Small-Business Tree seasons of growth and change

Here’s a quote straight from the mailbag that is so so so perfect I had to ruminate about it in public here on the blog.

I don’t know if your other clients do this – but I find myself wanting to jump in right away and build my website so I have it. But there is another part of me wanting to go slow and be patient and build my biz from the inside out. I’m still finding my voice and trying to describe what I do in coherent terms. It’s a process, eh?

Ohmygosh yes, is it ever a whangdoodle of a process. It can totally tie you in knots, and then it can straighten out and feel completely blissful. And then another knot trips you up.

There is so much I want to say about this. So I’ll start with the simplest thing:

Organic growth is not a linear process.

Sure, parts of it unfold in a linear-looking fashion. A tree grows bigger year after year, new growth appears on the end of existing branches, gardening books can tell you approximately how many years it will take for a certain species of tree to reach a given height. But the whole organism? From seed to tippy-top leaves? It’s just not linear growth.

(C’mon, you knew I was going to mention a tree at some point, right? It’s Friday, which is Small-Business Tree day here on the blog, and the SBT is the guiding metaphor for pretty much everything we do. So prepare for some major tree-hugging metaphor talk!)

In fact, there are two kinds of non-linear growth that are in play here.

Organic growth is exponential. One cell divides into two, which divide into four, which divide into eight, and so on. A tree branch grows multiple new twigs, each of which then sprout multiple leaves. So for awhile you have what looks like nice slow steady predictable growth, or maybe barely discernable growth, and then, all of a sudden, watch out because you’re headed to the stratosphere.
Organic growth is seasonal. In spring, there’s a burst of new growth. In summer, there’s slower, more steady growth — and also the production of flowers and fruit. In fall, growth slows dramatically and actually shuts down in the branches as the tree prepares for winter. Leaves fall, and in winter, the tree appears dead on the outside. Inside, there are still healthy live cells, and the roots might even be growing deeper into the ground, but most of the tree is dormant. Until spring switches those cells back to “on” and the cycle begins anew.

The constant play between these two types of non-linear growth is what makes things seem wacky at times. A seed (idea for a business) can take a long time to germinate into something you might want to actually do. You think, plan, wonder, and ruminate. Maybe it’s winter in your head and heart, and you’re hunkering down, gathering strength for what comes next. And this winter can last a long time.

And when spring comes, oh goodness watch out. It’s exponential-growth time. Those seed cells are dividing so fast you can’t keep track. New ideas pop into your head at a staggering rate. You suddenly feel like you can conquer the business world on hope alone. It’s intoxicatingly amazing.

And if you follow that energy, if you allow that rush of spring sap to rise straight from your life-giving roots and nourish your branches and leaves, if you take action to build your business, you get the bounteous reward of summer. Your ideas come to fruition. You put systems in place to support your business. Maybe you even outsource some tasks. The exponential growth slows down to a manageable pace.

And then the launch is over, or the new product is on shelves, or the new website is up, and so much energy has gone out into the world that there’s a totally normal and natural contraction process that happens. It can almost seem like an exponential slow-down in growth.

It’s time to review what worked and what didn’t. Time to take a breath. Time to let some marketing-leaves fall and draw energy back to the roots. This is autumn, and it’s what separates the short-lived plants from the trees. Businesses with strong roots and systems in place will survive until the next idea-spring, the next product launch, the next growth spurt. Businesses that grew like weeds — wildly but unsustainably — simply drop their seeds and die.

And then the strong business trees can begin the hunkering-down winter process again, to build strength and sap for the next juicy springtime burst of inspiration.

(The whangdoodle really gets crazy when you consider the possibility that different parts of your business might be in different seasons — one product might be launching, five more are barely germinated, and one’s done and feels dated. I’m not saying you have to be on top of all of that — just bring your awareness gently to the different parts of yourself, and your business, that might be pulling in and putting out different amounts of energy.)

It’s so important that I’ll say it again:

Organic growth is not a linear process.

Spring has always been my favorite time of year. Here in Southern California we’re already planting gardens and installing irrigation lines (apologies to those of you elsewhere who are still getting snowed on). I’ve already planted tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, green beans, and some herbs. Leaves and blossoms are popping out all over, and the trees that were so bare all winter are covered with a fuzz of that gorgeous shade of new-leaf green (OK, sorry, that was rubbing it in a little. You can get back at me when you’re having a nice temperate summer and I’m baking in 115-degree heat this August. Promise!).

Spring is powerfully great, and it can also be turbulent and chaotic and confusing. And I firmly believe that we humans are influenced by seasonal rhythms. We really do get bursts of energy in the spring, and we really do retreat energetically from the world in fall. Some people more than others, some years more than others. But the fact that it’s spring right now means there’s an absolutely natural tendency to get moving, to grow, to take outward-facing action.

That’s the part of my reader that wants to “jump in and build my website so I have it.” And I say go for it! Follow that energy! If it’s exciting to think about, take some action!

But don’t just steamroll over that other part, the part that wants to “go slow and be patient and build my biz from the inside out.” Honor it and sit with it. After all, building the website (or taking whatever inspired action step you’re contemplating) is only a small part of The Big Picture that is building your business from the inside out. And that even building the website is not a one-shot action; the website will be a work-in-progress that reflects the organic growth of your Small-Business Tree.

Those first sprouts may look tiny and vulnerable, but they’re already exponentially bigger than the tiny seed that started them. Your first web page won’t be your last.

So, yeah, I’m saying that you can do both. Follow your energy and have a sustainable growth plan. Stay heart-centered and put energy out into the world. Tune into your seasonal rhythms, learn to recognize and nourish your internal growth spurts, and give yourself credit and breathing room when it’s time to slow down.

Oh, and that part about “I’m still finding my voice and trying to describe what I do in coherent terms”? I’m doing that right here in this very blog post! So welcome to the tree-hugger club; we always have room for more!

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