting them and no one actually feels it. It all happens. Most of the connections happen when you're not even there. Right. I speak people's names in rooms they aren't in. Most people don't even know I spoke their names. I've spoken your name. I literally spoke your name last night in two separate meetings that I was in. And you would never know because it's this beautiful behind the scenes situation of connection. Right. And so when people talk to me about podcasting, of course I have to talk about that one. There's like no other way around it. And then when people talk to me about big businesses, I also have to talk about Mike. So there's different opportunities to speak different people's names that not always turn into dollars.

[A]

Yeah, but I'm here for. Yeah, yeah, I'm with you. You know, I've. I've made people, you know, the. The sum total millions and millions of dollars and didn't set up an affiliate, didn't do this, didn't do that. Other times I have, but it's like, at some point you gotta weed the people out that aren't appreciative. Right.

[B]

I think that's true.

[A]

You know, you gotta pay attention to those things because people just take advantage. And a lot of times, you know, it's amazing to me, I've had people recently just ruin relationships because they don't understand what's been done for them. They just think it's a given and then they're unappreciative. They. And. And you can tell really what's going on in their heart by their actions. Not what they say, but what they do. I pay attention to things and I'm. And I see how people move afterwards, and I'm like, man, they just don't get it. Like, it's unbelievable to me. Like, they just don't get it and it's sad.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

You know, and so then you have to take, you know, then you have to confront those situations. You can just not connect them anymore. But you also, if they're entangled in. With you in some form or fashion, you have to figure out a way to address it and confront it, you know, And I'm very conscious. You got to protect the thing that you built, right?

[B]

Absolutely. Well, exactly to that point, I think what a lot of people get wrong in connections, like a lot of people want to be connectors and they'll connect anyone and everyone. They'll connect, you know, people that should not be connected. And what I don't think people realize in the connector world, and I know you know this very well, is every time you make a connection, that person represents you. Both parties represent you. And so if you form a really strong connection, it's like you did good business with those two people. Even though you never touched any money crossing hands, you are actually part of that business exchange. And so the next time you connect either one of those people with someone, they're going to run to the connection that you've just connected, which is actually how you build in business, because that's when the bigger opportunities come for you financially. But what a lot of people do wrong is they'll just connect anyone with anyone. And the moment you start connecting people that actually don't represent your name well or what you do or your. Your way of, of, of doing business, you actually tarnish your own name and can. You could actually ruin your entire business by doing it.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, it's true. And then you got to earn trust back. Trust is the thing that's earned, and as you build it, it's good. But then once you just, you, you, you compromise it, it's hard to come back from.

[B]

It's so hard to get back. It's so hard to get back.

[A]

It really is. So.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Yeah. So, okay, so then with this platform that you've created, tell us a little bit more about the platform you said. Obviously gave us some details about searching for industry and connecting with different things. But like, what is it like, so people Understand, like paint the picture.

[B]

Yeah. So imagine LinkedIn, but no follower counts and all independent careers. And so what you have is this ability to join an overall platform where everybody in there wants to connect across industries to either find new opportunities or make new collaborations. You join, you have a profile, there's a directory of every single member and there's some basic chat channels. You can talk about what you're promoting, what your offers are, any questions that you have. Members are always in one of the channels that we call the room. And the idea is it's the room that you want to get into and people chat in that channel the most. Usually it's something that's upcoming. Hey, I have a website launch. Can someone look at it? Hey, I've got a product launching. What do you think of this? I'm going to do this offer. What do you think of that? And then we just launched Connected Industries, which was phase two. So we're currently in phase two, which allows people to first connect with their connected industry. So if you're in the music industry, connect with music. If you're in events, connect with events and you can speak the language of your industry. But how do you then build across the bubbles? So it's great to live in a bubble. It's great to live in the music industry. But think about this. And I was talking to a big name in music last night, let's take a music video for example. And you're living in this music bubble and you're a musician and you're going to make a music video. What if in that music video you feature a few products from entrepreneurs? There is a candle on the shelf, there's a new soap in the bathroom, and someone's drinking out of glassware that was made by another entrepreneur. Now those entrepreneurs are all going to share that music video, which are all completely different people, different industries than you currently are in that music video and song are now scaling four times the amount that they were before. Simply because you put a candle from a candle company inside your music video. Yeah, and that's called cross pollinating across industries. And I want to make sure that we're doing that and we're really connecting across bubbles and within bubbles.

[A]

Like it.

[B]

The next. Thank you. Phase three is coming in six months. Phase three is Connected Cities. This one is probably the part I'm most excited about, but we aren't there yet. Connected Cities is the opportunity to join and leave cities as you wish. And when you join a city, your event calendar automatically populates all the events happening in that city by members between music, business and creative. And then let's say you're traveling to Vancouver for a business event. You could jump into the Vancouver city, chat with the Vancouver folks there and say, hey, I'm coming to Vancouver. Who wants to meet? Your calendar automatically populates what's happening in that city and then you leave. Two weeks later, you just leave the city and you can go to the next one. And all this is included in your membership?

[A]

Yeah. That's awesome. I like it.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Yeah, these are great things that people can utilize for sure. As you populate it more, it's going to get even better. How do you prevent people from creating a bad experience on the platform with spamming the chat thing or whatever, or screwing somebody over. Somebody does business with somebody. Like, how do you. Because your brand matters. Right. So absolutely. How do you protect them?

[B]

Two parts. One, if I'm going to tell people that connection is going to grow their business, then I have to prove it. So there's actually no way to join unless you get invited. Invited by a member. We did this for two reasons. One, I'm calling it proof of connection, Proof of concept. So there's no links online. You actually cannot get in from a link in bio. The only way is a member inside has to invite you or you have to get invited by myself, which does mean slower growth. But it also means that we're bringing in people that are friends of and friends of and colleagues of the members, which does allow us to bring in a more sophisticated group of people. Invite only. It adds to the accessibility of it all. On the other side, though, I have a very simple sentence on the page that says we can boot you for no reason at all, at any time. Any of the admins. The reason we do that is in case we do have someone that comes on that just does not add to the community, we can simply let them go. And that is inevitable. It's going to happen. It happens in any group that you're in. But to avoid huge spamming, this is one thing I learned in another community that I used to run, which was giving people the space to spam will stop them from spamming other channels. So I actually have one channel called Promote it and it is the one channel that is meant to be spammed. Share everything you do, Sell hard, showcase, give us the links. People will send essays of all the work that they do with all of their. Every single link that they've ever had since they started in business will go onto that page. And by allowing People the space to spam and to actually get that off their chest, like, here's what I do, come buy for me. Then they go use the other channels in the way that they're meant to be used. And that's so far what we've seen.

[A]

And for the most part, people don't get business by spamming a thing and putting like their offers on a, on a thing that doesn't belong. People just bypass it.

[B]

You know, it, it actually leads to less engagement. And because we don't live on algorithm on this platform, we actually live in time. So if something gets posted today and you show up a minute later, that's the post you're going to see. So it's action based of when people are actually online and using it. So the benefit of that is the engagement doesn't add to anything. And if you spam a lot, you're going to have to show up at different hours of people coming by because it's not going to. Now the algorithm isn't going to be like, oh, this person's active. Let's put their post at the top. That's not how this works. Yeah, yeah, it's time sensitive.

[A]

Gotcha. And finally here, what's the vision with this going forward? Like the growth of it? What are you, what are you seeing?

[B]

Yeah, so within the first six months, I'd like to hit a thousand members. We are in the trenches, is what I call it right now. The trenches are the first 500 members. The first 500 members of any online platform are the hardest because people don't see the value yet until it's active and there's people in every chat channel. And so we just launched about six weeks ago and we're at 37, seven members. And then I pulled the links offline so now it's even harder to get in. So we're going to be in the trenches for about six months. In about six months we'll hit 1,000 members, which I'm most excited about in the onset. And then I am actually going on tour in the fall and we're going to be doing five Canadian cities. I don't think we're going to America this year, but we might do America in 2027. But I'm actually going on tour in the fall to bring together people from all of the industries across all the cities that we're going to have on the platform and the growth potential of that. We're also going to make a docu series of it. So the growth potential of bringing together all These different bubbles. I'm like smiling ear to ear. I'm so excited about this. And I mean, I see thousands upon thousands and 10,000 people using this on a regular basis instead of the social media algorithms that we're currently stuck in.

[A]

Love it. Do you see eventually getting off the framework that you're on onto your own framework?

[B]

That's the thing. I don't care about anything looking pretty. I've never been a perfectionist, and I've never cared enough about the design. I don't even have a logo. My logo is from three years ago when I got it on Canva and I never changed it. Now, marketing would tell me otherwise. They would tell me to go switch it. For me, I want something that has such high value that over delivers. And you get on there and you see the space and you're like, this is it. This is. I could make this in my sleep. And then you start understanding the value behind it. Will I shift over later? Here's the thing. We live in a time where there's so much tech available to us that using what's out there, why not? I mean, what do I pay $80 a month for this thing versus an entire team of my own? I like those numbers. I like the overhead there. But you know what, I can't really say because once the tech industry gets uploaded onto the platform and then we all of a sudden have this tech community, who knows, people inside the space might actually want to make it for us.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what I was thinking. Because you know what? You don't want to be in under control of a platform that could pull the plug on you after you build something amazing.

[B]

So absolutely.

[A]

That is definitely a fear, you know, like, absolutely. There was a time where Facebook and Instagram shut down for a day on accident a couple years ago, and everybody's losing their minds and it's like, wait a minute, guys. This just shows you that, like, you gotta be prepared for this, you know? So, Hannah, where can people learn more about you? Go deeper with you.

[B]

Start with Hannah on all platforms. So start with Hannah is where you're gonna find me on Instagram. When you start with Hannah, you start with you. And that was the tagline from the very beginning. And then we have Connected by SW H, which is connected by Start with Hannah. And that's the secondary tier, the second pages. But start with Hannah everywhere.

[A]

Awesome.

[B]

You'll find me there.

[A]

Thank you so much. I look forward to building with you. We got some plans going forward. I'm excited about and yeah, let's just continue to build. And thank you so much for your time today.

[B]

Thank you so much. And, everybody, you're all so lucky for having that one agency in our lives.

[A]

Well, thank you. Thank you.

[B]

It's really just, like the best network.

[A]

I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Well, yeah, and this is this can feed your, your platform, and I'm excited to do that. So. All right.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Here's the thing, folks. You got to hit the subscribe follow button if you want to keep coming back and hear more from our amazing guests and connect with others. And until next time, I just want to make sure you're being that one.