Every entrepreneur should grow some vegetables. Sounds like a weird directive, but there some great real world lessons, real world ideas and real world benefits from doing so.
Firstly, it takes effort. Not a lot, but a consistent effort which will ultimately equal the reward. In this case there if no doubt in the following equation:
effort = reward
The effort need not be excessive, just consistent. We can grow an entire garden, or even a pumpkin in a pot will give the same benefit.
We’ll learn that anyone who puts in the effort can grow vegetables. There’s a definite learning curve. The more we do it, the better we’ll get at it. You can read a ‘how to’ book on growing them (which will surely help) but even after reading the book you’ll still discover that you learn infinitely more by doing it.
The process is a daily one.
We need to water, fertilize and nurture them. We can’t treat two vegetables the same, but we must apply the same principals.
Some will get more light, so more water. We need to manage their needs differently depending on their position in the market.
The market is a competitive one. We’ll need to fight off bugs, birds and insects, who want to feed on our efforts. This proves you’ve got a fertile market… one worth doing, one with yield.
If you let these competitors run rampant, they’ll take it all. But we need to understand that competition is healthy. It’s no good killing our yield with pesticide (which is a bit like price discounting)… it can ruin everything for everyone and leave no yield at all. It’s better to outsmart the bugs, maybe with netting or organic means. They’ll still get some, but we’ll get the lions share.
We’ll realize that nature is very generous, so long as we nurture our crop. We will reap ‘real world’ benefits, many of which go beyond yield and enter our psyche.
We’ll realize we need to save some seeds for our plantation next season. We’ll learn that all vegetables are seasonal. We’ll learn that not all climates (markets) suit all vegetables. We’ll realize we get better results when we focus on a veggie we have expert knowledge with. The rewards will taste better than ‘bought’ vegetables, which is more like working for a wage.
Eventually we’ll realize that growing vegetables is exactly like starting a business and managing a business. It’s a very complex yet rewarding process.
