Knee Deep Stuck

We live on a lot of acres in Missouri, and we are fortunate enough to have a large, beautiful pond on the backend of the property. This is a hub for wildlife and teenage boys. My grandson and his friends can spend countless hours down there being boys whether that’s shooting, fishing, boating or ATVing through the woods. On one of those occasions here recently, I was following my husband to feed the fish off the peninsula. As, I wondered around, I heard laughing, not unusual. Then I heard the weakest, slightest yelp for HELP mixed with laughing. Now, normally I’d laugh this off and just think they were having a great old time over there but there was something a little different in the tones. And knowing them I decided I’d better investigate the chatter and laughter, plus the weak help call.

Being stuck in the mud kinda like your old website.

They were a good 50 feet away and a big tree was in the way with all the undergrowth there so I really couldn’t see them clearly. I saw the boat through the trees, and I could hear them. So, it wasn’t that easy to get to the other side of that tree, I had to go wide and work my way around it to the small path. We have been clearing out areas to walk through and of course they are in an area where we haven’t even started.

I was in my flip flops, so I wasn’t prepared for weeding through the woods. I was walking pretty gingerly and looking down to not get snagged or fall flat on my ass.

However, when I turned the corner around that brush, it was so hard not to laugh. I really think it was more like, “What the hell”, kind of moment. I was just trying to figure out what was going on but there stood one of my grandsons’ friend’s knees deep in mud – STUCK.

Chasing Tadpoles​

You see we had just had some rain and apparently that area is a little bit like quicksand you just sink in it. So, here he is stuck, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to get out, while the boys were just laughing. A lot of help that did. So, the first thing I did after taking in the scene was immediately go get my camera so I could take a picture of this so the boys could remember it forever. And then try to figure out how to get the one boy out, we’ll just call him G.

It took us a little while. We threw out several ideas and none of them worked. I threw a big stick which got a little bit of movement but not enough. Finally, I told the boys to row over so he can leverage and hang on it to pull himself out. But then I thought, crap wait, if he pulls up too much the boys in the boat will be knee deep with him. At last, we gave up and called in the expert woodsy guy, my husband. He was still on the other side of the pond. While waiting I asked how G got out of the boat. He said, “I was catching tadpoles.

How does this relate?

We eventually got G out of the mud, and it took the expert fish guy to make it happen. He knew exactly what to do to get G out of sinking. But it was quite a comical adventure, probably not so for G. I’m sure the boys will never forget. So, why do I tell you this story? Here is my crazy mind in business mode.

Let’s take “G” as being a company, any business = universal for anyone. You have a boat with people, let’s call them the “competition”. Those tadpoles are now “bright shiny objects”, new apps, new fake filled promises of growth, the get rich quick scheme and some agencies that promise big ROI results if you do “this”. My husband is now the “Expert Business”. You see where I’m going with this analogy?

“G” like any other business, especially new ones that aren’t clear on what they need, go looking for those tadpoles, the bright shiny objects. Whether that is an agency promising to bring them immediately to the top of google or to produce a 1mil business in just 90 days. Maybe that is a new application that promises to make all your dreams come true with the push of a button. You see “G” started out just like any other company he was in the boat, remember the boat with friends? The boat has all your competition other businesses. And you were floating along in this boat doing just okay but maybe you are moving too slow. You decide to chase the tadpoles and things that promised success. But now you find yourself knee deep in the mud trying to pull yourself away. How do you get back up to your competitor’s level and back in the boat?

All the while you were chasing all the tadpoles you’re sinking further and further away from your goals in your dreams. You don’t need to have 100 million apps or plugins or 100 books on the shelf telling you how to run your business or what you need for your business. What you need is an expert to help you, who has been there, done that, did that, to keep you out of the mud.

The point is. . .
Don’t get stuck in the mud or let your business get stuck in a rut.

So, remember we brought in the “expert” to pull G out with just some simple tactics, honestly. But it took the expert to know how to do that. Most businesses just need a little helping hand to get it out of the mud and back into the boat. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that chasing tadpoles is wrong. It’s those journeys both the failures and the results that make you a well-rounded business owner. Every business owner does this from time to time.

Remember, the different ways you try to get yourself out of the mud, that’s what makes you a great businessperson. Because hey, you’ve attempted it. You tried it, it didn’t work. You experienced the “trys”, it didn’t work. However, you’re not going to forget it. Every business built has tried to chase those tadpoles, some succeed other’s sink. Keep your feet firmly planted in your boat and don’t try to chase all the bright shiny tadpoles. Those tadpoles can wait.

Moral of the story:

Stay in the boat, don’t chase the tadpole but if you do call Cabana Digitals to bail you out of the mud, wash you off and get you back on the boat – We are the experts.