Expand your world
“Time out of the business takes us out of our inward focus and opens us to new ideas, new people and fresh ways of seeing the world.”
I am writing this in the plane home from attending the Global Youth Entrepreneurship summit in Nairobi. As a typical entrepreneur – always busy, often head down, with an inward view that focuses on caring for the business, it not often (enough) that I get four days to simply down tools, calm the brain and listen to the wider world around me
And what these four days (two days travel and two days of conference) reminded me, is the benefits that time away from the business brings. More than a simple mindset refresh, it’s an opportunity to listen and observe, learn and grow, connect and collaborate.
I listened to speakers from countries as diverse as Spain, Trinidad, UK, Kenya, Nigeria and USA. I was educated on a wide range of topics from diversity and inclusion to affordable finance; climate adaptation to technology and innovation. I observed the magnificence of successful young entrepreneurs from all over the world sharing inspiring stories of innovation and resilience. What I heard was that there is such a lot of good work and dedication, and huge amounts of success happening!
I have a strategy taught to me many years ago by my sister in law – which is that there is always something to learn, so when I come across a session that feels ‘boring’ or ‘not relevant’ (which is possible even at a great conference) I remind myself of this and attend closely. On this occasion I pushed through ‘boring’ on a session that turned out to be a potential gamechanger for Fetola! Had I responded to my initial feeling and walked out or switched off, I would have missed that!
Conferences often get measured on their networking value – who did you connect with and what collaborations did you build? But by taking time out to relax and immerse in the experience meant that I could really connect with people from across the world and build new friendships. Connecting was more than simply a card swopping process and meant that parting was a warm embrace. I made friends with like minds from Armenia, Mongolia, Uganda, Ghana, Brazil and more. Each new connection was an opportunity to learn different ways of doing things and opened me up a wider horizon, fresh thinking and new ways of working.
Did you know, for example, that Armenia is best known for it’s Apricots, harvested in June, and that it has a rich Orthodox Christian culture? Did you also know that Mongolia has a strong ecosystem of livestock farmers that still operate in the old way as herders, with a mixture of yak, cattle, goats, sheep and chickens? Or that it’s their goats that are of greatest value – for their cashmere wool?
And so, I return from my four days richer in spirit, stronger in friendships, wiser in the technical challenges of youth entrepreneurship and inspired by the stories of innovation and youth success. And as a bonus I got a chance to share my excitement about the potential for circular economy thinking to expand the success of entrepreneurs across the world – creating businesses that are profitable, people friendly and planet positive.
Perhaps this week is an opportunity to set time in our diaries for regular ‘conferences’ and learning opportunities that take us out of our inward focus and open us to new ideas, new people and fresh ways of seeing the world.
