{"id":4027,"date":"2024-09-23T11:53:37","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T09:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/how-business-growth-is-like-parenting\/"},"modified":"2024-09-23T12:01:21","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T10:01:21","slug":"how-business-growth-is-like-parenting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/how-business-growth-is-like-parenting\/","title":{"rendered":"How business growth is like parenting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Growing a business and learning to step back at a certain point for success to flow is similar to raising a child, Julie Perkins tells Lisa Tilstra, host of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/julie-perkins-learning-the-impact-of-letting-go\/id1584307276?i=1000630826540\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make Life Less Difficult podcast<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Julie Perkins: Learning the Impact of Letting Go\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/5O0DyO8B9jbUi6RHe7mrnX?si=f0661733ba1d4f4a&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhen you\u2019re passionate about something, which you are as an entrepreneur, it\u2019s that natural human instinct to hold onto what you love. You want to care for it, this baby-infant-child. It\u2019s exactly the same pattern with a business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wyseminds<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> founder knows a thing or two about growing companies. Brought up by entrepreneur parents who built a billion pound business while never losing sight of their core values, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/having-a-clear-purpose-is-in-my-dna-and-should-be-in-yours-too\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">business growth is in her DNA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The wisdom she draws from her background and success in expanding the once UK-based Specsavers into the Netherlands is what she now passes on to female founders through training, support and coaching, along with her team at Wyseminds. It starts with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/growth-begins-with-you-part-3-getting-to-know-you\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">knowing yourself first<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, she says, then understanding the patterns of growth which are akin to the various stages of parenting.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Growing your precious entity: the various stages<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First there\u2019s the <\/span><b>gestation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> stage when your great business idea forms, gestates, takes shape and expands, before kicking to be let loose into the world as a newborn company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then there\u2019s the <\/span><b>early days<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> stage when everyone\u2019s cooing and clucking and running round meeting its demands. The team\u2019s happy to muck in and help nurture your precious entity.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The hungry baby business grows bigger and things get busier. The challenge now is to find enough customers to sate its appetite.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After baby\u2019s <\/span><b>first steps <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">everyone has a party to celebrate. But for the founder, there\u2019s no time to nurse a hangover. The business is a toddler now \u2013 noisier and more demanding than ever. You meanwhile are running on empty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next is the <\/span><b>sleep deprivation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> stage when your business regularly wakes you in the night reminding you of things you\u2019ve forgotten to do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And soon you\u2019re at the<\/span><b> tipping point <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stage.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s when the printer you fixed yesterday chews up and spits out an important document just moments before a big meeting. Your current place of residence is Hotel <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/get-out-of-your-own-way-on-the-path-to-business-success\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hamsterwheel<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a place you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Making things hard for everyone<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exhausted and demotivated, you realise your business is as misaligned as a parent trying to force feed their teenager milk from a bottle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s the result of putting \u201cyourself at the centre of everything\u201d, says Julie, who recounts this stage in her own journey. \u201cAt the same time as making it hard for myself, I was making it hard for these incredible people that surrounded me in the company.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The women entrepreneurs who approach Wyseminds for advice are all at the tipping point stage and eager to find more effective ways to grow their business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou kid yourself you\u2019re still loving what you do because you feel guilty. You don\u2019t want to fall out of love with your business. You\u2019re gripped by a natural human instinct to hold onto what you love \u2013 it\u2019s your baby and you feel disloyal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The good news is there is a better way!<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The better way and a new role for the founder<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First and foremost, Julie offers the following advice: \u201cMake yourself redundant.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the <\/span><b>stepping back<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stage. Just as all parents face this when their adolescents seek independence, it\u2019s the same for founders. Parents need to trust they\u2019ve done a good enough job making their values known to their child so there\u2019s a strong foundation they can return to when times are tough. So too, the entrepreneur must be sure the people she hires to run aspects of her business also know what she\u2019s about.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Values and purpose clearly communicated to everyone from team members and suppliers to your customers, is how you achieve this. They will keep your essence at the core so you can step back with confidence and focus on the bigger picture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s the <\/span><b>space to breathe <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stage. When problems arise, you\u2019re there to advise and support, just as many parents are with their adult children. At this point, you\u2019re finally able to check out of Hotel Hamsterwheel and hop aboard a new role as the rudder your business so urgently needs. Just one role, mind \u2013 the rudder. Not rudder, bow, stern, wheel, sails and everything else in between!<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more about Julie\u2019s approach visit <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wyseminds<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/contact\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contact us<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> here.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Wyseminds <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/yourjourney\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your Journey programme<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> could help you step off the hamster wheel. Sign up for your free trial <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/yourjourney.wyseminds.com\/registration\/?_ga=2.37328864.1757694397.1694619770-385781996.1693406016&amp;_gl=1*8qxzlh*_ga*Mzg1NzgxOTk2LjE2OTM0MDYwMTY.*_ga_26FFMQYXTC*MTY5NDYxOTc2OS42LjEuMTY5NDYxOTgzOS42MC4wLjA.\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Growing a business and learning to step back at a certain point for success to flow is similar to raising a child, Julie Perkins tells Lisa Tilstra, host of the Make Life Less Difficult podcast. \u201cWhen you\u2019re passionate about something, which you are as an entrepreneur, it\u2019s that natural human instinct to hold onto what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[60,36,229,230,228,200],"class_list":["post-4027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcasts","tag-business-growth","tag-entrepreneur","tag-growth-stages","tag-lisa-tilstra","tag-make-life-less-difficult","tag-podcast"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4027"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4057,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4027\/revisions\/4057"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}