You gotta bloom where you’re planted
“You gotta bloom where you’re planted.”
– Dolly Parton
A few days ago, I came across a quote from Dolly Parton that really stuck with me;
“You gotta bloom where you’re planted.”
It’s simple, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Especially when you run your own business.
Most of us didn’t start our businesses in perfect conditions. We didn’t have endless time, huge budgets, or a flawless five-year plan. Many of us started around school runs, other jobs, family commitments, or in my case between clients and cups of tea.
We started where we were and sometimes that can feel frustrating.
It’s easy to look around and see people who seem further ahead, they have bigger businesses, more followers and slicker websites. They have fully booked diaries and you start wondering if you’re somehow behind or doing something wrong.
But the truth is everyone is planted somewhere different.
Some people start with loads of time and some with loads of money. Some have connections and some with none of those things but a huge amount of determination.
Where you’re planted might be a busy household, a small local client base, a part time business squeezed into evenings, or a brand-new idea you’re still figuring out, that doesn’t mean you can’t bloom there.
In fact, most small businesses grow exactly that way. Slowly, steadily, and often quietly. Many of the members of Ladies That Do started exactly like this, small yet determined.
A lot of the progress in business isn’t glamorous.
It’s answering messages and showing up even when you feel tired, its’s posting something even when you’re not sure anyone will read it. Learning new skills because you have to and figuring things out as you go.
It’s messy and imperfect and sometimes a bit chaotic.
But…
…that’s still growth.
I think women in particular can be quite hard on themselves in business.
We think we should be further along and we compare our chapter two to someone else’s chapter ten. We convince ourselves we’re not doing enough…. Yet we are very often juggling work, families, homes, and about fifty other responsibilities.
When you look at it that way, the fact that so many women are running businesses at all is actually incredible. We are so proud of every single woman we know who is in business, we are up against so much more.
Blooming where you’re planted doesn’t mean settling or staying stuck. It just means working with what you have right now instead of waiting for perfect conditions.
Because perfect conditions rarely show up.
Sometimes blooming looks like getting your first five clients and it’s learning how to price your work properlt, it’s finally putting yourself out there and telling people what you do.
Sometimes it’s just not giving up on a tough week.
Over time those small steps turn into something bigger and you build confidence, your reputation grows and word of mouth spreads – this is what is magical about networking – opportunities appear that you couldn’t see at the beginning.
One thing we love about groups like this networking community is that we get to see that growth happening in real time. Different businesses, different industries, different stages, but everyone showing up and doing their thing.
There’s something really powerful about women supporting each other while we all figure it out
So, if you ever feel like your business is small, slow, or not quite where you hoped it would be yet, remember that growth rarely happens overnight and roots take time before the flowers appear.
Keep showing up. Keep watering the ideas you care about. Keep doing the work that matters to you.
And trust that you really can bloom exactly where you are planted.
Thank you for reading this month’s blog, You gotta bloom where you’re planted.
Kelly, Kelly, and Chloe,
Ladies That Do Networking