Sara barco: networking that feels like belonging
Sara Barco didn't set out to reinvent networking.
Her path started with a marketing role alongside a chiropractor, and the realization that the environment simply wasn't the right fit. What she found instead was a natural gift for connecting the dots - and connecting with people.
She built a career around that strength, launching a business in 2019 centered on retention, loyalty, and helping clients, mostly chiropractors, build lasting professional relationships.
"We Had Stopped Peopling"
Then COVID hit. In-person gatherings stopped, clients paused, and a business built entirely on relationships suddenly had no one to work with. "I was a people business," Sara says. "We had stopped peopling."
Rather than wait it out, she got to work. The idea was simple: reach out to one person a week for 52 weeks and keep the network alive. She contacted 52 people she already knew, proposed a digital membership catalog, and invited them into a non-traditional networking community built around one intentional connection per week - by phone, by Zoom, however it needed to happen. Everyone loved it.
52 Connections: Four Regions and Growing
As the world reopened, the catalog faded, but the community only grew stronger. Today, 52 Connections is a hybrid community spanning four regions across Michigan, with members gathering virtually and in person each month. It's built on intentional connection, peer-to-peer advisory, and trusted collaboration - and referrals flow naturally between people who actually know and trust each other.
That's the whole point. Sara is passionate about dismantling the transactional nature of traditional networking and replacing it with something more meaningful: a community where people feel seen, valued, and invested in one another's success.
Doing It With God, Not Alone
Sara's Christian faith is central to how she leads, both the business and herself. She's intentional about not pouring from a place of lack, making space to spend time with God and stay grounded before showing up for others.
"This is something I'm doing with God, not by myself," she shares. That perspective shapes her capacity to serve, her resilience as a founder, and the warmth that keeps people coming back. When she's thriving as a person, the business thrives too.
What's Next
Sara wants to grow 52 Connections across a wider range of industries and bring the in-person experience to other states. She also sees a real opportunity with college students - helping them learn to build genuine professional relationships before transactional habits take hold. A community that teaches you how to show up for people, not just hand out your resume.
Her advice for students and aspiring founders: get comfortable being uncomfortable. The discomfort isn't a signal to stop - it's a sign you're moving in the right direction.
What started as one person trying to keep 52 relationships alive during a pandemic has become a community built on trust, intentionality, and faith. For Sara, entrepreneurship has never been just about building a business. It's about building people up, one connection at a time.
