Entrepreneurship
6 helpful hints for scaling your business from Matthew Kincaid
The Red Bull Amaphiko Fellow shares tips from his journey of scaling his project, Overcoming Racism
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Hailing from New Orleans, Matthew Kincaid has led anti-racism work for over fifteen years and has been involved in activism his entire life. He founded the organisation, Overcoming Racism, which aims to build more equitable institutions through comprehensive race and equity training. Focusing primarily on education, it equips educators with the tools to build culturally responsive schools and classrooms that promote the development of the next generation of anti-racist agents of change. A Red Bull Amaphiko Fellow since 2017, Matthew spoke about his entrepreneurial journey and the lessons he has gained scaling his social enterprise at the 2019 Red Bull Amaphiko Academy in Durban. Here we look at 6 takeaways from his inspirational couch session.
1. Establish quality over quantity
Especially in the start-up days of an enterprise, it can be difficult to say no to opportunities such as new clients or investment offers, however, it is important to ensure that doing so doesn’t dilute your product or is hindering you from delivering at a level that will ensure your business can to grow.
2. Don’t be afraid to slow down
Emotional and physical fatigue is a real danger when you are so passionate and invested in your project that you forget to take care of yourself. Doing so not only has negative consequences for you individually but also affects your business. It’s important to find things that help you take your attention away from work and allow your mind to recoup.
3. Have mentors that challenge you
While it is important to find mentors who share similar values, journeys and contexts as you, having mentors with different viewpoints from yours allows you to gain insight about yourself and your project from an angle which a mentor that is similar to you may not see. Having someone that tells you what you need to hear, even if you don’t want to hear it is important for personal and professional growth.
4. Always know that you are enough
Impostor syndrome, a psychological pattern where you doubt your own accomplishments and have an internalised fear of being exposed as a fraud can affect even the highest achievers. It’s important not to give in to self-doubt, but rather remember that “you are enough, you are perfectly made”.
5. Know your core principles
As your business grows, you will need to expand your team which invariable means delegating responsibilities. Knowing your and your projects core principles ensures that when you do bring in more people you are able to select the ones which match these principles, allowing you to be confident that your project will continue to grow while maintaining its foundational values.
6. Have a good support system
During hard times it is important to have a strong support structure that you can turn to. Similarly, as your business becomes successful having one helps keep you humble. Aside from keeping you grounded, having a good support system also reminds you of where you came from and where you are going and helps improve mental health and decreases stress.
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