She flew from Ohio to London, mostly for a hug
An introduction I made years ago turned into a friendship, LOTS of sales and a transatlantic flight.
A woman flew from Ohio to London recently. Not for a holiday, and only in part for the workshop. Mostly for a hug.
Her name’s Laura Hardin. She’s one of my longest standing coaching clients, 1:1 and group. She found me years ago because of a random post I put on LinkedIn about my birthday, and now I count her as a treasured friend.
How one introduction became a friendship
The workshop she flew over for was run by Katie Skelton, who I’d seen speak on stage back in 2024 and became a proper fan of. I started buying from her, replying to her emails, chatting here and there. Somewhere along the way, I introduced her to Laura.
That introduction led to Katie and Laura working together, and they also became firm friends. So when Katie ran her in-person Writer’s Room event in London, Laura booked flights for her first ever trip to the UK.
There was no version of events where I wasn’t going to be there too, not just to work with Katie face-to-face, but mostly to give Laura the biggest hug of her life.
What followed was hilarious. A bit emotional (the good kind) and inspiring in the way it always is when ambitious, thoughtful women end up in a room together. Oh, and we had dinner at a vegan restaurant called Mildred’s (thank you to Katie’s husband for the tip). I’ve been to two vegan restaurants in my entire life. The first, about 25 years ago, was forgettable. This one might be one of the best meals I’ve ever had.
What this taught me about word of mouth referrals
If there’s a business lesson hiding in all of this, it’s probably this: be the kind of person other people talk about when you’re not in the room.
Katie and Laura are both that for me. I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve sent their way (even when they don’t know I did it!). And I love that the two of them built something so special, starting from one stage appearance and one LinkedIn post.
