If you have
ever planted peonies, doted over daffodils or lovingly watered lettuce, you
might know a few things about keeping a garden. However, did you know that the
lessons that gardening can teach you can also apply to starting up a business?
Don’t be Afraid to Get Your Hands Dirty
When it comes to starting a business, you
have to realize that it won’t be as easy as you think. There are times when you
will need to burn the candle at both ends and really work hard to make it
happen. It is this hard work and dedication that really makes your business successful,
just as it takes a lot of elbow grease to pull up weeds and turn over soil.
Don’t be afraid of hard work, just roll up your sleeves and get in there!
Be Always Planting Seeds
Robert Louis Stevenson once said that you should never judge your day by the harvest
that you reap, but rather by the seeds that you plant. In business as well as
gardening, you need to always have an eye towards the future. When you focus on
the end game of your success and start enjoying the benefits of your hard work
from yesterday, you will forget about preparing yourself for tomorrow. Your
focus should always be on planting seeds well to secure a good future harvest.
Vegetables Don’t Grow
Overnight
You
wouldn’t plant your carrot seeds one day and then rush out the next day hoping
to harvest some fully grown carrots! So why would you assume that your small business idea will instantly bring you huge profits right away?
Just like
vegetables growing in the soil, your business needs time to take root and grow
and you might not be able to harvest lots of profits from it for the first few
months or even years. Be patient and let it grow and soon you will feast on its
generous income.
See it as a Pleasure, not
a Chore
Think about
the most beautiful and well maintained gardens that you have seen. The chances
are that their owners enjoy gardening as a relaxing activity and spend a lot of
their free time tending to their garden and improving it. If you love what you
are doing, the results will be so much more impressive.
This
applies to business as well, because you will have the most success if you
truly love the business that you are in. Of course, some days will be hard work
but overall you should feel happy and fulfilled by the work that you are doing,
as this is the best thing to motivate you towards success. You will spend your
days thinking about how lucky you are to make a living doing what you love (however unusual) and
this will inspire you on to great heights.
These are
just a few of the things that your garden can teach you about starting and
running your own successful business.
