What Bamboo Teaches Us About Business Breakthrough

I'm fascinated with bamboo.

It started when I lived in Madagascar in a small, thatched-roof hut made of bamboo. When I first arrived at my village, my house wasn’t quite complete and I watched a gentleman go off into the woods with a long knife, cut down bamboo shoots, split them, and use them to build the rest of my house. It was incredible.

And strong.

I had no worries about somebody breaking into my hut with how strong bamboo is.

More recently, I learned about how bamboo grows, and that fascinates me even more. 

A few weeks ago, I went on a hike with my son and his Trail Life troop, and we happend upon a small bamboo grove in the middle of Alcoa, TN. It was unexpected and really cool. I explained to Decklan and his friends the uniqueness of bamboo's growth pattern, and how it's an important analogy for life... and business.

If you didn’t know, bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants on earth. It can grow up to 3 feet per day, or over 20 feet in a single week!

That’s incredible.

But what’s even more incredible is that it takes years of growth underground before bamboo ever breaks through the surface.

Let that sink in for a second.

For years, things are happening below the surface that you can’t see. But it is happening. And when it finally breaks through, the growth is incredibly fast.

It’s easy to be in awe of the growth after the breakthrough. I imagine surrounding plants and trees are envious of it! But it’s important to give respect to the work that was done that nobody could see before the breakthrough ever happened.

That’s often how business is, isn’t it?

We work and we work and we work, and it doesn't always appear like much is happening. But eventually all of that hard work pays off, breakthrough happens, and the subsequent growth and success can often be explosive.

That’s what I want to encourage you with here, especially if you're at the front end of launching a business.

Put in the work now. Make the effort behind the scenes that nobody sees. Trust the process. Because eventually your breakthrough will happen. And when it does, the growth will be significant.

I read an article recently about what it takes to create success in a franchise business, and it made me reflect on these truths about bamboo.

The article is titled "4 Reasons Why Local Entrepreneurship Is the Secret Weapon of Great Franchises." The premise of the article is that franchise success starts at the local level. It’s easy to look at your local HVAC franchise or painting company or restaurant and assume that their success was rapid and automatic. And it is true that partnering with a franchise gives you the tailwind of systems that can accelerate your growth. But much like with bamboo, there’s still a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes before that growth and success is realized.

It all starts at the local level. Forming relationships. Attending community events. Networking with other business owners. Participating in school functions and festivals. Advertising on local radio. Forming partnerships with other businesses in town. That’s the "under the surface" work that leads to eventual growth and success in your business.

So, as you’re looking to start a franchise business — or if you’re already building your business — think about bamboo. Put in the work, build local, and develop the relationships. Breakthrough will eventually happen. It’s inevitable.

And when it does?

Well, there’s every reason to think that the growth and success of your business can be just like that of bamboo.