One of my besties owns a house in the Hudson Valley. I spend 1-2 weekends there each month and treat it like it’s my own home.
So when she didn’t want to pay her lawn guy his “ridiculous” fee to put up deer fencing for the winter (so they don’t eat the trees) and asked me if I’d be willing to help her DIY it… I agreed.
(In exchange for another 20 weekends, of course. 😘)
We YouTubed first.
Stopped into Home Depot for a mallet and zip ties.
And pulled the stakes and fencing from behind the carport.
As I banged away at the first post with the mallet, I realized I needed more leverage so I got on a step ladder.
👆🏼 Are you picturing this? I hope you’re picturing this. 👆🏼
I hammered away for a good 10 minutes (thank you, OrangeTheory) but it wouldn’t go deep enough into the ground.
She took over and got it in another inch.
Then I took back over.
Back and forth, back and forth.
We thought maybe we’d just hit rock, so started on a second stake a few feet way.
Bang, bang, bang.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
After about 30 minutes without getting a single stake to stand without being on the verge of toppling over with a hint of a breeze, she looked at me and said, “now I know why they charge so much.”
So we did the only thing that made sense…
We went inside and opened a bottle of wine.
(She ended up calling the lawn guy after all.)
All told, we put in about an hour before giving up. That was the extent of our patience. (Or our tolerance for self-punishment.)
And we needed to go through that experience to understand why the guy’s “ridiculous” fee was perfectly reasonable and totally worth it.
It’s hilarious to me that I even agreed to this escapade in the first place… like, why didn’t I see this coming?
After all, business owners sometimes react with sticker shock about my pricing for BEYOND.
They want to make more while doing less… position themselves as thought leaders… ready their business for exit… and these are all things I help with… but…
“Oh, I didn’t expect to invest that much. (Translation: Ridiculous!) I’ll try to figure this out another way…”
And it doesn’t upset me at all when I hear that. I’ve had that same initial reaction to certain decisions for my own business.
“Okay,” I say. “That’s all right! I’ll be here if you change your mind.”
And here’s the thing:
A lot of the time, they end up circling back.
The amount of time varies. My friend and I only spent an hour on her deer fence. If we were different people, we might’ve spent six hours. Or a week.
(And heck, we might’ve gotten those stakes in after all. Or the opposite — given up but decided we weren’t going to let that lawn guy get away charging that exorbitant fee and just let the deer eat the trees.)
There’s no wrong way to get “deer stakes” hammered in.
Just different choices about how to make it happen.
It’s all okay.
Unless you’re the deer…?
Got some stubborn “deer stakes” in your business? Here are 3 ways I’d love to help:
1. Attend a Business Design Workshop
Heads up, we’re buttoning up the BDW schedule for 2020 and plan to have it ready for you within the next few weeks.
2. Go BEYOND with me as your strategic thought partner
As a successful, multiple 6- or 7-figure business owner, BEYOND is your opportunity to look at “all the things” in your business in a private, 90-day sprint. No stone is left unturned as we take you (and your profits) from comfortable… to formidable. Schedule an “Explore BEYOND” conversation here 👉🏼 https://carolynherfurth.com/beyond
3. Got a quick question? Hit me up!
You might’ve noticed more emails from me lately… I plan to keep it up. So if you’ve got a burning topic you’ve been wondering about, tell me about it. That way I can make sure I’m writing about things you want to hear about.
