How are your personal and business relationships impacting your brand? Is there a positive impact? A negative impact? Or, no impact?

You may have heard that your income is an average of your five closest friends or colleagues? Well, that same concept holds true in the branding process.

So the questions becomes, "Who are your closest colleagues?" And, "What impact do they have on you and your brand?"

Business owners tend to promote their colleagues with whom they have the most contact and whose products they have tried and like. To that end, you impact your colleagues' brands by telling others about them. And, they impact your brand by talking about, recommending and promoting you and your products.

So how do you ensure that you have a surrounded yourself and your brand by colleagues who will reflect positively on you and your business?

Here are 5 steps you can begin implementing today:

• Make a list of your five closest colleagues. If you cannot come up with five colleagues, it is time to start connecting with other business owners.
• Describe your relationship with each of your them. Is it positive, negative or neutral? Which colleagues do you need to strengthen your relationship with? Which colleagues do you need to distance yourself from?
• Identify five business colleagues with whom you would like to build a mutually supportive relationship with during the next 30 days. Who is doing things that impress you, that you would like to be associated with, and that are highly visible in your industry?
• Determine one thing that you can do to connect with each of these colleagues that will positively impact the growth of their business. Some ideas include an interview with them, affiliate product promotion, product review, introduction to another colleague, a testimonial, a link to their site, a referral, commenting about them on a forum, or posting on their blogs.
• Outline a plan of action that you will begin implementing today to connect with new colleagues as well as to reshape current relationships.

You will benefit greatly by surrounding yourself by respected business colleagues. Your prospects and clients will associate you with your colleagues' brands, activities and reputation. This is one of the times that you will forego immediate revenue for long-term wealth.