Cultivating Your Freelance Garden

Springtime teases, and I am chomping at the bit to get out there and start planting. It’s a little too early though—even here in the South we could get another frost. So to bide my time I am turning my focus indoors and planting another type of garden.

Maybe I’m in a spring-fever-induced haze, but the more I think about it the more I think starting or maintaining a business is a bit like planning a garden. I’m planning both of mine right now, so I thought I’d share with you how the steps involved in planning a garden are helping me think about my approach to freelancing.

1. Set realistic goals. Garden experts advise folks to start small or think about what they can accomplish in a single growing season. DIY gardener or DIY freelancer, that sounds like good advice to me. By focusing on the one part of your yard—or business—you most want to grow, you’re more likely to achieve success.
2. Determine the size of your planting area. How much space—and in turn, time—will you dedicate to your garden? Whether your business plan involves freelancing full or part time, it’s important to plant only as much as you can take care of. Well if you ask me about either my outdoor or my freelance garden: I want to win a neighborhood beautification award! But that’s probably not realistic. At least not this growing season. I’m going to start small for now, because I can always expand the borders later.
3. Location, location, location. What are the growing conditions like? Sun or shade? I’ll be planting a lot of seedlings: my thoughts and ideas … in this economic climate, I’m thinking sun. What topics are in the spotlight right now? What industries have a bright future? I’m doing a lot of research to find the types of businesses that have a need for my skills.
4. Prepare the soil. This is the foundation that allows plants to grow strong roots, allowing them to thrive and hopefully be hardy enough to outpace weeds and resist pests. Gardening experts always recommend amending the soil with copious amounts of organic matter. As a businessperson, I think it’s a good reminder that it’s not enough to just dig a random hole and toss in a seedling. If I want my investment to thrive, I first need to add things to the soil such as expertise, value, and a little passion.
5. Choose your plants. Good garden design doesn’t result from a trip to the garden center in which you wander around and buy one of everything. Which is a whole lot of fun, I’ve done it. But they’re right, it doesn’t produce a very cohesive look. The wealth of information and prospects out there is truly staggering. Particularly when you’re looking around on the Internet—talk about input overload. Wandering around in cyberspace will probably net some leads, but do they make sense from a business standpoint? Will the various specimens grow well under similar conditions? Will they look good together? Before I start my next wave of prospecting, I’m going to make sure that everything I pursue will fit into my big-picture plan of where I want this thing to go.
6. Water wisely. Make sure you water just enough, but not too much. Following up on leads, letters or résumés you’ve sent is a delicate balance, just like watering your seedlings. Overdo it, or don’t do it enough, and you can kill the seedling.
7. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. At the end of each gardening day, always take a moment to step back and enjoy what you’ve accomplished.

How does your freelance garden grow? I’d love to hear about it.

And if you like gardening and writing, you’ll love our freelancer spotlight on Monday. Julie Martens, a phenomenal gardening writer and editor who has experienced both sides of the desk, has been freelancing full time since 2001, and she’s looking forward to sharing her insights with you.

Photo credit: ktylerconk (Flickr)