You’re building your network; it’s growing but now what? How do you manage it? Is your network balanced enough? I’ll tell you I’ve always had a problem maintaining an acceptable balance in my network. Mainly because I see my network in three categories: Information, Support, and Referral. It’s tough work maintaining all three categories at the same time but it is worth it.

Look around you and choose a few things you’ve purchased 5 years ago, 2 years ago, 6 months ago, and this week. Why did you buy? This is a series attempting to dig into the why behind our actions.

Brands often influence our purchasing decisions, hell, sometimes they down right make them for us. When did a brand become such a deciding factor? Does buying due to a brand mean you bought based on their clout? Or is it the history of the brand? The reliability, quality of the brand?

As I thought about these questions myself I began to find that with some items I buy I could care less about brand and others I wouldn’t sway away from. Take table salt, picture frames, file folders, envelopes, mousepads, legal pads, checks; all I don’t care about brand, I care about functionality and could value. But now take computers, pens, watches, kitchen knives, hot sauce; I care very much about brand. Why is that I thought? Well, I would like to think to myself that I don’t buy brand name items simply because a certain name is on it but it brings up a interesting conjecture. Do I buy my brand names because I’ve used them and have found success with them, meaning I’ve found quality, usefulness, and value in it therefore I will purchase from that brand. Should that brand release a new product am I more inclined to purchase from them because I use other products from the same brand?