Bamboo Tree Thinking

THE Chinese Bamboo Tree can tell us a lot about business.

It can grow up the side of a skyscraper in just weeks, is very versatile and has a lot of uses.

But if this sounds like an overnight success then think again because it is anything but. The tress grows for five years underground before its spectacular appearance.

In this way it is like many businesses that look like an overnight success but are nothing of the sort. There have been thousands of unseen hours of hard graft behind the scenes.

Safaraz takes the Bamboo tree story as a comforter during tough times as it gives him hope that hard work will eventually bring its rewards.

When a business becomes established and starts to grow one set of problems is replaced by another.

‘Starting a business is not the same as scaling a business,’ and Safaraz says that getting to the next level can be even more difficult.

It requires greater focus on systems and processes as these can be scaled in the way that people cannot.

Businesses founders often find growth emotionally challenging for it means letting go, allowing others to make decisions. It’s a bit like letting a child go off into the world.

By the time that the business has moved into the scaling phase, the founder will have stopped working in the business and moved to working on the business. This can be very hard for people who find delegating difficult.

Change is inevitable and doing the same thing and expecting to get a different result is a sign of madness. IF something is not working then whilst persistence is important, so also, is the recognition that it might be time to try something different.

But one thing that never changes is the need for customers, enough of them and the right ones.

‘Without customers you do not have a business.’