Building Connections: The Key to Business Success

Welcome to the Business of Connection. I'm Michal, your host. I'm a business mindset coach who helps creative entrepreneurs build successful, fulfilling businesses.

Please focus on what's going on. Connections. This podcast is about connecting through relationships, whether you build them with your client, team, or yourself.

Connection is the key to growing an authentic and rewarding business.

Connections are the key to growing an authentic and rewarding business. Here's what I believe: Business and relationships go hand in hand. The same lessons we learned in dating, marriage, and friendship, like trust, communication, and showing up as your authentic self, can help you create stronger, more meaningful connections in your business you create stronger, meaningful connections in your business. Before coaching, I spent over 14 years building a successful event planning business.

I've been in the trenches managing relationships with clients, vendors, and teams. And I know firsthand that connection is the foundation of success. I'm a true Pisces, a manifesting generator in human design, and a holder of three passports, well, three citizenships. On this podcast, you'll discover simple tips, inspiring stories, and actionable strategies to help you build trust with your clients so they can keep coming back, strengthen your network with purpose and confidence,

Use lessons from personal relationships to grow your business. Some episodes will just be me sharing what I've learned, and others will feature amazing guests who share their experiences and expertise.

This isn't just about business. It's about learning how connection can transform how you work, grow, and succeed.

If you're ready to explore how relationships can take your business to the next level, you're in the right place. Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Let's dive in.

Welcome to the business of connection. I'm Michal, a business mindset coach who understands the unique challenges and aspirations of creative entrepreneurs like you. I'm here to help you build businesses that feel amazing, generally.

I'm here to help you build amazing businesses that generally work for you. Today, we're diving into love languages. Yes, I said we love languages; those are incredible ways we connect with others. But here's the thing, they're not just for romantic relationships. Understanding love languages can completely transform how you show up for your clients, business, and yourself. It's a powerful tool that can change how you do business and connect with others.

So grab your favourite drink, I have my coffee, get comfy, and let's explore how love languages can help you grow your businesses in ways you never imagined. Love languages aren't just for romantic relationships or friendships. Let's be honest, romantic relationships. They can change how you connect with clients, grow your business, and show up for yourself. Let's start with the basics. The five love languages are based on Dr. Gary Chapman's book The Five Love Languages. If you have, let's start with the basics. The Five Love Languages is based on Dr. Gary Chapman's book. If you haven't read it, you should. It's a quick read with a lot of fantastic information. It's about how people feel more valued and appreciated.

It's a quick read and has so much information and incredible resources that you can use in your daily life. It's about how people feel most valued and appreciated, which is key in any relationship, including business relationships. Here's the breakdown of the love languages and what they would look like if we described them in business terms. So let's start with words of affirmation. It's an encouragement. It's a compliment.

or even simply saying to someone, "You're doing great." Let's talk about acts of service, which in a regular world would be like taking out the garbage, doing the laundry, washing up, or picking up the groceries. That's an act of service in the regular world. So, how do we translate that into the business world? Helping someone solve a problem or going that extra mile. But I'm talking about helping solve a problem in a minute.

Let's talk about receiving gifts. Thoughtful gestures that show you care. That's obvious, we all like gifts. Well, not everyone, but some people do. Some people like giving gifts. Well, if you love giving gifts and they don't like getting gifts, then that's something you need to be aware of as well—quality time. Quality time is giving someone your full, undivided attention. Which, if you're a coach, is relatively easy. The question is, how does that translate to other businesses?

Physical touch is tough to do as a coach who works on Zoom, so how do we transfer that? This could mean a thoughtful, tangible gesture, like a handwritten note or beautiful packaging, if you're a product or selling a product. Why does this matter? In personal relationships, love languages build stronger bonds. In business, they create trust and connection. For example,

If a client values words of affirmation, telling them, You're making fantastic progress, could make their day. If they value acts of service, solving a problem for them.

If they value acts of service, solving a problem for them without being asked could mean the world. We must be cautious because sometimes we don't love people solving our problems.

We wanna work through our problems ourselves. So we must be cautious when solving someone else's problems. We get upset when men say, We're gonna fix it, we're gonna solve it. So, sometimes you must be very careful about what that means when solving a problem. You know.

If they say, "I wish someone could help me with this," then that's very different. You must be aware of how you will express and connect with that love language when you choose acts of service and solve that problem. Before we talk about your clients, let's start with you. It's excellent when you understand your client's love language, but if you don't know what your love language is, it can affect your daily life.

It can make everything about your business ten times harder. We want to connect. You always want to return to your love language because that will light you up and get you out of bed every day.

For me, it's acts of service and quality time.

That's why I feel energized during coaching calls. I love being present, brainstorming ideas, and helping my clients move forward. When I first started coaching, I observed my clients' words and how they responded to what I said. Because no two entrepreneurs are the same. I have to coach specifically for the way my clients take in information. The same goes for my clients' love languages.

Once I figure out what it is, I can use it on calls or through Messenger to add a special touch. Let me tell you about one of my clients, a graphic designer. Let's call her T. She was having a tough day. She felt overwhelmed and frustrated that she wasn't closing sales. She was stuck. We weren't even scheduled for a call, but I could tell from her voice notes that she needed more than just a quick message. So I said, let's hop on a call—that extra step.

The act of service helped her feel supported, and we identified some of the mindset issues that kept poking through, poking their pesky heads. That's, eh?

We identified some of the mindset issues that kept poking their pesky head and stopped her from going into.

The mindset issue that kept poking their pesky head out of her, that kept, the mindset issue that kept poking their pesky head and kept her in scarcity mode. She messaged me the next day saying she had signed a new client.

When you understand your love languages, you can see how they naturally appear in your work. Are you someone who loves cheering on clients? Do you go out of your way to add thoughtful touches to your products, service, and customer service? Take a moment to think about your love language and how it shapes how you serve others. Now let's talk about your clients. How do you figure out their love language?

It's easier than you think. You need to observe.

Here are a couple of clues. If they light up when you compliment them, they probably value words of affirmation. They might love receiving gifts if they get excited about small, thoughtful gestures. If they enjoy deep conversations, they're likely into quality time. For example, I once had a client, an event planner. Let's call her A.

Who loved it when I followed up after calls with extra resources, sending her marketing ideas from which she could get inspiration? That's when I realized her love language was acts of service and probably a little bit of receiving gifts. By sending templates and tools, I showed her value, I showed her, I valued her, and our connection grew even stronger. Your clients always give you little hints about what makes them feel appreciated. Pay attention and take notes. It will go a very long way in creating a positive connection. So let's get to the fun part. Let's get to the fun part once you recognize your client's love language. How once you realize your client, their,

So let's get to the fun part: once you recognize that your clients love languages, there are a bunch of ways you can apply them in your work. Some of them will be easier to implement than others. Some of them will be easier to implement than others. I just wanted to give you some extra tips in case it doesn't seem obvious how you can implement everything. Let's break it down. Words of information, again, I've talked about this, could be a compliment to your clients on their progress.

It could be celebrating their wins in emails, on calls, or even calling them out on social media. Acts of service could solve a problem for them before they even ask, but remember, there's a red flag, so just be careful. Send extra resources or tips, they'll find it very helpful. It's showing them that you care. That's really what it's about. I love tagging my clients and even, every so often, promoting their work on my social media platform.

Also, it allows them to be seen by my followers. Receiving gifts—who doesn't love a gift? Again, some people don't. Add a small freebie to orders or send a thank-you card. Offer a small token of appreciation when they refer someone to you. I'm one of those coaches who will always comment on my social media platforms and let it end, so it gets more engagement—quality, iI mean

Regarding quality time, you want to be present during meetings. No multitasking, leave the phone in a different room: host lives, and one-on-one brainstorming sessions. If you offer a service, instead of giving a discount, provide an extra meeting. Physical touch. Now here's the hard part. How do you turn it into a business style? It's probably the most challenging of love languages to translate.

Unless you're a masseuse, a physical therapist, a nail technician, or a dentist, for instance, for those people, touch is part of their daily work. So send thoughtful, tangible items like notebooks, swag, or a handwritten card. Focus on creating exceptional experiences through packaging or delivery. You show them you care when you match your approach to your client's love languages. This kind of connection builds loyalty.

And we'll have people coming back to you over and over again. Here's where the magic happens. When clients feel seen and appreciated, they're more likely to stay, tell others about you, and return for more. I had a copyrighted client, let's call her B, who figured out some of her clients loved quality time—and a little bit of gift giving. She started offering free 30-minute brainstorming calls as a bonus for her new clients. Her bookings doubled.

That month. You don't have to do anything huge, just small, thoughtful actions that make your clients feel valued. Let's take a pause. What's one thing you can start doing today to use love languages in your business? Maybe it's sending a quick thank you message or adding a personal touch to a product order.

Maybe it's just sending a message saying, How's your day going? Here's your challenge for the week. Pick one client and try speaking their love language. Please pay attention to how they respond and how it strengthens your connection. So here's the bottom line. The five love languages aren't just for romantic relationships. They're a powerful tool for creating authentic connections in life and your business.

Start by understanding your love language, observe your clients to figure out theirs, and then tailor your approach to make them feel valued. When you do this, you're not just delivering a service, but creating an experience, and that's what keeps clients coming back more and more, over and over. Thank you so much for joining me on the business of connections. If you found today's episode helpful, share it with someone who could use these tips, and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

You can find me on TikTok and Instagram at itsmichalkaye. I'd love to hear from you, share your thoughts, and connect with you there, especially if you tried the challenge. Until next time, remember that the best businesses are built on strong relationships. Keep showing up, connecting, and growing.