Reilly Newman | Imagine your business as a tree. The roots of your business have found a strong footing in the soil and are getting proper water. The roots are able to grow and avoid obstacles under the surface to reach water and minerals. This is great because it means your business has found a source of revenue and can survive. As any mature business owner knows, cash flow (like water) is key to survival.
The water your business finds can be from savings, a loan, an investor, or revenue from sales. That is great because this capital is fuel for your business. However, for your business to truly grow, it needs more than water. This has been proven many times by businesses that receive investments and fail. They burn through their cash and the business devours all of the money. No money is like no water.
The business is a system, like a tree. It definitely needs water, but it also needs to photosynthesize to reach its full potential. Your tree’s leaves spread out far to intake carbon dioxide, water, and energy from the sun to transform into sugars that feed the tree. Your business needs this other rejuvenating activity. This activity is called brand.
Through brand, your business will be able to reach its full potential because just as photosynthesis pulls in other nutrients that help the tree produce energy to grow, your brand creates by-products that create further growth.
In nature, growth begets growth. The same goes for your business. As it grows from revenue and brand, it typically leads to further growth. Like a tree that outgrows the surrounding trees, it increases its potential by taking in more sunlight and blocking out the other trees. The other trees are cast in the shadow of the healthy taller, more full trees and their growth is stunted.
Sure they may still have cash flow, but will never reach the heights of the taller trees around them because of sun and nutrients being blocked out of their reach. This is like a small business competing with a large brand that is taking in all the attention and growth.
In trees and plants, photosynthesis is the way for leaves to process valuable resources like sunlight and carbon dioxide. When it comes to the photosynthesis of your business, these elements in business terms. For example, carbon dioxide is the feedback you receive from your audience and the benefits of listening to your market. It is what you breathe. The “sunlight” is the awareness your brand obtains that helps your business grow. The more your business grows, the more sunlight(awareness) you have the potential to absorb.
The more you have of these two vital elements, the better you’re able to convert the nutrients from the soil and water into energy that grows your business. The more you grow as a business — thanks to your brand — the more your brand is able to further grow your business.
What happens if your business is caught in the shadow of a larger business? Just as another larger tree can absorb all the glorious sunlight, your brand can either be stunted or it can be transplanted to an area where it can thrive. A proper “transplant” is when your business is able to pivot and reposition itself in the market. Yes, different soil and location perhaps, but also it may be in an area with much better sun exposure where your brand will be able to really stand out. Absorbing as much as possible and helping your business grow to its full height.
My main point in this metaphor is to show how your business and brand is a system. Just as nature works in systems, our business is a system that is interwoven with brand. Once we acknowledge this and respect this “natural law” we can see how our businesses grow by leveraging our need for cash flow as well as the external intake from our environments and our brands.
