Do you ever put things off that need to be done?
If you do, you’re not alone.
Let me tell you why that can make a huge difference in your business, any business.
I’m going to use farming as an example because the potential negative consequences are magnified in that industry. You’ll see why.
Make hay when the sun shines.
That’s a proverb that has been around for hundreds of years. It first appeared in 1546 in John Heywood’s book about English proverbs. Experts believe the phrase came from medieval English farmers.
The famous proverb also extends to the concept of taking advantage of the chance to do something while conditions are good. In other words, you make good use of your time or make the most of an opportunity while you have the chance.
As I do every summer, I travel from home in California to “back home” in Pennsylvania where our family farm is located. Last year, my brother Tom was showing my partner how to “shake” the hay. He was getting ready to “bale” it.
After working all day on our vintage tractor, my partner asked Tom, “What’s the difference between a good farmer and a bad farmer?” That’s a pretty brilliant question if you ask me.
My brother’s answer was equally as brilliant. He looked to the sky, clearly thought about it, and said,
“Two weeks.”
That was Tom’s response.
Real Life Example
A good friend who works in agricultural finance at a prestigious global financial institution was doing a post-mortem report on a failed credit. It was a substantial amount at over one million dollars, U.S.
I asked him what happened. He launched into an explanation that the bank had delayed getting the farmer his approved funds. The farmer couldn’t buy his seeds on time, and therefore was late planting. The crop ultimately failed. That’s the gist of it.
I told him what my brother, Tom, had said about “two weeks.”
He was fascinated with the statement and went back to check the timing of the delayed funding to the farmer whose crop had failed.
It was two weeks.
Your Window of Opportunity
There is a window of opportunity when it comes to farming. This is true of any business and you must be deeply in concert with it. Of course, the window for farming mainly involves the weather.
Take hay as an example. When you’re growing hay, you “cut” it, “shake” it, “rake” it, wait until it’s properly dried and then you “bale” it. Every single step matters. That’s because if you bale damp hay, it will get moldy and become ruined.
In prime hay growing regions like the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states, it rains. A lot.
So, you are frequently trying to squeeze in the steps of hay baling between rainstorms. This usually involves diligent weather report checking and even reading the Farmer’s Almanac. Farmers watch the clouds in the sky. They often take note if their arthritis is acting up – a sure sign of rain.
Back to the hay. If you cut your hay, you must bale it while it’s dry.
You can’t wait two weeks.
There are no vacations.
If it’s your hay field, you can’t be lazy. You can’t say, “Meh, I’ll wait a couple of days.” And then a couple of days turns into a week and a week turns in to two. Seemingly, all of a sudden you’ve missed your window of opportunity and your hay gets ruined.
Reverse Engineering
This applies to any and every business. It’s all about timing. Of course, you are lucky when you can rely on your own actions to make sure your timing is right.
My suggestion is to reverse engineer a calendar of dates and deadlines and meet them. Or else your shiny new products will go “moldy,” so to speak.
You can’t miss your deadlines!
If your trade show is on June 13th. You have to get your samples made and your booth ready and ship everything to be there on time. If the show lasts three days and your stuff doesn’t arrive until June 14th, then you’ve missed a third of the show.
I previously was a partner in a clothing company. We used to attend two major trade shows every year. They were put on by an organization called, M.A.G.I.C. That’s an acronym for Men’s Apparel Guild in California, (never mind that it’s held in Las Vegas, Nevada). The show is scheduled twice a year in February and August.
As an example, if the first M.A.G.I.C. trade show dates for the current year were February 13 – 15, then we needed to ship our booth and products to arrive on the “set-up” date of February 11 – 12th.
With that timing, we needed to start our concept meeting on December 1st. We subsequently need to go through all the steps to get ready for the show.
This incorporated everything from product concept and booth design to making samples. Then there’s the timing for shipping, including unforeseen delays such as weather.
February 13 – Show starts.
February 11 – Ship samples.
February 10 – Pack samples into boxes.
February 9 – Pick up samples from sewing sub-contractors.
February 8 – Pick up booth for the show, pack booth.
February 1 – Finalize finishing touches on samples, sewing, etc.
January 15 – Drop off artwork to printer: brochures, cards, promotional items, sales sheets, order forms (3-week delivery dates).
January 14 – Finalize all printing materials.
January 10 – Finish cost sheets. Price final samples.
January 1 – Finish sample designs and deliver to sewing sub-contractors.
December 9 – Fabric and accessories sourcing. Hire booth contractor.
December 1 – Concept meeting, booth design.
Give yourself a realistic timetable to meet the deadlines on your calendar and then you will improve your chances of success. And build in a cushion of time. Stuff always goes wrong.
If you need to do something, anything important in your business, make sure you get it done on time.
Two weeks can make a world of difference. Two weeks can make the difference between a failed business and a successful one, a good farmer and a bad farmer.
