Getting scrappy is a mindset that’s hard to find and easy to lose, but it can be the key to success. It’s an attitude that allows you to fight for what you believe in, regardless of obstacles and resistance. It’s a mentality that makes you tougher than your fears and excuses, and stronger than the fatigue and resistance you’ll face in your quest to achieve your goals.
There are a number of ways to be scrappy in business and in life, but it all comes down to demonstrating a commitment to what you want to accomplish and showing determination in the face of challenges and obstacles. Being scrappy is a mindset that will get you past anything that gets in your way, whether it’s your personal health, financial situation, or even the competition.
Being scrappy is about embracing the idea of taking risks, being a bit reckless and having the courage to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. This attitude is especially helpful when you’re in a startup that doesn’t have the resources or power that bigger organizations do.
Larger organizations could benefit from implementing this mindset within their hiring and development processes. It could help them to attract creative, nimble employees who can quickly learn new skills and adapt when needed. It can also help to empower those employees by creating an environment that values scrappiness and encourages them to trust their abilities without relying on a rigid formula for success.
A common example of this is the scrappy attitude that startups exhibit when they’re a startup: They don’t have the resources and infrastructure that larger companies have, so they can work with less formality and move forward with grit, passion and determination. It’s a mindset that helps them to solve problems in ways that aren’t possible for larger institutions and it can give them a competitive edge as they build their brand and grow.
The scrappy attitude can be a useful one to adopt in other aspects of your life as well, from the way you approach social media and content marketing to the way you manage your time as a leader. The following women business leaders have embraced this attitude and used it to their advantage in various ways:
1. Be a part of an affiliate program
If you are a small local business or a startup, you’ve likely heard the term “affiliate marketing.” This is a high return on investment strategy that involves letting your fans post content about your brand on their social media pages for a fee. This is a scrappy marketing strategy because it’s incredibly inexpensive and doesn’t require upfront expenses like other promotional content strategies.
2. Use short-form video
If your small business or startup doesn’t have a large budget for traditional advertising, you can still generate a lot of valuable user-generated content. This can be done by partnering with a network of social media influencers or by leveraging your own blog to repurpose testimonials and other content that you’ve already created.