An entrepreneurial mindset within established businesses will stimulate growth says Sahar Hashemi

An entrepreneurial mindset within established businesses will stimulate growth says Sahar Hashemi

What does Britain need to do to stimulate economic growth? That is the question taxing so many Ministers in Whitehall. But according to Sahar Hashemi, the founder of the Coffee Republic and bestselling business author, they need to start thinking outside the box.

“We all know the obvious, the key to the future of our economy is nurturing entrepreneurship, but what we often forget is that entrepreneurship is not limited only to start ups only,” she said.

“We need to nurture an entrepreneurial mindset within our established businesses so that they don't become dinosaurs from yesteryear but agile innovative powerhouses that can unlock the talent, creativity and know-how of people within them and lead the economy forward.”

Sahar Hashemi is the author of ‘Switched On’ which encourages employees to take on the habits and behaviours of entrepreneurs. She believes that established companies need their employees to act entrepreneurially and make small incremental innovations all the time.  

“We've put entrepreneurs on too much of a pedestal. We need to encourage employees to awaken their creative innovative skills: they’ve all got them but they are being allowed to lie dormant. The real competitive advantage is in awakening the entrepreneurial edge not just to start businesses but to innovate and differentiate in existing ones. That’s where we can distinguish ourselves from counties like China and India and create products that are not so easy to copy,” she said.

“For so many the words entrepreneur or innovator conjures up images of really off the wall people living life on the fringe or cult personality types. But these assumptions are misleading and stop us believing that we too can innovate or make a difference in the workplace.”