This post was written by John Lee Dumas, Founder and Host of EntrepreneurOnFire.

“In order to build most efficiently, relationships must be the keystone – a community the foundation – of a successful business.”

– John Lee Dumas

The Importance of Relationships and Community When Starting Your Own Business

When I logged into Libsyn the other day to check my download stats for the month of August, I couldn’t help but smile.

July was a huge month for Entrepreneurs On Fire: we had over 300,000 downloads (308,778 to be exact). In August – one month later – we had 419,741.

Sometimes I can’t help but stop and ask myself, “How did I get here?” I mean, it all happened so fast.

Confession: When I decided to start my own podcast less than one year ago, I didn’t even know how to record an episode, let alone interview top entrepreneurs.

To answer my own question, It is because of the relationships I built when I first started EntrepreneurOnFire that I am where I am today. In addition, I’ve learned some powerful things about becoming a part of a community along the way.

So even though I know the direct answer to my question – the one about how I got here – I can’t help but think back to day zero when it all started.

How it all started

I was driving home from a commercial real estate showing, listening to podcasts as per usual. As the episode I was listening to came to an end, I remember wondering what would come up next (random listening at its finest).

I waited, and waited, and then waited some more… Nothing came on. I picked up my iPod and scrolled through my library of hundreds of podcast episodes. None of them had that little blue circle next to them. I was out of content.

How could this be? I knew I listened to podcasts often, but how did I manage to just run out? I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I still had about an hour left on my drive.

Instead of making my rounds on the telephone, catching up with friends who I hadn’t talked to in a while, I just sat there – in my car – driving – thinking.

It really wasn’t long before I had my ah-ha moment: why isn’t there someone out there creating a business podcast that interview Entrepreneurs on a daily basis?

I thought about the times when I listened to podcasts, and I knew I couldn’t be the only one who found themselves in a car a lot; who worked out every day; who has a dog they walk.

That’s it. The need for a daily podcast was so crystal clear to me. And I knew that day – on that drive – I would be the one to create it.

What I did next…

The question I get asked the most (aside from “how do you make money?” of course) is “what did you do next?”

My reply? I hired a coach.

Jaime Tardy, host of The Eventual Millionaire, took me on as her mentee that very same month. She not only taught me some great things about podcasting, but she also encouraged me to attend a conference as soon as possible – “Relationships”, she said, “are the key”.

New Media Expo by BlogWorld was coming up real quick. Jaime insisted I attend, and I complied.

It was at New Media Expo in New York City, in June of 2012 that I realized firsthand the power of relationships.

By attending that conference, I was able to meet some of the most influential minds in the podcasting industry. By attending that conference, I confirmed my first interviewees for EntrepreneurOnFire.

Since attending New Media Expo just a little over 1 year ago, I’ve:

• Spoken at the conference once already, and will be speaking at it again in January;
• Interviewed over 350 of today’s most successful and inspiring entrepreneurs; and
• Come to recognize the true power of building relationships and community when you’re starting your own business.

I feel very strongly about this last point because it is thanks to the relationships I built at New Media Expo that I was able to start and grow my podcast.

It is because of the relationships I built at New Media Expo that I was able to connect with big names like Pat Flynn, Derek Halpern, Amy Porterfield, Cliff Ravenscraft and other influencers in the industry.

And it is because of these relationships that I was able to go to other Entrepreneurs and ask them to be guests on EntrepreneurOnFire.

In addition to these relationships allowing me reach out and secure big name entrepreneurs for my show, they have also helped the Entrepreneurs On Fire brand become known.

Because I know that I have a close relationship with these people, I don’t hesitate to ask them to share Entrepreneurs On Fire with their audiences, which helps my own audience grow each and every day.

So I did great in the relationship-building category. In fact, I communicate with all of these people on a regular basis today.

They’ve not only become my business partners, they’ve become my friends.

Building a community

Looking back, where I didn’t do so great is in the community category.

Sure, I had individuals I could reach out to for support and advice, but in the beginning, I didn’t have a group of like-minded individuals who had formed a community, where I could go to talk to people who were going through the exact same things I was going through.

I didn’t have a community who was there to help hold me accountable for the things I said I was going to do, or who could provide me with recommendations and resources when the going got tough and I couldn’t figure out why my equipment wasn’t working, or why my mp3 file wasn’t converting over correctly.

I was missing a community of other entrepreneurs who were – or who had been – in the same place I was at that time.

EntrepreneurOnFire has reached incredible heights in a very short period of time, in part due to the relationships I’ve built since I started.

I’ve worked tirelessly on producing a daily podcast that delivers an inspiring message to those aspiring entrepreneurs who want to take their own leap. But I know I could have done it all a lot quicker had I found a community of like-minded individuals to help me along the way from the very start.

Creating a mastermind

For this reason, I recently created my own mastermind community, Fire Nation Elite, to help others who are in the same position I was in just about one year ago.

I’m so driven by this Tribe – filled with established and aspiring entrepreneurs who are in our private Facebook group and on our membership site every single day helping one another out – providing feedback, recommendations and resources to make the journey that much easier for one another.

The power behind a community like this one has already landed six of our Podcasters in the New & Noteworthy section in iTunes. We also have a crew who call themselves the Fire Starters who have all launched their new businesses together during a 30-day challenge. They now continue to help one another through each stage of the process, including SEO, social media, opt-ins and building sales pages.

So if you’re just starting out and looking to start your own business, I can tell you from personal experience that building relationships and finding a community of like-minded individuals to help support, motivate and hold you accountable is mandatory to your continued success as an Entrepreneur.

Because we are alone on this road. And it is winding. And we all could use a little help navigating.

This post was written by John Lee Dumas, Founder and Host of EntrepreneurOnFire.