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Growing Your
Business Organically
by Sylvia Nibley
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Ever feel like you’re the one “making” your business grow? Striving, pushing, making it all happen at your desk, on your computer, in the meetings. It’s just you, pushing that rock up the mountain where your goals live.
Sometimes we’re so busy pushing for what we want (the traditional business model) we forget that business, like everything else, is part of Nature, so of course the same principles apply.
What if we remember that we can actually create what we want by working WITH the most powerful forces on the planet instead of pushing against those forces with the power of our wills? Now wouldn’t that be easier?
Lessons about life (i.e. business) are everywhere in nature. Let’s look at one.
It all starts with the soil
For most people, organic farming means growing without the use of chemicals. But it’s much more than that. Did you know that organically grown produce can have twice to ten times more nutrition than conventionally grown produce?
The reason organic food has a higher mineral content comes down to the soil it’s grown in. Organic farmers use natural fertilizers that rejuvenate and develop the soil to maintain its fertility. They know that the long–term health of the soil is critical to the health of every living thing.
Faking it
Now, we also know that you can artificially pump up the growth process. I just ate a piece of fruit that looked like an apple and tasted like an apple (well, sort of) but I noticed it just didn’t have the same depth of flavor and vitality that the apples from the tree in my yard have after that first cold snap in September. I think that’s probably because it was grown in depleted soil, chemically fertilized to grow fast, designed to ship well and look good arranged in a giant, shiny pyramid (oh wait, that’s the wax), harvested last fall before it was ripe, and gassed to retard spoilage.
No offense to the apple that’s now in my belly, I’m sure I could survive on it, but you know what I mean. There’s just something, well, artificial about it.
In the drive for profit, we’ve definitely been pushing nature to be more “productive” and it’s looking like we’ve created some hefty imbalances in the process. Faking it depletes something, somewhere, which makes it unsustainable in the long run. Nature will balance itself. That’s what it does, and on a much larger scale than we can imagine.
Back to business
So remembering that all–important soil (more about this in future issues of my newsletter), which model for growth are you using in your business?
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Sylvia Nibley
is the creator of:
 a well-loved, organic-feeling community calendar and directory that spreads the word about all things progressive in the Salt Lake area. |
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| Rejuvenate and develop the soil for the long term (foundation) |
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| Deplete the soil, but use short-term methods to stimulate growth |
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| Tastes good (actual quality) |
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| Looks good (perceived quality) |
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| Rely on non-renewable resources |
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| More nutrition (the actual benefit, the real, juicy stuff that you promise your customer) |
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| Less Nutrition (convince them to make up for that empty feeling by buying more stuff) |
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Composting — or something to try at home
Where is your business depleted? What can you put into it today to rejuvenate the soil – the living, vital foundation for your growth? From the ground up, how can you make your products/services more real, more authentically satisfying to your customers? More tasty! And maybe crunch on an apple while you’re thinking about all that. Hmmmm.
I’d love to hear your stories, comments, musings or brilliant ideas. sylvian@OurCommunityConnection.com
Subscribe to Sylvia’s free newsletter here:
Growing your Business Organically© Using the principles of nature to thrive in business.
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Miracle Max: Don't rush me sonny. You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles. |
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