I grew up on a farm in Nebraska and my dad was a diversified farmer. This meant we had cows, pigs, chickens and a variety of crops. With this type of diversity we were always insured of multiple profit centers. If it was a bad year for soybeans then the price of corn may have been higher and carried us through. If hail wiped out an entire crop then we had the beef or pork to rely on.
Every business owner is similar to a farmer. Here are my top 3 analogies.
- Are you putting all your eggs in one basket? In other words, relying on one big client or one method of marketing for all your business income? This is very risky. What if it’s a bad year for soybeans?
- Are you giving away the farm? Do you continually give away free information and unpaid consulting time to help others? This practice cuts into your time and directly impacts the flow of income. People who take advantage of you this way are not ultimately whom you want to work with.
- Are you trying to do everything yourself? This is the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make. They try to feed all the chickens, plant the corn, bale the hay, do the books, work on the website and still spend quality time with the family. It’s impossible to do it all WELL and it’s exhausting. This is the best recipe for burnout and failure that I know of. We can only “do-it-ourselves” with the help from others.
