February 18, 2025 • 29 mins
What if your online presence was so warm and inviting that total strangers had to meet you?
That’s exactly what happened with our guest, Greg Wasserman! Before we even knew him, we knew we needed him on the show.
Greg is a master at building relationships—both online and in-person—without being salesy, spammy, or sleazy.
How do you create authentic connections that actually lead to opportunities? Why does networking not have to feel like an awkward name-tagged free-for-all? And is there a secret formula for standing out in a sea of LinkedIn messages? (Spoiler: Yes, and Greg shares it with us!)
Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business. So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, be sure to check out LifeStarr Intro!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Carly Ries (00:00):
What if I told you that the way you present
yourself online could be the keyto unlocking amazing
opportunities without a singlecold pitch? That's exactly what
happened with our guest, GregWasserman. We'd never met him
before, but the warmth andauthenticity of his online
presence made us instantly wantto have him on the show. In this
episode, Greg breaks down thereal art of relationship
(00:21):
building online and offline.Forget robotic networking
tactics and spammy LinkedInmessages.
He shares how to create genuineconnections that open doors in
unexpected ways, why playing thelawn game is the only game worth
playing, and how just showing upcan transform your business and
your life. If you've ever feltawkward at networking events or
wondered how to stand out in acrowded digital world, this
(00:44):
episode is for you. You'relistening to The Aspiring
Solopreneur, the podcast forthose just taking the bold step,
or even just thinking abouttaking that step into the world
of solo entrepreneurship. Myname is Carly Ries and my co
host, Joe Rando, and I are yourguides to navigating this crazy,
but awesome journey as a companyof one. We take pride in being
(01:06):
part of LifeStarr, a digital hubdedicated to all aspects of solo
entrepreneurship that hasempowered and educated countless
solopreneurs looking to build abusiness that resonates with
their life's ambitions.
We help people work to live, notlive to work. And if you're
looking for a get rich quickscheme, this is not the show for
you. So if you're eager to gainvaluable insights from industry
(01:28):
experts on running a businessthe right way the first time
around, or want to learn fromthe missteps of solopreneurs
who've paved the way before you,then stick around. We've got
your back because flying flyingsolo in business doesn't mean
you're alone. So, Greg, youdon't know this, but one of the
reasons we have had you on theshow right now is how you
(01:51):
present yourself in theinterwebs.
We just met you. We don't knowyou. However, both of us are
like, we need to have him on theshow. And it's because you just
kind of embody warmth, and Joewas just saying offline that
we're, like, a big warm hug. ButI was like, there's something
about this guy that makes youwanna know more, and I feel like
(02:12):
that's a teachable thing that wetell our audience, for people
that are trying to network.
So before we get started,welcome to the show, and thank
you for being you because,honestly, you are what got you
on the show today.
Greg Wasserman (02:25):
Oh my god. Thank you. Big warm hug for everyone.
There you go. I love it.
Carly Ries (02:28):
There you go. But you seem to just kinda have this
networking relationship buildingthing innately, probably also
down to a science from justyears of doing it. So I wanna
know for people that are kindaused to being behind their
screens, what has the rise ofsocial media platforms that
you've met on LinkedIn? How hasthat reshaped traditional
(02:49):
networking and communitybuilding strategies compared to
the olden days?
Greg Wasserman (02:53):
I mean, the olden days, if you think about
it, it's we go to an event, youhave the awkward, I got a name
tag on me and I've gotta try andlook at everyone's name and who
do I gotta talk to. But it alsocomes down to, I don't know if
it's old or just a mentalitything where it's like, what can
you give me? What can you do forme mentality. Right? So you're
(03:15):
at this place.
I gotta go meet as many people,get as many business cards as
possible and and then follow-up.Right? it's kind of robotic in
that way. The way I don't knowif it's necessarily social
media, but just the way I lookat it is it's not the quantity
of conversations you're having,but the quality. And as you
(03:36):
kinda said, I believe life isabout time relationships.
You have no clue where oneconversation is gonna go. So if
I go into place with thementality of, like, I'm
strategic, I've gotta talk tothis person, There's value to
that. you kind of understand whoyou need to talk to but you
don't know talking to the guy atthe water cooler, who's standing
(03:57):
alone with that guy. He couldjust be an introvert and go
like, you know what? I'm gonnago talk to this person and have
that.
That same exact thing as online.Maybe a person's not incredibly
active on social. Maybe they'renot incredibly active on
LinkedIn, but, have theconversations. Reach out to
them. They'd be like, oh my god.
That's so nice that you didthis. I think there's a huge
change for social that allows aperson to, a, come out of their
(04:21):
shell, b, not be so strategicbut just think about
conversations in a way like Idon't know where, but you seem
like someone I would wanna talkto. And then when you create a
really good profile, I think asyou said, like my profile,
you're like, I just wanna talkto this person. I just wanna
know more. So if you have aprofile, you put yourself out
there, it's the authentic you asopposed to not knowing anything,
(04:45):
Now you're able to create thatconnection.
Now you're able to go and say, Iwant to learn more. I want to
talk to this person. And I don'tknow where this conversation is
gonna go, but, you just seemlike someone I wanna talk to.
Joe Rando (04:55):
Can I ask you a question? So Yeah. There are
people like you and Carly thatare ease on the Myers Briggs
scale, and then there are peoplelike me that are solid I, and
there's a lot of us. And so yougo to a networking event, some
in person event, and you don'tknow anybody, and you see these
crowds of people all talkingtogether because they've been,
(05:17):
there last year and the yearbefore, the year before, and
they go they know each otherfrom somewhere else, and you're
all alone. Any suggestions forhow to manage that and not just
stand in the corner and look atyour iPhone?
Greg Wasserman (05:32):
I mean, I guess the biggest thing is you have to
take the initiative and go upand talk to someone and join the
group. But part of it is justjoining a group and ask a
question or just sit there andlisten. Be awkward. Like, at the
end of the day, we're allawkward. I'm an extrovert and
I'm still gonna be the awkwardperson who's like, feeling like
you, I don't know anyone here,it's just like, you know what?
(05:53):
What do I have to lose? Like,that's literally the mentality.
What do I have to lose? I cameto this event for a reason. So
if I sit here and did nothingand talk to no one, what was the
point of me actually coming inthe first place?
So getting that little courage,which I think goes to a lot of
other things that we can talkabout, but, consistency. Right?
Like, if you are an I, I'm notgonna change that. But, in
(06:15):
reality, introverts are like, Iget fed from an energy
standpoint by being alone.Extroverts, I'm like, I need
people that will feed me. Butthat doesn't mean as an
introvert, you can't engage andhave conversations. It just
means I need to back away afterthis because it was just so much
for me. So just flexing thatconsistency muscle of like, I'm
(06:35):
gonna go to this event. I'mgonna at least talk to one
person.
I'm gonna join one group. Andyou just keep doing that. And
that's no different than doingit on social media where it's
like, I need to practice this. Ijust need to keep doing this. I
remember I had a leader for acompany I was with.
He's like Greg, I hate people.If I had my way, I would just do
(06:57):
my own thing. I'm like well,you're kind of the president of
a major company here. How do youdo it? And he's like, because I
like money more.
So I realized I have to pushpast the discomfort of what may
not feel right to do it. And Ithink that's another thing,
pushing past discomfort whetheryou're starting your own
business, whether you're anintrovert going to a network
(07:17):
event, you always have to pushpast some form of discomfort.
Joe Rando (07:21):
But I just wanna say, I like people. I don't wanna be
lumped in with that guy. I likepeople. just it's hard. one of
my strategies has been to findsomebody that looks more
uncomfortable than I am and thenact like I'm the welcoming
committee.
And, weirdly, I've met somepeople that really weren't a
good use of time, but I've alsomet some really amazing people
(07:44):
with that. And it works for meas an introvert.
Carly Ries (07:48):
I think another thing is to embrace the
awkwardness. I was actually at aholiday party. At the time of
this recording, it's earlyDecember. And I was at a holiday
party, and a person was wearinga shirt that says, I'm here
alone. Who wants to chat?
And it was just like, wellplayed, sir, because everybody
went up. I was like, let's chat.It was just like, you know what?
I'm showing up by myself. I'muncomfortable.
(08:09):
Let's just put it on display.
Joe Rando (08:11):
Now was this a T shirt or a dress shirt?
Carly Ries (08:14):
A T shirt.
Joe Rando (08:16):
So it wasn't a formal holiday party.
Carly Ries (08:18):
It was supposed to be cocktail attire, but this guy
was kinda like, you know what?I'm putting myself out there. I
don't care. And that in itselfwas just embrace it. like you
were saying, Greg, even themost, extroverted people like
us, it's not easy to go up tosomebody and say, hey.
How about that game? Right.
Joe Rando (08:37):
Yeah. I want that guy on the podcast, Carly. I think
he should be on the podcast.
Carly Ries (08:41):
I'll see if I can punch him now. Sounds like a
plan. Well, Greg, I kinda wannafocus back a little bit for
online because people do networkin person, but a lot of
networking does happen online.like I said, we've met on
LinkedIn. You have a lot ofconnections, on LinkedIn.
You have a lot of people thatfollow you. So for people
(09:01):
tuning in and when I saycommunity here, I don't really
mean, like, an official,Facebook community, but just an
online community. What are somekey elements to building and
maintaining an engaged onlinecommunity? You talked about
authenticity. What else dopeople need to do?
Greg Wasserman (09:19):
Consistency is king. Like, being able to
consistently post content. So,most people will click on your
LinkedIn profile and go like,who's Joe?
Who's Carly? Like, who is thisperson? If I come on your
profile and there's nothingthere, and you just basically,
theoretically have a resume ofcompanies you've worked at,
like, why do I wanna talk tothis person? Right? Or if they
(09:42):
see consistently postingcontent, it doesn't have to be
the greatest.
What LinkedIn algorithm is like,alright. I could post a couple
times. I can engage or commentwith people. Like, you are
building a know, like, and trustof who you are because you're
taking those actions. And ittakes block off, you know,
thirty minutes a day, thirtyminutes a week if you wanna just
(10:06):
start from a startingstandpoint, but, post
consistently out there.
And if you're, like, what do Ipost on? Then great. Let's at
least start with just comments.Find your people. Find who it is
that you want, you'd wannafollow or who it is that's in
your industry.
They're like, great. These arepeople that I wanna surround
myself with. and start engaging.I literally, what was it, this
(10:30):
week? I think yeah.
It was this week. One of myLinkedIn posts was I commented
on someone's post because I'mlike, I think these people or I
think a person should see whatthis person posted. Thought
nothing of it. I'm just like,great. Next thing you know,
weeks, months later, smallworld, they ended up on each
(10:51):
other's podcast.
They posted about, hey. Thankyou, Greg, for bringing us
together. I'm like, I wouldnever have known about that. So,
your interactions, you don'tknow where those are gonna take
and that's why you create thiscommunity, that trickle effect.
So all you have to do is juststart somewhere.
And consistently posting is onething. Consistently commenting
and engaging is another thing.
Carly Ries (11:11):
Okay. But here's the thing. So I don't wanna make it
sound like we're so popular.popular has been another wicked
song that has been stuck in myhead, Joe, but that's another
conversation.
Greg Wasserman (11:21):
Oh, that's a good song.
Carly Ries (11:23):
Well, poor Joe has had to deal with my wicked
soundtrack for the past week.But not to be like, oh, we're so
popular. people reach out to usall the time in our messages,
and I ignore 90% of them becauseit just seems so fluffy and so
I'm gonna reach out to youbecause in the end of this, I
(11:45):
want something out of it. You,though, stood out to us. We're
like, we'll chat with this guy.
What is your secret sauce tostanding out amongst all the
people that you could tellthey're in it for something else
rather than just to genuinelybuild a relationship.
Greg Wasserman (12:01):
I guess my profile literally sells life is
about time and relationships. Istand out because that's truly
it. I'm not gonna be everyone'scup of tea. Like, I've been
told, you're still asalesperson? Like, yes.
I'm a revenue person, but, Idon't have the intention on
trying to sell you on aconnection. I don't know where
this conversation's gonna go.That's literally my line is, you
(12:23):
don't know where aconversation's gonna take you,
so have it. So if this leads toa sale, great. If this leads to
a business opportunity, great.
If this just leads to aconnection of two humans coming
together having a conversation,you don't know where that's
gonna go, but you know it'sgotta go somewhere based on
whatever interest, whatevercommonalities, just humane, then
(12:44):
you go with that. Most peoplethat are probably reaching out
is like your canned kind of a, Isee you work in this. I also do
this. We should talk type deal.Or I see we have a similar
person in common.
And you're like, and so? So, itfeels icky if you want that. You
know, the approach I've takenand it's not everyone's cup of
(13:06):
tea. I've had people that comeback to me and said, what are
you selling? And I'm like,great.
At least you engaged. That's thekey thing is a comment and go,
look. I'm really not sellinganything. But now I've got more
than 300 characters to create anarrative as opposed to the
initial LinkedIn message whereI've only got 300 characters. I
(13:26):
know statistically they've shownthat people who don't put a
message in there get a higherresponse rate in terms of
acceptance.
For me, I don't care about thehigher acceptance rate. I want
actually the engagement. And Itell everyone, look, if you sent
me a connection request, youdidn't have an actual message,
why? So I'm gonna always respondgoing, I like to make LinkedIn
(13:47):
more personal than justconnections or followers.
Otherwise, how do I create thedots and connect people?
And that's the way I look at it.
Joe Rando (13:55):
Greg, let me ask you. So you're saying when you reach
out to people, you're sendingthem a connection request, and
you've got that initial fewcharacters. But you're saying
that people that don't use thatadd a personal note have a
higher acceptance rate?
Greg Wasserman (14:09):
Yeah. Statistically, they've shown
that people will accept at ahigher rate, which is odd
because I'm like, why? But thenyou also have to think, how many
people are using, and we'retalking about LinkedIn. So how
people are using LinkedIn ontheir mobile phone.
Most people don't take the extraeffort to click the three little
(14:30):
dots, go send a personalizedmessage. They just hit connect.
Right? So most people alreadyhave the psychology of alright,
you're just adding me from yourphone. I'll take the extra step
and go like, no.
I got 300 characters to tell youwhy am I reaching out. and let's
say I reached out to you and twomonths later you accept it. I
(14:52):
don't know why I reached out toyou two months ago. Right? So
it's also for me, it's a trackrecord of, like, why am I
reaching out to this personbesides just, hey.
We should talk.
Joe Rando (15:03):
Yep. I mean, that's why it's important if you're
gonna be reaching out and usingthe effort in finding people
that are actually on LinkedIn.If they're actually posting,
then you know that they'reprobably gonna see your request
before three months goes by. ButI wanna ask a question on this
because I love what you'resaying.
I just love what you're saying.But one of the things that I see
(15:26):
is this, you know, bowing to thealgorithm behavior. Oh, I have
to comment on 30 posts everymorning between 08:30 and 09:30,
and they don't say anything. Ijust wonder if you could kinda
riff on this concept of playingthe algorithm versus coming to
what you're talking about beingauthentic.
Greg Wasserman (15:47):
Yeah. I mean, you're always gonna have
different schools of thoughts.Right? My style of sales and
engagement and who I am is not,the style of maybe someone else.
Take the person with the flashycar and designer clothes and
everything that's not me.
I could literally put on a dressshirt just for this. Otherwise,
(16:09):
I'd be in a hoodie right now.that's who I am. Right?
So it's what is your cup of tea?And I think that's also the
value of each individual person,like, what feels comfortable to
them. What feels comfortable tome is not playing the algorithms
and trying to do that. But maybesomeone that's so revenue
(16:31):
focused and rah rah, like,that's it. And I've seen people
that have found success in thoseways. you do what feels
comfortable to you. For me,that's just not my style. For
me, I've got to engage and goesback to your question, Carly.
Community. Right?
Like, why am I engaging withthis person? Why am I actually
adding value to thisconversation? I'm not just doing
(16:52):
it just for the sake of look atme.
Carly Ries (16:55):
Well, so, Greg, let me ask you this. Because
algorithms aside, let's saypeople are like, yeah. That's
great. I should go and commenton people and build genuine
relationships, but I have to runa business. I have to reach out
to clients.
I have to work on my business. Ihave to work in my business.
Like, where on earth am I gonnafind the time to create genuine
relationships throughcommenting? What do you say to
(17:16):
people who are not prioritizingthat, and why should they?
Greg Wasserman (17:20):
That's your standard short term, short term
to play in the short term andmissing on the long term. Right?
So if you think about it, if wejust improved 1% I think what
the stat is, 1% a day, by theend of the year, we're close to
38 times better than we were.But if you're only playing the
(17:41):
today, today, today, I needsales today, I need this today,
you're not gonna grow to the38%, growth by the end of the
year.
So you make the time for whereyou see the value. If you're
like, I'm only gonna play theshort term, I need sales today
or I need whatever actions youneed today, You're not looking
at authentic relationships andthat's the way I look at it.
(18:03):
that's literally what I say. Idon't know where this
conversation today is gonna takeme. Five years from now, it
could be like, you know what?
Carly, I remember thisconversation. We should talk
again. And then you see yourquote, unquote ROI of that
relationship. But in reality, ifyou just keep a conversation
going, if you stay warm, if youkeep them back to your
(18:24):
community, your network, thenpeople will know, like, and
trust you. As opposed to know,like, and trust you as the
person who just wants somethingfrom me or is just trying to
close something from me, goesback to the thing.
I don't know where aconversation is gonna take me.
So if you are open toconversations and we've proven,
you know, statistically, statsright here, more conversations
(18:46):
you have, the more likely youwill get people that will help
you, buy from you, help you inthe long term, whatever it may
be. So if you're like, I'mrunning a business, I don't have
the time for this, you have tomake the time. And that's the
thing with any solopreneur.
Like, that is probably what mostpeople are saying. I don't have
the time for x and you've got toprioritize what x is. Let's take
(19:10):
another example besidesnetworking and relationships. I
bought a product. I don't havethe time to figure out how to
use this product or the product.
I see this all the time. Youbought a product or service.
Why? Well, the product is alwaysgonna evolve, but you've set it
up. You've moved on to the nextthing in your business. great. I
(19:31):
built this CRM system, whateverit is. You always have to be in
that system because the system'sevolving just like your
business. If you don't spend thetime investing in it, you're
like, I'll get to this later,get to this later, then you're
always playing catch up oryou're always playing the I
don't have the time game. If youinvest time earlier, it'll help
(19:51):
you in the long run, which justgoes back to that 38% I'm
talking about.
Joe Rando (19:54):
You know what this sort of reminds me of is,
there's an old saying about,like, 90% of life is just
showing up. And if you just showup for people, it's like an
investment in your business.Right? You're working on your
business so it really goes intothat quadrant of working on your
business. Right?
I mean, that's not what you'retalking about, and that's a good
(20:15):
way to think about it. I hadn'tput in that perspective before.
Carly Ries (20:19):
Well, it's funny because you guys keep saying
investment. And, Greg, you thensaid the ROI, quote, unquote, on
these connections. How do youmeasure the success of these
relationships, as it relatesback to the bottom line of your
business? And, when do you cutconversations off? Because
there are some people that willstart a conversation with them
online, and then it just kindabecomes a task to, respond to
(20:43):
these people or they become anenergy sucker.
And at what point are you like,alright. Done or reevaluate. Be
like, actually, if I continuenurturing this relationship,
this could work out in the longrun.
Greg Wasserman (20:56):
I think the latter part of your question is
that's a gut feeling. Right?Like, that is going to be a
feeling I've got. Like, thisisn't going anywhere or let me
invest my time somewhere else. Ithink that is gonna be what
feels right to you.
But it's also then a mentalityof going alright. Does this feel
(21:17):
wrong to me? Is there discomfortin this conversation? Because
I'm not actually doing the rightthing in this conversation. I am
a passenger in this conversationas opposed to a driver of this
conversation so that I can getnot the ROI, but, what else what
am I missing in this?
Am I just letting this personsuck me? And I'm like, hold on.
Have I even turned around andasked them, hey. How can I
(21:41):
support you? What can yousupport me on?
Or whatever it is. I thinkthat's a key piece to it. I'll
be honest. I don't have aformula in terms of an ROI. I
just know that the moreconversations I have, the way my
brain works, here's anotherexample.
Had a conversation with someonetoday, looked at their LinkedIn,
(22:04):
saw we have a few people incommon. Person's name I haven't
seen in ages. I'm like, great.Let me go email this person.
Literally emails like, I have noagenda.
I'm not trying to sell youanything. It's like, but we
haven't talked in ten years.Like, where's the harm in having
a connection going? Like, whereis that gonna take me?
So it's just literally havingthose things and then next thing
(22:24):
you know, I could have thisconversation with this person
and go, like, oh, Sally, youshould be talking to so and so
and then what's the ROI? Cost menothing to reach out to them.
Cost me nothing in that half anhour of conversations. But I
don't know where those thingsare gonna go and that's the way
you just play the trickleeffect. So the ROI is building
your brand so people know, like,and trust you and then the other
(22:47):
side is, as my mentor likes tosay, people know you, hon.
It's not who you know, it's whoknows what you know. And so the
more people I'm able to haveconversations with, the more
people are gonna go like, oh,you should talk to Greg because
Greg knows this. So I've alwaysgotta be thinking about how do I
get my brand out there so thatpeople know, like, and trust me,
(23:07):
but know, like, and trust me forwhat? That's where the ROI comes
in because when someone's like,oh, you should talk to Greg,
comes out of the blue, there'syour ROI that I never would have
expected because people know,like, and trust me.
Carly Ries (23:21):
Has your approach to relationship building changed
over time? And is it gettingharder the longer you're in this
or easier? Or just how what doesthat look like?
Greg Wasserman (23:31):
Easier. Goes back to your question, Joe, in
terms of playing the algorithm.Technically, I know you're not
supposed to be tagging a bunchof people on your your LinkedIn
post. I don't care about playingthe algorithm in terms of
impressions and so forth. I dostrategically because that keeps
my network going.
That allows me to have morepeople seeing not my content,
(23:55):
but what I'm trying to do tohelp them. I do every Monday, I
do three podcasts that I thinkpeople should listen to, which I
did your podcast before yourebranded it ages ago. Right?
And I think that's what broughtus then together again this
time. So I do that because as apodcaster knowing this, like, no
(24:19):
one's giving you feedback.
And so one of the biggestcompliments you can give to
someone is going like, hey. Lookat what I just did. You should
listen to this too. Wouldn'tthat be great from a business
standpoint if other people arelike, I just talked to Joe. His
business is amazing.
You guys should be talking toJoe too. And that's their
LinkedIn post. Joe's gonna feelgreat. Your conversation has an
(24:42):
ROI in if you think about itfrom that standpoint, and
conversations are able tocontinue. So I don't care about
the algorithm.
I'm playing the let's playcreate connections. Good people
talk to good people. Let's helpother people. And when you have
a give mentality, you'll end upreceiving a lot more on the back
end. So for me, social media, Ionly live in LinkedIn, has
(25:05):
actually helped me over timebecause as my network grows, as
my brain matures in terms of whothe conversations I've had, I'm
able to connect more people,create those social changes,
create more connections thatothers find value which then
helps me build more of a brand.
So once again, it's playing thelong game. Five years ago, while
(25:28):
mentality was the same, I've nowbeen able to refine it going
like this is what brand Greg is,and I can put it all out there
as opposed to this is who I was,but no one understood what I was
trying to accomplish. Now I cando that even so, to a higher
degree.
Joe Rando (25:45):
Yeah. That's really important, being clear about
what you're about. Yeah. Cool.
Carly Ries (25:51):
Well, Greg, just to tie everything together, if you
could offer one piece of advicefor someone trying to shrink
strengthen their network,whether online or in person,
what would that one piece ofadvice be?
Greg Wasserman (26:02):
First, consistently do it. Like, if you
are consistent, as Joe said,just showing up, success is just
showing up. Right? So if youjust have to show up, whether
it's in person to events, thoseare all, if we go back,
investments in yourself.literally I got an invite to an
event and I'm like, do I go tothis? what is the value and what
(26:27):
I'm like, I don't know. I knowI've been to another one of
their events. I'm just gonna goto it and say, hey. This is it.
And you've got the trade off youhave to make. Like, is it time
value? I always look at it as Idon't know what it's gonna take.
If I say yes to things, usuallyit ends up working because as
you said as well, Joe, I'mputting it out there and the
(26:48):
universe, I believe, is going togive me what I'm asking for
because I'm just saying yes andputting it out there. So
consistently, just do it.
Carly Ries (26:55):
Love it. Well, you help people find success through
building relationships. We askall of our guests this question.
What is your favorite quoteabout success?
Greg Wasserman (27:04):
I'm from Chicago. So for me, I'd have to
go with Michael Jordan'ssuccess. I will butcher it, but
basically, he's missed so manyshots. He's been given the game
winning opportunity.
He missed it. He took all theseshots and missed, but at the end
of the day, it's the failures hehad that allowed him to have
(27:26):
success. that's basically thekey thing. So once again, being
consistent.
Continue to show up. Continue tojust take the reps, and the more
reps you take, the more successyou'll find.
Joe Rando (27:38):
Wasn't it Michael Jordan that said I miss a 100%
of the shots I don't take?
Carly Ries (27:42):
That's what I was thinking.
Greg Wasserman (27:44):
I don't know. I mean, there's a much
longer quote.
Joe Rando (27:49):
Somebody tell us in the comments.
Carly Ries (27:52):
That's the quote I thought you were gonna say when
you said Michael Jordan. I thinkthat he said that. But, yes,
leave comments for sure.
Greg Wasserman (28:00):
I always remember growing up, the t
shirt, and it's like I took8,000 shots. I took 24 game
winning shots and missed and soforth. And at the end of the
day, that's why I succeed.
Joe Rando (28:11):
Yep. Great. I just watched the movie, by the way,
about Nike signing him back inthe eighties.
Greg Wasserman (28:16):
Oh, that was a good movie.
Joe Rando (28:17):
Yeah. It was really interesting.
Carly Ries (28:19):
For sure. Well, Greg, where can people find out
more about you if they want toconnect, but anything else?
Greg Wasserman (28:26):
I live on LinkedIn. That is the best way.
So reach out to me on LinkedIn.As I said earlier, add a
comment.
Let me know that you listened tome on this podcast. And then I
can let Joe and Carly know,like, hey. Look at this great
thing because that provides afeedback loop that everyone's
looking for. So, Greg Wasserman,you won't miss it. A, the face,
(28:48):
but, b, it says life is abouttime and relationships.
Carly Ries (28:51):
And we'll include the link in the show notes as
well. But, Greg, thank you somuch for coming on the show
today. We were really lookingforward to it, and you do not
disappoint.
Greg Wasserman (28:59):
Thank you guys so much for having me.
Joe Rando (29:00):
Thank you, Greg.
Carly Ries (29:01):
And listeners, as always, we love that five star
review. We love the subscriptionon any of your favorite
platforms, including YouTube. Wejust so appreciate the support,
and we'll see you next time onthe Aspiring Solopreneur. You
may be going solo in business,but that doesn't mean you're
alone. In fact, millions ofpeople are in your shoes,
running a one person businessand figuring it out as they go.
(29:24):
So why not connect with them andlearn from each other's
successes and failures? AtLifeStarr, we're creating a one
person business community whereyou can go to meet and get
advice from other solopreneurs.Be sure to join in on the
conversations atcommunity.lifestarr.com.
What if I told you that the way you present
yourself online could be the keyto unlocking amazing
opportunities without a singlecold pitch? That's exactly what
happened with our guest, GregWasserman. We'd never met him
before, but the warmth andauthenticity of his online
presence made us instantly wantto have him on the show. In this
episode, Greg breaks down thereal art of relationship
(00:21):
building online and offline.Forget robotic networking
tactics and spammy LinkedInmessages.
He shares how to create genuineconnections that open doors in
unexpected ways, why playing thelawn game is the only game worth
playing, and how just showing upcan transform your business and
your life. If you've ever feltawkward at networking events or
wondered how to stand out in acrowded digital world, this
(00:44):
episode is for you. You'relistening to The Aspiring
Solopreneur, the podcast forthose just taking the bold step,
or even just thinking abouttaking that step into the world
of solo entrepreneurship. Myname is Carly Ries and my co
host, Joe Rando, and I are yourguides to navigating this crazy,
but awesome journey as a companyof one. We take pride in being
(01:06):
part of LifeStarr, a digital hubdedicated to all aspects of solo
entrepreneurship that hasempowered and educated countless
solopreneurs looking to build abusiness that resonates with
their life's ambitions.
We help people work to live, notlive to work. And if you're
looking for a get rich quickscheme, this is not the show for
you. So if you're eager to gainvaluable insights from industry
(01:28):
experts on running a businessthe right way the first time
around, or want to learn fromthe missteps of solopreneurs
who've paved the way before you,then stick around. We've got
your back because flying flyingsolo in business doesn't mean
you're alone. So, Greg, youdon't know this, but one of the
reasons we have had you on theshow right now is how you
(01:51):
present yourself in theinterwebs.
We just met you. We don't knowyou. However, both of us are
like, we need to have him on theshow. And it's because you just
kind of embody warmth, and Joewas just saying offline that
we're, like, a big warm hug. ButI was like, there's something
about this guy that makes youwanna know more, and I feel like
(02:12):
that's a teachable thing that wetell our audience, for people
that are trying to network.
So before we get started,welcome to the show, and thank
you for being you because,honestly, you are what got you
on the show today.
Greg Wasserman (02:25):
Oh my god. Thank you. Big warm hug for everyone.
There you go. I love it.
Carly Ries (02:28):
There you go. But you seem to just kinda have this
networking relationship buildingthing innately, probably also
down to a science from justyears of doing it. So I wanna
know for people that are kindaused to being behind their
screens, what has the rise ofsocial media platforms that
you've met on LinkedIn? How hasthat reshaped traditional
(02:49):
networking and communitybuilding strategies compared to
the olden days?
Greg Wasserman (02:53):
I mean, the olden days, if you think about
it, it's we go to an event, youhave the awkward, I got a name
tag on me and I've gotta try andlook at everyone's name and who
do I gotta talk to. But it alsocomes down to, I don't know if
it's old or just a mentalitything where it's like, what can
you give me? What can you do forme mentality. Right? So you're
(03:15):
at this place.
I gotta go meet as many people,get as many business cards as
possible and and then follow-up.Right? it's kind of robotic in
that way. The way I don't knowif it's necessarily social
media, but just the way I lookat it is it's not the quantity
of conversations you're having,but the quality. And as you
(03:36):
kinda said, I believe life isabout time relationships.
You have no clue where oneconversation is gonna go. So if
I go into place with thementality of, like, I'm
strategic, I've gotta talk tothis person, There's value to
that. you kind of understand whoyou need to talk to but you
don't know talking to the guy atthe water cooler, who's standing
(03:57):
alone with that guy. He couldjust be an introvert and go
like, you know what? I'm gonnago talk to this person and have
that.
That same exact thing as online.Maybe a person's not incredibly
active on social. Maybe they'renot incredibly active on
LinkedIn, but, have theconversations. Reach out to
them. They'd be like, oh my god.
That's so nice that you didthis. I think there's a huge
change for social that allows aperson to, a, come out of their
(04:21):
shell, b, not be so strategicbut just think about
conversations in a way like Idon't know where, but you seem
like someone I would wanna talkto. And then when you create a
really good profile, I think asyou said, like my profile,
you're like, I just wanna talkto this person. I just wanna
know more. So if you have aprofile, you put yourself out
there, it's the authentic you asopposed to not knowing anything,
(04:45):
Now you're able to create thatconnection.
Now you're able to go and say, Iwant to learn more. I want to
talk to this person. And I don'tknow where this conversation is
gonna go, but, you just seemlike someone I wanna talk to.
Joe Rando (04:55):
Can I ask you a question? So Yeah. There are
people like you and Carly thatare ease on the Myers Briggs
scale, and then there are peoplelike me that are solid I, and
there's a lot of us. And so yougo to a networking event, some
in person event, and you don'tknow anybody, and you see these
crowds of people all talkingtogether because they've been,
(05:17):
there last year and the yearbefore, the year before, and
they go they know each otherfrom somewhere else, and you're
all alone. Any suggestions forhow to manage that and not just
stand in the corner and look atyour iPhone?
Greg Wasserman (05:32):
I mean, I guess the biggest thing is you have to
take the initiative and go upand talk to someone and join the
group. But part of it is justjoining a group and ask a
question or just sit there andlisten. Be awkward. Like, at the
end of the day, we're allawkward. I'm an extrovert and
I'm still gonna be the awkwardperson who's like, feeling like
you, I don't know anyone here,it's just like, you know what?
(05:53):
What do I have to lose? Like,that's literally the mentality.
What do I have to lose? I cameto this event for a reason. So
if I sit here and did nothingand talk to no one, what was the
point of me actually coming inthe first place?
So getting that little courage,which I think goes to a lot of
other things that we can talkabout, but, consistency. Right?
Like, if you are an I, I'm notgonna change that. But, in
(06:15):
reality, introverts are like, Iget fed from an energy
standpoint by being alone.Extroverts, I'm like, I need
people that will feed me. Butthat doesn't mean as an
introvert, you can't engage andhave conversations. It just
means I need to back away afterthis because it was just so much
for me. So just flexing thatconsistency muscle of like, I'm
(06:35):
gonna go to this event. I'mgonna at least talk to one
person.
I'm gonna join one group. Andyou just keep doing that. And
that's no different than doingit on social media where it's
like, I need to practice this. Ijust need to keep doing this. I
remember I had a leader for acompany I was with.
He's like Greg, I hate people.If I had my way, I would just do
(06:57):
my own thing. I'm like well,you're kind of the president of
a major company here. How do youdo it? And he's like, because I
like money more.
So I realized I have to pushpast the discomfort of what may
not feel right to do it. And Ithink that's another thing,
pushing past discomfort whetheryou're starting your own
business, whether you're anintrovert going to a network
(07:17):
event, you always have to pushpast some form of discomfort.
Joe Rando (07:21):
But I just wanna say, I like people. I don't wanna be
lumped in with that guy. I likepeople. just it's hard. one of
my strategies has been to findsomebody that looks more
uncomfortable than I am and thenact like I'm the welcoming
committee.
And, weirdly, I've met somepeople that really weren't a
good use of time, but I've alsomet some really amazing people
(07:44):
with that. And it works for meas an introvert.
Carly Ries (07:48):
I think another thing is to embrace the
awkwardness. I was actually at aholiday party. At the time of
this recording, it's earlyDecember. And I was at a holiday
party, and a person was wearinga shirt that says, I'm here
alone. Who wants to chat?
And it was just like, wellplayed, sir, because everybody
went up. I was like, let's chat.It was just like, you know what?
I'm showing up by myself. I'muncomfortable.
(08:09):
Let's just put it on display.
Joe Rando (08:11):
Now was this a T shirt or a dress shirt?
Carly Ries (08:14):
A T shirt.
Joe Rando (08:16):
So it wasn't a formal holiday party.
Carly Ries (08:18):
It was supposed to be cocktail attire, but this guy
was kinda like, you know what?I'm putting myself out there. I
don't care. And that in itselfwas just embrace it. like you
were saying, Greg, even themost, extroverted people like
us, it's not easy to go up tosomebody and say, hey.
How about that game? Right.
Joe Rando (08:37):
Yeah. I want that guy on the podcast, Carly. I think
he should be on the podcast.
Carly Ries (08:41):
I'll see if I can punch him now. Sounds like a
plan. Well, Greg, I kinda wannafocus back a little bit for
online because people do networkin person, but a lot of
networking does happen online.like I said, we've met on
LinkedIn. You have a lot ofconnections, on LinkedIn.
You have a lot of people thatfollow you. So for people
(09:01):
tuning in and when I saycommunity here, I don't really
mean, like, an official,Facebook community, but just an
online community. What are somekey elements to building and
maintaining an engaged onlinecommunity? You talked about
authenticity. What else dopeople need to do?
Greg Wasserman (09:19):
Consistency is king. Like, being able to
consistently post content. So,most people will click on your
LinkedIn profile and go like,who's Joe?
Who's Carly? Like, who is thisperson? If I come on your
profile and there's nothingthere, and you just basically,
theoretically have a resume ofcompanies you've worked at,
like, why do I wanna talk tothis person? Right? Or if they
(09:42):
see consistently postingcontent, it doesn't have to be
the greatest.
What LinkedIn algorithm is like,alright. I could post a couple
times. I can engage or commentwith people. Like, you are
building a know, like, and trustof who you are because you're
taking those actions. And ittakes block off, you know,
thirty minutes a day, thirtyminutes a week if you wanna just
(10:06):
start from a startingstandpoint, but, post
consistently out there.
And if you're, like, what do Ipost on? Then great. Let's at
least start with just comments.Find your people. Find who it is
that you want, you'd wannafollow or who it is that's in
your industry.
They're like, great. These arepeople that I wanna surround
myself with. and start engaging.I literally, what was it, this
(10:30):
week? I think yeah.
It was this week. One of myLinkedIn posts was I commented
on someone's post because I'mlike, I think these people or I
think a person should see whatthis person posted. Thought
nothing of it. I'm just like,great. Next thing you know,
weeks, months later, smallworld, they ended up on each
(10:51):
other's podcast.
They posted about, hey. Thankyou, Greg, for bringing us
together. I'm like, I wouldnever have known about that. So,
your interactions, you don'tknow where those are gonna take
and that's why you create thiscommunity, that trickle effect.
So all you have to do is juststart somewhere.
And consistently posting is onething. Consistently commenting
and engaging is another thing.
Carly Ries (11:11):
Okay. But here's the thing. So I don't wanna make it
sound like we're so popular.popular has been another wicked
song that has been stuck in myhead, Joe, but that's another
conversation.
Greg Wasserman (11:21):
Oh, that's a good song.
Carly Ries (11:23):
Well, poor Joe has had to deal with my wicked
soundtrack for the past week.But not to be like, oh, we're so
popular. people reach out to usall the time in our messages,
and I ignore 90% of them becauseit just seems so fluffy and so
I'm gonna reach out to youbecause in the end of this, I
(11:45):
want something out of it. You,though, stood out to us. We're
like, we'll chat with this guy.
What is your secret sauce tostanding out amongst all the
people that you could tellthey're in it for something else
rather than just to genuinelybuild a relationship.
Greg Wasserman (12:01):
I guess my profile literally sells life is
about time and relationships. Istand out because that's truly
it. I'm not gonna be everyone'scup of tea. Like, I've been
told, you're still asalesperson? Like, yes.
I'm a revenue person, but, Idon't have the intention on
trying to sell you on aconnection. I don't know where
this conversation's gonna go.That's literally my line is, you
(12:23):
don't know where aconversation's gonna take you,
so have it. So if this leads toa sale, great. If this leads to
a business opportunity, great.
If this just leads to aconnection of two humans coming
together having a conversation,you don't know where that's
gonna go, but you know it'sgotta go somewhere based on
whatever interest, whatevercommonalities, just humane, then
(12:44):
you go with that. Most peoplethat are probably reaching out
is like your canned kind of a, Isee you work in this. I also do
this. We should talk type deal.Or I see we have a similar
person in common.
And you're like, and so? So, itfeels icky if you want that. You
know, the approach I've takenand it's not everyone's cup of
(13:06):
tea. I've had people that comeback to me and said, what are
you selling? And I'm like,great.
At least you engaged. That's thekey thing is a comment and go,
look. I'm really not sellinganything. But now I've got more
than 300 characters to create anarrative as opposed to the
initial LinkedIn message whereI've only got 300 characters. I
(13:26):
know statistically they've shownthat people who don't put a
message in there get a higherresponse rate in terms of
acceptance.
For me, I don't care about thehigher acceptance rate. I want
actually the engagement. And Itell everyone, look, if you sent
me a connection request, youdidn't have an actual message,
why? So I'm gonna always respondgoing, I like to make LinkedIn
(13:47):
more personal than justconnections or followers.
Otherwise, how do I create thedots and connect people?
And that's the way I look at it.
Joe Rando (13:55):
Greg, let me ask you. So you're saying when you reach
out to people, you're sendingthem a connection request, and
you've got that initial fewcharacters. But you're saying
that people that don't use thatadd a personal note have a
higher acceptance rate?
Greg Wasserman (14:09):
Yeah. Statistically, they've shown
that people will accept at ahigher rate, which is odd
because I'm like, why? But thenyou also have to think, how many
people are using, and we'retalking about LinkedIn. So how
people are using LinkedIn ontheir mobile phone.
Most people don't take the extraeffort to click the three little
(14:30):
dots, go send a personalizedmessage. They just hit connect.
Right? So most people alreadyhave the psychology of alright,
you're just adding me from yourphone. I'll take the extra step
and go like, no.
I got 300 characters to tell youwhy am I reaching out. and let's
say I reached out to you and twomonths later you accept it. I
(14:52):
don't know why I reached out toyou two months ago. Right? So
it's also for me, it's a trackrecord of, like, why am I
reaching out to this personbesides just, hey.
We should talk.
Joe Rando (15:03):
Yep. I mean, that's why it's important if you're
gonna be reaching out and usingthe effort in finding people
that are actually on LinkedIn.If they're actually posting,
then you know that they'reprobably gonna see your request
before three months goes by. ButI wanna ask a question on this
because I love what you'resaying.
I just love what you're saying.But one of the things that I see
(15:26):
is this, you know, bowing to thealgorithm behavior. Oh, I have
to comment on 30 posts everymorning between 08:30 and 09:30,
and they don't say anything. Ijust wonder if you could kinda
riff on this concept of playingthe algorithm versus coming to
what you're talking about beingauthentic.
Greg Wasserman (15:47):
Yeah. I mean, you're always gonna have
different schools of thoughts.Right? My style of sales and
engagement and who I am is not,the style of maybe someone else.
Take the person with the flashycar and designer clothes and
everything that's not me.
I could literally put on a dressshirt just for this. Otherwise,
(16:09):
I'd be in a hoodie right now.that's who I am. Right?
So it's what is your cup of tea?And I think that's also the
value of each individual person,like, what feels comfortable to
them. What feels comfortable tome is not playing the algorithms
and trying to do that. But maybesomeone that's so revenue
(16:31):
focused and rah rah, like,that's it. And I've seen people
that have found success in thoseways. you do what feels
comfortable to you. For me,that's just not my style. For
me, I've got to engage and goesback to your question, Carly.
Community. Right?
Like, why am I engaging withthis person? Why am I actually
adding value to thisconversation? I'm not just doing
(16:52):
it just for the sake of look atme.
Carly Ries (16:55):
Well, so, Greg, let me ask you this. Because
algorithms aside, let's saypeople are like, yeah. That's
great. I should go and commenton people and build genuine
relationships, but I have to runa business. I have to reach out
to clients.
I have to work on my business. Ihave to work in my business.
Like, where on earth am I gonnafind the time to create genuine
relationships throughcommenting? What do you say to
(17:16):
people who are not prioritizingthat, and why should they?
Greg Wasserman (17:20):
That's your standard short term, short term
to play in the short term andmissing on the long term. Right?
So if you think about it, if wejust improved 1% I think what
the stat is, 1% a day, by theend of the year, we're close to
38 times better than we were.But if you're only playing the
(17:41):
today, today, today, I needsales today, I need this today,
you're not gonna grow to the38%, growth by the end of the
year.
So you make the time for whereyou see the value. If you're
like, I'm only gonna play theshort term, I need sales today
or I need whatever actions youneed today, You're not looking
at authentic relationships andthat's the way I look at it.
(18:03):
that's literally what I say. Idon't know where this
conversation today is gonna takeme. Five years from now, it
could be like, you know what?
Carly, I remember thisconversation. We should talk
again. And then you see yourquote, unquote ROI of that
relationship. But in reality, ifyou just keep a conversation
going, if you stay warm, if youkeep them back to your
(18:24):
community, your network, thenpeople will know, like, and
trust you. As opposed to know,like, and trust you as the
person who just wants somethingfrom me or is just trying to
close something from me, goesback to the thing.
I don't know where aconversation is gonna take me.
So if you are open toconversations and we've proven,
you know, statistically, statsright here, more conversations
(18:46):
you have, the more likely youwill get people that will help
you, buy from you, help you inthe long term, whatever it may
be. So if you're like, I'mrunning a business, I don't have
the time for this, you have tomake the time. And that's the
thing with any solopreneur.
Like, that is probably what mostpeople are saying. I don't have
the time for x and you've got toprioritize what x is. Let's take
(19:10):
another example besidesnetworking and relationships. I
bought a product. I don't havethe time to figure out how to
use this product or the product.
I see this all the time. Youbought a product or service.
Why? Well, the product is alwaysgonna evolve, but you've set it
up. You've moved on to the nextthing in your business. great. I
(19:31):
built this CRM system, whateverit is. You always have to be in
that system because the system'sevolving just like your
business. If you don't spend thetime investing in it, you're
like, I'll get to this later,get to this later, then you're
always playing catch up oryou're always playing the I
don't have the time game. If youinvest time earlier, it'll help
(19:51):
you in the long run, which justgoes back to that 38% I'm
talking about.
Joe Rando (19:54):
You know what this sort of reminds me of is,
there's an old saying about,like, 90% of life is just
showing up. And if you just showup for people, it's like an
investment in your business.Right? You're working on your
business so it really goes intothat quadrant of working on your
business. Right?
I mean, that's not what you'retalking about, and that's a good
(20:15):
way to think about it. I hadn'tput in that perspective before.
Carly Ries (20:19):
Well, it's funny because you guys keep saying
investment. And, Greg, you thensaid the ROI, quote, unquote, on
these connections. How do youmeasure the success of these
relationships, as it relatesback to the bottom line of your
business? And, when do you cutconversations off? Because
there are some people that willstart a conversation with them
online, and then it just kindabecomes a task to, respond to
(20:43):
these people or they become anenergy sucker.
And at what point are you like,alright. Done or reevaluate. Be
like, actually, if I continuenurturing this relationship,
this could work out in the longrun.
Greg Wasserman (20:56):
I think the latter part of your question is
that's a gut feeling. Right?Like, that is going to be a
feeling I've got. Like, thisisn't going anywhere or let me
invest my time somewhere else. Ithink that is gonna be what
feels right to you.
But it's also then a mentalityof going alright. Does this feel
(21:17):
wrong to me? Is there discomfortin this conversation? Because
I'm not actually doing the rightthing in this conversation. I am
a passenger in this conversationas opposed to a driver of this
conversation so that I can getnot the ROI, but, what else what
am I missing in this?
Am I just letting this personsuck me? And I'm like, hold on.
Have I even turned around andasked them, hey. How can I
(21:41):
support you? What can yousupport me on?
Or whatever it is. I thinkthat's a key piece to it. I'll
be honest. I don't have aformula in terms of an ROI. I
just know that the moreconversations I have, the way my
brain works, here's anotherexample.
Had a conversation with someonetoday, looked at their LinkedIn,
(22:04):
saw we have a few people incommon. Person's name I haven't
seen in ages. I'm like, great.Let me go email this person.
Literally emails like, I have noagenda.
I'm not trying to sell youanything. It's like, but we
haven't talked in ten years.Like, where's the harm in having
a connection going? Like, whereis that gonna take me?
So it's just literally havingthose things and then next thing
(22:24):
you know, I could have thisconversation with this person
and go, like, oh, Sally, youshould be talking to so and so
and then what's the ROI? Cost menothing to reach out to them.
Cost me nothing in that half anhour of conversations. But I
don't know where those thingsare gonna go and that's the way
you just play the trickleeffect. So the ROI is building
your brand so people know, like,and trust you and then the other
(22:47):
side is, as my mentor likes tosay, people know you, hon.
It's not who you know, it's whoknows what you know. And so the
more people I'm able to haveconversations with, the more
people are gonna go like, oh,you should talk to Greg because
Greg knows this. So I've alwaysgotta be thinking about how do I
get my brand out there so thatpeople know, like, and trust me,
(23:07):
but know, like, and trust me forwhat? That's where the ROI comes
in because when someone's like,oh, you should talk to Greg,
comes out of the blue, there'syour ROI that I never would have
expected because people know,like, and trust me.
Carly Ries (23:21):
Has your approach to relationship building changed
over time? And is it gettingharder the longer you're in this
or easier? Or just how what doesthat look like?
Greg Wasserman (23:31):
Easier. Goes back to your question, Joe, in
terms of playing the algorithm.Technically, I know you're not
supposed to be tagging a bunchof people on your your LinkedIn
post. I don't care about playingthe algorithm in terms of
impressions and so forth. I dostrategically because that keeps
my network going.
That allows me to have morepeople seeing not my content,
(23:55):
but what I'm trying to do tohelp them. I do every Monday, I
do three podcasts that I thinkpeople should listen to, which I
did your podcast before yourebranded it ages ago. Right?
And I think that's what broughtus then together again this
time. So I do that because as apodcaster knowing this, like, no
(24:19):
one's giving you feedback.
And so one of the biggestcompliments you can give to
someone is going like, hey. Lookat what I just did. You should
listen to this too. Wouldn'tthat be great from a business
standpoint if other people arelike, I just talked to Joe. His
business is amazing.
You guys should be talking toJoe too. And that's their
LinkedIn post. Joe's gonna feelgreat. Your conversation has an
(24:42):
ROI in if you think about itfrom that standpoint, and
conversations are able tocontinue. So I don't care about
the algorithm.
I'm playing the let's playcreate connections. Good people
talk to good people. Let's helpother people. And when you have
a give mentality, you'll end upreceiving a lot more on the back
end. So for me, social media, Ionly live in LinkedIn, has
(25:05):
actually helped me over timebecause as my network grows, as
my brain matures in terms of whothe conversations I've had, I'm
able to connect more people,create those social changes,
create more connections thatothers find value which then
helps me build more of a brand.
So once again, it's playing thelong game. Five years ago, while
(25:28):
mentality was the same, I've nowbeen able to refine it going
like this is what brand Greg is,and I can put it all out there
as opposed to this is who I was,but no one understood what I was
trying to accomplish. Now I cando that even so, to a higher
degree.
Joe Rando (25:45):
Yeah. That's really important, being clear about
what you're about. Yeah. Cool.
Carly Ries (25:51):
Well, Greg, just to tie everything together, if you
could offer one piece of advicefor someone trying to shrink
strengthen their network,whether online or in person,
what would that one piece ofadvice be?
Greg Wasserman (26:02):
First, consistently do it. Like, if you
are consistent, as Joe said,just showing up, success is just
showing up. Right? So if youjust have to show up, whether
it's in person to events, thoseare all, if we go back,
investments in yourself.literally I got an invite to an
event and I'm like, do I go tothis? what is the value and what
(26:27):
I'm like, I don't know. I knowI've been to another one of
their events. I'm just gonna goto it and say, hey. This is it.
And you've got the trade off youhave to make. Like, is it time
value? I always look at it as Idon't know what it's gonna take.
If I say yes to things, usuallyit ends up working because as
you said as well, Joe, I'mputting it out there and the
(26:48):
universe, I believe, is going togive me what I'm asking for
because I'm just saying yes andputting it out there. So
consistently, just do it.
Carly Ries (26:55):
Love it. Well, you help people find success through
building relationships. We askall of our guests this question.
What is your favorite quoteabout success?
Greg Wasserman (27:04):
I'm from Chicago. So for me, I'd have to
go with Michael Jordan'ssuccess. I will butcher it, but
basically, he's missed so manyshots. He's been given the game
winning opportunity.
He missed it. He took all theseshots and missed, but at the end
of the day, it's the failures hehad that allowed him to have
(27:26):
success. that's basically thekey thing. So once again, being
consistent.
Continue to show up. Continue tojust take the reps, and the more
reps you take, the more successyou'll find.
Joe Rando (27:38):
Wasn't it Michael Jordan that said I miss a 100%
of the shots I don't take?
Carly Ries (27:42):
That's what I was thinking.
Greg Wasserman (27:44):
I don't know. I mean, there's a much
longer quote.
Joe Rando (27:49):
Somebody tell us in the comments.
Carly Ries (27:52):
That's the quote I thought you were gonna say when
you said Michael Jordan. I thinkthat he said that. But, yes,
leave comments for sure.
Greg Wasserman (28:00):
I always remember growing up, the t
shirt, and it's like I took8,000 shots. I took 24 game
winning shots and missed and soforth. And at the end of the
day, that's why I succeed.
Joe Rando (28:11):
Yep. Great. I just watched the movie, by the way,
about Nike signing him back inthe eighties.
Greg Wasserman (28:16):
Oh, that was a good movie.
Joe Rando (28:17):
Yeah. It was really interesting.
Carly Ries (28:19):
For sure. Well, Greg, where can people find out
more about you if they want toconnect, but anything else?
Greg Wasserman (28:26):
I live on LinkedIn. That is the best way.
So reach out to me on LinkedIn.As I said earlier, add a
comment.
Let me know that you listened tome on this podcast. And then I
can let Joe and Carly know,like, hey. Look at this great
thing because that provides afeedback loop that everyone's
looking for. So, Greg Wasserman,you won't miss it. A, the face,
(28:48):
but, b, it says life is abouttime and relationships.
Carly Ries (28:51):
And we'll include the link in the show notes as
well. But, Greg, thank you somuch for coming on the show
today. We were really lookingforward to it, and you do not
disappoint.
Greg Wasserman (28:59):
Thank you guys so much for having me.
Joe Rando (29:00):
Thank you, Greg.
Carly Ries (29:01):
And listeners, as always, we love that five star
review. We love the subscriptionon any of your favorite
platforms, including YouTube. Wejust so appreciate the support,
and we'll see you next time onthe Aspiring Solopreneur. You
may be going solo in business,but that doesn't mean you're
alone. In fact, millions ofpeople are in your shoes,
running a one person businessand figuring it out as they go.
(29:24):
So why not connect with them andlearn from each other's
successes and failures? AtLifeStarr, we're creating a one
person business community whereyou can go to meet and get
advice from other solopreneurs.Be sure to join in on the
conversations atcommunity.lifestarr.com.
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