Money Grows Like Plants

My father’s into the plant business, and for many, many years, he persistently tried to convince me to do the same. But even though I appreciate how you can make money selling plants, I never saw myself as a person venturing into the plant business. However, as I steadily grew interested in business in general, I came to realize that in a way, money grows like plants. I didn’t get hooked to the idea of selling plants, but just the idea of how a plant grows is analogous to how money works.

How did I come up with the idea that money grows like plants? Well, here are some of my observations and realizations:

1.       Starting a business is just like planting a seed. Generally, plants don’t grow from a seed/bud into a full-grown vegetative and reproductive state in a short span of time. Fertilizers can speed up the growth process, but cannot do it in an instant. The fact is that plant tissue takes time to propagate; a seed, bud, cutting or any other reproducing portion must be able to adapt in a certain environment, and it must withstand all obstacles for growth. And just like them, money grows steadily. While there are some strategies or methods that can result in a surge of revenue, I believe that you should allow a longer period of time to allow the steady growth of your business. There’s such a thing as the “time value” of money, and I believe that you should allow money to work for a longer period to truly make it sustainable and self-sufficient.

2.        Profits are just like fruits. Plants generate fruits, and money generates money. And the way I see it, this thought contributes to the idea that money grows like plants. It takes time for plants to bear fruits, and just the same, it takes time for a business to have its returns. If you pick a fruit that is not yet ripe, you wouldn’t be surprised if it won’t taste the same. The same thought applies to a business: if you don’t allow sufficient time for money to work, how would you expect your business to bear fruit? If you’re not properly monitoring your business’s cash flow, you might be taking out not just profit, but your equity as well, and this would consequently cripple your operations. It’s funny that we’re able to put it like this: what you originally intended as a sweet business turns sour.

3.       Branching is just like compounding. If you allow enough time for a typical plant to propagate, one branch turns to two; and two turns to four; four turns to eight. Money seems to work that way, right? Assuming that events turn favorable, a financial instrument can potentially generate compounded interest, and the more time you’re willing to invest your money, the greater is the potential for your money to compound.

And even with these observations, there are other angles that are still to be explored to establish that money grows like plants. Just like plants and money, I guess you should also allow more time to think about these thoughts. Time is essential, time is the key factor; and if you want to be successful in farming or gardening or business, it’s definitely true that you’ve got to take time to understand time.