This was kind of an unfortunate situation which I guess had to happen for the person to learn. Essentially there was an individual who had a small group of people who were highly supportive in his business ventures where if he needed help they would often be there for him. You are always fortunate to have these kinds of people around you. He was even told that it can be a shark eat shark world and that you should make sure to take care of those that are truly there for you.
He didn’t do that though as once he started to experience some success he would constantly give praises and thanks to influential people who he felt could catapult his business. This also meant spending money in resources in helping to cater them for their own endeavors to help earn those brownie points. I guess you know how these kinds of stories usually end up right?
It then turned out that he really needed some help where a few investors requested for some kind of samples which he had a tight deadline for. So he immediately asked all the influential people for help but they all turned him down citing they had other obligations. As a last resort he went to ask the people who were always there for him before. Unfortunately, seeing how he treated them as invisible after he experienced some success they all didn’t want to be a part of it.
You can’t stress enough the importance of making sure you invest the time and resources to keep those that have been there for you from the beginning. Otherwise, odds are you are only keeping people who want to use you for what you have and will be gone just like that when they feel you don’t offer anything anymore.