Ladies & Gentlemen

If you read the bestseller “Bowling Alone” in 2000 or are taking
notice of wellness stories offering advice on how to reconnect
with others IRL, you know that Americans are facing a crisis of
loneliness.


According to an advisory issued in 2023 by then U.S. Surgeon
General Dr. Vivek Murthy, about one-in-two adults in America
report experiencing loneliness, a condition that impacts
mortality at a similar rate as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.


For entrepreneurs, business owners, or corporate executives who
might be feeling “lonely at the top,” the isolation can have
devastating effects, especially for men. Studies show that men
experiencing social isolation or loneliness have a higher risk of
premature death from all causes compared to those with strong
social connections. 


So, where do you turn to for positivity and community? Albert
Pellisier of Man Up! and Meredith Waguespack of Sweet Baton Rouge
have some ideas.


Albert Pellissier of Man Up! developed a passion for
entrepreneurship while attending LSU when he published and
produced student coupon books distributed at registration, a
sorority-fraternity phone book, and the class schedule
booklets. 


After college, Albert got into real estate, investing in
multifamily units around the university and opening a salon
suites concept, which is still operating. 


But Albert’s success in real estate isn’t why we invited him to
Out to Lunch. 


He is also the founder of Man Up!, a business focused on offering
secular, personal development retreats for men, and the author of
“What’s on Your Back Burner?: Using Dormant Desire to Relight
Your Fire.” 


Published in 2024, “What’s on Your Back Burner” offers a simple
three-step process to resolve inner conflicts that keep
individuals and entrepreneurs from realizing their goals.


Meredith Waguespack failed out of two colleges — Louisiana Tech
and Northwestern State University – before she graduated from
Southeastern University in Hammond.  While in college,
Meredith worked full time at a Baton Rouge-based boutique,
managing its two local stores until they closed, and then at
Chico’s at Towne Center.


In 2011, after working as an outside sales rep for a tech company
and three years as a dental assistant, Meredith launched Sweet
Baton Rouge—then called Southern Football Tees— as an online
boutique.  Now, nearly 15 years later, Sweet Baton Rouge
offers Louisiana lifestyle apparel online and at a
brick-and-mortar shop in Perkins Rowe.


80% of retail stores fail before their 10th birthday. Sweet Baton
Rouge approaching its Sweet 16 is a testament to Meredith's
business acumen and her positioning the store in the Baton Rouge
community. The store hosts an annual pop up market with over 40
vendors, called The Ultimate Tailgate, and funds a college
scholarship.


In an increasingly polarized world, both men and women are
looking for solace, support, and inspiration. In our digital age,
many of us turn to social media or online chat groups to find
like-minded people and community.


But we typically find online connections don’t quite satisfy us
like real world relationships.  Even if that relationship is
just friendship, or even casual conversation.


Meredith and Albert are both in their own ways bridging the gap
between the virtual and real worlds: using social media to create
in-person events and experiences that foster
community. Whether it’s comfortable t-shirts for game day or
a secular retreat on a Louisiana farm, they’re building
businesses while connecting people with their passions and
goals. 


Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the
Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ben Rabalais
from Albaledo Media at itsbatonrouge.la.


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