WEBVTT 00:00:17.070 --> 00:00:20.649 Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable 00:00:20.649 --> 00:00:23.629 Connections. I'm your host, Michael Foreman, 00:00:23.730 --> 00:00:26.910 and today we're diving into the space where innovation 00:00:26.910 --> 00:00:31.109 meets intention. My guest is a powerhouse entrepreneur 00:00:31.109 --> 00:00:35.310 who's built brands, scaled businesses, and embraced 00:00:35.310 --> 00:00:38.630 the future of AI and e -commerce, all without 00:00:38.630 --> 00:00:42.189 losing sight of what really drives growth, connection. 00:00:42.609 --> 00:00:45.689 We're talking about what makes a modern entrepreneur 00:00:45.689 --> 00:00:48.920 successful, how to build a brand that actually 00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:51.960 resonates, and why networking is still one of 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:55.500 the most profitable tools in your arsenal, even 00:00:55.500 --> 00:00:59.000 an algorithm -driven world. Whether you're launching 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:01.560 your first venture or ready to level up your 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:04.560 digital presence, this conversation will challenge 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.920 you to think bigger, connect deeper, and grow 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:12.609 smarter. And I would like to introduce Phil to 00:01:12.609 --> 00:01:16.430 my entire audience. He has quite a background. 00:01:16.530 --> 00:01:18.769 I'm going to let him share that with you. Phil, 00:01:18.950 --> 00:01:21.909 welcome to the podcast. Hi, thanks, Michael, 00:01:21.989 --> 00:01:25.670 and I appreciate you having me on. My pleasure. 00:01:25.810 --> 00:01:27.969 So you want to give us a little bit insight into 00:01:27.969 --> 00:01:32.530 your background? Oh, sure. I founded my first 00:01:32.530 --> 00:01:36.010 business when I was 27 years old. It was a complete 00:01:36.010 --> 00:01:38.609 and utter disaster. I was a failure at leadership 00:01:38.609 --> 00:01:42.109 and a failure at process management and just 00:01:42.109 --> 00:01:44.549 every mistake that you could possibly make, I 00:01:44.549 --> 00:01:47.730 made. And after about three years, I finally 00:01:47.730 --> 00:01:50.209 said enough is enough. I'm not accomplishing 00:01:50.209 --> 00:01:51.950 what I want to accomplish. And I sold the business, 00:01:52.069 --> 00:01:54.969 took whatever money I had left and moved to Maryland 00:01:54.969 --> 00:01:57.790 and went to University of Maryland and got my 00:01:57.790 --> 00:02:01.250 master's degree in finance and marketing. But 00:02:01.250 --> 00:02:03.760 I didn't go to... to graduate school because 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:05.420 I felt like I needed more education. I went there 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:07.180 because I felt like I needed to think differently, 00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:11.379 which I did. And while I was there, I got involved 00:02:11.379 --> 00:02:14.879 with a small specialty food chain in Washington, 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:17.219 DC. I invested a little money. We grew that business 00:02:17.219 --> 00:02:20.580 to 12 stores. Plus we had made a couple of purchases, 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:23.360 acquisitions of other companies. And that really 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:26.949 taught me about. entrepreneurship, capital raising, 00:02:27.150 --> 00:02:29.629 and things like that. Then I founded another 00:02:29.629 --> 00:02:31.990 company called The Daily Market after we sold 00:02:31.990 --> 00:02:34.689 Sutton Place. And I founded The Daily Market, 00:02:34.789 --> 00:02:37.310 which were grab -and -go meal stores. And then 00:02:37.310 --> 00:02:40.569 we founded a website for selling meals online. 00:02:40.830 --> 00:02:44.830 This is at the dawn of e -commerce. And that 00:02:44.830 --> 00:02:46.789 got a lot of attention. We got a lot of attention 00:02:46.789 --> 00:02:48.569 from consumers, and we got a lot of attention 00:02:48.569 --> 00:02:52.289 from the industry. And we wound up getting acquired 00:02:52.289 --> 00:02:56.169 by a supermarket chain. And so I went to work 00:02:56.169 --> 00:02:58.389 for them for about two years. I am not a good 00:02:58.389 --> 00:03:02.330 employee. I am, I think, too far outside the 00:03:02.330 --> 00:03:06.770 box for any company to deal with. And so I did 00:03:06.770 --> 00:03:09.330 my two years, helped them accomplish what they 00:03:09.330 --> 00:03:11.389 needed to accomplish. And then I went and I built 00:03:11.389 --> 00:03:14.389 a skincare line with a woman named Carol Alt. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:17.080 which we launched on the shopping channels here 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:20.020 and internationally. And then we eventually grew 00:03:20.020 --> 00:03:23.319 that to be on Amazon. We were on in Ulta Beauty, 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:26.520 Sephora, all the big beauty chains. We exited 00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:31.400 that and I founded a shaving brand, which was 00:03:31.400 --> 00:03:34.060 good. We were a little bit ahead of ourselves, 00:03:34.280 --> 00:03:37.379 but the industry got very hot and we got acquired 00:03:37.379 --> 00:03:40.039 very quickly, which I felt was a little too quick. 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:43.639 And then... Our partner in that was one of the 00:03:43.639 --> 00:03:46.780 major razor companies. And after we got acquired, 00:03:46.979 --> 00:03:49.240 they came to me and said, we don't know anything 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:52.580 about direct -to -consumer. We'd love to figure 00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:55.680 out how we can have you help us. We need to build 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:57.780 websites that are consumer focused. We need to 00:03:57.780 --> 00:04:00.000 be able to sell to consumers. All we ever know 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.419 how to do is sell to the supermarkets, drug chain. 00:04:02.659 --> 00:04:06.240 And so I started helping them. And that was the 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:08.659 launching point of what I have today, which is 00:04:08.659 --> 00:04:11.300 Crunch Growth Revenue Acceleration Agency. I 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:13.360 never planned on being an agency. It just became 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:18.120 that out of that conversation. And so from there 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:22.480 on, we help brands today scale on multiple platforms, 00:04:22.819 --> 00:04:25.519 whether it's e -commerce, brick and mortar, whatever. 00:04:25.720 --> 00:04:28.620 We place advertising. We run social media for 00:04:28.620 --> 00:04:32.240 them. And we're a full -service agency. We do 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:34.959 short -form, long -form video. We build sites, 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:37.920 host sites, manage sites. So that's what we do. 00:04:38.889 --> 00:04:41.089 Right. That's quite an extensive background. 00:04:41.230 --> 00:04:43.550 And that's why I'm glad that I didn't attempt 00:04:43.550 --> 00:04:45.689 to say it because I would have butchered it. 00:04:45.689 --> 00:04:49.329 All right. So I'm so glad that you told everybody 00:04:49.329 --> 00:04:52.970 or explained to everybody what it was. So let 00:04:52.970 --> 00:04:56.649 me just delve into these questions and just give 00:04:56.649 --> 00:05:00.370 me your best answers. Sure. In your experience, 00:05:00.709 --> 00:05:04.709 what separates successful entrepreneurs from 00:05:04.709 --> 00:05:07.540 those who struggle? And where does networking 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:10.360 fit into that equation? Yeah, that's a great 00:05:10.360 --> 00:05:15.220 question. So I think most successful entrepreneurs 00:05:15.220 --> 00:05:20.920 are able to take in criticism, whether it's from 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:23.519 their customers or whether it's from outside 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:27.759 sources, and reflect on it in an attempt to get 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.060 better and constantly improve. Because I think 00:05:30.060 --> 00:05:33.939 entrepreneurs, and I was guilty of this. my first 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:36.160 startup, I think entrepreneurs think sometimes 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:39.000 that they have the answer to everything or they 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:40.639 have to have the answer to everything and they 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:43.759 don't. As far as networking goes, it's always 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:47.199 good to surround yourself with people that are 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:49.500 going to be honest with you and give you their 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:53.500 honest feedback and help you think through. They 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:54.779 don't have to give you the answer. They just 00:05:54.779 --> 00:05:56.980 have to help you think through. So the ability 00:05:56.980 --> 00:05:59.910 to network. and listen to what other people have 00:05:59.910 --> 00:06:03.149 gone through and be able to bounce ideas off 00:06:03.149 --> 00:06:06.550 and talk openly about what struggles that you're 00:06:06.550 --> 00:06:09.290 having or the positives, negatives, and share 00:06:09.290 --> 00:06:11.750 that information, whatever's positive or negative 00:06:11.750 --> 00:06:14.709 that you do, share that with others, I think 00:06:14.709 --> 00:06:17.250 is invaluable for entrepreneurs. So the whole 00:06:17.250 --> 00:06:20.230 relationship building, not only with your clients 00:06:20.230 --> 00:06:23.009 and your customers, but also with outside sources 00:06:23.009 --> 00:06:25.750 helps you become a better manager, a better person, 00:06:25.889 --> 00:06:29.310 a better entrepreneur. and be able to see problems 00:06:29.310 --> 00:06:33.050 before they occur. Absolutely. I couldn't agree 00:06:33.050 --> 00:06:37.649 with you more. And that whole, that the entrepreneur 00:06:37.649 --> 00:06:41.990 has to know everything is a fallacy. So you just 00:06:41.990 --> 00:06:45.389 have to, but I consider myself, they call me 00:06:45.389 --> 00:06:48.410 a super connector, but I'm a connector. I see 00:06:48.410 --> 00:06:51.490 two people, I do one person with a problem, one 00:06:51.490 --> 00:06:54.269 person with an answer. I put them together and 00:06:54.269 --> 00:06:57.189 I back away. Because I've done my job. I've done, 00:06:57.310 --> 00:07:00.129 I've, look, I've put those two together. I'll 00:07:00.129 --> 00:07:02.490 let them, if they're successful, fine. If not, 00:07:02.589 --> 00:07:06.149 that's fine too. I did my job. But I don't have 00:07:06.149 --> 00:07:09.529 the answer for everybody, but I may know somebody. 00:07:09.870 --> 00:07:13.269 Sure. And it increases our network. So it goes 00:07:13.269 --> 00:07:15.910 more and more. And I can really go into that 00:07:15.910 --> 00:07:17.970 with you even further, but I'm not going to because 00:07:17.970 --> 00:07:21.189 I have more questions. Okay. Before a brand becomes 00:07:21.189 --> 00:07:25.509 scalable, it has to become known. How important 00:07:25.509 --> 00:07:28.949 is relationship building when launching or growing 00:07:28.949 --> 00:07:33.470 a personal or business brand? In today's environment, 00:07:33.730 --> 00:07:37.310 I don't care if you're building a personal brand 00:07:37.310 --> 00:07:40.370 or you're building a consumer product brand or 00:07:40.370 --> 00:07:43.430 you're building a B2B brand. I don't care. I 00:07:43.430 --> 00:07:45.170 just actually just wrote a book on this whole 00:07:45.170 --> 00:07:48.370 subject, which is the why behind the buy. And 00:07:48.370 --> 00:07:50.720 the reason is. You have to make a connection 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:54.240 with your customer, with your prospect. Today, 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:56.959 people want to know who they're buying from, 00:07:56.980 --> 00:07:58.500 and they want to know what you stand for and 00:07:58.500 --> 00:08:00.720 what you're all about. It's not like the old 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:02.920 days. Anybody who's marketing the way that people 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:05.060 were marketing 20 years ago or 30 years ago, 00:08:05.139 --> 00:08:07.860 you're dead in the water because today's consumer, 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:09.860 again, I don't care whether it's a business consumer, 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:13.939 a client for coaching, somebody who you want 00:08:13.939 --> 00:08:16.759 in your network, they want to know. who you are 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:18.819 and what you're all about. And so you have to 00:08:18.819 --> 00:08:21.300 build that relationship before you can move further. 00:08:21.779 --> 00:08:24.120 Same thing with building a brand, especially 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:26.680 when building a brand is all about, it's centered 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:29.220 upon something. So if it's your personal brand, 00:08:29.339 --> 00:08:32.340 that brand is centered upon you. So you can't. 00:08:32.570 --> 00:08:35.610 You have to be able to express who you are, what 00:08:35.610 --> 00:08:37.490 your mission is, how you're going to help people 00:08:37.490 --> 00:08:39.950 and why they should get involved with you. And 00:08:39.950 --> 00:08:41.929 that's the big thing is why should a customer 00:08:41.929 --> 00:08:44.690 buy your product in your consumer product brand? 00:08:44.870 --> 00:08:47.029 Why should someone do business with you if you're 00:08:47.029 --> 00:08:49.409 a business brand? Why should someone do business 00:08:49.409 --> 00:08:51.549 with you if you're a personal brand? So you have 00:08:51.549 --> 00:08:54.039 to get that across and the way you do it. Today, 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:56.519 we have tools like short form video, long form 00:08:56.519 --> 00:08:59.039 video. It gives us the ability to communicate 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:01.379 who we are, what we're all about, and why you 00:09:01.379 --> 00:09:05.620 should buy from us. Absolutely. Again, I couldn't 00:09:05.620 --> 00:09:08.740 agree with you more. And it's just because every 00:09:08.740 --> 00:09:11.879 time that you're explaining an answer to one 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:14.940 of these questions, I'm agreeing with you 100%. 00:09:14.940 --> 00:09:17.860 And I very rarely do this, by the way. I'm agreeing 00:09:17.860 --> 00:09:20.899 with you 100%. And I could pick out pieces of 00:09:20.899 --> 00:09:23.500 what you're talking about and talk for an hour. 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:26.600 about it. So you're right on the mark with everything. 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:31.019 You're at the intersection of AI and e -commerce. 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:34.720 Yes. How is tech changing the way we network 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:37.600 and build relationships? And where does the human 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:42.000 touch still matter most? Yeah. We hear so much 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:44.919 about AI every day, about how AI is going to 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:47.360 take jobs away or how AI is going to do this 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:50.519 job or this job. The way that we approach it 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:54.669 in our business is, again, You have to build, 00:09:54.769 --> 00:09:56.429 you have to be authentic and you have to build 00:09:56.429 --> 00:09:59.350 a relationship with someone. So can AI be a tool 00:09:59.350 --> 00:10:02.490 that you can use in your arsenal to build a website? 00:10:03.230 --> 00:10:05.809 Absolutely. To build your content? Absolutely. 00:10:06.009 --> 00:10:08.429 You can use that as a tool, but you have to put 00:10:08.429 --> 00:10:11.309 a human touch to it. If I went in and said to 00:10:11.309 --> 00:10:15.009 ChatGPT, hey, write a description of who Phil 00:10:15.009 --> 00:10:18.230 is. It would write a great description, but I'm 00:10:18.230 --> 00:10:20.509 not going to take that right out of ChatGPT and 00:10:20.509 --> 00:10:23.269 give it to somebody. I'm going to tweak it. I'm 00:10:23.269 --> 00:10:25.190 going to give it to an editor. I'm going to give 00:10:25.190 --> 00:10:27.309 it to somebody else to look at because it has 00:10:27.309 --> 00:10:29.490 to be personalized. It can't be machine driven. 00:10:29.889 --> 00:10:33.870 I'm not a fan today of the images that come out 00:10:33.870 --> 00:10:36.850 of AI. I think that there's still a lot of work 00:10:36.850 --> 00:10:39.320 to do. It'll get there eventually. But your imagery 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:41.440 has to be authentic. I'm not going to put up 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:45.299 an avatar of Phil or create a video using AI 00:10:45.299 --> 00:10:48.600 of Phil just because it can take my picture and 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:51.120 turn me into an avatar. I'm not going to do that. 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:55.200 I may use AI to script what I want to say, and 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:57.940 then I'll go and film it. So all these pieces, 00:10:58.019 --> 00:11:00.220 these touch points that we're using, whether 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:02.600 we're talking to customers, prospective customers, 00:11:02.860 --> 00:11:06.870 clients, whatever it is. coaching, you have to 00:11:06.870 --> 00:11:09.529 be authentic. And so you have to take what AI 00:11:09.529 --> 00:11:12.309 gives you. It's going to get you 50 to 60 % of 00:11:12.309 --> 00:11:14.190 the way there, but you have to bring it home 00:11:14.190 --> 00:11:16.570 authentically. You have to take what it gives 00:11:16.570 --> 00:11:19.769 you, tweak it and make it your own to be able 00:11:19.769 --> 00:11:23.649 to communicate with someone. I agree. AI is a 00:11:23.649 --> 00:11:27.080 tool. It's one in your tool belt and you use 00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:31.639 it when you have to, but it's true. I write an 00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:35.299 article on four different platforms. I use AI 00:11:35.299 --> 00:11:39.100 to give me the general idea, but I still have 00:11:39.100 --> 00:11:42.440 to go in and still write the majority because 00:11:42.440 --> 00:11:46.740 it's not who I am. It's not from me. It's from 00:11:46.740 --> 00:11:50.879 AI, but I have to make it more personal. So again, 00:11:51.659 --> 00:11:55.230 I agree with you 100%. OK, this is getting a 00:11:55.230 --> 00:11:57.610 little redundant, but I agree with you. I will 00:11:57.610 --> 00:11:59.350 tell you one thing, though, for everybody, because 00:11:59.350 --> 00:12:01.590 everybody, whether you're a personal brand, whatever 00:12:01.590 --> 00:12:03.570 you're doing, social media, you're doing ads, 00:12:03.850 --> 00:12:07.590 you're doing writing or whatever. The one thing 00:12:07.590 --> 00:12:11.490 that AI is phenomenal at is the analytical part 00:12:11.490 --> 00:12:14.590 of data and the ability to take huge amounts 00:12:14.590 --> 00:12:18.330 of data and give you an answer as to a path to 00:12:18.330 --> 00:12:21.169 follow to make to get even better. So that part 00:12:21.169 --> 00:12:26.779 of AI, I think, is. Yeah, I agree. The AI is 00:12:26.779 --> 00:12:30.620 a tool, but it's a greater tool than a lot of 00:12:30.620 --> 00:12:33.379 the other tools in your tool belt. So if you're 00:12:33.379 --> 00:12:36.759 making X amount of dollars or you have a certain 00:12:36.759 --> 00:12:40.379 place, you have to use AI and it will launch 00:12:40.379 --> 00:12:43.379 you. But again, you need that personal touch. 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:47.019 You need to show them this is you because they're 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:50.820 not buying because I coach many students. I go 00:12:50.820 --> 00:12:53.679 on to the circuit. do conferences and things 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:56.519 like that. But they don't want to see a robot 00:12:56.519 --> 00:12:58.580 up there. I have to go in there. I have to give 00:12:58.580 --> 00:12:59.940 them stories. I have to give them a little bit. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:02.360 I have to interact. And that's me. That's just 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:06.399 me. But that's what it's good for. So how did 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:09.580 networking help you build your first big win? 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:13.179 And how do you approach it differently now that 00:13:13.179 --> 00:13:18.679 when your brand was established? My first big 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:22.059 win. I would say, was the daily markets. And 00:13:22.059 --> 00:13:24.940 that came out of working for another company. 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:27.940 And what I learned, there were some really smart 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:30.820 people that started the specialty food company. 00:13:30.940 --> 00:13:33.039 And they were real estate guys, actually. They 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:35.919 were developing something and they needed a really 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:38.679 high -end grocery store. And so these were like 00:13:38.679 --> 00:13:42.159 15 ,000, 20 ,000 square foot specialty food stores, 00:13:42.179 --> 00:13:44.259 like you would see in New York City with Balducci's 00:13:44.259 --> 00:13:47.879 and all. And they taught me. I worked very closely 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:51.440 with the CEO and they taught me that you have 00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:54.679 to listen and you have to talk to people and 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:57.519 listen to them. And they're going to tell you 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:01.700 what they need from you and what they expect 00:14:01.700 --> 00:14:04.419 from you. And then you can deliver. But if you 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:06.519 go in there thinking that you're going to do 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:08.220 all the talking and you're going to tell them 00:14:08.220 --> 00:14:10.620 what you're going to deliver, then you're going 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:14.320 to fall on deaf ears. I've always carried that 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:17.320 forward. And so whether I'm building a consumer 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:19.519 product brand or whether I'm focused on myself 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:22.000 or whether I'm focused on a business, you have 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.679 to listen. You have to listen to your customers. 00:14:24.860 --> 00:14:26.340 You have to listen to your clients. You have 00:14:26.340 --> 00:14:28.200 to listen to your prospects. You have to listen 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:31.340 to the people in your groups. So I find myself, 00:14:31.460 --> 00:14:34.019 I just came back from a conference in Florida 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:39.159 just yesterday. And I found myself sitting in 00:14:39.159 --> 00:14:43.039 that room, listening. to every single person 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:46.779 who was speaking and writing down notes about 00:14:46.779 --> 00:14:50.840 each one of them so that I could, when there's 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:52.860 that off time, when you're engaging together, 00:14:53.179 --> 00:14:55.960 I knew what I wanted to talk to them about. And 00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:58.159 I could bring up the fact that, hey, you said 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:00.919 this, and I find that interesting. First thing 00:15:00.919 --> 00:15:04.200 that does is they realize, oh, you really listened 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:06.659 to me. And the second thing is you're really 00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:09.519 interested in what I have to say. And so they're 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:12.299 more apt to give you even more. So you have to, 00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:15.480 it's really a two -way street of networking with 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:17.700 people. You have to listen and hear what they 00:15:17.700 --> 00:15:21.679 have to say. And then you can better help present 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:25.440 yourself in a way that you can help them at another 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:28.019 point. That's sort of the point of networking. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.340 It's two -way street. That's very true. There 00:15:31.340 --> 00:15:35.120 is a term that you can use for that listening. 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:38.490 It's called active listening. So that you just 00:15:38.490 --> 00:15:41.750 listen to what you don't want to. The next thing 00:15:41.750 --> 00:15:44.250 you say isn't the next thing that you want to 00:15:44.250 --> 00:15:47.769 say. It's you have to respond to what they're 00:15:47.769 --> 00:15:51.789 saying. Easy way is to repeat part of what they 00:15:51.789 --> 00:15:56.049 said to you and then continue on and finish what 00:15:56.049 --> 00:15:57.970 they were saying. So you're listening to them 00:15:57.970 --> 00:16:01.090 because you are a problem solver. OK, you're 00:16:01.090 --> 00:16:04.230 going to solve their problem. The only way that 00:16:04.230 --> 00:16:07.519 you're going to. solve their problem is if you 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:10.799 listen to them so if you listen to them you and 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:14.679 listen every time you go into networking and 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:16.639 whether it's a networking event or a conference 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:19.200 or anything else there's something called a servant's 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:21.840 heart you have to go in with a servant's heart 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:25.980 and what that is it's like what can I do for 00:16:25.980 --> 00:16:30.129 you how can I make you more successful And it 00:16:30.129 --> 00:16:32.210 usually blows a person away. I don't even know 00:16:32.210 --> 00:16:35.929 what you do yet. And you're asking me what's 00:16:35.929 --> 00:16:39.230 going on. But it builds up that level of trust. 00:16:39.669 --> 00:16:42.330 Know you like you trust you. They'll do business 00:16:42.330 --> 00:16:45.789 with you. So you're increasing level of trust. 00:16:45.970 --> 00:16:48.750 Sometimes you have 30 seconds, a minute, five 00:16:48.750 --> 00:16:51.429 minutes to build that level of trust. But you 00:16:51.429 --> 00:16:53.769 have to build it just enough where they're actually 00:16:53.769 --> 00:16:58.460 open to what you're saying. Yep. So that's all 00:16:58.460 --> 00:17:02.740 part of it. It's all part of it. Okay. So in 00:17:02.740 --> 00:17:06.200 brand building, people buy the story before they 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:10.339 buy the product. How can entrepreneurs use networking 00:17:10.339 --> 00:17:14.500 to shape their narrative? Yeah, that's a great 00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:17.299 question. It's really no different, right? You're 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:20.920 talking to people. When you're building a brand, 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:25.220 you've figured out who your target persona is, 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:27.779 your customer. You built this persona so you 00:17:27.779 --> 00:17:30.559 can speak in the language that they want to hear, 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:34.000 that they speak in. If I have a product that's 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:36.440 geared towards people that are between 20 and 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:39.779 35, there's a different speak than if I have 00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:42.559 a product or a brand that I'm speaking to people 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:45.279 over 50. So it's the same thing with entrepreneurs. 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:47.759 You have to know who your audience is and what 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:49.579 you're trying to accomplish with that audience. 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:54.089 Are you just trying to let everybody know? Believe 00:17:54.089 --> 00:17:55.869 me, I see entrepreneurs like this. You're just 00:17:55.869 --> 00:17:57.210 trying to let everybody know that you're the 00:17:57.210 --> 00:17:59.750 greatest in the world. You're going to speak 00:17:59.750 --> 00:18:02.250 away, but people are going to shut you down because 00:18:02.250 --> 00:18:07.430 they get tired of hearing that. So the same thing, 00:18:07.630 --> 00:18:09.789 you're telling a story, you're telling a narrative, 00:18:09.869 --> 00:18:11.829 you're telling your story, but you have to be 00:18:11.829 --> 00:18:14.869 humble about it or get across what you think 00:18:14.869 --> 00:18:17.690 is interesting for them. So I did a speech in 00:18:17.690 --> 00:18:21.990 February at an entrepreneur event and I started 00:18:21.990 --> 00:18:24.900 out. And told them my backstory. But I said, 00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:27.680 I founded 10 different businesses, but only four 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:30.640 have been successful. And I'll tell them, and 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:34.640 I tell them exactly why I failed. I'm telling 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:38.279 them that not because of any other reason than 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:39.960 I'm going to try and help them to understand 00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:44.160 that failure is a part of growth and you should 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:46.200 never be ashamed of failure. You don't have to 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:48.720 have all the answers. As an entrepreneur, it's 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:51.539 okay to fail. I failed because I got myself into 00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:53.299 things that I shouldn't have been involved in 00:18:53.299 --> 00:18:55.640 or at the time it wasn't right for me. You have 00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:57.579 to know your audience. It's the same thing. You 00:18:57.579 --> 00:18:59.440 have to know your audience. You have to build 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:01.579 a persona and you have to get across what you 00:19:01.579 --> 00:19:03.420 think is going to be interesting enough. help 00:19:03.420 --> 00:19:07.319 them. And that's storytelling. Absolutely. And 00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:11.180 storytelling is a very big part of your presentation. 00:19:11.819 --> 00:19:16.400 Now, people remember the stories. Absolutely. 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:18.339 They're not going to remember what you talk about, 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:20.859 but they're going to remember the stories. Yes. 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:25.440 So if your story resonates with them, then they'll 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.079 pay a little more closer attention to you. So 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:30.700 one thing leads into the other, but that's a 00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:32.960 very big part of it. And when I go on stage, 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:34.859 that's the first thing I do is I hit them with 00:19:34.859 --> 00:19:37.779 a story. I get them involved and it becomes that 00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:41.680 type of talk. But listen, I've been an entrepreneur. 00:19:41.779 --> 00:19:47.420 I've been six, seven businesses and four or five 00:19:47.420 --> 00:19:51.519 succeeded. Two or three definitely did not succeed. 00:19:51.640 --> 00:19:55.519 But I learned so much more from my failures than 00:19:55.519 --> 00:20:00.630 my successes. Yeah. Just like I opened up with 00:20:00.630 --> 00:20:01.809 you at the start of my first business when I 00:20:01.809 --> 00:20:04.329 was 27, and I say it's a complete disaster. But 00:20:04.329 --> 00:20:06.789 that disaster, I still carry that disaster with 00:20:06.789 --> 00:20:09.970 me to this day. The lessons I learned about leadership, 00:20:10.210 --> 00:20:12.390 communication, process management, all those 00:20:12.390 --> 00:20:15.170 things that I failed at, I make sure that I don't 00:20:15.170 --> 00:20:18.359 fail at them again. I fail at other things, but 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:21.480 I don't fail at humans. That's right. We won't 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:25.640 get into that. But you have to learn, when I 00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:28.339 speak to my corporate clients, the difference 00:20:28.339 --> 00:20:31.660 between leadership and being a boss. You have 00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:36.200 to have the confidence in who you are and what 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:40.200 you do in order to become a better leader. If 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:43.579 you're insecure, you can be the boss and tell 00:20:43.579 --> 00:20:46.279 people what to do and be afraid that they're 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:49.180 going to come for your job. Yeah. Being a leader 00:20:49.180 --> 00:20:52.559 is teaching them what you do. Yeah. It's not. 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:55.160 So that's all right. That's again, that's another 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:57.819 conversation we can have for another hour, but 00:20:57.819 --> 00:21:01.400 we're not going to have it. Okay. So what's your 00:21:01.400 --> 00:21:04.200 strategy for maintaining strong relationships 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:08.559 with strategic partners, collaborators, or even 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:12.160 customers? especially in a digital first world? 00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:17.720 I think that in some ways, the digital first 00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:23.119 world enables us to be more in communication 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:28.279 or build relationships stronger than in the past. 00:21:28.579 --> 00:21:32.059 And the reason is because... I can send a message. 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:34.259 I can send an email. If I think about something 00:21:34.259 --> 00:21:37.220 for you, I can send a message to you immediately. 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:41.700 The one thing that I like to do is share information. 00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:45.440 If you're linked up with me, for example, and 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:48.099 I know what you do and we've talked and we're 00:21:48.099 --> 00:21:52.180 in a business relationship and I see something 00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:55.220 that comes across that has to do with your industry. 00:21:56.020 --> 00:21:57.980 I'll send it to you and say, hey, I saw this. 00:21:58.039 --> 00:21:59.480 I don't know if you saw it, maybe you didn't, 00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:01.240 but I thought this was interesting about your 00:22:01.240 --> 00:22:05.400 business. So I like to constantly give information 00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:09.779 or give ideas or give thoughts. Or link people 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:14.119 up and say, hey, hey, guy, I just had so and 00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:16.160 so on my show. And I think you guys should talk 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:17.960 because they're both doing the same type of thing. 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:20.359 And I like doing that. And I think people appreciate 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:22.920 it because it's not one way. I'm not asking them 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:24.420 for something. There may be a time when I may 00:22:24.420 --> 00:22:26.819 ask them for a little help on something that 00:22:26.819 --> 00:22:30.900 I'm working on. But I built up so much relationship 00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:33.420 capital with them because I constantly give. 00:22:33.619 --> 00:22:36.440 And then there's usually no reason why they won't 00:22:36.440 --> 00:22:39.950 want to help me. But then. They feel like we 00:22:39.950 --> 00:22:41.789 know each other. I'll even give you an example 00:22:41.789 --> 00:22:44.529 on LinkedIn. We do outreach for our business 00:22:44.529 --> 00:22:47.829 on LinkedIn and we target specific people and 00:22:47.829 --> 00:22:52.349 I never go heavy into the ask right away. It's 00:22:52.349 --> 00:22:54.690 usually, hey, let's hook up. Then I'll, once 00:22:54.690 --> 00:22:57.250 I learn about them, I'll send them something 00:22:57.250 --> 00:23:00.029 about their industry. I'll even make comments 00:23:00.029 --> 00:23:01.950 on some of their posts now that we're linked 00:23:01.950 --> 00:23:04.900 up. And then by the time I ask for a meeting, 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:09.640 which may be six or seven weeks after, they feel 00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:12.000 like we know each other because we've done all 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:14.539 this. They feel like, oh, we're friends. So I 00:23:14.539 --> 00:23:17.319 think in some ways, the digital side of it enables 00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:19.539 us to get a little bit closer to people if you 00:23:19.539 --> 00:23:22.319 use it correctly. Yeah, always if you use it 00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:24.640 correctly. But that's called building your social 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:27.359 capital. You have a lot of capital and you have 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:29.720 to build it. And this is all social capitals. 00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:32.759 But what you're doing is you're... bringing value 00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:36.799 to that relationship. And what you're doing also 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:39.940 is you're saying, okay, this other person, that 00:23:39.940 --> 00:23:42.660 article or something else that have you seen 00:23:42.660 --> 00:23:46.839 it, you're adding value to your brand. Sure. 00:23:46.940 --> 00:23:48.819 And what you're doing and when they accept it, 00:23:48.900 --> 00:23:51.960 you're increasing your social capital. So everything 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:54.720 works with one another. And the fact that you 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:58.619 don't ask for a meeting till three or four or 00:23:58.619 --> 00:24:02.099 five times in. That's perfect because you've 00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:04.700 increased your social capital to such a point 00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:08.359 where they almost say, I almost have to talk 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:11.859 to him because he turned a lot of that in. And 00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:14.420 then it's, of course, it's up to you on what 00:24:14.420 --> 00:24:17.839 you do with that. But that's exactly what I talk 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:21.180 about regarding LinkedIn. One of my coaching 00:24:21.180 --> 00:24:25.000 clients yesterday, I told him exactly that scenario 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:28.250 with LinkedIn. Because that's one of the social 00:24:28.250 --> 00:24:31.569 soft touches you can do with an existing client. 00:24:31.809 --> 00:24:35.549 Sure. And I told him the same thing about building 00:24:35.549 --> 00:24:38.990 his social capital. And he quickly says, I got 00:24:38.990 --> 00:24:41.390 to write that down. It's so important. No, it's 00:24:41.390 --> 00:24:42.990 not for you just to write down. It's for you 00:24:42.990 --> 00:24:47.789 to believe it. Yeah. And to do it. Okay. So many 00:24:47.789 --> 00:24:50.809 entrepreneurs underestimate the power of peer 00:24:50.809 --> 00:24:54.819 networks. How do you find or build? A circle 00:24:54.819 --> 00:24:59.619 that truly pushes you forward. Yeah. So there 00:24:59.619 --> 00:25:03.680 are, I think that entrepreneurs should get involved 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:08.940 in masterminds or academies, leadership groups, 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:11.619 even if it's online. There's groups out there 00:25:11.619 --> 00:25:14.099 like EO, Entrepreneurs Organization, or YPO, 00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:16.359 Young Presidents Organization. You know, those 00:25:16.359 --> 00:25:18.640 kinds of groups where you're going to be in with 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:24.420 peers. And that allows you to network with them 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:28.480 and also bounce ideas and things off of them 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:31.019 because now you're getting a closer relationship. 00:25:31.140 --> 00:25:33.019 You're getting sort of a one -on -one relationship 00:25:33.019 --> 00:25:35.920 with them. And so then they become your friends. 00:25:36.750 --> 00:25:40.890 And so they have experiences or shared experiences 00:25:40.890 --> 00:25:44.690 that you may have. They may have had the same 00:25:44.690 --> 00:25:47.250 stumbling block that you have. So the ability 00:25:47.250 --> 00:25:51.509 to use that is, I think, is just you can't even 00:25:51.509 --> 00:25:54.069 measure how great that is. I think sometimes 00:25:54.069 --> 00:26:00.390 entrepreneurs, again, they feel like they should 00:26:00.390 --> 00:26:03.009 have all the answers and they don't need outside 00:26:03.009 --> 00:26:06.980 help because. It's their business and nobody 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:09.019 knows what they're going to go through and nobody 00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:11.019 knows what they're going through. But the reality 00:26:11.019 --> 00:26:14.160 is, no, everybody knows what you're going through. 00:26:14.220 --> 00:26:15.640 Everybody who's an entrepreneur who's built a 00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:17.880 business or built a personal brand knows exactly 00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:19.279 what you're going through because we've all gone 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:22.980 through it. So why not share with others? And 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:25.119 so sometimes it takes a little bit of time for 00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:27.240 entrepreneurs to get over that hurdle. But once 00:26:27.240 --> 00:26:30.119 they do, they find the relationship part of it 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:34.630 just valuable. Yeah, again, it's resorts to that 00:26:34.630 --> 00:26:39.410 trust factor. If I can trust you that you went 00:26:39.410 --> 00:26:41.690 through the same thing and you're not just blowing 00:26:41.690 --> 00:26:45.630 smoke up my dress, it's okay. So he's been through 00:26:45.630 --> 00:26:49.009 it. So you know what? Maybe I can ask him. And 00:26:49.009 --> 00:26:52.369 another thing is when you are on LinkedIn and 00:26:52.369 --> 00:26:55.670 you have a problem and you post it or not post 00:26:55.670 --> 00:26:59.130 to a group, when you ask somebody for their advice, 00:27:00.009 --> 00:27:02.470 They are more than willing to give you their 00:27:02.470 --> 00:27:05.190 advice because you're coming to them. Okay, he 00:27:05.190 --> 00:27:07.910 thinks that I'm the professional or I have a 00:27:07.910 --> 00:27:11.130 good take on this. So I'm going to give him my 00:27:11.130 --> 00:27:13.650 advice and more advice, of course. Obviously, 00:27:13.650 --> 00:27:17.029 you take it, you figure it out. But that's one 00:27:17.029 --> 00:27:18.930 of the best ways to get through your problem. 00:27:19.750 --> 00:27:26.470 AI is revolutionizing efficiency. But can it 00:27:26.470 --> 00:27:29.069 ever replace the connection we get from one -to 00:27:29.069 --> 00:27:34.609 -one networking? No. We build chatbots. We use 00:27:34.609 --> 00:27:37.950 chatbots for customer service interactions. We 00:27:37.950 --> 00:27:41.230 use chatbots in some of the outreach pieces. 00:27:41.710 --> 00:27:44.690 But it's only, like I said, it's going to get 00:27:44.690 --> 00:27:48.470 you to a certain point. So we use AI and chat 00:27:48.470 --> 00:27:53.289 and language models to get maybe to answer questions 00:27:53.289 --> 00:27:56.970 that people have basically. questions to get 00:27:56.970 --> 00:27:59.769 you to the point where you're going to get a 00:27:59.769 --> 00:28:01.309 phone call or you're going to get on with them. 00:28:01.630 --> 00:28:05.170 But you can't use AI. And I don't think we ever 00:28:05.170 --> 00:28:09.740 will use AI. to make the decisions or to be able 00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:12.279 to talk with someone. I've been on plenty of 00:28:12.279 --> 00:28:14.980 phone calls with you're calling customer service 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:17.599 and you can tell it's AI and you can speak normally 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:20.299 and all that. But again, it's designed to weed 00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:23.859 it out or segment you or lead you to the final 00:28:23.859 --> 00:28:26.680 answer. What are you calling about? Is it your 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:29.160 account? Is it this? That stuff is great, right? 00:28:29.220 --> 00:28:31.039 It gets you to the right person so that they 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:34.259 can solve your problem. But if you think that 00:28:34.680 --> 00:28:37.960 You're going to be able to just answer everybody's 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:39.839 questions. I don't see it. And how are you going 00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:44.599 to network with AI? It has its place. But again, 00:28:44.779 --> 00:28:48.259 you can't take away the human element of what 00:28:48.259 --> 00:28:50.500 we do every day, whether it's talking to clients, 00:28:50.619 --> 00:28:53.279 talking to customers, talking to prospects, talking 00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:57.680 to a networking group. AI is just never going 00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:01.410 to replace that. No, I, listen, that's one thing 00:29:01.410 --> 00:29:03.690 I promote whenever I go out and talk, of course, 00:29:03.730 --> 00:29:06.589 but the networking events, the networking between 00:29:06.589 --> 00:29:09.910 people, you have to be able to pick up the vibe 00:29:09.910 --> 00:29:13.230 of the person, the vibe of the room. And you 00:29:13.230 --> 00:29:15.670 can't do that through AI. You have to do that 00:29:15.670 --> 00:29:18.369 in personal networking, whether you're in a room 00:29:18.369 --> 00:29:21.470 filled with 300 people or just one -on -one, 00:29:21.509 --> 00:29:25.390 you can't pick up on that if you're not there. 00:29:25.930 --> 00:29:27.950 And so you'll always need, plus, you know what? 00:29:28.029 --> 00:29:30.569 We're human beings. We need the physical touch. 00:29:30.730 --> 00:29:33.670 We're not going to survive unless we have it. 00:29:34.009 --> 00:29:36.910 So that's another thing. I'll tell you one thing 00:29:36.910 --> 00:29:41.869 that I tested the last two meetings I was at, 00:29:41.950 --> 00:29:45.150 and they were small groups, 25, 30 people and 00:29:45.150 --> 00:29:48.769 entrepreneurs and brand builders. And I got the 00:29:48.769 --> 00:29:53.049 list of the signups of the attendees from the 00:29:53.049 --> 00:29:56.849 sponsor of the show. And I took that list and 00:29:56.849 --> 00:30:00.210 I ran it through AI and said, just give me a 00:30:00.210 --> 00:30:04.210 quick five sentence synopsis of each of these 00:30:04.210 --> 00:30:08.529 people. And all I'm trying to do there is to 00:30:08.529 --> 00:30:10.849 be able to now make a deeper connection. So when 00:30:10.849 --> 00:30:13.730 I walk up to somebody and I say, oh, you're Ann? 00:30:14.069 --> 00:30:16.329 Oh, you did blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, 00:30:16.329 --> 00:30:18.650 blah. Am I correct? Is that you? And then all 00:30:18.650 --> 00:30:20.430 of a sudden they're taken off guard like, oh, 00:30:20.529 --> 00:30:22.490 he knows. How does he know me? How does he know 00:30:22.490 --> 00:30:25.599 anything about me? And it changed. the whole 00:30:25.599 --> 00:30:28.099 dynamic of the discussion. Because I'm talking 00:30:28.099 --> 00:30:31.359 about before the meetings all start, when you're 00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:33.500 just mingling and you're, when you can walk up 00:30:33.500 --> 00:30:35.539 to somebody and say, hey, I know a little bit 00:30:35.539 --> 00:30:37.640 about you. I'd like to know more. I noticed that 00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:40.980 you did this. How was that? It just completely 00:30:40.980 --> 00:30:43.519 disarms people. And they're impressed that you 00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:46.559 bothered to find out something about them. And 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:49.000 then they can just talk. And then, and I love 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:50.920 that when you can get people to just start talking 00:30:50.920 --> 00:30:53.819 about themselves. So that was one thing I did. 00:30:53.940 --> 00:30:58.079 But again, I didn't use AI to talk to the person. 00:30:58.099 --> 00:31:01.339 I used AI just to give me five simple facts about 00:31:01.339 --> 00:31:03.980 the person, which I thought was really an interesting 00:31:03.980 --> 00:31:07.920 way of starting. It is. And I use something called 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:13.780 F -O -R -M. It's family occupation. recreation, 00:31:13.780 --> 00:31:16.839 and a message. And I have that in the back of 00:31:16.839 --> 00:31:21.559 my head for every networking event, because people 00:31:21.559 --> 00:31:24.579 love to talk about themselves. And the more you 00:31:24.579 --> 00:31:27.779 get them to talk about themselves, the stronger 00:31:27.779 --> 00:31:32.079 that level of trust is. Father, mother, sister, 00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:34.859 brother, husband, wife, son, daughter, talk about 00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:37.880 that, right? Or talk about, oh, you like to go 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:41.019 skiing or boating or playing baseball or something? 00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:45.630 Talk on that. Don't talk business because the 00:31:45.630 --> 00:31:48.609 more you talk about business, the less they're 00:31:48.609 --> 00:31:50.829 going to pay attention to you. The more you talk 00:31:50.829 --> 00:31:54.829 about themselves and let them talk, the more 00:31:54.829 --> 00:31:58.130 that trust factor is and the easier it will be 00:31:58.130 --> 00:32:01.289 for you to have that conversation at a later 00:32:01.289 --> 00:32:04.869 time. So when you try to make that cup of coffee 00:32:04.869 --> 00:32:09.809 meeting, it'll be a lot easier after that form 00:32:09.809 --> 00:32:16.839 meeting. Yeah. OK, so how do you recommend early 00:32:16.839 --> 00:32:20.460 stage founders start networking if they feel 00:32:20.460 --> 00:32:25.339 like they have nothing big to offer yet? I think 00:32:25.339 --> 00:32:27.380 you always have something big to offer. You just 00:32:27.380 --> 00:32:30.559 don't see it. And it always comes out. It always 00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:32.880 comes out in the first meeting. So the first 00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:36.220 thing I one of the things that I see that's been 00:32:36.220 --> 00:32:39.099 a great thing for young entrepreneurs are the 00:32:39.099 --> 00:32:44.079 accelerator and. accelerator programs and or 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:48.259 co -working spaces because they wind up going 00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:50.619 to the same place every day and it's probably 00:32:50.619 --> 00:32:54.500 10 or 15 or 20 other startups in there and you're 00:32:54.500 --> 00:32:58.859 forced almost to network within that group and 00:32:58.859 --> 00:33:02.200 they always have networking events and they always 00:33:02.200 --> 00:33:06.430 have speakers and things so guys and gals who 00:33:06.430 --> 00:33:09.710 start businesses or early stage are in those 00:33:09.710 --> 00:33:13.210 places and they wind up talking. And then they 00:33:13.210 --> 00:33:15.890 realize after about a month or so that they really 00:33:15.890 --> 00:33:18.009 do have something to offer. Somebody might come 00:33:18.009 --> 00:33:20.829 to them and say, ask the same question that somebody 00:33:20.829 --> 00:33:23.470 else asked about their business. So I think that 00:33:23.470 --> 00:33:25.490 they just have to, you have to get over yourself 00:33:25.490 --> 00:33:28.329 and just take it, take that step, find the group 00:33:28.329 --> 00:33:32.109 that you want to be with, whether it's at. an 00:33:32.109 --> 00:33:35.170 incubator or an accelerator, or maybe it's an 00:33:35.170 --> 00:33:39.970 online leaders academy or any group that you 00:33:39.970 --> 00:33:42.289 can get involved with. Even if you're just going 00:33:42.289 --> 00:33:45.269 to listen in the beginning, get involved and 00:33:45.269 --> 00:33:47.569 then start adding to the conversation and you'll 00:33:47.569 --> 00:33:50.690 find that you have a lot to offer. Yeah, always. 00:33:51.109 --> 00:33:54.509 And if you think about it, as you said, you have 00:33:54.509 --> 00:33:57.720 a lot. Because you're not there because you said 00:33:57.720 --> 00:33:59.500 you woke up one morning and said, I'm going to 00:33:59.500 --> 00:34:01.380 start a business. What am I going to do? So you 00:34:01.380 --> 00:34:03.180 had to put some thought behind it. You had to 00:34:03.180 --> 00:34:06.220 create the business in your, at least in your 00:34:06.220 --> 00:34:09.260 head first. So if you go to that networking event, 00:34:09.539 --> 00:34:12.500 that's what you're talking about. So you do have 00:34:12.500 --> 00:34:15.500 something to offer. And of course, at that event, 00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:18.199 you can see what sticks, what doesn't stick, 00:34:18.300 --> 00:34:20.179 what they say, what they don't say. And that 00:34:20.179 --> 00:34:23.940 starts your progression. But you always have. 00:34:24.380 --> 00:34:27.460 something to talk about. And for some of us, 00:34:27.460 --> 00:34:29.119 we don't shut up, but that's besides the point. 00:34:29.739 --> 00:34:33.420 So let's bring this podcast full circle. Okay, 00:34:33.559 --> 00:34:36.699 I'm gonna ask you the last question. If someone 00:34:36.699 --> 00:34:39.679 listening is ready to build their brand, grow 00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:43.800 their business, and expand their network, what's 00:34:43.800 --> 00:34:46.940 the first bold move you challenge them to take 00:34:46.940 --> 00:34:50.440 this week? The first bold move. So they're trying 00:34:50.440 --> 00:34:54.190 to grow their business, build a brand. then the 00:34:54.190 --> 00:34:58.570 first bold move I would make would be to get, 00:34:58.630 --> 00:35:03.550 I would get into a group of like -minded people, 00:35:03.610 --> 00:35:05.389 entrepreneurs, people who have done it before, 00:35:05.530 --> 00:35:07.969 whoever, whatever your focus is. If you're building 00:35:07.969 --> 00:35:10.230 a brand, you're building a business, you're building 00:35:10.230 --> 00:35:13.210 your network or your coaching business, personal 00:35:13.210 --> 00:35:16.769 brand, whatever it is, get into a group of like 00:35:16.769 --> 00:35:19.719 -minded people. that are going down the same 00:35:19.719 --> 00:35:23.039 path as you, and just say, hey, this is what 00:35:23.039 --> 00:35:26.559 I'm doing. Do you have any advice for me? And 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:29.219 then just sit back and listen. Because people 00:35:29.219 --> 00:35:30.739 are always going to give you advice if you ask 00:35:30.739 --> 00:35:33.780 for it. But that's the first bold move, I would 00:35:33.780 --> 00:35:35.940 say. A lot of people don't want to do that because 00:35:35.940 --> 00:35:37.840 it puts you in a... puts you in a vulnerable 00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:40.500 position. You feel like now they're going to 00:35:40.500 --> 00:35:42.619 think that I don't know what I'm doing or I don't 00:35:42.619 --> 00:35:44.920 have a clue, but none of us do. We don't know 00:35:44.920 --> 00:35:46.920 what we're doing half the time. And so that's 00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:49.039 why it's important to network with people because 00:35:49.039 --> 00:35:51.179 somebody has gone through it and said, these 00:35:51.179 --> 00:35:53.780 are the 10 mistakes I made. If you want to ask 00:35:53.780 --> 00:35:57.400 me. about how to build a brand. And I will tell 00:35:57.400 --> 00:35:59.679 you, I will always start out and tell you about 00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:02.800 all of my failures and why I think you shouldn't 00:36:02.800 --> 00:36:05.320 go down that path. And here's, after all those 00:36:05.320 --> 00:36:08.539 failures, here's what I would do. Very good. 00:36:08.719 --> 00:36:11.420 Phil, I can tell you, I can go on for another 00:36:11.420 --> 00:36:14.320 two hours talking about all this stuff with you. 00:36:14.360 --> 00:36:17.300 You're a great guest to have on. And I thank 00:36:17.300 --> 00:36:20.980 you for it. But if somebody wanted to get hold 00:36:20.980 --> 00:36:24.039 of you, either to be coached, they have a question 00:36:24.039 --> 00:36:26.300 about opening a business or a brand or anything 00:36:26.300 --> 00:36:28.440 like that, what's the best way that they can 00:36:28.440 --> 00:36:31.840 get hold of you? They can reach me at, I have 00:36:31.840 --> 00:36:34.639 two different websites. One is crunchgrowth .com, 00:36:34.699 --> 00:36:37.260 which is for the business. And you can reach 00:36:37.260 --> 00:36:39.739 me there, Phil at Crunch Growth. I have philmassiello 00:36:39.739 --> 00:36:42.139 .com. You can reach me there, phil at philmassiello 00:36:42.139 --> 00:36:44.420 .com. You can hit me up on LinkedIn. I'm active 00:36:44.420 --> 00:36:48.400 on LinkedIn, social media. phil massiello so 00:36:48.400 --> 00:36:50.539 that's you can always feel free to reach out 00:36:50.539 --> 00:36:53.400 people do it all the time they send me dms i'm 00:36:53.400 --> 00:36:55.860 i try to be approachable i mean i get back to 00:36:55.860 --> 00:36:57.980 you right away but i'll eventually get back to 00:36:57.980 --> 00:37:01.639 you that's great great phil i can't thank you 00:37:01.639 --> 00:37:04.480 enough for coming on the podcast and i hope to 00:37:04.480 --> 00:37:06.679 talk to you soon yeah thank you michael it was 00:37:06.679 --> 00:37:09.760 fun i appreciate it good questions okay good 00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:16.570 well Hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere. Let's 00:37:16.570 --> 00:37:19.769 hear from our sponsors. David Neal, co -founder 00:37:19.769 --> 00:37:23.349 Revved Up Kids. Revved Up Kids is on a mission 00:37:23.349 --> 00:37:26.829 to protect children and teens from sexual abuse, 00:37:27.070 --> 00:37:30.590 exploitation, and trafficking. They provide prevention 00:37:30.590 --> 00:37:34.110 training programs for children, teens, and adults. 00:37:34.369 --> 00:37:38.969 To learn more, go to revvedupkids .org. Henry 00:37:38.969 --> 00:37:42.349 Kaplan, Century 21. When it comes to making the 00:37:42.349 --> 00:37:45.329 biggest financial decision of your life, leave 00:37:45.329 --> 00:37:48.030 it in the hands of a proven professional, Henry 00:37:48.030 --> 00:37:51.650 Kaplan. Henry is a global real estate agent with 00:37:51.650 --> 00:37:55.730 Century 21, celebrating his 41st year in business. 00:37:56.230 --> 00:37:58.710 No matter where you're moving, Henry has the 00:37:58.710 --> 00:38:01.929 right connections for you. You can contact Henry 00:38:01.929 --> 00:38:09.030 at 561 -427 -4888. A huge thank you to our guests 00:38:09.030 --> 00:38:12.820 for sharing such insights today. And of course, 00:38:12.820 --> 00:38:15.760 a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners, 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:18.679 for tuning in and spending your time with us. 00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:22.260 If you're interested in my digital courses, being 00:38:22.260 --> 00:38:24.980 coached or having me come and talk to your company, 00:38:25.219 --> 00:38:28.639 just go to Michael and fill out the request form. 00:38:29.179 --> 00:38:32.480 Remember, networking isn't about being perfect. 00:38:32.719 --> 00:38:35.760 It's about being present. So take what you've 00:38:35.760 --> 00:38:38.599 learned today, get out there and make some meaningful 00:38:38.599 --> 00:38:41.539 connections. If you've enjoyed this episode, 00:38:41.739 --> 00:38:44.699 please don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a 00:38:44.699 --> 00:38:47.300 review and share it with someone who could use 00:38:47.300 --> 00:38:50.420 a little networking inspiration. Let's keep the 00:38:50.420 --> 00:38:53.440 conversation going. You can find me on Apple, 00:38:53.559 --> 00:38:58.400 Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my website, foreman 00:38:58.400 --> 00:39:00.780 .com slash podcasts.