What I learned about business from pumpkins

Where have you let the allure of new technology interfere with your clients & their needs?

We harvested the pumpkins, squash, & gourds (oh my) last week.

A mountain of oranges, yellows, & greens have crowded out the red tomatoes & peppers in the dining room.

Pumpkins are one of my favorite symbols of Autumn.

Their rich orange skin & deeply lobed bodies tell me it’s time to tuck it all in and get ready for winter.

I’ve been growing pumpkins for more than 30 years

And I‘ve been helping entrepreneurs harvest the fruits of their labors for 35 years.

I’ve learned some important business lessons from growing pumpkins.

1. There’s gold in them thar’ mounds

· Right before the pumpkins turn to mush leave an irreparable stain on my coffee table, I toss them into the compost pile along the property line.

· Inevitably the following summer I find the most amazing pumpkins growing on top of that pile.

· It’s like when I purge the office of old files & notebooks and I discover a half-baked idea that I discarded.

· Sometime when a project sits long enough, it sends roots down into my unconscious & produces a nice plump program that is perfect for the moment.

2. The basics still bear fruit

· I started growing what I call “Wedding Pumpkins” when my oldest son asked each of his wedding guest to bring a pumpkin to the ceremony for decoration.

· A couple inspired moments later . . . I brought about 50 home & kept a few handfuls of seeds; I’ve been growing pumpkins in honor of their union since 2015.

· The biggest changes in growing a business in the past decade have been in the technologies we use to market our services & communicate with our clients.

· But without the basics like knowing who your people are, what their needs are, creating value-packed compelling services, & producing quality results, you wouldn’t have any clients.

3. Sustaining programs take time to mature

· Pumpkins are one of the longest growing plants in my garden, taking about 6 months from seedling to harvest.

· But I can enjoy one large pumpkin through the entire winter when I make soup & pies from the flesh & yummy treats from the roasted seeds.

· If you have a big idea for a program & haven’t been able to successfully launch it, your idea may need to ripen on the vine a bit longer.

· Rushing the launch of a program is like picking the pumpkins before they’re ripe, it results in a soggy mess that doesn't have enough vitality to produce viable seeds.

What discarded projects have taken root & could be resurrected in your business?

Where have you let the allure of new technology interfere with your clients & their needs?

What programs are you rushing to launch before their ripe?

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