From the time I was little, I can always remember my parents preparing meals from scratch. I don’t think I had ever seen a “box” of anything used as an ingredient or a starter. From the cooking to the presentation and even the table setting, everything was not only visually beautiful, but divinely delicious. Whether it was a holiday, family celebration or a simple dinner, they expended great effort, love and care in every morsel! This love and passion for food represented more than merely the building blocks for a gastric feast, but generated a powerful role model for each of their children’s drive for success, character development and yearning for business acumen.
To this day, everything I make is from fresh, whole ingredients. Last week I was boiling a chicken carcass to make homemade soup and as I watched it simmer, it was one of those Ah Ha moments realizing that being an entrepreneur is similar to cooking. If you want the best flavor from your soup, you must simmer the bones in chicken broth for about two days to extract the flavor of the marrow, chill the soup, remove the fat, pull the meat off the bones, add your vegetables and fresh herbs and simmer again. It is a much longer process than simply popping open a can, but if you want the best outcome, then begin with the making the time and incorporating top ingredients. There are no shortcuts or quick fixes to build the company of your dreams. It requires an extensive amount of dedication, commitment and full-time effort. My soup exploded with flavors, great pride and passion for doing my best.
“Build it and they will come” will not propagate a thriving business. When you choose to become an entrepreneur, you not only commit to yourself, but to your stakeholders as well. You have a responsibility to them to grow and generate the best company you can and this requires a 365 day a year dedication and perseverance. It is not just a whim or a hobby. It is a perpetual cultivation process of business development, goals, service, leadership, insight, customer experience, troubleshooting and so on to ensure prosperity and success on all levels.
Your eyes are not fooling you. The image above is not my chicken soup, but my father’s famous cheesecake which takes 2.5 days to create and you will NEVER find any other cheesecake as richly and sinfully phenomenal.
Serve your business with the passion and all of the time it deserves.
Interesting point and the same should carry into your social media. Homemade (live) instead of box (auto tweets) Continuity is key and observed.
Thank you for your comment Donna! I do agree but only to a certain extent for social media content. I think we should all be personal and authentic, adding our own voice and engaging on an individual level to build relationships and trust. The scheduling of relevant and valuable content allows someone the time to be able to fully engage on a personal level without concern for their other types of posted content.
Happy New Year Donna and nice to virtually meet another North Carolinian.
Suzie
I don’t mean to be disrespectful but how do you not have a profile pic on your own blog? I’m sorry Suzi, just looking at how people run their business/blogs so I can improve my own. Just wondering how you expect people to take your business seriously on this level? I would make a few changes for 2013 because it looks like you have a really nice blog here but just needs to be tweaked a bit.
It’s nice to meet you virtually as well – I have you on my list of locals 🙂
Happy new year!
Donna
No worries Donna. I appreciate your input. The image at the top is a caricature of me holding the Ace sign and when you click on the about page, there is another photo of me. I understand the importance of visuals and placing a face with a name. It helps with branding. You will see I have a picture(s) with all of my social media platforms. When designing the site, we wanted something a little different than the standard interface and banner so the caricature was created along with the addition of my photo on the About page.
Thank you again.
Suzie
Such a personalized and meaningful post, Suzie! The warmth and charm of your early family dinner memories sound so appealing. As well, I like this line: “Whether it was a holiday, family celebration or a simple dinner, they expended great effort, love and care in every morsel!”
You’ve definitely demonstrated this level of quality and care in how you behave in running your business and serving clients (I’m lucky to have hired you on more than one occasion, so I know of what I speak!).
I look forward to more of your rich, aromatic blog posts in 2013!
Jacqui
Thank you Jacqui! I so appreciate your thoughtful comments and insight. I am excited for a strong 2013 and collaborating closely with my clients for their continued success.
All the best to you. Happy New Year.