Farmers are the most bad-ass people on the planet. They have nerves of steel, they know strategy, they know operations and outcomes, they know management and are able to survive in an environment where they cannot control the vast majority of variables.
The differences between being a successful farmer and a successful digital entrepreneur are not that great. In fact, being a digital entrepreneur is a heck of alot easier, alot less stressful, and A LOT more fun than being a farmer!
Springtime! I just love this time of the year! It never fails to brings back memories of growing up in Ontario on the farm; the first 3 weeks of May were “planting season” for us.
For a farmer, many factors go into planting and growing a healthy crop. Months in advance we’d plan and prepare for the planting season. There were so many conditions and variables to take into consideration- it took incredible foresight and preparation to pull off a successful planting- and it all had to be done within the first few weeks of May.
Costs- or inputs, and yields, were all calculated in advance. Seminars and conferences were attended. Intensive information was gathered and equipment serviced. All of this expense, time, effort, and energy, was part of the process designed to create a particular result within a set time span. We had to be prepared.
“Like a movie shoot, everything was mapped out before we set to work applying the things needed to create the prospective outcome.”
When May rolled around we had our specific strategy in place, plus a contingency plan.
Being a digital entrepreneur in the digital economy, comparatively speaking, is like learning to use the ATM machine: You can access global markets from your smart phone!
Like farmers, digital entrepreneurs all have the same pieces with which to work. We’ve got the same climate, economy, and Internet, as well as access to the same basic components and resources, one way or another.
Snow, rain, or hail are not going to affect our profitability. We’re not under the gun to get all our marketing done in a 3 week period like a farmer who has limited time to get his fields sown.
Your income has very little to do with the opportunity afforded to you as a digital entrepreneur.
Your income has to do with your self image, your self worth. “What do you see yourself worth relative to the people around you; and whether you’re going to settle for less?”
WAKE UP! See the magnificent opportunity you have here in the digital gold rush! Don’t EVER buy into the notion that the opportunity costs of being a digital entrepreneur are too great!
What we have to work with is insane- we dare not take it for granted!! Trust me, I know; I once was a bad- ass farmer.
All my best,
Jay Kubassek
P.S. This article is based on the May 7, 2013 podcast: WAKE UP: Being Prepared is a Level Playing Field
