How Your Reputation and Network Can Make or Break Your Success as an Entrepreneur
There are two things you have the power to take with you no matter where you go in life. Depending on if they serve or slight you, you can try to shake them or you can nurture them. When tended to with care, they are two of the most powerful forces that can make or break you. They can take a lifetime to build and only moments to crumble. And is an essential entrepreneur tip.
Any guesses?
They are: your reputation and your network–and trust me, they’re correlated.
In 2013, I left a high-profile development position to build a company from scratch. I can say without a doubt that these two things have served me the most.
When I decided to start my own company, all the normal emotions of came up. Excitement, fear, joy and frustration all rose to the surface.
In the beginning I wondered if I had made the right decision. In fact, there was a moment when I was late-night scrolling through my social media images (this is never a good idea). I realized the only pictures of me anywhere online had to do with my job. My identity and my work were one in the same. In a moment of sheer fear I thought to myself, “I don’t exist if I’m not doing this job. What am I thinking? I can’t do this on my own, and I don’t have what I need to be successful by myself!”
I now understand this is something that happens to most budding entrepreneurs. And an entrepreneur tip I wish I knew when I started.
Because I was no longer connected to an international brand, I thought I had nothing to build on. I had drifted away from my values and the big things I know to be true. The truth is, when you treat people with kindness, work with intention and build authentic relationships, it comes full circle. And, if you treat people poorly, work without ethics and only collect business cards, that comes full circle, too. Which circle do you want to be a part of?
Luckily, the concern was short-lived. All it took to shake me from my self-disparaging moment was an update of my career status on my LinkedIn profile. Suddenly, masses of people reached out to learn about my new work and how they could support my business.
But why did they care? Because I had a deep network and a strong reputation. If those two pieces weren’t active, nothing would have been my inbox.
I had taken a leap, and without my knowing, a beautiful community of people was waiting in the valley to catch me. It was as if a wave of warm, pillowed, hugs kept crashing over me every day.
Being the sap that I am, it actually brought me to tears on several occasions. I had no idea how far my reputation and network was going to take me from the start. I had completely taken it for granted.
For years I had been doing exactly what I was now receiving from others. One of my favorite things is connecting great people with other great people. I love supporting those in my world when they’re going through a transition, or offering an ear as they work through difficult issues. It feels good to help others.
Your relationships, when authentic, transcend your title. And your reputation follows you, for better or worse. Invest in these two things and no matter where you go or what you do and your tribe will follow.
What are you doing to build your reputation and nourish the people that create your network in life?