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Conclusion

When I started writing this book, I wanted it to be just that bit different from the numerous self-help titles that explain in great detail how to do this, or how to achieve that, in business. Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re highly valuable assets for any business leader to engage with, especially in terms of theory and implementation. I’ve read many of them myself and they’ve each provoked thought, discussion and action, as well as feeding my growth mind-set with their insights.

Learning, as you now know, is a central part of my own personal and business development and there’s no doubt in my mind that we all need to spend more time learning. What I’ve discovered, however, is that there are few business books that adopt a belt and braces, down-to-earth approach grounded in the everyday experiences that I’ve been through myself. Through my own mentoring of other SME business owners, I identified a gap in such peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing. Many simply want some good old-fashioned advice so that they can either start, or reset, their business and allow it to grow. Their growth mind-set might currently be akin to an oven set at gas mark 1 (at least that indicates they’ve switched their growth mind-set on and are ready to go it alone). They want to ratchet up to gas mark 10, but they’re scared of turning up the heat too quickly. They’ve made a start but don’t know what to do next because they may have hit a glass ceiling and, as a result, they’re not able to see the way forward towards growth. What they lack is a real person to act as their mentor, a helpful guide with experience, knowledge and wisdom, to see them through those early stages of the business with ambitions to scale up.

That’s why I wanted this book to be experiential, as opposed to theoretical – at the end of the day, although over a period of time I’ve established a number of successful businesses, I’m still a ‘normal’ person (with the normal hang-ups and loads of flaws). I wasn’t creating unicorn enterprises promising to change the world, but I did want to change my world for those nearest and dearest to it. I’m no different to the chap you’ll see in your local pub one night supping on a pint (there’s good chance it could be me, if it’s followed by several more), or going to the match at the weekend. I’m no Richard Branson or Jeff Bezos, although all credit to them for what they’ve achieved. However, when I was starting out, such iconic role models could have alienated me from my own dreams and aspirations because I could never compare with the billionaires, so why bother in the first place? That’s a great achievement for them but not everybody will be a billionaire. Of course, I’m not suggesting you can’t become a billionaire after reading this book, but I think for most of us, if we’re really honest, what we’d like most is to be successful, fulfilled and happy. Oh yes, and being a multi-millionaire will do nicely too!

I’m certain that you’d like to earn more money, have a better lifestyle and, probably, you’d love to be a lot less stressed. That’s why I hope this book will help you on the first steps of that journey. The vast majority of the book has been drawn from my own direct and personal experience. I wanted to reflect my business narrative arc in a way that could relate to any SME business leader who wants to emerge from their current doldrums, wishing they could reconnect with their dream and see their enterprise ultimately grow and scale up. I had the same aspirations when I began my first business, and after a period of struggling and not seeing the results I was aiming for, I knew I couldn’t do it on my own. I needed to seek out mentors who’d trodden a similar path and who had overcome obstacles. I yearned to discover what was good – no, great – practice over standard practice, to correct common mistakes I was making in my business without realising I’d made them. I wanted to know my purpose – what got me out of bed in the morning and how I could pass on that passion and enthusiasm to the people that worked for me. Learning from others, reading books, listening to podcasts and talks was the key to that. Until then, I’d never really made the link between the value of learning and implementing those lessons in my business. I quickly began to love learning with an eagerness that never ceases as time passes. It soon dawned on me that learning was, and still is, absolutely core and organic to business growth and development. Not only did I learn so much about myself and my values, but the business also started to grow as result. I began to build a business populated with people who were completely in alignment with me, the business and its values, vision and mission, and because I’d sorted out the problem of recruiting the right people, they understood and executed its strategies with perfect precision. Learning turbo-charged my business growth and focused it with absolute clarity on being ultimately able to serve its customers.

In the face of growing globalisation, trade wars and uncertainty, starting or growing an SME can seem like a daunting activity, and understandably so. That’s no reason to give up on your hopes and dreams for creating a better life for yourself, your family and the communities in which you operate. Obstacles will always present themselves and they can either block your path or present opportunities. But you can learn how to avoid and circumvent them. When you find yourself stuck and not knowing which way to turn, there’s always someone who will help you. They might have written a book, produced a podcast or be a mentor as part of a group. One thing you can be certain of is that they have walked in the same shoes as yours. When my business faced down one of the biggest economic crises in recent history, we didn’t do that alone. Having a growth mind-set and the willingness to learn helped navigate the difficulties, and learning from others and expanding our horizons brought new perspectives in being able to scale up the business in ways previously unimaginable.

SMEs, like yours, are the economic backbone of the nation and it’s in all our interests to help each other thrive through sharing our knowledge and experience. Whatever you experience, learn along the way, cherish it, nurture it and, most of all, embrace the journey with an open heart and arms, and a growth mind-set. Who knows, someone, someday, just might ask you for help, and that will be an achievement in itself worth celebrating.