Growing a Business is Like Tending a Garden

This morning I was watering the garden and enjoying the deep warmth of the sun. It was especially delicious after a week-long cold snap that punctuated the official end of summer. As I stood with the gentle spray showering the breadth of beautiful red Salvia, a young male Broad-tailed Hummingbird joined me. A regular visitor to our garden, he would hover and partake of one blossom, then glide over to another and another, visiting the entire colorful feast of flowers. At one point he was so close to me, as I stood motionless with hose in hand that his wing brushed against my right knee. We have spent many mornings together and he is used to me being there during his breakfast.

Some months ago I remember seeing the Hummingbirds visit the garden only to be disappointed. We were all eagerly awaiting those now abundant blooms. I can still feel the excitement I experienced when the very first flower appeared on the Salvia, and I knew it wouldn't be much longer. Patience is all the more challenging when it's a matter of hospitality and you know someone is in need.

It was about that same time that we began our new home-based internet marketing business. I still recall the steep learning curves, trying to absorb everything I could. Both a business and a garden take time, attention, effort and care. Not everything works, not everything thrives, and not everything makes it. There is pruning and weeding and lots of tending to be done. And results sometimes take longer than we would like. More than water and nutrients, there is often amending and adjusting, and responding to things unforeseen and beyond our control. Patience and persistence are essential. One must keep going throughout the seasons and the varying growth cycles.

We need to pay attention to all kinds of conditions. There are weather forecasts and economic forecasts, and both are very limited in terms of accuracy and helpfulness, I think. There are dormant times and abundant times. Still, it is important to be as aware as possible of all aspects of our gardens and our business.

In her book, New Mexico Gardener's Guide, Judith Phillips writes, "Why were the gardens of a place as dramatically different as New Mexico so similar to those of New York and Indiana? I took classes that taught me that if I worked hard enough and long enough, I could grow almost anything I wanted to grow here." Indeed, her realization about the "...amazing bounty of beautiful plants [that] prospered out in the desert and mountain foothills..." is not unlike the importance of acquiring knowledge, developing the relevant skill-sets and mind-set, and working long and hard in a business. If one works "hard enough and long enough" a fledgling business can also grow. Still, we must have knowledge of what works and what does not, and we need to be nimble in responding to changing conditions. We have to work smart enough. It helps to have teachers and mentors and to work with others who are committed to cultivating the same things you are.

Ultimately, there is nothing quite like the joy and satisfaction of having a meal on the portal and gazing at an abundant garden being visited by birds and butterflies; or the rewarding feeling of knowing you have happy customers who have benefited and are pleased with your products and services. Happy Harvest!

Linda Compton has a BA in Philosophy; a Masters degree in Gerontology; and a Master of Divinity degree. She was ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1987. She has 30 years combined professional experience in multi-national corporate management, non-profit leadership, the interfaith movement and Philanthropy. Currently her passion is Internet marketing and mentoring. http://WealthWithHeart.net

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Growing a Business is Like Tending a Garden