Businesses are Like Babies - They Take FOREVER to Mature

 (photo credit: http://justdoyin.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/my-new-baby/)

In the B2B world, we meet, we make friends, we do business, or we don't... FOR YEARS. We baby our businesses until they grow up into profitable ventures. Sometimes you get a good apple, sometimes you don't. (But when we start we all think they are going to be GREAT apples!)

By day, I am in the construction industry and I know over 1,500 people in the A/E/C/RE world. Yet it has taken me years to foster certain relationships, which have yet to produce deals, income or anything other than good will or a good laugh.

That's why I say businesses are like babies. They require constant attention, love, caring, as well as patience, persistence, and a lot of hair pulling (literally in the case of babies). You can't experience what it is like to have a business, until you have one. It's the same with babies. I don't have any of my own, so when they start crying I hand them back to their parents. When your business is failing or wildly succeeding, it's on your shoulders. When the child is a sick, poopy mess you have to deal with them, but then you can't measure the amount you love them and and all the joy it brings.

This year, I encourage us all to take a look at ourselves and realize that growing a baby or a business is a day to day activity where we must take strides to grow. We cannot expect a 9 month old baby to do calculus, nor can we expect to build a $1B business in 6 months (although if you can, I want to invest NOW!). Take your business one day at a time. Think about how you can nuture, grow and get through the "poopy" bits as quickly as possible, so you can get to the stage where you business crawls, walks, then runs!