The Dangers of a Scarcity Mindset

Welcome back to another episode of our entrepreneurship and leadership tips series. In this episode, Earl Foote, CEO and Founder of Nexus IT, talks about the dangers of a scarcity mindset.


He reviews the unethical and dishonest behavior he’s personally seen and the benefits of adopting an abundance mindset instead. Here’s what he had to say:

We have a very significant problem with a scarcity mindset in our local business community. This may offend some, but that’s okay. It’s meant to make a difference and get us all to look at what we do in a different way so we can collectively create a more thriving economy.”

He goes on to talk about his friend’s recent experience with others having a scarcity mindset…

I have a friend that creates incentive travel packages for businesses. We were having a conversation recently and he’s spent significant amounts of time designing some really amazing packages for different businesses around town who have then taken his designs and implemented them directly in-house without compensating him in any way for the time he spent designing them.”

How does this scarcity mindset impact the local business community?

Essentially, a scarcity mindset creates a long-lasting impact wherein local businesses aren’t able to bring in revenue for the value they provide, and in turn, they can’t invest back into their own business, their employees, and the community. Earl encourages others to adopt an abundance mindset instead…

“I see this type of thing happen in our local business community very often. It doesn’t feel right,it feels unethical, I would encourage that we all be honest and keep our personal and business integrity intact. When you make people go through hundreds or even tens of thousands of dollars of design time for you, then you rip off their idea or use it as a bargaining chip, it really is unethical and dishonest.

He continues…

“Of course, you need to vet your options, but be honest with vendors and partners in the process. If you’re unethical in your personal life, it will show up in your business – in the way you treat vendors, partners, and clients. And it will show up in the way they treat you back. I encourage, instead, to adopt an abundance mindset. If you’re not willing to pay fairly for what others provide your organization, you’re going to attract the same – clients who will not compensate you fairly for the value that you add. “

If vendors and partners aren’t paid fairly, they can’t continue to add value. Earl speaks up about this…

“For vendors and partners to be the best they can be and add the most value they can to your organization, they need to be paid fairly and they should make a reasonable profit – that way, they can reinvest into their company to improve their processes, procedures, training, education, etc. They can provide a better corporate culture, lifestyle for employees, and ultimately, give back to the community.”

Questions? Get in touch with us. In the meantime, stay tuned for the next episode!