If you want to be rewarded with healthy, delicious and abundant produce, you have to prepare your garden. Proper nutrients, fresh turned soil and essential moisture is all required in order to experience a bumper crop in 2013.

I love gardening!

Not only is gardening a great way to introduce my children to the miracle of producing our own food, but the process itself can teach us many lessons that relate to our businesses. In this quick post, I’m going to break down the essential steps of preparing your garden for a new spring planting, as well as define how you can drag the fresh tilled dirt of your hobby into your business and grow a lucrative cash garden.

6 Ways to Plant a Successful Business

 

 

1) Create a list of the types of plants you would like to grow in your garden.

Define what it is you are going to offer. Is your product or service in high demand? A business, just like a garden, is very personal. Its caretaker wants to grow the fruits and vegetables which he enjoys. But a garden is always healthier when you plant a various selection of plants which compliment each other. Offer something which everyone can enjoy. After a few growing seasons, the demands will become more focused, and you’ll have a better idea of which seeds to sow.

2) Choose a location, if you haven’t already started a garden. 

If you are just starting out, and are on the hunt for a new store front, be sure to take the time to thoroughly study the location. Do you know what you want to sell and what you want your business to be known for? What do your customers look like? These answers will play a large part in choosing a spot to do business. Hangout around potential locations, take notes on the type of individuals walking by. Annotate in a small notebook the busy foot traffic times, and distance from large schools, office buildings, or touristy parts of town. Create an image of your ideal customer, and be on the lookout for passersby who match your vision.

3) Clear the ground in your chosen spot and add nutrients and prepare the soil for hosting new life.

Close your eyes tightly and imagine your business in action. What does it look like? Start decorating your new storefront. Be sure to allow your personality to shine. A business is an extension of its owner. Each intricate detail needs to convey a congruent theme. Appeal to the desires of your perfect customer or client. Add nutrients by designing an environment that is both attractive and easy to navigate. Notice how the sun shines through your new storefront during all hours of the day. Take that into consideration when determining seating arrangements. Examine each detail, and look through the eyes of the customer.

4) Ensure that your seeds receive water daily.

The seeds are your customers. Watering them means to provide them with the constant satisfaction of your service and product performance. Be sure to acknowledge them by name. Each one will bloom differently depending on the amount of care they receive. If you want all of your newly planted seeds to sprout, avoid selecting favorites. Treat each and every one just the same. At the end of the day, you will have a beautiful garden exploding with color and beauty.

5) Work to keep weeds from crowding out the young seedlings.

Weeds leach nutrients from your plants. Every business will experience some loss, but the key is to yank that weed prior to it destroying the main crop. Complete monthly or weekly budget overviews. Constantly search for new ways in which to cut costs without losing overall product quality. Weeds will also surface in the form of an employee. If you have someone on your payroll who’s not earning their keep, take action to remove them from the garden. Every cent counts when you are just starting out.

6) Enjoy the process of being connected to what you grow!

True gardeners are never at work. They enjoy watching their plants grow. They take satisfaction in their efforts, and are always looking forward to the next growing season. With each and every year, they learn from their past mistakes. The result is a bigger and better crop! Your business is alive. Take joy in the fact that you are in control. You have been given total creative freedom to create a masterpiece. If you chose to work in your business rather than on your business, your plants will wither and die.

A garden should be in a constant state of fluid change, expansion, experiment and adventure. Above all, it should be an inquisitive loving but self-critical journey on the part of its owner.” ~Herbert Ernest Bates

 

 

 

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Be sure to plant your seed on our Facebook page! Our garden is growing, and we need all the help we can get. ~Andy

photo credit: Amber Karnes via photopin cc