We had both grand connections and grand takeaways during our Grand Connection EduNetworking Mixer, where we explored powerful themes of connection, resilience, leadership, and authentic business growth.

The mixer featured three inspiring speakers who shared wisdom rooted in real-life experiences. Sabrina Victoria encouraged us to reframe and share our personal stories, showing how our most relatable experiences can become our strongest business assets. Clay Hicks introduced his proven Connect, Serve, Ask methodology, developed through thousands of one-to-one conversations, reminding us that trust is built through active listening, genuine connection, and mutual support. Sue Clement touched hearts with her raw and honest journey, showing how resilience and a mindset shift—realizing you are not your business—can be the key to navigating even the toughest challenges and building lasting success.

A heartfelt thank you to our co-hosts Steve Brossman and Kimberley Day, who helped create a welcoming and insightful space for meaningful learning and deep connection. Your presence and contributions elevated the entire experience.

Together, we were reminded that community, vulnerability, and powerful conversations are the foundation of lasting growth—both personally and professionally. Thank you to everyone who showed up, shared, and supported one another in true Grand Connection spirit.

🌟 Sabrina Victoria shared:

• Use your personal story—big or small—to create authentic business connections.
• Reframe life experiences (even tough ones) into powerful, relatable messages.
• Keep a running list of your stories (happy, sad, educational) for easy access.
• Your most relatable stories are your most impactful in content, speaking, or networking.
• Consistency is key—don’t wait to “get back on the wagon”; it’s right next to you.
• Falling off track in business, content, or follow-up is normal—just get back on.
• Stay consistent with your team, clients, and prospects—it builds trust and authority.
• Community is your strength—lean on others for support, perspective, and growth.
• Give freely and consistently—the law of reciprocity will return value to you.
• Focus on 4 actions: reframe your stories, be consistent, find your community, and pay it forward.

🌟 Clayton Hicks shared:

• Connect, Serve, Ask is a trust-based communication method developed from thousands of 1-to-1s and works in any relationship setting.
• Leadership starts with self-leadership—how you show up, listen, and interact matters.
• Talking without listening is a form of greed; real leaders create dialogues, not monologues.
• Connecting first is essential—learn about the other person, be relatable, and avoid jumping into solutions too soon.
• Pitch slapping (immediately selling yourself) is a trust-killer—avoid it by focusing on the other person first.
• Active listening shows presence and respect—make the other person feel like the only one in the room.
• Serving others builds deeper trust—genuinely ask how you can help based on what you’ve heard.
• Ask for help too—this allows the other person to give back and strengthens mutual trust.
• Leaders don’t go alone—they build relationships and take others with them on the journey.
• Reflect on your approach: Is your service genuine? Are you asking clearly for what you need?

🌟 Sue Clement shared:

• Resilience is essential in business—Sue lived it through financial crisis, fear, and uncertainty as a struggling entrepreneur.
• A turning point came when she was nearly locked out of her business due to unpaid rent, facing shame and emotional overwhelm.
• Despite no resources, she found a way to scrape together just enough to buy time and keep going.
• The song “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips became her emotional anchor, reminding her to persist “just one more day.”
• A profound mindset shift happened when she realized: “I am not my business”—failure in business doesn’t mean you are a failure.
• That detachment allowed her to think from her future successful self, not from a place of fear or scarcity.
• She started making bigger, braver decisions that eventually led her to scale and sell a $5.2 million company.
• Your vision determines the level of resilience required—the bigger the goal, the more resilience you’ll need.
• She referenced The Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan: focus on how far you’ve come (the gain), not just how far you have to go (the gap).
• Reflecting on your progress fuels confidence and builds resilience—it’s the mindset that sustains long-term success.

🌟What others said about the event: 

• The speakers were all excellent, good balance of presentations and networking.
• The speed round breakout sessions and thought-provoking presentations.
• Meeting new people. The energy!
• Great people, great info. I made a few really good connections.
• The friendly connections I got to meet and the great advice shared by the Pros!
• Good review of basics of interpersonal interactions.
• Connecting, learning about others and set up 1-1 to learn more & build relationships
• a grand reminder of the the power of story telling.
• I like the format, the pace & Steve did a great job MC.
• Great meeting. Best coach EVER, Sue Clement!
• Invest in yourself with GC… FREE bonus. This session was BRILLIANT! 
• Sue, you are pretty amazing.  Love, love, love your authentic energy.  You are the real deal.
• Great session Susan and Steve
• Thanks to all the speakers and the community! As always i made great connections.
• Thank you so much. Lots of value – thanks.
• Thank you @Sue Clement | Think & Grow Like a CEO – that was inspiring!
• Good energy, thank you!

🎁 Grand Gifts

• Sabrina Victoria: 50 Follow-Up Moves to Boost Your Sales & Connections (grab your gift in the hub!)
• Sue Clement invited guests to her next masterclass.
• Clay Hicks invited all to attend H7 as a guest.

Join Today and be a part of something grand, experience the power of collaboration. Grab your free guest pass to come to 2 events as a guest.

Make sure to join the Facebook Group and download your free version of the referral app to start making trusted connections easily using AI matching.