I had a strange win this morning. Someone added me to their "In Case of Emergency" document. The one that covers what happens if they die or end up in a coma.
The document reads: "[Redacted] has known Rand about four years. He runs [Redacted's] small business owner peer group and the larger Scalepath peer group organization, and knows nearly everyone in the small business acquisition world. [Redacted] highly recommends reaching out to him, he can find the right person to help with almost any topic or problem that comes up."
Four years ago I wasn't this person. I was just a guy getting business owners together. Today, and especially this last year, I'm able to be personally helpful to a large group of people.
Sorry if this sounds like bragging. This is just a really cool sign of personal achievement and "doing good things" over a long period of time without a clear payoff and through periods of doubt.
That pattern of doing good work through periods of doubt is what most business owners go through. You show up, you build relationships, you help people with their problems, and for a long time there's no clear payoff. Then one day someone trusts you enough to put you in their emergency document.
Building a peer group for business owners meant years of connecting people before anyone saw me as the connector. That shift didn't happen overnight. It happened through countless conversations, introductions, and moments of just being useful when someone needed help.
The payoff for years of helping people doesn't arrive on a schedule. You keep showing up, keep being helpful, and one morning you find out someone trusts you with their emergencies.
For anyone building something similar, the doubt doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. It means you're still in the middle of the story. The proof shows up later, often in ways you never would have predicted.
I'm going to frame this quote and put it on a wall.
