Have We Forgotten How to Connect? Leicestershire Entrepreneur Says Business Networking Needs a Rethink

A Leicestershire entrepreneur and award-winning social enterprise founder is calling for a rethink of traditional business networking, arguing that thousands of online connections are leaving many business owners feeling more disconnected than ever.

Katie Grigg, who spent more than 20 years working in the NHS before going on to build an award-winning Community Interest Company, believes the relentless focus on followers, visibility and selling has left many entrepreneurs craving something far simpler: genuine human connection.

Now, at 48, Katie is beginning another chapter in her varied career as the Leicestershire Circle Leader for The Soul Aligned Village, a growing friendship-first community for business owners.

And she believes its approach reflects a wider change in what people want from their professional networks.

“We’re supposedly more connected than ever, but I think many people actually feel more disconnected than ever,” Katie said.

“You can have 5,000 followers on social media and still not have five people you feel you could pick up the phone to when you need advice.

“Business owners are running companies, raising families, caring for other people and trying to maintain an online presence at the same time. It can be incredibly lonely.

“I think people are craving deeper relationships, meaningful conversations and places where they feel they genuinely belong.”

Connection before selling

Having spent years attending traditional business networking events, Katie says she had become increasingly tired of the pressure that can sometimes surround them.

The Soul Aligned Village, founded by Dani Devren, takes a different approach, putting friendship and connection ahead of selling.

Rather than walking into a room and immediately being expected to deliver an elevator pitch, members are encouraged to have meaningful conversations, share experiences and build relationships naturally.

Katie is now developing its Leicestershire Circle, bringing local business owners together through face-to-face connections alongside the wider UK community.

“There are lots of brilliant networking organisations and I’m certainly not saying traditional networking doesn’t work,” Katie explained.

“But it doesn’t work for everybody.

“For some people, walking into a room and immediately being asked, ‘So, what do you do?’ is uncomfortable.

“I’ve found that some of the best business relationships I’ve ever made started with a completely normal conversation rather than a sales pitch.

“People do business with people they know, like and trust — but trust takes time. Sometimes networking can simply be sitting down over a coffee, discovering that you have something in common and seeing where that relationship goes.”

From the NHS to entrepreneurship

Katie’s belief in the importance of community has been shaped by a career that has taken several very different turns.

She spent more than two decades in the NHS, predominantly working in mental health services before specialising in dementia care.

After leaving the security of the NHS, she founded the organisation now known as Bright Ways Community CIC, supporting people living with dementia, their families and older people within her local community.

Over seven years, the social enterprise secured more than £100,000 in grant funding and supported hundreds of local people and families.

Its impact was recognised when it was named Community Group of the Year at the Blaby District Council Community Awards in 2023.

Katie has since expanded into mentoring, marketing and supporting other purpose-led entrepreneurs, but says there is one common theme connecting what initially appear to be very different careers.

“Whether it was people living with dementia, carers, community groups, entrepreneurs or women in business, I’ve realised that bringing people together has always been at the heart of what I do,” she said.

“Becoming a Circle Leader actually feels like a very natural progression.”

Are followers replacing friendships?

Katie believes the changing way businesses market themselves has created huge opportunities, particularly for small companies, but says online visibility shouldn’t come at the expense of real-world relationships.

Business owners have spent years being encouraged to post more frequently, create more content and grow increasingly large online audiences.

But Katie believes the next shift could see entrepreneurs deliberately seeking smaller, more meaningful communities.

“Social media gives us the illusion that we’re constantly connected,” she said.

“Digital connection is incredibly useful, but I don’t believe it can completely replace sitting across the table from another person and having a genuine conversation.

“Having thousands of followers doesn’t automatically give you a support network.

“Sometimes one meaningful relationship in your own community can create more opportunities, personally and professionally, than hundreds of online connections.”

Katie also believes business networking is most effective when people stop viewing every new connection as a potential customer.

Her advice is simple: get curious about people first, don’t underestimate local relationships, walk into the room even when you’re nervous, follow up afterwards and resist the pressure to present a perfectly polished version of yourself.

“The real relationship often begins after the networking event,” she said.

“You don’t need the perfect elevator pitch or a perfect business. People connect with people.”

Building a business village in Leicestershire

Katie is now focused on growing The Soul Aligned Village’s presence across Leicestershire and creating regular opportunities for people to meet face-to-face.

The community will also come together beyond individual local Circles, with its first Village field trip planned for September, bringing members from across the UK together in the Cotswolds.

For Katie, however, success won’t simply be measured by how many people attend an event.

She wants to build a local community in which people know one another, champion local businesses and projects, collaborate and have somewhere to turn when entrepreneurship gets difficult.

“I don’t just want to create another business networking event,” she said.

“I’d love to build a genuine village across Leicestershire where people know one another, support one another and champion what other people are doing.

“You can absolutely grow your business through the connections you make.

“But the relationship should come first.”

And for an entrepreneur who, at 48, has moved from nursing and dementia care to social enterprise, mentoring and now community building, Katie says her latest chapter is also proof that neither careers nor businesses have to follow a straight line.

“I think we’re often given the impression that we’re supposed to choose a career when we’re young and stick with it forever,” she added.

“I’ve changed direction many times. At 48, I’m still starting new things.

“Sometimes all those seemingly unrelated chapters are exactly what prepare you for whatever comes next.”