Today we live in a world of speed. Technological advancements have made obtaining what we want as simple as pushing a button.
We don’t have to wait long to eat – just pop the food into the microwave and click start. In minutes we have a full meal.
We don’t have to wait weeks for communication back and forth – just type and click the send button in e-mail. In seconds, information is sent and received.
Because of this “instant” mentality we have grown accustomed to, we as a society have come to believe that if we can’t get what we want in a matter of minutes, it’s not worth having. Waiting is becoming a thing of the past.
I have found this to be especially true when it comes to internet businesses. Because everything is available at the click of a mouse, slowly growing an internet business never enters our minds. We try to find the quickest and easiest route to the automatic $5,000 per month promised to us at every turn.
Without careful thought, we plunge into several affiliate programs (sometimes unrelated to each other), throw up some free websites, blast our “open for business” announcement to 4,000,000 people, and then sit back waiting for all 4,000,000 to beat a path to our electronic doorway.
We watch the calendar, and when, in 7 days, we haven’t made our $1,500 or we run into technological difficulties, we throw up our hands in disgust, claiming that the entire internet is a hoax, and walk away.
Let’s pause for a moment and take a look at the weed and the oak. John and Jim are young, newly married, and have just moved in next door to each other. Both yards need work in order to gain the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.”
John runs out to the local nursery, buys a bunch of seeds, never really paying attention to the type of seeds or to their care requirements. He goes home, spreads his seeds all over his yard, and then sits back waiting for the lush, beautiful lawn. It isn’t long before his yard is covered with weeds. The weeds quickly spring up and then die under the heat of the sun. His yard is full of dirt holes.
Jim, on the other hands, talks to several landscaping experts. He draws out on paper what he wants his yard to look like, carefully grouping plants to give year-round beauty. He goes to a couple of different nurseries and purchases the best plants and lawn care products. He buys an oak tree for his back yard. He plants his purchases and follows the directions and advice he has been given to care for his lawn. He works on it a little bit every day, and slowly builds it to a prize-winning yard.
Year after year, John has an ugly lawn because he doesn’t want to put in the time and effort it takes to build a well-kept yard.
Thirty years later, Jim’s yard is still the best looking yard on the block, and his grandkids are building a tree house in the oak tree in the back yard.
What kind of a business are you building? Are you looking for the fast buck? Are you joining everything and anything you can without any careful planning as to how it all fits together? Are you sitting back just waiting for everyone to come, buy your products, and make you a millionaire without any effort on your part?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then all you’re going to get is a yard full of ugly weeds and dirt holes.
Take some time and put together a business plan. Figure out where you want to be in 30 years. Talk to experts to find out what works and what doesn’t. Work a little bit every day taking care of your business.
If you do these things, your business may grow slowly, but it will grow solidly. Your business will be able to withstand the storms that come along. And in 30 years, you and your family will still be enjoying what you’ve built.
Copyright (c) 2001 Sharon Dalton Williams
Sharon Dalton Williams is the author of “How to Succeed and Live a Full
Life.” Learn how to reach the goals you have set for your life and
business. Surf to http://www.sdwassociates.com to order your copy.
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