What turkeys & ducks taught me about business
Who do you need to cull from your flock of clients?
We processed the Turkey’s & Ducks last week.
Ten turkeys & 11 ducks all tucked into the freezer for the winter.
We spent the better part of 3 days cutting them up & packaging them into consumable parts.
On the side, we made a vat of stock that became a smaller vat of turkey veg soup.
All in all, we stuffed about 400 lbs. of high quality organic poultry into a bulging freezer.
I’ve been raising & processing turkeys & ducks for about 15 years.
I’ve also been helping business owners understand how the parts of their business fit together into a vision & strategy for 35 years.
I’ve learned a few important business lessons from raising turkeys & ducks.
Seasonal programs can bring big benefit
We raise about 90 birds in the summer season & enjoy high quality meat year round.
There is a rhythm & pace with a few intensive days, but the short-term challenges far outweigh the long term benefits.
If you feel like you have too many small programs, consider assembling them into a larger program that you offer once or twice a year.
Create some entry-point lead magnets & webinars that feed your pipeline & direct folks to the larger program if they want access to your wisdom.
Well-intended people can still be annoying.
Turkeys are affable, sweet natured, & seem like they’re having a rockin’ good time all day as they play king of the hill on top of their hut.
If they don’t feel like going to bed, however they like to tag as they run round & round & round their hut.
Sometimes a really well-meaning client hangs on too long, sends too many emails, or dominates your time, as though you don’t have other clients.
Take some time to categorize your clients into three groups: “ok,” “great,” & “amazing”; then cull a few of the “Ok” folks to make room for more amazing clients.
Sunk costs can cloud decision-making.
Turkeys & ducks convert feed to body weight at a remarkable rate – growing from hatchling to 9 lb. ducks & 18 lb. turkeys in just 12 weeks.
Keeping them beyond that, however, is foolish because their rate of growth slows considerably at 3 months.
When you have invested a lot of time or money in a website that isn’t serving you, a coach that isn’t helping, or a fledgling program, you might think that just a little bit more will make it better.
I invite you stop & listen to your inner wisdom, disassociate the sunk costs from the results; in the quiet you will know when it’s time to move on.
What pieces & parts can you assemble into a larger program?
Who do you need to cull from your flock of clients?
Where do you need to cut your losses & move on?
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