Welcome to Ask Dodge. I'm an entrepreneur who's built five businesses over the last 28 years, exited two of them and still running three today. On this show, you'll get straight talking real business chat with no fluff. I think we're going to help thousands of people in business. I've got my good mate with me, Marky Masters, who's going to be the co-host of the show. Dodge, looking forward to this. If there's something you guys want us to answer, send your questions. to Ask Dodge at Dodge

at Dodge Whed. the show. Dodge, looking forward to this. If there's something you guys want us to answer, send your questions to Ask Dodge at

dodgewiddle.com.

I hope you enjoy, everyone.

Owning the relationship.

I always use that word of black book or whatever it is that you call it.

That seems to be an integral part of your entire career.

Can you explain a little bit more how your thing?

Did it ever start as a notepad that became digital?

Absolutely.

It started as a black book.

You know, it started of as a big black book.

You got to remember when you are joining people's names and numbers now,

my mum was taught me everyone you meet is a contact.

And everyone I meet these days and I teach people who said, everyone you meet is a contact. Everyone, get the name, get the number. Put it in your phone straight away. Dropping my WhatsApp after us. They're lovely to meet you today. You don't know when that contact will come up where you can help them or they can help you and build that relationship. it. But back in then, we used to have a black book, but in 95, I got my number in 95. I've kept the number now since 95 to where we are today. I bet you're still with the same network as well, aren't you? Oh, no, it's changed loads of different networks. Started off as orange back then. God knows what I'm on now, but yeah, things have changed, but back then you'd have the Nokia 72 or whatever it is. And then when you change your phone, you've got to take all the numbers out your phone and write them down in a black book. And then you get your new phone, you've got to then upload them all in there. It might have taken me like six, seven, eight, nine days, whatever it was. And I've never lost the contact. well now Apple, Apple, if I change phones on Apple, bam, press a button, and all the

contact are going, you know, so relationships to me has been an integral part to my journey

on building businesses and just in life, just friendship.

And I guess the importance thing of that is that's how we build, that's relationships, isn't it?

Or as business is, we could always be looking for attention from people, like posting a lot and spend a lot of money on ads on a platform.

But attention is a lot different from building solid relationships with people. Yeah. Is it people to reach out to? Or is it people that they're to support? Or is it just? Everything. It's everything in there. It's all, it's all, everything's in there. Well, you've got your periods. Everyone's got, I don't know how old people are now, but you've got your school, you've got your schoolmates. If you went to university,

you'd have a university mates.

Then you go into a job and you've got,

...