In this episode we’ll be discussing the importance of reputation. Though there’s a slight minority of people that work better alone, you pretty much can’t win without people. Your reputation is all you have, and it’s built every day by your actions and the opinions you’ve planted in others.

Being yourself is always the best way to go when moving towards a solid reputation; consistency is key. It’s good to have an idea of what you want your reputation to be, so you can strive towards it and slowly begin to build it up.

Steli shares an interesting story about his recent experience with watching out for reputations, and explains the methods he’s used to gradually collect and learn the opinions of those closest to him to mold his reputation and protect it.

We also go through how your reputation compares to your personal brand, and are they the same thing? Let’s face it: brands are built with interaction. Relationships are the building blocks of business and most other activities in life. We discuss the importance of owning up to the brand you’ve built, and how to stay consistent online and offline.

Lastly, strive to maintain a “what you see is what you get” attitude, because people value when they get to know the real you, and many times it’s you attracting your audience, not the content. We finish up talking about taking responsibility for your reputation and how to pick apart and understand it’s different “layers.”

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As always, you can hit us up on Twitter @Steli or @hnshah, #thestartupchat. Let us know where you get your motivation.

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