Inflation, economic growth, and the opportunity for magic.

No one can predict what will happen in the 2022 business world, but we are all feeling the flutter of growth energy and want to grab onto it for our own gain. Inflation is driving costs up and at the same time, there are new opportunities with the economic growth numbers we are seeing.  When I talk to my fellow entrepreneurs these conflicting factors are creating uncertainty in the future and triggering fear. 

How do we tap into this energy of growth and use it to stabilize our own businesses?  

By feeding our roots.  

When there is uncertainty, you don’t want to grow the reach of your branches farther than your roots can bear. Strengthening your roots allows the whole of your business to grow in a sustainable way. It’s hard to see the root growth at first, as it’s invisible until suddenly your branches are bearing more fruit than you could have ever imagined.

Magic does not need to be sexy to be powerful and magic that feeds the roots is proof of that.  This business spell is not flashy or wicked, nor does it need a full moon or cauldron to be powerful. This simple spell helps you get to the roots of your business and your core, and helps you understand what needs to be fed with your attention and efforts. Do this exercise with your leadership team, or your stakeholders, and together plot the course of how you will take care of the foundation of what feeds you all.

Start with your original vision and mission statement. If you don’t have that, pull out your original sales material and first bestseller list. Pull up the past 3 years’ sales reports by the service or items you offer and by the customers or type of customers that buy your products.

For an extra kick of energy, light a Stability, Prosperity, and Money Draw Blessed Herbal Candles in the center of the room or table. Set the intention at the beginning of the meeting that you are pulling in the energy of growth to feed the roots of your business and strengthen your stability.

Appoint someone the scribe or story keeper. Start with telling the story of why this business started. What is the core customer, product, or service that began it all? Stay basic with the story. Allow your team to ask a few questions about the initial foundation of your business.

Invite the next senior leader to talk about what the foundation of the business was when they came on and what changed along the way. What were the big wins? What core changes happened with the customer base and product base? Then the next senior leader and the next until you get to what your core products are today.

Review your sales reports and look at what has and has not changed in your customer and product base. Together as a team, define what your foundation as a company is. One by one, talk about the foundation in each department. There is no wrong answer as these are the current roots of your company.

Together, define what is missing from this foundation and how these roots need to be fed. Ask each other how you can grow your roots and foundation to be a stronger business.

Together decide if these are worthy projects for this year. Do these things need to be in place before your larger business goals can be achieved? Who will champion the care and feeding of each project? What can you gain from strengthening this foundation?

When you are complete with this meeting, turn these notes from the scribe into an image of a tree for everyone to see. Show the roots that need to be fed and how they connect to the branches of growth everyone is excited to see. Have everyone sign this image and choose the foundation they will be responsible for feeding. Reference this image at every meeting as what you focus on grows. Light your candles or even bring in a potted tree that gets tended to by your team. Create a measurement for success that tells you that each root branch is being cared for and how it shows in the outer branch of your business. That last step of accountability moves this intention work into results-oriented magic. 

Is this good business? Yes! And this is intention work and this is magic! You too can be a magical entrepreneur.