At this time each year, my family and I hang a few sap buckets on maple trees around our house. Recently, I sent this photo to a Twitter friend, Jayme Soulati aka @Soulati who was in turn inspired to write a post of her own on her business blog The SMB Collective (a link to that post provided below).

Just as Jayme was inspired by this photo, I too am fond of making a direct correlation between everyday tasks or events and my business. To further explain, I will provide a little glimpse into what it takes to make Maple syrup, along with the business perspective.

MAKING MAPLE SYRUP & BUILDNG YOUR BUSINESS

PLANNING

SYRUP: Before you start the process you need a cordless drill, a 9/16 bit, hammer, buckets, lids, taps and obviously, Maple trees. While some people can tell the type of tree by its bark (in March when there are no leaves), I walk around my yard in October (when the leaves are still on the tree and I can easily identify the Maples) wrapping surveyor’s tape around the trees I want to tap in March. I avoid trees that have been tapped too many times, those that look old and dry or those that are less than 6” across.

Because we get quite a bit of snow in Maine, I plan to have the buckets near the entrance to my shed, that way I can easily access these no matter how snowed in the shed may be later in the winter.

BUSINESS: In order to start the process of obtaining clients and providing goods or services, you should have a business and marketing plan, company name, bank account, designation, types of goods or services, sources of goods, office, equipment, website, etc., etc. Have you identified your target market? Think very seriously about who your clients will be before you go out to tap them for business. Is it a business that already purchases from many of your competitors; have they been around for so long that they can’t see the need for hiring or buying from you; is it a young business with very little cash flow, not yet ready to do business with you?

You should also plan for what you will do if you do not get clients right away, if you can’t sell your goods based on your initial timetable, if you don’t have money coming in to cover your living and business expenses.

TIMING
SYRUP: The best time to hang your buckets is during that particular week in March when we start to have 40+ degrees during the day and below freezing temps at night. Warmth during the day, cold at night after a good snowy winter creates the optimum sap season.

BUSINESS: Timing is everything, and more so in business. Don’t sell too hard if you think you have a potential client. They may not be ready now but soon enough either their needs or business/cash flow circumstances will change. By having properly identified your market, you will be the first business they call for your particular goods or services.

TAPPING:

SYRUP: With everything in hand and ready to tap, I put on my snow shoes and tamp down a path to each tree. This will allow for easy access to the trees when collecting the sap…you’ll have a heavy pail in hand full of sap, snow/ice underfoot and many trips back and forth to the trees. Tap the trees that are furthest from your house first working your way back home.

BUSINESS: By having all of your business operations and processes in place and running smoothly prior to having clients, you will be in an optimum place to start producing for your clients. Once busy and focused on the goods or services you are providing to others, it is difficult to implement methods to help with your own efficiency…smooth out your own path before you begin.

COLLECTING

SYRUP: Check the buckets every day (this is my 10 year old son’s job) and empty into your five gallon bucket. Bring it home to boil (if you do it indoors it creates an enormous amount of steam and sticky yellow drips stains on the walls). If you have a sugaring house, you’ll need to keep that fire going steadily, using over a cord of wood on average (for small operations).

BUSINESS: Keep in touch with clients and prospects on a regular basis. Send a “nice to meet you” e-mail to a new business acquaintance. Check-in with your social media community, offer advice, support, etc. when applicable. Keep your own business fire going steadily, stoking your goals, plans and ambitions.

FINISHED PRODUCT

SYRUP: Don’t expect to get massive amounts of syrup from all of your hard work. Why? Well, here are some things you perhaps didn’t know about the process:

• Each bucket holds approximately one gallon of sap.
• You need to collect and boil down forty gallons of sap to get one gallon of syrup, 40:1 ratio.
• Constant skimming off the debris, etc. from the sap as it boils
• It takes approximately five hours to boil down a five gallon pail of sap to produce one pint of syrup.

BUSINESS: It takes a lot of work to have your own business!! Attending networking events, and webinars, going to workshops, trying to find the best places to be where your prospects and/or clients are can be exhausting.

You may not think that the thousands of business cards, emails, newsletters, blogs, tweets, etc. you produce each day will yield clients but…be patient. Continue to skim off what doesn’t work for you. This is all part of being in business and the more you do the greater the likelihood that you will be first in your potential clients’ mind.

Just think how delicious the syrup will be over those pancakes or waffles…and how wonderful you will feel when you can look back and see how successful you’ve been with your small business!

Tell me what you think.
Is there something you’d like to share? Have you seen an example of life imitating business? I would love to hear from you!

Read Jayme Soulati’s recent post “Tap Your SMB; Get Maple Syrup” on The SMB Collective