One simple ingredient in building your brand, business and life

(Me with my old high school coach and mentor Coach Al Miller who’s in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.)

I’ve recently returned from a trip into my hometown of Cleveland, TN located in the southeast part of Tennessee. I generally make it over to see friends and family and to help out with a local high school team as a guest clinician at a wrestling camp, showing technique and talking with them at the end of the camp.​

This time around was ramped up because of not only the wrestling camp but i had the privilege as well to partner up with a women’s fight organization in Charlotte, NC called Women of the Carolinas Fight Life in a Fashion Show.

This was a partnership though my lifestyle brand Just Heart. With it being the first year there was a lot of moving parts and definitely things to adjust on for the next event.

But it turned out to be a great success and the money invested in it I believe will be worth it for the future, with new contacts and potential new projects on the horizon.

So between the Licensing Expo, a wrestling camp and a Fashion Show, this has been a productive June for me.

This leads into our main subject for the day and the one thing that could drastically boost your brand, business or life: Relationships

The depth of your Relationships could be the difference from anyone not being of aware of who you are or your relationships can put you in the right place and opportunity for you to show your gift, your services or product and change the trajectory of your life.

With anything that you are attempting to build in your life your audience is the lifeblood of the thing you’re creating. So how are you nurturing your relationships? Are you looking for transactions-which is great, we all need revenue and sales to make the dream work-but what we want to strive for is something more authentic. That if someone had to choose between you and perhaps another competitor, maybe one with a cheaper price, they still come to you. And not because of the price tag. Because of the value you consistently give them that helps their life and not just yours.

So this could be homework for you:

Take audit of the circle you’re around on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Figure out which level of relationship you have with that specific person. You could number this 1-5 ( 1 being lowest and 5 being the highest) Are they truly giving you something of value, or is it someone to complain or gossip with?

Personally for my brand and business, building mutually beneficial relationships has helped me connect and network with a wide scope of people. With your brand creating authentic relationships nurtured over time creates loyalty. And that loyalty can last a lifetime. Specifically for your brand, product, service, or ideas, when you have a passionate loyal following that resonates with you on an emotional standpoint and not just a superficial level, this is when you create a strong foundation for your brand, or even your life, for years to come.

So let me know how do you build your relationships? What little things are you doing physically or through social media to build trust and loyalty for your brand, business, career and life.