Building Your Brand Through Relationships: NIL Lessons for Every Business
Entrepreneurship · From Student of the Game
Building Your Brand Through Relationships: NIL Lessons for Every Business
Name, image, and likeness is a hot topic in college athletics. After talking through the rules with attorney James O'Connor on the previous episode of Student of the Game, Brad Noll returns for a solo Huddle with a different angle. What does NIL mean for a small business owner, an entrepreneur, or anyone setting goals?
Brad's answer is that everyone has a name, an image, and a likeness, and everyone has a brand. The only question is whether you are building it on purpose. And because this podcast is built on the belief that relationships win, he looks at branding through the lens of serving other people, not ego.
A Good Name, a Light That Shines, and Zig Ziglar
Brad opens with a few authors he follows. The first is Solomon: "A good name is more desirable than great riches. To be esteemed is better than silver or gold." In the context of NIL, Brad says, it points to the value of character and integrity over material gain.
The second is Matthew, who encourages people to let their light shine before others so they may see their good deeds. Brad reads it as a call to use influence and visibility for good. Yes, NIL includes paying athletes, he says, but he believes most of it comes down to building your brand in a way that benefits other people. Serve others is the first core value at Noll Team Real Estate.
The third is Zig Ziglar's famous line: "You can have everything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want." Success, Brad says, is often a byproduct of helping others. Some of what comes back is material, but most of it is not.
“Our brand is the emotional connection we have with our database.”
Brad Noll
Ripple Effects From a College Jersey
Brad records this episode in his old IPFW jersey, from the school now known as Purdue Fort Wayne. Halfway through his playing career, the program moved to Division I, and he played about two and a half seasons of Division I basketball as an independent with no conference tournament at the end of the year.
Today, players get paid. Brad does not take credit for that, but he believes the work his generation of players, coaches, and athletic directors did to move the program up created ripple effects that athletes benefit from now. Parents create those ripple effects too. The reputation he and his wife, Lindsay, build at home will hopefully benefit their kids long after they leave the nest.
Your Brand Is an Emotional Connection
Brad has a marketing degree, and he says branding has always been about eyeballs. How do you get more eyeballs? You add more value. "Your brand, your name, image, and likeness increases in value with the more people you help," he says. He also quotes Rev Run: "life gives to the giver and takes from the taker."
Then he shares the definition his team uses. "Our brand is the emotional connection we have with our database." That includes clients, relationships, and family. If you don't tell the market what your brand is, Brad warns, the market will tell you, so the question is whether you take a proactive or reactive approach.
He applies the idea of value at home, too. If he is not helping with dishes and laundry, contributing to the family, connecting with the kids, and having date nights with his wife, his market value at home goes down. At work, his advice is simple: work harder than what you get paid for.
Build It Before You Need It
Brad shares a quote he repeats to his kids: "You pick up trophies at competitions, but you earn them at practice." A brand works the same way. His brand today is everything he put into it three, six, and 12 months ago. An insurance agent friend likes to ask him when the best time to buy insurance is. The answer is in the past, because you can't buy it when you need it.
That is why Brad says you want to build your brand in a crock pot, not a microwave. One post does not make you an influencer. For student athletes, a following comes from being good at your sport and providing content that adds value. For business owners and parents, it comes from the relationships you build over time.
Four Ways Small Businesses Can Build a Brand
Brad says people choose to work with his team because of character and competence: can I trust you, and are you good at what you do? He posts about his family, and even does the occasional goofy dance on his kids' TikToks, so people can get to know him before they meet him. From there he lays out four practical pieces:
- Consistency. Show up as who you are, and don't post and ghost. Leaving comments unanswered is like walking into a party, telling someone about your day, and walking away.
- Authenticity. People buy from people. Instead of posting "call me," share what a client faced and how you helped them overcome it.
- Customer experience. Whether you are an athlete, a business supporting a collective, or a real estate team, the people you serve need to get what they came for.
- Storytelling. Position the customer as the hero and yourself as the guide so others can see themselves in the story.
On storytelling, Brad credits Donald Miller. Posting that you sold a house in a day shows competence, but if that is all you share, you miss a large part of the market. Instead, he tells the story of a couple who wanted to travel more than they wanted to clean a big house, and how his team helped them downsize to a home that fit their lifestyle. Anyone who would rather travel than clean can see themselves in that story.
What Brand Are You Building?
Brad also runs through the top NIL valuations from early 2024, led by Bronny James. You don't have to be a star athlete to have a brand, he says. "We all have value that we can offer our community."
His conclusion is that advancing your brand through relationships is not just marketing. It is genuinely connecting with people and building a network of trust where everyone benefits, which is what his team's core value of win together means. The more valuable you are to the people around you, the longer your brand will last.
So Brad leaves listeners with the same questions he asks himself. Are you making more deposits or more withdrawals in your relationships? What value are you creating for other people today? And what brand are you building?
▶ Listen to the full episode
The Huddle with Brad Noll: Building Your Brand Thru Relationships., on Student of the Game.
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