Hey, welcome back to Cuba Holda CEO, another bonus episode on the podcast where we ask

successful entrepreneurs, the business questions you can't Google. I'm your host,

Ellenian, and I want to keep this conversation today short and sweet, but I wanted to share something that's

been on my mind, which is the value in investing in local business networking, even if you're

an online business. So this is my hot take today that I just want to riff on with you. I have been

actively investing in local business groups and communities since 2019,

which was my second year in business. And the relationships formed in these in-person

communities have paid dividends in my life in ways that I can't even begin to quantify.

And when I say dividends, I don't just mean monetary gains for my

business. I mean some of these friends that I've met through these groups are people who are

going to be at my wedding this summer or, you know, the real estate agent who helped me buy my first

house in 2020. That was from a business networking group, people who have become amazing clients

and collaborators and referral partners, the print shop that we work with for all of our

printing needs that supported our first ever cubicle to CEO live event last August as an

in-kind sponsor. You know, shout out to Corvallus Custom. And those are people that I met

through an in-person business networking group. So I just want to share this idea because I think

that oftentimes in online business, in a weird, counterintuitive way, because the reach of

our businesses are so broad, so global, so big, we almost silo ourselves in a way

and think that we are limited to creating connection and fostering community through

just online means, online groups, online masterminds, online events. But there is so much

value to, I think, in forming relationships in person, even if your business

is not tied to a geographical area. So I actually want to give you one specific example of how

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