Staying Connected: Why Relationships in Business (and Life) Fade Away

I’ve never been great at staying in touch. Communication isn’t exactly my strong suit. Over time, I’ve lost contact with people—not because I don’t care, but because I just don’t reach out. I don’t call. I see their updates on social media and wonder how they’re doing, but somehow, I don’t follow through.

And in business, I’ve realized something important: that same pattern of disconnection happens there too—and it can cost you.

I work in the website business, which isn’t all that different from selling refrigerators. People don’t buy a new fridge every year, and they don’t need a new website every week either. So after I build a website and the client is happy, there’s not much reason to talk. We don’t check in monthly. Sometimes not even yearly. And then, suddenly—it happens.

I go to send an invoice for annual hosting or reach out for a routine update, and I find out they’ve rebuilt their entire site with someone else. They never contacted me. They didn’t ask for a quote or check in. They just… moved on. And honestly, I can’t really blame them.

Because I disappeared too.

There was no regular check-in, no friendly follow-up, no reminder that I was still here to help their business grow. Just like in friendships—if you’re not present, you’re forgotten.

So now I ask myself:
How do we stay connected?
How do we keep relationships alive—whether with friends or customers?

Maybe it’s calling clients quarterly. Maybe it’s a simple email that says, “Hey, how’s business?” Maybe it’s sending a holiday card (yes, some people still do that). Or maybe it’s just reaching out to say, “I saw what you’re working on. It’s awesome.”

Because here’s the thing:

• Liking someone’s Facebook post doesn’t mean you’re staying connected.
• Tagging someone in a meme isn’t the same as picking up the phone.
• And waiting until you send an invoice to talk again? That’s not a relationship—that’s a transaction.

So I’m challenging myself—and maybe you too—to find five ways to reconnect with people we’ve started to lose touch with. Whether it’s a client, a collaborator, or a friend, it matters.

Because at the end of the day, our businesses—and our lives—are built on relationships. And relationships take effort.

Let’s not wait until someone moves on to remember how important they were.

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