Summer is the time for gardens and beautiful flowers… that is if you plan, plant and pull. You have to plan where your garden will be, how large it will be, what fruits and vegetables will make the most sense for your soil, your local weather and your taste preferences.
Each year, in our garden, we plant tomatoes. The variety sometimes changes from year to year, but one thing is for sure, every year we plant tomatoes. I like an occasional tomato but my wife Cathy, daughter Libby and my Mom, love tomatoes. As a matter of fact, the little cherry tomatoes are like popcorn snacks for Cathy and Libby. Tomatoes can be an entire meal for them but not for me or our son John.
In addition to our little tomato patch, we plant a couple of other varieties of vegetables and fruit. We now have a nice selection of strawberry plants, and a small patch of asparagus.
I know these two things to be true, if someone doesn’t tend to the garden, the weeds quickly consume the producing plants and make the harvest a disappointment. Secondly, if in times of draught, someone doesn’t water the plants in the garden early in the morning or later in the day after they are out of the sun, the plant wither and die, ending the hopes for any kind of harvest.
The garden is a great metaphor that points to a couple of my favorite passages in the Bible. The Parable of the Sower lives out each year and the seasons from Ecclesiastes rings true.
Your business is very much a garden. What you choose to sell, produce or offer is based on your talents, your capabilities and your passions mixed with what your prospect and client needs. Much thought and planning needs to go into your offerings and into how you sell and deliver what you offer.
In my mind, the weeds in a garden are the distractions that an entrepreneur faces. Employee challenges, finances and budgeting along with the myriad of everyday cares. Things like family schedules, unexpected happenings and health issues all can become distractions to the businessperson. Managing all of them requires more of the skill of the circus juggler than those of a businessperson. Being a juggler is one of the skills you must master as a business owner.
Sometimes what is thought to be a weed in the garden is actually a volunteer from a previous season or a gift from a bird or other animal to your garden. Careful attention needs to be paid to determine if the plant should be removed or cared for and nurtured. The same is true for your business. An unexpected happening could be a blessing in disguise and open up an entirely new revenue stream.
The lessons that carry over from a little garden to a thriving business are many. Here are a few I suggest that you keep employed.
- Planning and Reflection – Determine your plan, and reflect on it regularly
- Remember the parables – The Parable of the Sower and The Seasons plus any others that resonate with you
- Try something new from time to time – A new offering or new marketing method
- Take time to reflect – What’s working and what’s not
- Nurture – Be sure to nurture your prospects and clients
If I can be of assistance to you with your business (garden), please reach out.
