5 Business Lessons My Garden Taught Me
I tried my hand at gardening for the first time this year (2021). With no prior experience it was a little confusing and a little overwhelming to be honest! It’s not like go buy a tomato plant from Home Depot and water it every now and then and you are all set. There are things you need to take care of like the right amount of fertilizer (otherwise you burn the plant), right way to water it, plant varieties and their susceptibility to pests, harvest timing etc etc. I had no idea there are two main varieties of tomatoes - determinate and indeterminate and the indeterminate can easily grow up to 6 ft! For growing my little patio garden, I researched a lot, winged it a bit and made some mistakes. However, I did learn from those mistakes and ended up applying those lessons to my small business.
1) Just start
It is difficult to begin anything new. The unknown makes it so hard. I just wrote the same thing twice! Anyways, my point is, it’s tough but if you really want to do it, jump right in! Make a plan but be open to learning along the way.
2) Obstacles arise but be willing to course correct
I had aphid infestation on my tomato plant. Quick research told me to make my own natural pest spray and that helped control the aphid situation.
Pretty self explanatory when it comes to running a business.
3) Cultivate patience
Keep showing up everyday, nurture what you are growing/building. Good things take time. This is true for the garden and especially true with business.
4) Things that seemingly look good on the outside might not be the best for you
Early on, I had blight infestation on my tomato plant because it rained heavily for a few days. Now I would think rain is good for the garden but no, excess rain can cause blight in some varieties of tomatoes. I had to remove all those leaves that were affected by the fungus! For the rest of the season, if it rained heavily, I’d go gently shake the plant to help rid of the water.
This is a very important lesson in business. If you see your peers offering xyz product or launching their online classes and it makes you want to do all that. Assess! It might look good on paper but is it really where you want to take your business?
5) Let go of the control
You are doing your best, rest will take shape as it should.
BONUS - Fruits of your labor are sweet
Truly, I’ve never had such sweet tomatoes. Store bought tomatoes does not hold a candle to my patio grown 🍅.
In business, when you have a successful launch, when hard work pays off, there’s no feeling quite like it!
Do you garden? Any lessons your humble garden has taught you?