This past weekend I spent some time in the Northwood’s of Wisconsin.  As I was kayaking across a serene lake in the Sylvania national forest I was instantly brought a bit of business inspiration.

Trees in the forest start out as a tiny little seed.  White Pines, Ash, Poplar, Maple, Oak, etc. When they start out they fight for light from the competition, much like businesses when they are quite young. They have to struggle to grow from a fragile little sapling, when the deer and animals want to munch on their fresh little leaves, or even get trampled by a hiker or a bear.  But as they continue to grow, much like business as they seek for the light and fight their way to the top. The strongest, and best grow until someday hundreds of years later a logger wants to come and cut down that tree because of its beauty, and size and cash in from the sale. Much like businesses, they grow from a small little company fighting there way until they grow up to be strong substantial companies with shareholders, board members, and maybe even a potential sale.

A tree starts as a seed, and so does a business.  Growing that business from seed to fully-grown tree takes many years, nurturing, and patience.

Remember that each tree had to fight its way to be, and so will you with your business.

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I wanted people to see this because, when building a company you should always be asking yourself these two questions:

1. “What basic fundamental human need do I provide?”

2  “What does my service answer?”

Doing that will help ensure that you are not wasting your time making something that users don’t want or need.

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