Originally posted on Facebook -Tough Choices 2018-03-23-002 Business Development versus Skills Development ~

Not wanting to sound wishy washy, but sometimes it can be tough to choose between developing something into a business and developing skills. Mentally if I tell myself that what I am doing is skill development, then like some persons in the Family Gardeners Forum group, I will keep expanding the range of crops which I grow, learning and experimenting as I go along, trying bodi, ochro, melongene, pigeon pea, pimentos, tomato, in turn until I develop some knowledge. I may have a limit on my costs, such as: Long term crops: spend no more than $5.00 - $10 per month on one group of starters, such as ginger, turmeric. Short term crops: $10 on seeds per month excluding transport costs and purchasing potting mix or promix as I can allocate the cash. Alternatively I can buy seedlings with $10, being the maximum outlay at a time as there are other costs to add to project. Just as I would have said previously with respect to making payments to a Tax Saving Plan (TSP), hold the funds which I would spend on the TSP, until the end of the month when I have the second set of funds to make a payment to the account. That way I do not feel the pinch of trying something new and having to wait for the next step. Short Term crops: seeds, soil, and lots of patience as I can easily see how things are going or not with the plants. With both a skill development and a business development, I will read up on the subject online, join a group and post updates as I am able to do so. On the other hand If I thought about gardening as a Business, then I may need assistance with: 1) Record keeping: receipts, bills, filing, storage of information 2) Developing a knowledge base of suppliers, debtors, contracts. 3) Separating the cash received and the costs of items between the personal garden and that which belongs to the business. 4) Paying taxes, opening an account for the business and going forward. 5) The work which is involved, such as watering the plants. This may add to my costs, so consideration may be needed as to how much of my funds do I want to tie up in the business while I wait on the crops to arrive. At the end of the day, I decide whether I will grow things that I may eat or whether I will use the time as exercise time or as a contribution to the earth, adding nutrients to the soil, watering it to keep the area cool or just letting the grass grow. Let me know what you think and what works for you...