The 3 phases of setting up a regenerative business model
It boggles my mind what a little bit of water and attention can do.
The land I live on is essentially a dessert. Not that it’s meant to be — Olowalu, on the West side of Maui 5 minutes south of Lahaina, used to be a breadfruit forest and considered a place of refuge (puʻu honua).
The waters in the streams and traditional waterways have been stolen and diverted for corporations, private use, and hotel lawns after the land was clear cut for the sandalwood industry and then sugarcane industry.
(Remember #4 from last week’s episode ‘The 5 BIG REASONS reconstructing your business into a regenerative business model is essential and urgent’ — I’m referring to the same person here)
Now the land is like a dessert. The hills covered in golden dried grasses, and there are wildfires every year bringing destruction.
But in the last 12 months of living on this particular property here, and the last 24 months that my husband has been regenerating the land here — our few acres has transformed.
It struck me so intensely the other morning. Every morning I walk our dogs along a path that meanders through the hilled landscape. It’s a 45 minute walk there and back and when we cross back onto our property it’s like stepping through a veil. From dry dessert into lush forest.
And all it took was consistent attention, mulch, and water.
In feng shui, flowing water represents wealth.
A peaceful stream or river is like consistent money flowing into your business, and ponds and oceans are like the accrual of assets and wealth.
This mentally makes a lot of sense since in settings like these, water gives you your basic needs. Food. Sustenance. Safety (fire prevention).
So when business feels hard, when it feels dry like a dessert, remember that some water and attention can rehabilitate it pretty quickly.
Let’s look a little bit deeper into this process. First in terms of land, and then your business.
When setting up a regenerative food growing system, there are 2 main stages - the setup phase, and the maintenance phase.
In the setup phase, you are setting up the infrastructure and consistently inputting your energy in so that the groundwork is laid for the system to take care of itself (self-regulate).
Of course, step 0 is understanding the climate, soil quality, and rhythms of the area you’re working within. It’s not like you’re gonna plant apple trees by sea level in a subtropical environment (the tree will never fruit because the environment is too hot).
And the setup phase starts with creating fertile soil. When you create fertile soil, you don’t have to bring in fertilizer have nutrient-dense food - you can grow the fertilizer on site.
The infrastructure you want to put in includes:
Waterlines (if you aren’t in a wet environment)
Mulch (so the ground can hold the water and it doesn’t just wash away or evaporate)
Protection from things that want to eat what you’re planting (deers, bugs)
Protection from harsh elements that will kill a sapling (wind, too much sun)
Plants that grow well together and that serve different purposes (more on this in a future email)
And then there’s time. It takes time for root systems to establish (assuming you’re planting from seed, versus transplanting large trees). It takes time for plants to grow.
And then in the maintenance phase, depending on the style of farm you setup, you may need to checkin every day, week, or as little as once a month.
The most time intensive part of this phase is actually HARVESTING. Harvesting the overabundance of food that the system grows. At this point you may need to hire people to do that alone.
Within your business — setting up a regenerative model for your business — you can see this same flow:
In that step 0 of creating fertile soil - you need to understand your own genius. You need to understand what your people + the world needs.
You then need to setup the business infrastructure. The offers, the website pages, the branding. You can think of those waterlines as the marketing channels you’re putting in place to consistently create interest in your offers.
Those first few months or years of business does require your energy. Unless you’re transplanting larger trees that are ready to grow — you’re bringing in proven offers into a space that’s proven to buy, or you already have visibility, or you have beliefs you’re carrying over from another business or career.
But when you do get to your maintenance stage, the amount of time and energy that’s required from you will depend on how strong your regenerative system is, and what size system you chose to put in place.
And the beauty is that it can be in seasons. You can plan your year so that you have full months off, knowing that harvest season will come around again next year and it will provide more than enough for your needs and desires.
Next week I’ll be back with the biggest Myths I see that people use to limit themselves from setting up a regenerative business. You’re gonna love it.
In your corner,
Sam
P.S. Here’s what the regenerative business model is already doing for online business owners:
"This is like a Soothing Balm for my Nervous System and for my business."
— Donna
"This is all about HOW TO APPLY BRILLIANCE OF NATURE TO YOUR BUSINESS. Highly recommend for those who care about the environment, run their own business, and want to integrate a more natural way of sharing their value with the world... and making a PROFIT.”
— Andrew
“I’ve been studying permaculture for years and often wondered what it would look like specifically applied to business as an entrepreneur. I'd heard that it could be applied that way when I was going through my permaculture certificate program, but I'd never seen a comprehensive plan such as this. As a solopreneuer, it gave me hope that more people might run their business this way and put more focus on leaving a legacy for the future generations."
— Csos
“I feel less helpless and alone and more resourceful.”
— Anonymous
P.P.S.
The Regenerative Business Creation Lab opens November 13th!
The waitlist is open now + is the only way to get first access with 40% off. Click here to sign up if you aren’t already.
