The Power of Proximity - The Long Game - Ep. #90

The room you walk into might change everything. But only if you walk in.

In this episode of The Long Game Podcast, Ryan shares why the power of proximity is one of the most underrated tools available to any entrepreneur, and why the biggest mistake people make with it is thinking too small about who belongs in the room.

Ryan breaks down why cross-industry rooms often produce more meaningful shifts than industry-specific ones. When someone outside your world looks at how you operate and asks "why do you do it that way?", that question alone can unlock a perspective no conference in your own niche ever would. 

He walks through how this philosophy shaped his own trajectory, from showing up alone in a suit to a Worcester networking event, to building some of his closest business partnerships and finding his path into real estate investing entirely through the connections made that evening.

What You'll Learn:

• Why cross-industry rooms produce more meaningful perspective shifts than staying in your own niche
• What the power of proximity actually looks like in practice, and why it's rarely the "golden key" moment people expect
• How Ryan's entire path into real estate investing started from one networking event he almost skipped
• Why the mindset of someone running an eight or nine-figure company looks fundamentally different, and what you can absorb just by being in the room
• How two people who met at a single event after hours went on to build multiple eight-figure companies together
• Why showing up alone, not knowing anyone, is often where the most important connections begin
• What Ryan set out to create with the Ascend Summit, and why the philosophy behind it goes back to this exact idea

If you're someone who keeps putting off the event, the meetup, or the room you know you should be in, this episode is a direct and honest case for why that next step might be the one that changes everything.

Interested in connecting?

HOST
Ryan Richards | Branch Manager, Northpoint Mortgage | NMLS 1987735
rrichards@trynorthpoint.com | www.financewithteamrichards.com 
204 Turnpike Rd, Westborough, MA 01581
Licensed in MA, CT, FL, NC, NH, PA, RI, ME, TN

Follow us on Instagram @financewithteamrichards @the.longgamepodcast

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Chapters:
00:00 Why Create This Room
00:30 Power of Proximity
00:41 Cross Industry Perspectives
01:26 Connections Not Secrets
02:25 Why Ascend Summit Exists
02:38 Event Stories That Changed Everything
03:26 My Networking Event Turning Point
03:52 Showing Up Alone
04:11 Meet Five People Rule
04:48 Thinking Like Bigger Operators
05:26 Bigger Problems Bigger Decisions
06:02 Your Circle Shapes Trajectory
06:22 Final Takeaways

Transcript

0:20

A few weeks ago, someone asked me in preparation for the Ascend Summit, like, "Why are you creating this room?" We're creating a room of entrepreneurs from all different industries to talk about business. Like, what's the point? And I went back to the idea of, like, the power of proximity. Something I truly believe in, I think it's one of the best possible things you can do for your growth, especially as an entrepreneur, is put yourself in rooms with people doing more than you. But don't limit it so much as to just one niche, because what I've found over time is when you're able to put yourself in rooms with people from different industries, still operating at a high level, ideally higher than you, the newfound perspectives that they bring can change your outlook on business. Some of the conversations I've had with people on the podcast, with people in conversation at networking events, masterminds, usually the most profound takes aren't from people who are directly in your business. It's from someone who's looking from the outside and questioning things."Well, why do you do things that way?" You're like, "Well, I don't know. Could we do it a better way?" And they say, "Well, this is what we do in our business." Like, "Ooh, I could take a piece of that." The power of proximity is super powerful, but don't limit it to just your industry. It's been incredibly impactful for me and my business, having these different perspectives. And not only that, but what I've… Actually, looking back as I was reflecting here, a lot of my most significant business connections, whether it's business partners, you know, colleagues, friends, referral partners, all came from rooms that I put myself in that I knew people who were going to be there were doing better than me. Not just because, again, I think people assume that when you say the power of proximity, that you're gonna be put in front of someone who's gonna, like, show you the secret. Like, this person's going to unlock the golden key and, like, change my whole business. Not quite like that, but it's the mindset and the mindset shift that this perspective brings from someone who's already either done the thing or is doing it at a much higher level in a different capacity. Because a lot of the business philosophies kind of overlap. Whether you run a coffee shop, a home services business, or you do Botox injecting, like, those fundamental business principles are all the same, but the nuances of each business creates different perspectives that, when they look at each other, can change and influence how the others operate. And for me, those types of rooms are exactly why we created the Ascend Summit. We wanted to make a place that people could go and experience the same philosophy. Last year, we had the Mastermind conference in Worcester. We had about 150 people show up, and since then, I've had at least five or six conversations with people who were in that room, and their entire trajectory of their business changed from that one room. I met a home inspector who has a home inspection company. He met two people in that room he decided to bring on his team and grow his operations into another state, and his whole business has changed. Now he has goals to grow in new states, expand the operations, hire more people, train. He was so lo- hyperlocalized, and he didn't really know how he was going to find those people until he met them at the event. Other people I met at the event, some of the most successful real estate investors that I know met at a networking event. Two business partners went to an event after hours- met each other, and now they own multiple, you know, eight-figure companies. So you don't really know what's going to happen by putting yourself in the room, but you'll never know if you don't. And my first-- my love for real estate investing started in a networking event. It was right after COVID. I went to a networking event here in Worcester, Mass, and I actually just learned about two people's stories of how they went from owning a few properties to owning, you know, hundreds of units. And through that process, I met some of my closest mentors, business partners, colleagues in that very room. And to this day, I don't know what would've happened if I didn't go. And I remember that day because it was a cold, rainy day, and I was about to get in my car. I'm like, "Ah, should I just stay home?" I was like, "Nope." I said, "I'm going, I'll go." And I went, and I didn't know anyone. I knew no one in the room. I went to an event by myself in Worcester. I showed up in a suit, which, you know, you have to. But I get there, everyone's in sweatshirts. Like, I'm the only guy in a suit, which is fine. Be the best dressed, but I'd rather be the worst. But as I was in the room, I, I was still questioning like, "Gosh, should I just, you know, maybe get a beer and go home?" And I said, "You know what? I'm gonna stick it through. I'm gonna meet five people." And I started going around shaking hands, and then to this day it was, like, one of the best decisions I ever made. Um, met some of my other business partners, Ben Carboni, for those who, who are on… listen to the show, see me on social media, one of my closest friends and business partners. I met him at a networking group that I started in Worcester. He came out to one of our meetings. We met, it was a couple years ago, and ever since then we've been obviously super close and do a lot together. Uh, I could go on and on, but all these people that I met were just because I put myself in a room of people who were doing activity. They were doing business at a high level. And then the more you can put yourself in rooms with h- people who are doing business at a higher level, the more you're able to change your mindset, change your perspective I've had some conversations, had some dinners with people who are running, like, eight, nine-figure companies. The things that they think about and talk about are so different. You might go and sit down at dinner and talk to your friend about the Celtics, which is great. Like, love the Celtics, go for it. But if you ever sit down with, like, a billionaire, I haven't really met one, but if you do, like, people operating eight-figure, nine-figure companies, just the things they talk about are so much different. Like, they're locked in all the time, and their perspective is just so removed from what you might think. Because if you own… If you have a business and you, like, have one or two employees, like, your problems for them, like, that's their operations manager's assistant's problem. Like, they don't even know those exist anymore because it never gets to them. They're thinking about way bigger problems. Like, do we acquire this new company? Do we sell off this entire office? What's going on with legal? Like, are we getting sued again? Like, do we have lawsuits? Are we com- protected from compliance? Should we do these TV ads? Should we cross-promote? Like, they're, they're at such a different level that just their mindset's so different. So I highly encourage it. I really do believe that the average of the top five people you spend the most time with and the rooms you can put yourself in can significantly change your trajectory. And that's why I'm so inspired to make these types of rooms for other people, creating opportunities for people to network, hopefully find new business partners, and take something meaningful away that can change their business. Hopefully, you found this helpful. I know it's, for me, it's a topic I keep near and dear to my heart, and we'll see you on the next one.