When I discuss business strategies I often talk about “planting seeds”. This metaphor brings me back to the sunflower. When I plant sunflowers in my garden, I start with one little seed. I plant it, I water it…but it doesn’t always grow. Sometimes it’s a faulty seed. Sometimes the squirrels dig them up and eat them before they sprout. Sometimes, it sprouts and it becomes a treat to some small animal looking for something tender to eat. This is why I will plant many seeds. Just like your business, you can’t only use one strategy. What if it doesn’t work? What if the squirrel of competition eats it? What if your account gets hacked and you only had one social media platform to count on? The importance of diversifying is as important as planting many seeds.
Once the seeds sprout and grow a little, you might have to thin them out. If you leave all of them, they will be too crowded and will probably fall over because of overcrowding. Just like your business, you’ll have to thin out what isn’t serving you anymore. You have to learn to let go of the extras that add stress without any return.
Throughout the summer, you will have to water and care for your sunflower plants. They will grow, just like your business will grow if you work at it. And sometimes, you will do nothing at all, and it will grow just the same. If it rains, if the sun shines bright, it will be smooth sailing. But sometimes, it will be difficult. Sometimes it will get so hot and sunny that you will need to water often. Sometimes it will rain so much that the plants will flood and you’ll lose a few. Your business might react the same. There are many things that are out of our control but other things we can change if we put our minds to it.
Once the flowers bloom, the sunflowers will be beautiful and bountiful. They will attract bees and butterflies and squirrels and birds. The animals eat the flower heads with such voracity the seeds fall to the ground. This imagery represents the best period in your business. Your sales are booming, customers are telling others about your amazing products and service. That action of telling others is just like the birds dropping the seeds into the ground! They are planting the seeds for you! When these seeds are planted without any effort on your part…that’s how you know you are doing great!
The Fall arrives and the sunflowers are mostly dead. It is important to take a few of these heads and save the seeds for the following year. The rest of the heads are bare and there are no more seeds to be found. Despair not! Even with a handful of seeds, you will be able to re-sow again in the Spring. And to your delight, you will see new growth where no seeds were planted by you! They will grow from the abundance from the previous year…as those seeds fell and endured the harsh winter, sprouted on their own once the ground thawed.
Just like your business, the hard work you put into it now might only be felt later in the season or even the following year. Your satisfied customers will be repeat customers and will bring in their friends and family to your enjoy your products and services. Treat your business like a garden! Plant those seeds, diversify, care for the flowers and keep only what serves you!
Jennifer Geigel 