It was gardening that first taught me how business really works. Over the years of planting seeds, tending to plants, watching things grow, and occasionally wondering why something refused to sprout, I began to see countless parallels between growing food and building a business. Both require patience, consistency, nurturing, and, perhaps most importantly, faith in a process you cannot always see.
As women entrepreneurs, we are often encouraged to do everything quickly. Launch the business. Build the brand. Grow the audience. Make money. Scale. And somehow manage everything else life requires of us at the same time. But business doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes, you can do everything right and still have to wait.
I want to share a different perspective on running a business—one rooted in timeless principles that are often overlooked. Business advice can feel complicated, trendy, or even contradictory, but the fundamentals haven’t changed. I’ve personally experienced all of these lessons, sometimes the hard way. There were plenty of moments when I questioned whether something was working, wondering if I was wasting my time, or felt tempted to move on to something else. But I chose to keep moving forward. I encourage you to do the same.
With that said, let’s dig into what planting seeds for your business really looks like.
Sending Emails and Hearing No Response
We live in a world of instant communication. When we send a text, we expect an immediate reply. Naturally, we carry that expectation into email outreach. But here’s the truth: You may send hundreds of emails and hear nothing back for weeks or even months.
I’ve sent more than 300 emails in a year and never heard back from many of the recipients within the timeframe I had hoped for. But months or even years later, some of those same businesses came back to me when the timing was finally right for them.
That experience taught me not to confuse silence with failure. Sometimes people are busy. Sometimes they aren’t ready. Sometimes your offer isn’t a priority today but becomes one six months from now.
Garden Wisdom: Just like seeds don’t sprout the moment you plant them, some emails don’t “sprout” until long after you’ve hit send. Keep planting.
Launching New Products: Low or No Sales
Sometimes you launch a product you’re convinced will take off, and it doesn’t. I’ve been there. Some of my pet products sold immediately, while others sat untouched for months before customers caught on. As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to take slow sales personally. You put your time, money, creativity, and energy into creating something, and naturally, you want people to recognize its value immediately.
But sometimes they don’t.
The lesson is simple: A useful product that solves a genuine problem may need more time in the marketplace—or a more creative marketing approach—to catch on. Not every product will become a bestseller.
Garden Wisdom: I’ve planted exotic seeds that didn’t sprout right away, but persistence paid off when a few eventually grew. Others never grew at all, but that didn’t stop me from planting the next season again. Your job isn’t to make every seed grow. Your job is to keep planting while learning which seeds are worth planting again.
Posting on Social Media With Little Engagement
Spending hours creating the “perfect” post only to receive a handful of likes can be discouraging. Even with having a background in graphic design, website design, photography, and branding, I used to spend a tremendous amount of time creating content for Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube, only to see little engagement and zero sales.
It was frustrating, but it taught me an important lesson: Social media isn’t the only way to grow a business. Some posts may never “sprout” into sales, no matter how much time you invest. Social media engagement doesn’t always equal revenue. The key is to find the channels that produce results for your business.
Instead of chasing likes, I started looking for platforms where my ideal customers were already active and where my investment of time and money could generate a meaningful return.
Garden Wisdom: Not every plant in your garden thrives or produces abundantly. Some consume time and resources with minimal return. When that happens, direct more effort toward what grows best.
For me, that’s tomatoes. I plant more tomatoes than any other vegetable in my garden because I know they grow well. Your business needs “tomatoes” too. Identify the marketing channels and strategies that consistently deliver results.
Pitching for Press Features With No Response
Pitching journalists, bloggers, and media outlets can be discouraging because you may never hear back. But silence doesn’t necessarily mean your pitch failed. It may simply mean the timing wasn’t right.
Pitching to the media is a numbers game. If you send enough pitches, you will eventually land features. Even when you don’t, you’re still putting your brand in front of editors, producers, and writers who now know your business exists. That awareness has value.
I’ve had employees from media outlets become customers simply because they noticed my pitch. Don’t interpret silence as rejection. Keep pitching. Stay consistent. Follow up when appropriate. Remember that timing matters. Every pitch has the potential to create a new opportunity, relationship, customer, or revenue stream.
Garden Wisdom: I often buy more seed packets than I can realistically plant in a single season. Not every seed gets planted immediately, but over time, I work through the entire collection. Press pitching works the same way. You may not see immediate results or get selected during the first few rounds, but with consistent effort, your persistence will eventually pay off.
Responding to Business Inquiries That Lead Nowhere
One of the most frustrating parts of running a business is when a potential client reaches out, asks questions, seems excited about your services—and then disappears.
I’ve learned not to take this personally. Not everyone who inquires is a serious buyer. Some people are curious. Some are gathering information. Others aren’t ready to make a decision. Your job is to handle the interaction professionally. Respond to every inquiry, provide the information requested, and follow up once or twice. Then let it go.
If they’re serious, they’ll come back when they’re ready. And if they don’t, at least you left them with a positive impression of your professionalism.
Garden Wisdom: I give the same care to difficult plants as I do to easy ones. If a plant refuses to grow, it isn’t because I didn’t do my part. The same applies to potential clients. Your responsibility is to nurture the relationship, but you cannot force it to bear fruit.
As women, we sometimes need this reminder: Give it room to grow or let it go.
Developing Partnerships That Don’t Produce Instant Success
Partnerships are among the most effective ways to grow a business, but they don’t always produce immediate results. You may collaborate with an organization or business and see very little movement at first. That doesn’t necessarily mean the partnership isn’t worthwhile. Successful partnerships are built on trust, patience, and mutual benefit. Both sides need to know you’ll deliver value; results often require time and consistency, and partnerships work best when everyone involved gains something from the relationship.
Don’t confuse partnerships with “building a team.” You don’t necessarily need a large team of employees to grow your business. You need the right collaborators and strategic allies who can connect you with your target audience, introduce you to new opportunities, and bring knowledge or resources you don’t have.
Garden Wisdom: I’ve learned valuable tips from other gardeners. Even when their advice didn’t produce immediate results, it still helped me grow in the long run. Business partnerships work the same way. Sometimes another person’s perspective, network, experience, or knowledge becomes the missing piece you need.
Telling People About Your Business
Many business owners say, “I hate talking about my business because I don’t want to sound salesy.” I understand. But telling people what you do isn’t pushy. You’re simply letting people know that you exist and that you have something valuable to offer.
The real challenge is often overcoming pride or discomfort. Many of us would prefer customers discover our business on their own. We want people to find our website, see our social media posts, fall in love with our products, and make a purchase. But waiting for customers to find you is like waiting for seeds to plant themselves. It isn’t going to happen.
The more you talk about your business, the more confident you become, the better you refine your message, and the more opportunities you create.
Garden Wisdom: The more I talk about gardening, the more I realize how much I’ve learned. Sharing what I know has also made me more confident in my knowledge. Talking about your business works the same way. You don’t have to become someone you’re not. You need to become comfortable telling people what you do and why it matters.
Expanding Your Digital Footprint Despite Low Sales
Which comes first: the clients or the digital presence? My answer: both.
Don’t wait for a flood of clients before building your online presence. Build while you grow. Create a website. Set up a Google Business Profile. List your business in directories. Create relevant online profiles. Attend networking events. Host workshops. Look for opportunities to get your business in front of people in multiple ways.
Each one becomes another “arm” extending your reach to potential customers. You may not see immediate results from every effort, but you’re creating a foundation that continues working for you over time.
Garden Wisdom: I don’t only grow plants from seeds; I also buy seedlings. Both methods work. Both help me learn. Your digital presence works the same way. Use multiple approaches to establish your presence, expand your reach, and grow your business.
You don’t have to wait until everything is perfect. Build while you grow.
Building a Portfolio Without Consistent Clients
When I ran my food photography business, I didn’t wait for clients to build a portfolio. I created my own projects, collaborated with chefs, styled dishes, and directed photo shoots myself. Those projects became proof of my abilities.
Future clients didn’t care whether the images in my portfolio came from paid or unpaid work. They cared about what they could see.
By taking initiative, I was able to showcase creativity, attention to detail, and versatility— qualities prospective clients could immediately recognize. This approach helped me build a portfolio while giving me the freedom to experiment, refine my techniques, and explore new ideas without the pressure of client expectations.
Building a portfolio on your own terms can be incredibly empowering. You don’t have to wait for permission to demonstrate what you’re capable of doing.
Garden Wisdom: The same principle applies to gardening. I didn’t wait for someone to teach me. I bought seeds and started. Don’t wait for permission or perfect conditions. Plant the seeds yourself. Nurture them. Learn from what grows and what doesn’t. Then watch your portfolio— and your business—grow.
My No. 1 Tip for Building a Business? Keep Planting
Business, like gardening, requires patience, consistency, and faith in what you cannot always see.
Every email, pitch, post, conversation, product launch, networking event, partnership, and new idea is a seed. Some will sprout quickly. Others will take much longer. A few may never grow at all.
That doesn’t mean you failed.
There will be seasons when everything seems to bloom at once, and there will be seasons when you’re watering, working, and wondering when you will see something happen.
Keep going. Keep planting. Keep learning. Keep nurturing the things that show promise. And most importantly, stop digging up your seeds every day to check whether they’re growing. Trust that the roots are taking hold.
Permit yourself to grow at your own pace.
Keep planting. Your harvest may be closer than you think.
—
Photo by Vitaly Gariev/Pexels
