Tap Your SMB; Get Maple Syrup

Credit: Ivonne Vazquez

This image sent to me Sunday by Ivonne Vazquez, a mompreneur, owner of VIVA (Virtually Indispensable Virtual Assistants), and a guest contributor here, prompted my ooh and ahh and imaginings of being in the thick of what’s only seen on television by we without trees to harvest the makings of maple syrup.

In Maine, each spring, Ivonne and her peeps tap the trees to catch the sugary, sticky sap that when boiled makes natural maple syrup. (I’m so envious.)

What does this have to do with small business?

I’m not exactly sure, except that the image was one I couldn’t resist and it reminded me of spring cleaning and tapping the core of your business to get to the heart of what you deliver.

So, this brief post, inspired by a tree in the snow bearing fruit for the future, is akin to what you need to do for your business:

Take a moment this spring, after you file your taxes and you know where you sit with Uncle Sam, and hike through the forest or woods or neighborhood park.

Observe the budding of leaves, spring flowers and the hustle and bustle of scurrying critters waking up after a long, cold winter.

• Reflect on your business in this same fashion – is it stale after a long winter?
• Have you refreshed your website or blog in awhile?
• Is your voice growing a bit ornery if you’re blogging too much; or are you getting a chip on your shoulder because you refuse to jump into social media and others are way ahead of you?

In that bucket and those of other buckets throughout the Maine woods is the Mother lode tapped from the very heart of that wizened tree.

If your business was tapped today, what richness would come out? Can you tell me right now that your business is more special than your competitors because of its heart and soul? Where is your passion for what you’re doing right now in business? If it’s there, then keep it alive and every spring, just like in Maine, tap it and disperse that sweetness to your vast network and grow.