The Business of Trees

Posted by Rachel Flower / February 16th, 2017 / No responses

As those of you who have followed us for a while may know, the name Serenwood comes from the Welsh word seren meaning ‘star’, and the word ‘wood’ being used to represent a community of trees – whether they be seedling, sapling or a mighty oak. Our vision is to help businesses be the best they can be, to support them with growth or to ensure they are on a solid foundation, and we tailor our service to suit the individual business and the point they are at on their journey. 

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But today, our name has taken on a new significance for me. Today I learnt that the roots of trees which are growing alongside one another, interconnect.

More than that, the trees use those interconnected roots to help support each other. So should one of the group of trees be failing, the others will send it nutrients to help it thrive. Research has shown that one tree knows where its own roots end and where another’s begin. So this help and support is not accidental, it is given willingly, with a sense of community: we trees are stronger together.

 

It doesn’t end there. The next time you are walking through a wood, look up.

Once the trees are growing and expanding, instead of pushing against one another, where possible, a tree will instead extend its strongest, thicker boughs out into the open space, leaving only its softer, more supple branches to mingle with its neighbours. A community of trees weathering the storms in harmony rather than battling for supremacy.

I find this so incredibly moving….and it led me back to our name and what Serenwood means to me.

First, here at Serenwood we are a community of like-minded professionals who have all come together craving a different way of delivering our skills and also, we are not ashamed to say, a more meaningful life balance. So, roots intertwined, supporting one another, we extend and pass on our skills, encourage each other on and respond to another’s call to arms whether that be to meet a professional deadline or a personal challenge.

Second, whilst we are not exclusively female at Serenwood, we have to date attracted more women than men (perhaps due to the law as a profession being particularly inflexible towards working mums).Our founder Rachel is passionate about supporting female entrepreneurs and spends a portion of her time coaching and mentoring other women in business. So in this respect, the trees set a wonderful example: women at work need to raise each other up, move forward as a team and not locked in competition, help each other with the delicate balance of priorities, celebrate each other’s achievements.

(Until I met Rachel and the team at Serenwood, I had not appreciated just how powerful and motivating this tribal approach to business can be.)

Finally, as a growing SME ourselves we have lately been discussing the many challenges faced by small businesses in our ever-changing world and in particular, we have been considering how we can help give some currency and value to the idea of skills swapping. Need some help from a commercial director but struggling for budget? No problem  – maybe you can help us with sales techniques or some social media training? Need help with some financial planning and forecasting? Wonderful –– we know someone who can help who could really do with advice on their IT infrastructure in return….and so it goes on: let’s build our larger community of growing entrepreneurs as we reach for the skies together!

In that vein, we’ve recently launched our “Get Savvy” Business Club which is for small, growing businesses to come together and learn how to develop strong foundations, access peer to peer support and get educated on all things essential to building businesses. Our emphasis is on making it fun and interactive and getting access to information which is practical and applicable.

Growing businesses and your own professional development need not be combative. It can be fun, lighted hearted and meaningful and collaborative all at the same time.

If any of this strikes a chord with you, then please get in touch at hello@serenwood.co.uk. We always love to talk.

By Kerry Gibbons, Consultant

Ps. Special thanks to the March 2017 edition of Country Living for this very valuable lesson on the important business of trees!