This is my first official Blog entry for the soon to launch, Roots Up Collective. As I enter the new realm of “Business Owner” and “Entrepreneur”, I am a strong mix of excited and nervous. Excited to be continuing my love for supporting individuals and organizations in their pursuit of financial and personal success but nervous about just how many we can help with limited time and only 365 days in a year. But I think that is a good thing to be nervous about. At launch, we will get these journeys started and get our clients on a path of discovery, gathering of tools, vision of the destination ahead and… what is important to me… a lot of fun and laughter along the way.
For this blog, I want to talk about the name.
Why Roots Up Collective? It really comes down to a lifetime theme for me both in my personal life and professional life. “Get to the root of the problem” or “Root cause”. Beginning efforts and collaborations referred to as “Grass Roots”. It goes on and on. Not just with our personal and professional lives but in so many things around us. I am a very visual learner so let’s look at an analogy.
Plants – I come from a very long line of farmers and green thumbed relatives. I myself, did not inherit that green thumb. Mine is a little more yellowish. I do not kill all plants I attempt to grow but I do not seem to ever see full flourishing flora and fauna on my own. I then have to seek out the help of those with the green thumbs. In learning about plant life, it really is all about the root health. I just watched a recent YouTube about plant roots and there were two quotes from the green thumb guy that really hit home.
The first one pretty much speaks for itself.
“When the top of your plant starts to look bad as in no more growth, no sheen etc. … check the roots”
Within our businesses and organizations, sometimes we are so busy with our heads down in survival mode, we forget to look up and really look at the “stems, leaves, flowers and fruits of our labor. These would be your staff, your facility, your capital assets, your profit margins, your customer or stakeholder loyalty and of course that list can go on and on. An annual assessment of things beyond budget is key to helping you find “root causes” that are keeping you from a healthy growth trajectory. And keep that sheen. You need to shine in a very competitive market.
The second one is a real BAM for me as I have seen it a 1000 times.
“Roots do not die from old age. They die from lack of care and nutrients”
The Covid Business shut downs really exemplified this truth in a horrific wave of closures. So many industries were not given the help or opportunity to pivot (by the way,, I hated hearing that word SO much during the shutdowns. It was Constantly being said. I kind of thought we should remove it from the English dictionary post Covid. Now here I am using it. Go figure!) These businesses and organizations were given no opportunity to redirect and restructure and lost the long battle with minimal help from Government Relief plans. Was heartbreaking to watch and lose beloved businesses and neighbors.
There were industries that had alternative opportunities to look at the root of their business or organization and find new income sources. Basically, new nutrients. We saw restaurants become grocery suppliers with home delivery and curb pick up. We saw retailers that had only focused on brick-and-mortar sales, enter the ecommerce world on a fast track. We saw non-profits that had relied on event gatherings for fundraising, create virtual events and new streams of stakeholder income. We saw a lot of root care and addition of new sources of nutrients and many of these businesses and organizations came out stronger and healthier through that Covid storm than anyone expected.
So that explains the Root part, I hope. We are going to dig in, together, and help you identify the needs. Where does the collective part of the name come in? As much as I’d like to think that I am “The Great Oz’ in this Journey, all knowing, I know I am not. But I have been collecting experts for years on my own professional journey and I am thrilled to be able to pull them in on projects as needed. Are you having investor or stakeholder recruitment issues, let’s get someone to help you plan a strategy. Do you own a restaurant or support a district with restaurants? Let’s pull a team in to help you evaluate you needs and challenges. We have a lot more players on the team and they will be pulled in as needed. I think of them as my Green Thumbs as we all work together to get to the root of your need and bring back your sheen and continued growth and vitality.
Looking forward to growing together!
Rachael Snedecor
Owner and Founder
Roots Up Collective