Business Friendships That Last
Photo by Emily Star Poole
Most networking advice treats relationships like a transaction: Show up, swap cards, follow up within 48 hours, extract value. It's efficient, and it's also why so many of the connections made this way don't survive past the “we should grab coffee.”
The beautiful relationships I've watched grow inside this community didn't start with a strategy. They started with a real conversation, usually about something that had nothing to do with business. Maybe it’s mentioning the cute local shop where you found your earrings. A recommendation for the hairstylist you adore. Something wild your kid did on the way out the door that made you a few minutes late.
The women I see building lasting business friendships aren't the ones working the room the fastest. They're the ones eager to take the time to get to know a new person. Willing to engage in real follow-through. Specificity is what turns a nice conversation into an actual relationship.
It also takes time most people aren't willing to give it. A friendship that can hold you through a slow month, a bad client, or a decision to raise your prices isn't built in one happy hour. It's built over several. It's the third and fourth time you show up to the same room, not the first.
And it takes a kind of honesty that's easy to skip in professional settings. Saying the thing is harder than you let on. Admitting you don't know how to price something, or that you're scared to raise your rates, or that this month didn't go the way you hoped. The friendships that last are usually the ones where that kind of honesty was welcomed instead of brushed past.
Laura Dow, owner and designer at Terra Cotta Designs, shared with me two stories I want to share with you,
At Laura’s first Vested event, she knew no one and came alone. She was nervous, but she made herself start introducing herself anyway. Near the end of the night, Laura spotted Erin Peterson from Trending Northwest across the room and felt that flicker of intimidation. Trending has an audience of over 60,000 followers and is a household name in our region — can you really just walk up to someone like that? Laura told herself to, “be a grown up about it,” and crossed the room anyway. Of course, Erin was warm and welcoming. The next day, Erin messaged her after noticing a post about custom newsletter design, and by the end of that day they had a signed contract. A year later, that relationship has grown into a full website redesign and a mini magazine project, built on a connection that started with one conversation neither of them planned!
Photo by Emily Star Poole
The second story started at a Vested Garden Party in 2024. Laura overheard someone mention that a woman named Aly had a hand in the 15 Tables set for the evening, and admired the work enough to introduce herself. That was Aly Elston, co-owner of the Greenhouse on Harvard. The following month at the Fête en Rouge, Aly entered a silent auction item for graphic design hours with Terra Cotta Designs. She won, and what followed was a full rebrand for the venue, the kind of project Laura describes as a dream client fit from the start.
Neither of those relationships came from a game-plan. They came from taking a deep breath, walking across a room on purpose, and being specific once she got there.
I’ve found our favorite babysitter, the best virtual assistant ever, and new go-to shops from connections made at Vested events. I’ve found professionals I can trust and learned so much about business. I’ve learned about perimenopause and flossing and astrology. I’m a better human being because of these random little connections with all of you.
If you're heading into another summer of events wondering whether it's worth showing up again, this is your reminder: the return isn't always immediate. Sometimes it's the person across the room you almost don't approach, who becomes a client, a collaborator, or a friend you're still calling a year from now.