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The Adam Feuerstein Podcast
Growth, AI, and wealth insights to fuel your rise to success.
New Episodes Every Wednesday.
The Adam Feuerstein Podcast
Start 2025 Strong: Build Your Network, Embrace Leadership, and Achieve Success
As we step into 2025, there’s no better time to expand your network and set the foundation for lasting success. In this episode of the Adam Feuerstein Podcast, Adam explores the timeless principle that your network is your net worth and shares practical strategies for building meaningful connections, embracing vulnerability, and stepping into leadership.
Whether you're setting New Year’s resolutions for personal or professional growth, this episode is your guide to cultivating a network that empowers you to achieve your 2025 goals.
Why This Episode Is Perfect for the New Year:
• Discover how to build a strong network in 2025.
• Gain confidence in starting meaningful conversations and growing your community.
• Learn how to lead with authenticity and make an impact.
Key Topics Covered:
🎯 Networking Strategies for the New Year
🤝 Building Relationships That Support Your Goals
💡 Overcoming Fear and Embracing Vulnerability
✨ Setting Yourself Up for Success in 2025
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Think you can be successful on your own Not possible. Community is everything. So one of the cliches is that your network is your net worth. We've all heard that. If you google anything about business, it typically pops up. As cheesy as that might sound, at least these days, that's absolutely the case. Another way to look at that is community. When you have a business, whether your community consists of people who work for you or people who work with you or your customers, that community ends up being everything.
Speaker 1:To think that we can do this without help, without support, without others outside of ourselves who believe in what we're doing and want to contribute or be a part of it, is to set ourselves up for inevitable failure. And it can be the hard part, because building community is oftentimes a very vulnerable task. It's difficult when we put ourselves in a situation where other people can sense that we're vulnerable. Right, we need something. We walk into a room full of people. It's a networking event. We've got to become vulnerable in order to know the names of the other people in the room. That's a tough job. And it's really tough if you're a young entrepreneur, because you're likely alone. You don't have a staff of people to go with you, and it can be extremely intimidating, and yet it's one of the most valuable utilities that we have available to us. Plenty of people have things like venture capital or a home to sell, or family to who will invest in them, or or, or whatever method that's available to them, maybe to you, to start a new business or to go down a new road. Not everybody has that I know.
Speaker 1:Several times when I've started companies, I didn't have that, and so what happens? We have to create our own resources, and the very easiest way to do that is by building our network, and sometimes it's more challenging than we even realize, because we may end up talking to people with no idea how they even could be a part of what we're doing, and so there's room for a lot of exploratory conversation, and that means more vulnerability, more opening up to strangers, and oftentimes that makes people very, very, very anxious. It certainly does to myself. In fact, I did it for many, many years. I've been to I don't know how many breakfasts, meet and greets, you know, coffee gatherings, networking events, I mean just on and on, and on, and on and on over the years, and honestly, they never got any easier. In fact, when I finally got into a company with some girth behind it and I had plenty of executive staff around me. We literally would come in and set up at a table and people knew how uncomfortable I was with that so they would go out and meet people, mingle and bring them back to the table. For us it sounds kind of ridiculous, but to this day it makes me nervous and it's a difficult thing to do. But that's something we can do. That's something we can get off the couch right now. Push our computer desks closed. We can shut off the laptops head on into the world and do, and it's everywhere.
Speaker 1:I'll give you an example. My wife and I walked to this little coffee shop just down the street most mornings, and most of those mornings we see this young he's not really young, he's probably mine actually we see this gentleman sitting at the same exact coffee table reading the New York Times. I keep telling my wife I'm just compelled to talk to this gentleman, there's something about him. And so one morning I wake up and I swear like God put this right on my heart, like I've got to talk to this guy today, and so the whole it's like three blocks from here. The whole time we're walking there. I'm anticipating what I'm going to say to this guy and try not to sound like a weirdo, right, because I'm nervous and I don't like doing this stuff. This isn't even a crowded network event, it's just some guy, and I see the guy every morning. It's not like it's a perfect stranger. I've just never spoke to him, as luck would have it. We walk in the door and he's sitting at a different table.
Speaker 1:Immediately it came to mind exactly what to say. So I got my coffee, my wife got hers, she went to sit down and I stopped and said man, I almost didn't recognize you. You're sitting at a different table today. He started laughing and we were talking. Turns out he works for a major university who just built some really incredible facilities very near our home. Here we ended up getting a tour and realizing how much work this university is doing that parallels the work that we're doing completely out of nowhere. Just a guy we see in the coffee shop every day, and now that's a huge resource for us, and actually not just our business but our family. They have some programs going on there that our daughters two of our daughters are extremely interested in. It's crazy how that works right. But I've been entrepreneur long enough that I still haven't figured out how to be comfortable introducing myself to new people all the time. But I have realized how valuable that is, and when there's somebody in this world that you feel compelled to talk to, that it's important that you do it. That it's important because that's another piece of your community. The bigger the community, the more resources you have, the more options you have in something else, the more you have to contribute to.
Speaker 1:Some of you know, my wife and I run a company called Total Sum Game. We are committed to business transactions. We're committed to entrepreneurs who want to create business transactions that are total sum games for both parties involved. One person doesn't lose right, so another person can win. One person's victory or profitability doesn't necessarily have to come from somebody else's loss. There we talk about that. We talk about how AI can help that, and that's a huge part of what, even in our local, in our business communities and in our support networks, having that kind of technology broadening our understanding of how things outside of ourselves work, arms us with better and more diverse base of topics to go into new environments, meet new people. We have no idea what they do, where they're from or what they want to talk about. It gives us more information to be able to share. That in turn, leads to confidence. That in turn, leads to a growing network. The more the network grows, the more we contribute to it, the more that network can support us in our journey.
Speaker 1:There's other things that happen as well, and any business you run into challenge, whether that challenge is because something tragic happened or because you've sold more than you thought you should and you've got to grow to the next level to make the next level of sales Doesn't matter. There's a network there. Vendors are part of your network. Media companies are part of your network, right? The guy who brings lunch for your staff on Fridays, if you do such a thing, is part of your network. Strategists, it people, communications people, logistics people. Ups, if you ship stuff, is your partner. They're part of your network. What it really means is it's a place to go when you have a need, right. Oftentimes there's a transaction associated. It really means is it's a place to go when you have a need, right. Oftentimes there's a transaction associated with that, but it's always made better, it's always made more dependable.
Speaker 1:When we instill the human element in our network, we get to know them as human beings. It's not just the guy that picks up my outgoing packages. It's not just the guy you know who I buy material from. It's not just the guy you know who I buy material from. It's not just the guy you know who keeps my network running or is helping me institute AI, or my coach or whatever. Those are other people that likely have an interest in what you're doing.
Speaker 1:When we get to know those people with humility first, it's amazing what can happen. Even when you can't imagine how somebody may contribute to whatever it is you're involved in or whatever you're trying to build, I assure you there's always something people can do. And even if not maybe it's not about what they do for you Maybe that next person that you make yourself vulnerable in order to meet needs something from you and you get the incredible opportunity to contribute to him or her. This is how life works. Human beings are communal. We're communal by design. Communal means that we're constantly giving and receiving to people in our networks, people in our communities, our neighbors, people at work, people inside of our business, everybody. Those bonds sometimes can last forever. Sometimes those bonds can lead to opportunities we couldn't possibly have imagined without them. When you think of it that way and you go out into the world, it makes everything you do somewhat of an adventure and it makes things more exciting For all you know, the guy at the coffee shop represents a massive resource not far from your neighborhood, a huge interest to some of your kids, a contribution to your wife and your family, or maybe that person needs something so desperately that you just happen to have, so that you can go home that night and feel better about the world and your place in it.
Speaker 1:All those things come from community, all of it. Sometimes we think, well, I got a community, so if I get in trouble, I feel a little bit better. So I'm going to put some community here and I'm going to put some friends here and I'm going to put some of these people over here and that way, if I get myself into a bad situation, I've got somebody to call. That's part of it, but there's so much more right. Get to know the people that you're buying from. Get to know the people who are representing or delivering your tech stack. Get to know the people who manage the things that keep your business running. Get to know the people who've done what you've done before and done it better than you, so you can learn from them. Allow them to mentor you.
Speaker 1:Some of the people that we've had on some of our other podcasts recently are extremely successful. Chris Felton was on our podcast and said he doesn't think anybody can do this without a coach. That's somebody in a community Coaching being a very intimate part of a business community because that person knows a lot about you personally, understands your goals. A lot of times they know your feelings towards things, what drives you, your motivation, what's the reasoning behind the goals you've set and it can be a huge asset, a huge resource. Some people go write a check for a coach all kinds of money and coaches charge all kinds of different amounts for these things and sometimes a coach is your buddy you're catching a beer with at the corner beer joint after a long week of pulling your hair out trying to figure out how to get this business off the ground. Either way, those are all assets in your community.
Speaker 1:The other thing it allows us to do is be a leader. It allows us to take a leadership role. We can literally construct the organizations of people around us out of our leadership. That's one thing we can always contribute. I'm not talking about being tyrannical. I'm talking about contributing to a group of people who will fall in with you, who will support you because you simply give them a reason to, Because they're out in the world wondering what they can do. They may not even be conscious of it, subconsciously. We're always trying to contribute.
Speaker 1:When you're the person that walks in a room and gives them an opportunity to do that presents, that, instills confidence in them that they can do whatever that thing is, guess what? You're in a leadership role. You've taken time from your day to share it with somebody else and provide them leadership and where to go with their day. So many people have gratitude when you provide leadership so many people and it you provide leadership so many people and it doesn't make them followers. It just means in that moment, in your presence, there was an opportunity for that. You presented it. You had the strength, the courage, the confidence and you executed and that person reciprocated.
Speaker 1:It doesn't happen every time, but a funny thing, I've never, ever, ever been one to talk to people. I explained earlier how it makes me nervous, but outside of business it's easier. Right, it's light, and I've kept track of my negative the times when I've ran into somebody or had negative interactions with people. I've been tracking this for greater than five years. I just hit two the other day. Two people in five years. That were negative interactions when I reached out. And I believe part of that is because when I reach out, I offer I don't force it on anybody, but I offer a leadership role. Okay, eight times out of 10, people are grateful for that. The other two times they're rivaled by it. It doesn't mean we have conflict. It means you take a step back and you're like oh, there's another leader too, and then you feel each other out from that perspective. You respect that person as a leader. He or she then reciprocates that respect and now all of a sudden you're talking to somebody you have more in common with than you ever thought possible.
Speaker 1:Again, community is a gateway for leadership and, believe it or not, as unemotional as some of us attempt to be, I don't even try anymore. I'm an emotional person, but I know coming up like through the trades I came up through the electrical trades here in Colorado through the commercial electrical apprenticeship program Got my journeyman's and ultimately master's. Not a lot of emotion in that game, right, but my first company, whether it was the day we opened and I was completely boiling over with optimism, or the day I filed bankruptcy. Both personally and corporately, I loved and appreciated to this day the incredible amount of emotional support I got from my own community, from my own network of people. Even people who lost money on my bankruptcy found a way to support me. I told you earlier, you know I walked into bankruptcy court. I've been escorted by a federal officer into bankruptcy court because there were so many people only to find out that those people were actually there to support me. I had no enemies in the courtroom that day. I had people that honored and respected what I was doing and they were there to help.
Speaker 1:Pretty incredible what people are capable of. Pretty incredible what they're willing to do with their own time, under their own free will, to support somebody that they care about. That's a lot. There's a lot of power in that. There's a lot of motivation there. There's a lot of ways to challenge yourself, because when you feel those people and them believing in you, you want to expand, you want to fulfill the next level for their sake, not just your own Another huge element of your network.
Speaker 1:So we talk about success. Right Again, the easiest measurement dollars. Right. Two guys start out in business. Ten years later, one guy has a billion dollars, the other guy has ten million dollars and all of a sudden we think the billionaire is much more successful. I'd come to the same conclusion based on the merits of financial value. But there's many, many other values the human value. What did they contribute? How did they change communities, not just within their network but outside of that? What are the things that those people accomplished that are contributable to the human family, to the American family? Who knows? But that's another way to measure success.
Speaker 1:There are people that I know personally who are out there helping people in disadvantaged communities keep from being thrown out of those communities by all these rich developers here in Denver. I've worked with them for a very long time, but they're out there busting their ass. I don't think they make a lot of money. I think they make a comfortable living. They're certainly not poor people, but these are not wealthy people. They're not the guy with the. They're never going to have a billion dollars in their account doing this work, but they're willing to do it because they're contributing. So what's their measure of success? Their measure of success is social impact. That's a huge part of a network. It isn't just money, money, money, money, money, money. It isn't just efficiency, operations, sales. There are things outside of that and you just might find, when you start to measure your own success against them, that they're more valuable than you ever could have imagined.
Speaker 1:So I challenge you in the time between this podcast and the next, or in the next five minutes or the next five years, take action to go out and build your community. Be vulnerable, Find the inner confidence to go out and introduce yourself to somebody new and invite them into your network. See what happens. My guess is, if you feel fear, if you're resistant to that idea, you will be so ridiculously pleased when you find out the reaction and the reaction that you actually receive.
Speaker 1:Take a leadership role. Be vulnerable, don't be afraid, and go out and see what kind of impact you can make. See how that feels, whether you have a lot of money in your checking account, no money in your checking account. You have a dream you're working on and no idea how to get there. Or you're halfway there or you've already championed it. Give it a shot. Go meet the guy in your coffee shop that you see every single morning and have another courage to say hello, or the person that walks down the street all the time. Extend your hand, extend some vulnerability, create an opportunity to add somebody to your network and provide leadership and see what happens. Thank you again for listening today. This is the Adam Fierstein Podcast and we'll see you next time.