How To Build Influence and Own Your Industry

It is essential in business to build your influence to move the needle on your company’s growth. It’s well known in the industry that this process will not happen by accident. You’ll want to determine that you will do anything it takes to become a success, and you’ll work hard to make your influence felt and own your industry.

There are many strategies that you can deploy to catapult your business forward, but none will matter as much as your influence will. But, what will your influence look like? Who are you — and who are you becoming?

In a recent podcast, I had the opportunity to speak with John Hall about the topic of how to build your influence in today’s market. Hall used the words, “owning your industry.” If you want to build your influence to maximum effectiveness, you’ll want to own your industry.

*Link to the John Hall original podcast here — import podcast?

5 Tips on How You Can Own Your Own Industry

I’ll start this article off just like I’ll end it. If you really want to build influence and own your industry, you will have to take some type of action. Taking action (with Lifestyle Investing) or anything you choose in life is the only way to get off the hamster wheel.

1. Have the Dream and Vision

Have your dream and vision uppermost in your mind. Study and learn; however, you choose to learn, until you know exactly where you are going. If you want to focus on a specific lifestyle — focus on that lifestyle, to begin with. Things don’t just turn up out of nowhere until you envision where you’re going. Dream, learn and define your roadmap — learn to set ambitious goals.

If you want to own your industry — you will have to step up and take it to own it. Owning implies not just wishing and reaching, but doing what has to be done to get there. Are you the person to own your industry? If you honestly don’t know if you are the person to own your industry, you honestly won’t get there.

Think “optimal.” How can I make this or that optimal? How will you make your dream optimal? What action will you take to experience the optimal life, build your influence and own your industry?

2. Watch the Relationships

You will not be going anywhere very fast in business and life if you don’t watch and oversee your relationships carefully. Watch how others do their relationships in business and life and learn the best way forward. Watch the people who have built great relationships over time — and especially take note of those who, with one “massive tizzy fit,” destroy a lengthy friendship. If you want to own your industry, you must watch that your relationships are cared for.

You can’t have a great relationship without contact with an individual. Find people and develop relationships with those who will help you be your best self, then reach out to support your relationships so they can support you. Reach beyond your narrow limits.

Search for the right people to have relationships with, in the first place — and get the right people on board for your projects. Seek out those who are self-aware and transparent — and transparent in what they want and need. You will be able to grow yourself and your project faster and better with these types of people.

3. The Selfless-Giver Mentality

To own your own industry, you will want to find and grow a selfless-giver mentality. To be a selfless-giver means that you will determine that as you move through your life and business, you will be a selfless-giver. Of course, you will work as hard as you can, but you will start right here and now to help lift others along the way.

Take a chance on someone when you can. Reach out to the one who may not be included and give as much as you possibly can of your time and resources. Some believe there is an absolute 10 to 1 giving ratio. You give, give, give — ten times — and one of these efforts will come back to you, but that one will generally be golden. But look for and support a cause.

The giving mentality starts to show in everything you do and say — you become more generous, and your whole mindset begins to shift. If you are helping someone else, you aren’t tearing that other person down or their business down. In turn, you’ll be amazed at what comes back to you. You’ll notice that deals everywhere suddenly become reciprocal deals. Why? Because you have actually become that selfless-giver.

4. De-Risk Whatever Adventures You Undertake

Do your deals — but do them wiser and smarter each time around. Take the time to study out all of your information and de-risk any project you take on. De-risking is being aware of the pitfalls involved in your business projects and personal undertakings and quickly understanding the dips and falls you are willing to take anyway — and those you will not.

When you de-risk your investments, companies, business deals, relationships — you are looking for those people that deserve recognition and who are trustworthy people. So you keep people around you and work with people who will do what they say they will do. When you’ve gathered these people around you — you have de-risked (cut the significant risks) on many avenues you may take.

When you have de-risked, you can take a few light risks on a few people, things, ideas, companies, ventures, and adventures.

5. Look for Income Multipliers — and Deal Structures

Always make sure you are well diversified. Stay well-diversified with your money — but also think in the same way with your business and personal life — diversify everything. It takes focus and vision to say “this is where we are” and “this is where we want to be” and then working towards that.

When you are looking for multipliers, that means that you take good care of the banking relationship if you need banking money. If you are taking care of a banking relationship — that means you keep all of your own finances straight and your reputation intact or that your banker will take a chance on you. You will be the person a banker will want to take a chance on. So that relationship can be a multiplier.

Income multipliers are not free; they are not usery — multipliers are almost always mutually beneficial. Your deal structures will nearly always be beneficial to all parties concerned. Rarely are multipliers where you go hat-in-hand and beg for help. No! You have established yourself as one who rolls up their sleeves and gets the work done. You are the one who has paid the price to be there with your diligence and willingness to stay strategic in your planning.

Conclusion

Watch for your superpowers — take some ideas here and begin today. Then, do as I suggested initially — take action on your roadmap to build influence and take the proper steps until you own your industry.

Image Credit: Scott Graham; Unsplash