Building Your Network With Travis Chappell


Riley Moore
CEO of RM4Tech & Co-Creator of DirectSuggest / Host of The Moore You Know Podcast

March 12th 2019



Life Is Full Of Changes And Does Your Degree Matter?
I can't imagine growing up in an IFB community like Travis did. If you are interested in learning more about that culture you should check out the Duggar family on 17 kids and counting which I believe is either on TLC or Lifetime. Going to kindergarten through college on the same campus is extreme, but you can look at it similarly to small towns or suburbs that you are more familiar where you go to school continually with the same people. Just more extreme where they didn't include others in extracurriculars like you would if you were playing sports or doing some other activity with people from different schools in the local area.

It is also worth taking notice that he graduated with degrees in church administration and ministries. Then upon graduating he went into sales then eventually into becoming one of the fastest growing podcasters with build your network. Be aware that there are many cases where the degree you pursue or complete will have little relevance towards what you are doing. Travis is not the only person I know whose career does not reflect what they studied.

What Can Be Learned From Mastering Crafts And Playing On Sports Teams
Travis is right, Mastery of any craft or skill no doubt provides invaluable perspective. I also played sports throughout my life and would spend my free time practicing fundamentals too. And I think playing on a team provides additional perspective to be learned when it comes to teamwork and leadership. As he said it builds good habits and discipline, it teaches you how to understand overcoming struggle and adversity, how to lose, how to win, the importance of preparation, working with others, taking on a leadership role showing by example and helping others rise to the occasion, pushing your limits, building resiliency, and so much more. All of this that you learn applies to business, entrepreneurship, along with relationships and other things.

Travis Chappell's Powerful How Can I Mentality
I think it is important to consider where Travis is now and that a few years ago he had virtually no network. So, what did he do, he just started from scratch and figured it out. This how can I mentality he talked about is so powerful and something that would be one of my first pieces of advice for someone. You can do this through mentorships and building relationships as well as reading all about it or taking a course. It does not need to cost anything a lot of times. I think learning from those who have been in the position you are in, building relationships with likeminded people along with taking time to research and learn on your own are important building blocks to finding success in anything. Again, Travis found success trusting his gut, taking the leap, and investing in himself as he said making one of the best decisions that he has ever made.

This mindset shift that he brought up of How Can I provide this person I am looking to build a relationship with value rather than how I can make my money back is so incredibly valuable and the essence of networking. Most relationships whether they are personal, or business are based on the value you provide one another and when you are in the position where value may not be apparent like Travis was in it is important to do what you can to provide value. Not only that, at the end of day what you put your time into should be focused around serving and adding value to the world not personal gain. Travis also brings up another important point with his story, his initial plan of providing value using the $1,200 drone he purchased went down the drain. There will be many times in life where your plan does not go as planned. Oftentimes people will begin to freak out or feel like they failed. It's important to take on a similar mentality to Travis and push forward and adapt. The value he ended up providing helping with selling journals at the event ended up being invaluable for JLD and without that experience there is no doubt he would not be where he is today. Something he continues to do in his life that we have been discussing that should be taken note of is that Travis continues to take the leap and figure out how he can make the best of his situation and it continually pays off.

The Value And Issues With Masterminds
Travis attended a mastermind when he went to PuertoPalooza. As you can see with his story there is immense value in learning from and building relationships in these settings. While I agree with Travis' definition when it comes to Masterminds being a group of people getting together surrounding a similar focus or goal, they seem to be divided based on intentions. Certain Masterminds are created with the outlook of everyone getting together to move the mission they are all looking to accomplish forward, others have the focus of the person or people putting it on profiting off the occasion along with their ability to bring people they see value in into their network. These pay to play scenarios become an event surrounding having people pay to see the thought-leader provide information in-person that can be found in podcasts, on the internet, or in books along with a little more information they do not share with the public. The ultimate value that is paid for is the possible relationship that can be gained like Travis intended on forming that also brings them into their network of connections. So, what this means is that if you do not go into a Mastermind scenario like Travis did building this relationship in the end, you most likely will receive no return on investment only learning what could have been learned on your own time at no cost.

A well-known entrepreneur began a mastermind community surrounding developing an incredible personal brand. After I showed interest, he provided me with some information regarding what would be learned at the mastermind. Appreciating the success, he has had, I have spent hours listening to him speak on podcasts. What the mastermind was providing was virtually identical to what he had discussed countless times on YouTube. I shared a call with the member of his team, and it was clear that they scouted people for their exclusive mastermind that they saw value in that they were offering to bring into their network helping propel their success. The price tag was $50,000. For me investing in yourself rather than wasting money on other things is important, but for that amount of money providing information that can be learned at no cost is simply another form of what the Clinton's are known for doing. If you have more interests in masterminds make sure to check out Travis' free course at FREEMMCourse.com, it is the best course I have found covering the subject.

Relationships Are One Of The Best Compounding Investments
Bringing up the issues surrounding the selfish intent of those putting on certain masterminds to profit, I do not want to disregard the value in Travis' experience. The eight grand or so that he invested translated to hundreds of thousands of dollars through the relationship built with JLD and still grows today due to being able to really credit most things that have come from Build Your Network to that experience. If you have the intentions of showing the value you provide and creating relationships, it can be worth the investment as the return on investment can be much more significant.

Travis also brings up another VERY IMPORTANT POINT which is relationships are one of the best compounding investments you can make. When you build a relationship and continue to foster it the value that can come from it continues to grow through different forms. Relationships and networking should be looked at as an investment not just due to the value they provide but the time that is expended in them. This time is well worth it.

Renée Mauborgne & W. Chan Kim's Blue Ocean Strategy
The Blue Ocean Strategy by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim is a great concept to clarify how to find your niche and target market.

I think Travis explained it perfectly, the basis of it is to find an untapped profitable market. The goal is that there is enough of a market to make the profit you are looking for but not an over-saturated market where you will be overlooked by your vast array of competitors.

A Top 25 Business Podcaster's Advice For Gaining Listeners
Getting listeners is no doubt one of the biggest challenges. I like the point he brings up of building it slowly listener by listener and with hard work, dedication, and time you will build a strong organic following of true fans. I also do want to remind you all that if you are interested in investing of yourself and getting one-on-one coaching from Travis, check out his website or send him a DM on Instagram for more information.

Building & Value Content
These two forms of content that Travis discusses apply to business, entrepreneurship, personal branding, and more not just podcasting. Building content is content that builds credibility and audience. This was Ed Mylett coming on Travis’ Podcast or even when Travis was on mine. Value content is content that does not necessarily build your presence but provides a learning experience. These are The Moore You Know Podcast Recap episodes. Building content is for awareness and bringing people in, value content is to provide them continual value to keep them around. The value content can provide the same benefit as building content with the power of word of mouth also. There is an interesting parallel between what Travis discussed and business. With Building Content, A business should regularly be posting to social media with the intention of building awareness. This is done on a regular basis to ultimately draw the buyer to your product or service. With Value Content, A business should be regularly providing blogs, webinars, eBooks, email newsletters, and more that provides knowledge they are looking to gain. This creates a sustainable relationship.

Travis Chappell's Five-Minute Rule
I love Travis' Five-Minute Rule. The basis of it is that if the issue you are concerned with will not matter five years from now do not spend more than five minutes thinking about it. Now that may be slightly overexaggerated with it being in certain cases alright if it matters one year from now or you take fifteen minutes to be upset but I could not agree more with his rule. My mother used to always ask me when I would share something, I was upset about is this going to matter a month from now and if I said yes then a year from now if I said yes then five years from now, and so on. She also always said if it is out of your control it is not something worth thinking about. I think it is just as important to take that time as it is to not let the time prologue. If you do not take time to allow yourself to go through the natural emotion of anger, it can become bottled up and effect your life for a much longer period. Hence, continuing to let it affect you. So, take time to be upset be aware of why you are upset and analyze why you are upset. Then carry on with your day being the best you can. Travis also brought up a very important caveat which is this time you take should not be destructive or projected on others. Both provide additional issues and a relationship can be lost in a matter of moments.

Building Relationships - Help Them Win First & The Power Of Reciprocity
Building relationships is so incredibly important. I love what Travis brings up about how you should look at relationships is how can I help them win first and believe that the power of reciprocity will provide you value in some form at the right time in the future. What he brings up about focusing on giving and providing service to the world first paying off in the end and the law of reciprocity are something I believe in as much as Travis.

Focusing on what you can do for the person rather than what you receive provides a shift in mindset that fosters a stronger relationship. Not only are you then better focused on providing value to the other person but when you shift your focus that way it is apparent your intentions are to do what's best to move their mission along with the overall mission forward which will be better appreciated than the average individual coming off as I am interacting with you because I know you and I will both get value in working together.
This also ties into what he discussed previously regarding relationships being incredible compounding investments. If you focus on serving as many people as possible with trust that it will pay off in the end, your odds of one or more of those relationships providing the value you were hoping for is virtually guaranteed.

I think in this conversation with Travis a few things are very apparent, your life may not turn out how you initially intended but there are habits and lessons that can be learned on the way through different experiences that if aware of can be applied to bring success in other areas of life, also taking the leap, jumping in the deep end, and investing in yourself pays off with hard work and proper intentions, and that building relationships that are focused on providing the other person value and trusting that it will pay off in the end is the way to foster relationships that will provide value for a lifetime.






Riley Moore (Riley's Website)
Riley Moore is CEO of RM4Tech, the family-owned family-run software company bringing you CrowdQuestion & DirectSuggest.

He is also the host of The Moore You Know Podcast and author of future book The Moore You Know. Riley also provides helpful courses that share tips, hacks, and secrets to excelling in business, marketing, and life.