Business Lessons from the Blackberry Bush

It’s blackberry season! I love blackberries, the fruit, not the old electronic device that predated the smartphone (though they had their charm). I’m talking about the dark, luscious berries that grow wildly along creeks and ravines in the area where I live, threatening to take over my favourite walking path.

At first glance, picking them seems relatively simple – step forward, grab a few berries and enjoy the reward. But if you have ever gone blackberry picking, you know there’s a bit more to it than that.

Wild blackberry bushes are notorious for their prickly thorns, nasty ones that will scratch your hands and arms, tear at your clothing and generally make you look like you’ve lost a fight with the neighbour’s cat. And of course, the best berries are never the easiest to reach. They hide beneath leaves, tucked deep in the brambles or on the very top, just out of reach. Picking them demands patience, long sleeves, strategies on where to place your feet and sheer determination to not let that big juicy one get away. It’s often painful and messy, not to mention imperfect work. But, oh so worth the reward (blackberry margaritas, anyone?)

I’ve come to realize that starting a business feels a lot like picking blackberries. At first glance, business ownership appears easy. What could be so hard, you register your business name, launch a website and wait for the clients to rush-in. Smooth sailing, right! Well, up close, it’s a little more complicated than that. There are unexpected challenges, steep learning curves, small missteps, and days when progress feels slower than you hoped. It can be a daunting undertaking and tempting to retreat to what’s easy, what you know.

We can learn a few valuable lessons from blackberry picking:

1. The best berries are rarely the ones within closest reach. In business, the obvious, easiest, opportunities aren’t always the most rewarding. You may need to look a little deeper, beyond the first branch, to find what’s actually worth your time.
2. A little preparation saves a lot of scratches. Long sleeves, sturdy shoes, a plan for where to step all contribute to a more enjoyable experience. Systems, structure and processes do the same for business. They may not eliminate the thorns, but they keep you from getting torn up by them.
3. There is strength in numbers. The fullest containers usually belong to the people who picked the berry patch with assistance. One person reaching high, another holding or cutting back the branches. In business, when you delegate, you are not giving up control, but choosing to get the right support to ensure the bucket gets filled.
4. Not every berry is ready for picking. And that’s okay. Instead of forcing it, learning to walk past what isn’t yet ready saves your energy for the ones that are actually worth the reach.

Eventually you look down and realize your container is fuller than you expected. The real reward is in the accomplishment. It’s the opportunity to make something amazing from what is growing naturally around us, the plan to implement better tools next time, and the proof that you can, in fact, handle the thorns.

Business ownership works the same way. It was never about moving fast or getting it perfect. It’s about showing up to the patch repeatedly, mapping the SOP’s for a smoother next time and trusting that the scrapes are temporary even if the harvest isn’t. And on the days the brambles win, remember, you don’t have to pick alone. Sometimes the smartest move is handing someone else the basket.

Now if you’ll excuse me, the blackberry bushes are calling, and this year I’m bringing reinforcements!

Worthwhile things are rarely easy to reach, but they’re almost always worth the effort.