Build relationships, not transactions.

Dominique Virchaux is one of those good and intelligent friends that life gifts us. He represents one of the largest and most important multinational executive recruitment firms, and for a few years, he took on the responsibility of managing the operations in France. During a coffee on the Champs-Élysées, he gave me advice that I’ll never forget: “Ricardo, if you want to build a long-term business, focus on building relationships, not on closing transactions.” Nothing could be truer, nothing more effective.

I know that every entrepreneur, especially at the beginning, lives with the stress of costs and, therefore, the pressure to generate sales. It's normal. I've been there. It’s not easy. But the reality is that it’s essential to step away from that constant, almost obsessive, transactional mindset to focus all our attention and energy on creating value . Value is what will truly take us far, what will allow us to differentiate ourselves, and, in turn, what will enable us to establish relationships. Only value creates relationships.

Value is generated when we can identify a problem and solve it like no one else. This solution is always a combination of vision, team, processes, and innovation. But the best part is that it can only be achieved if we do what we're passionate about. No one can execute at an extraordinary level doing something they don’t love. No one becomes the best at something doing something they hate or don’t understand. No one becomes the best just by doing something for the sake of it. For this reason, we can say that building relationships will not only make our businesses more profitable but, above all, will make us much happier because we’ll be doing what we truly love.

Thank you, Dominique! Let’s hope that this advice in Paris brings happiness and wealth to many around the world.