Growth Is a Mindset – Plus a Dose of Action!

Most entrepreneurs usually have a reason for being. Whether conceived or imposed upon them, there is always a motive for existing. Some entrepreneurs lost their jobs and needed a means of income. Some left their jobs to satisfy the entrepreneurial FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Some are born entrepreneurs (if there is anything like that), and there are probably many other categories. Similarly, most entrepreneurs usually have an objective/goal in mind. Some need a business that can sustain their daily needs, a few want to build global enterprises, and I would guess the more significant majority are somewhere in between. If you are in doubt, ask yourself if you are in constant pursuit of growth for your business or status quo works just fine. If your goal is to keep your company’s growth contained, like some shinises, then this article is probably not for you. And there is nothing wrong with this. Let me make that clear. However, if you are building for scale, national or global dominance, then the growth concept must not be alien to you.

It is unbelievable how many companies and entrepreneurs approach growth with brute force. They want to will or fight themselves into growth. Like most things in life, the battle starts in the mind. As an entrepreneur, the desire to grow must be entrenched deep within. You want it. You desire. You dream it. You talk about it. A growth mindset is a continuous improvement consciousness combined with a deliberate attempt to push it from the mind to existence. I once read the story of a young man who convinced a business owner to give him a cleaning contract for the office windows. With an upfront part payment from the business owner, he purchased a few cleaning supplies and went to work. He cleaned the windows meticulously for a week. The following week, the business owner observed that someone else came in his stead to clean the windows, wearing a company uniform. Walking into the street, the business owner noticed a few other people with the same uniform cleaning other windows along the road. Not far away, he saw the young man entering another office in a corporate suit to get a cleaning contract. When that young man first stepped into that office, he probably had no idea if he would get the contact, but I do not doubt that this was a young man that would risk everything to grow his trade. The story depicts what a growth mindset is all about. Two women could be selling roasted plantain on the street next to each other today, and in five years, they have entirely different realities. One is getting old and making an honest living from selling the roasted plantains. At the same time, the other has opened ten other roasting stands, added other products like peanuts and drinks, and put up a small pavilion with chairs for her customers. It’s all about the mindset.

It’s easy to get complacent once a few successes are recorded. Celebrate the wins. They are essential for personal and corporate morale. But get up the following day and ask, what next? A significant sacrifice of a growth mindset is the willingness to plough back the company’s profit into its growth. It’s putting your money where your mouth (“mind”) is. In more precise words, you must focus the company’s resources on growing the company, not buying flashy cars, travelling, and spending frivolously to tell the world about your rising status. Unfortunately, this is one of the banes of entrepreneurship in Africa. Delayed gratification is not a concept that many understand. It seems the moment Africans make their first thousand dollars, neighbours, friends, and religious centres must know that they are finally made. Remember, growing the company starts with the mindset, but there is an element of action where the entrepreneur continues to build to attain the growth imagined.