Building Authentic Connections: Strengthening Your Business Network
It was Autumn. The trees were starting to turn on that Saturday in March 1973, when I was just 16 years old. Change was in the air.
Until that day, I had lived my entire life in a weatherboard house high on a hill in a south eastern suburb of Melbourne, with my parents and sister. I had enjoyed the benefits of a caring, welcoming neighbourhood. As a young child, I remember fun times with the two x “ Lee Annes” , my neighbourhood friends, as we played between houses and could be found on the swing, or on our scooters or roller-skates playing in the street.
It was common for my mother to ask me to pop over the road to “Pam” to borrow a cup of sugar or flour if we ran out, because shops shut at 5pm, as there was always a neighbour ready to lend a hand.
That March, I was in my final year at an all-girls school. My sister, 7 years older, was married and expecting her first child and it was a year that promised to be both challenging and transformative for both of us in ways I had never envisaged.
For years, the atmosphere in my home had been tense. My parents' marriage, once strong, had become like an old, creaky door barely hanging on its hinges. They’d been married for 25 years, but their ability to communicate had worn down, leaving their relationship threadbare. It was as if they were speaking two different languages under the same roof. If they spoke at all. Looking back now, it’s clear they should have parted ways long before, but in the 1970s, that kind of decision wasn’t made lightly. Family Laws were very different.
Look for opportunities
My mother was ahead of her time, a true trailblazer. She had always looked out for opportunities to create some extra income and I remember her selling lingerie to brides . I can still see a rack of silky and sheer lingerie hanging in her room which she packed up and took to party plan session. Her experience in sales from working with my father selling caravans and her gift of the gab, enabled her to secure a role selling Holden Motor Cars breaking into a male-dominated world with unwavering determination.
That March, she decided to call it quits on her marriage of 24 years and 9 months … she later told me later she waited until I was 16, old enough to make my own choices about where I wanted to be. Though to be truthful, I do not think there was much choice.
So that Saturday afternoon, while my father was at work, we packed up our lives. My mother had found us a one-bedroom half-house in a nearby suburb. It was surrounded by a small but well-tended garden, and on the bus route to my school.
Much of the day is a blur but I do remember packing boxes, and a group of “boy..not girl” - friends , who I’d met the previous year through a school play., helped to ferry our things between houses. I do recall the boys trying to make light of the situation and carrying hangers of my dresses blowing in the breeze , as I left the life I had known behind. I didn’t realize it then, but that neighbourhood and those friends were my first taste of the power of community and connection.
It took my father 18 days to reach out to us. I remember the ache of waiting, the hope dwindling with each passing day despite the note we’d left behind, detailing where he could find us. We settled into our little flat, but it wasn't without its challenges.
Every night felt heavy. I am sure my mother wondered if she had made the right decision. There were many tears. Those same boys who’d helped us move would drop by after dinner, sit on our couch, just talking or watching TV. They didn’t have to, but they chose to.
In June, my mother’s strength faltered. Overwhelmed, with what had transpired she decided to take a holiday, and I went to stay with family friends. What was meant to be a short stay stretched into six long weeks. I felt like a fish out of water, the girls at school really had little to no idea of my life, or so it seemed. I cried myself to sleep, feeling somewhat rejected during those weeks. I do not recall seeing my father and my sister’s baby was only six weeks old. That period became a defining moment in my life, forcing me to rely on my own strength.
The importance of relationships
These experiences, of being alone and unsupported, although not identified at the time, taught me the profound importance of relationships, the kind that sustain you and are there to support you, when everything else falls away and how important it is to be able to be independent and be able to support yourself. In later years working with international families who had left their homes behind to live in a new country, I could identify with some of what they may have been experiencing.
I struggled through my studies that year and after the exams, made the unsettling decision that earning an income had to be a higher priority than my dream to be a teacher.
My first job came through my mother’s network, my second job through my own network and subsequent jobs throughout my life have resulted from my network. I have learnt first hand that our networks can provide pathways to opportunities and open doors in many ways. Meeting my now husband through my work colleagues changed my entire life.
I found support, love, certainty and someone to encourage me to unlock my potential and follow my dream to teachers college.
Over the years, I’ve learned that our connections with others are what give our lives meaning.
Shared moments we remember
Sadly I have attended over fifty funerals, and listened to a range of eulogies. Every single time, whether for a 5-year-old, an 18-year-old, family or friends, it's not the wealth or success that people remember; it's the love, the kindness, the moments that person shared with others.
As I have grown older, I understand that life’s most valuable currency isn’t money or status—it’s the relationships we cultivate and recognize that relationships can fill the gaps, the empty spaces we can’t fill on our own.
Your time matters
Today, I’m driven by a desire to leave a legacy. One that isn’t defined by what I owned or achieved but by how I made others feel and what I can contribute to help support them. If I can help even one person feel less alone, more supported, then perhaps I have made a difference and my life will have mattered.
This is my story, my 'why,' and the reason I believe in the power of community and connection. Because when everything else fades, it’s the relationships we’ve built with ourselves and others, that will stand the test of time.
Hello, I’m Kerryn Powell, The Network Catalyst and founder of Your Time Matters.
With a passion for helping business owners build genuine relationships and grow with purpose, I’m here to support you in navigating the challenges of business and achieving your "why." Whether you need strategies to strengthen your network, stay accountable, or unlock new opportunities, I can help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
Let’s connect and explore how we can accelerate your success together. Reach out to start a conversation that matters.