It is Springtime and the flowers and trees have begun to bloom. Winter was difficult for me this year and the sight of fresh flowers in the dawning of a new season provides hope that life will go on and warmth will surround me once again.
A garden is a beautiful creation and each one is as unique as the one who tends it. I often take the easy way out when it comes to my container gardens and landscaping - I purchase plants that have already taken root and blossomed. I have tried planting seeds before without much luck. I really appreciate the patience and care that it takes to cultivate a plant from a seed. I will be eternally grateful to those who possess those qualities, so that the world may enjoy its beauty.
While driving by a freshly planted garden recently, I began to think about my business. It would have been so nice to have someone else hand me a ready made business with contacts and profits and plans for growth in place. The waiting and watching and worrying would have been done for me and the uncertainty of whether it will die or survive would be gone.
Then I really thought about what that would mean.
If I had created my business in the same way that I create my yearly garden, I would have missed so much of the goodness that comes from creating something from nothing. I would have missed the first "seeds" that I planted as I told others about my new business. I would have missed the "glow" I felt that came from confidence and courage and the determination to see it through. I would have missed the encouragement and pats on the back for a job well done. I would have missed the first phone call, the first business cards and the first client's testimony. All of those moments I hold precious and were a vital part of creating a new business. To take an idea and turn it into something that grows everyday is just awesome. I wouldn't have missed it for anything!
I realize that every day I plant new seeds. With every encounter, with every conversation, with every written and spoken word, I plant a new seed for my business. There are days when I see the fruits of my labor come alive. There are days when I am not sure that my business will survive. I have learned that planting is only part of the job. Cultivating, caring and nurturing those sometimes fragile seeds is vital to its survival.
I am the education coordinator for a local women's networking group. For April's item of value I gave out packets of Forget-Me-Not seeds. I told the group that before I can experience growth in my business, I must plant a seed. I must take care of it, nurture it and watch over it carefully and anticipate what it needs. I cannot rely on others doing the work for me and must be diligent in my cultivation of relationships that I enter into. My business will survive if I am careful about the impressions I leave people no matter where I am or what I am doing. If I were to be rude at a retail store, would the witnesses want to do business with me? If I receive a lead and don't follow up on it, will people continue to refer me? What message do I want to send to people - that I will shrivel up and die or that I will blossom into a beautiful Forget-Me-Not. That determination is up to me. I need to take the spirit of renewal that comes with this time of year and focus all of my energy into creating a business that people will not want to forget.
As I head deeper into Spring, I am exploring new ways to freshen my thinking for my business. It is a time of hope and joy and rebirth. My business will benefit from the whisper of new life that the Springtime promises. I am looking forward to the opportunities for growth and can hardly wait until the moment it blossoms into a beautiful garden.
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