I couldn't believe my eyes, seeing my byline and my words in a print issue of Entrepreneur magazine, a decades-old international publication read by so many of my mentors, peers and competitors—and potential customers, as it turns out. A few days after the issue first hit newsstands, my inbox was flooded with biz dev opportunities—other entrepreneurs who appreciated what I'd written and connected with my perspective and wanted to discuss bringing my security company on as their security provider. A few days later, I'd inked my first deal based on the thought leadership column—a CEO who knew he wanted to work with me after reading my column. And that was the first of multiple doors that opened thanks to Grasslands' strategic and relentless thought leadership work on my behalf.