Badassery Magazine Issue 5 October | Page 31

can help them vs. randomly volunteering my time & services elsewhere. Love (and support) the ones you’re with! Selfless with a strategy is acceptable, because otherwise you’re in the way - not actually IN with purpose! #WORD Point: where you place your investments is crucial (and noticeable), time and money alike. Always think: whom am I supporting? Who could really use this business, who could really use my support, time, kindness, friendship, and business-ship? Consideration = everything. Be conscious around your community. Consciously made choices are karma’s cousin. Relationships are key in all we do and relationships are directly linked to our incomes & livelihoods. Yep, every ounce. A word to the wise: treat your online community just as valuably as your in the flesh community. Spamming people, the follow-unfollow game, posting for self-serving purposes in 38 groups without interacting with other group members to some degree isn’t totally a value ploy in relationship investment (although it’s a decent strategy in seeing who you connect with when you’re new to the game and trying to get your bearings). In this case of being fresh meat to the online scene or entrepreneurial world, showing up consistently to see who you connect with or who interacts with your posts is totally fair, valid and on point. You’re basically fishing to see who you catch & connect with, which can then lead into the dating phase, which can then lead into the “are we long term sustainable material”, and can we do business or be supportive boss BFF’s? I.e. Value investments that will yield a return. A lot of relationship building & investment (especially online) is trial and error. Time is just as much an investment as money, and the return is highly reflective of what you put in. Think of relationship pregame as foreplay. I said it. Maybe it’s not for everyone, but how do feel about the relationships that are demanding and in your face without any small lead in? Why not take the initiative (when you join a group, friend or follow someone online) to personally say hello, share a compliment, or reach out to let them know why you’ve contacted/connected with them. To me, I’m more likely to recognize this type of person, support them, and consider them for future working relationships (making an 28