You've heard it said before: Business is all about relationships. There is good reason why so many people swear by this maxim. Of course, it is possible to start a business without relationships, but it is impossible to sustain a business without them. A good relationship can bring in referrals of good employees, market opportunities and business partners. Without relationships, you are flying blind.
The reason relationships are so important is that they have trust as their foundation. If you don't know what you're getting yourself into when you hire an employee, partner with a vendor, or pursue a certain market segment, then you are really just guessing whether or not you'll be successful. When someone you know and trust refers an employee, partner or particular market to you, you can be more confident that those opportunities are worth pursuing.
Here's something to remember about relationships: They take work. Relationships aren't going to build themselves. You've got to be proactive in networking—going out and meeting people, looking for ways to help people in the industry improve their businesses. The best way to find someone you can trust is to be someone they can trust. And when you've built enough of those trusted relationships, success will become merely a phone call away.
David Lykken, a 43-year veteran of the mortgage industry, is president of Transformational Mortgage Solutions (TMS), a management consulting firm that provides transformative business strategies to owners and “C-Level” executives via consulting, executive coaching and various communications strategies. He is a frequent guest on FOX Business News and hosts his own weekly podcast called “Lykken On Lending” heard Monday’s at 1:00 p.m. ET at LykkenOnLending.com. David’s phone number is (512) 759-0999 and his e-mail is [email protected].
