What I learned about business from Sunflowers
Where can you leverage the energy of natural cycles more effectively?
We harvested the Mongolian Giant Sunflowers last week.
So tall, we had to use a step ladder to reach the drooping heads atop 10 foot stalks.
I grow Sunflowers primarily for the birds & the bees but also because they are enchanting.
They can be as small as 12 inches high & grow taller than I can reach, with names Teddy Bear, Velvet Queen, & Ring o’ Fire.
I’ve been a devotee since before I even knew Vincent van Gogh nearly lost his mind trying to capture their magnificence in the fields of France.
I ‘ve been growing all manner of sunflowers to attract a multitude of pollinators & birds for more than 30 years.
I’ve also been helping entrepreneur create compelling offers that create buzz for 30 years.
I’ve learned some important business lessons from sunflowers.
Learning what attracts your clients is vital
I never cease to delight in watching our honey bees roll their furry little bodies on the dinner plate-sized flowers as they collect pollen.
All flowers attract insects by using specific color combinations that are only visible to their partners in pollination.
If you want your ideal clients to relish in your programs, offers, books, & frameworks, then take the time to understand your clients’ needs & perspectives
Using their language when framing your offers as solutions to the challenges they face will draw them like bees to sunflowers.
Annual Cycles are Useful
Sunflowers are true annuals – their entire natural life cycle is complete in 1 summer.
After a season of dutifully following the sun’s path across the sky they let their giant heads hang down when they are complete; thus, signaling the birds to descend for a feast.
Understanding the natural cycles of your business, clients, & the world at large can help you tap into the challenges, needs, & yearnings of your clients.
Take the time to discover & document the seasons, cycles & rhythms of your industry and clients to create on point marketing messages that attract your people.
When opportunity knocks, open the door
The year after I neglected to harvest the seed-laden flowers, I had sunflowers sprouting throughout the entire garden.
That year I had so many sunflowers that I invited the public to cut as many as they like for a small fee.
When a small project or program is accidentally more successful than anticipated, look for how you can use the momentum to create some additional income.
Be mindful, however of “shinny object syndrome;” my sunflower pop-up cutting garden was fun, but not in alignment with my core mission in the garden.
How can you become more fluent in your client’s language?
Where can you leverage the energy of natural cycles more effectively?
What unexpected gifts can you use to your advantage?
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