Another Harvest Season in the books! And actually, that could be taken literally this year. Thanks for capturing those tree selections, Gnarly!
We've been able to harvest Grandpa Dan's trees with customers four times now. Each year has been unique, and 2024 was no exception. It was an opportunity to look at sales differently. I like math, so it’s hard for me to step away from the numbers. But Dan presented a reframe this season. Rather than focus on more tree sales or more book sales, what if the magic isn't in the numbers? Instead, we centered on "meaningful sales".
Can I put a price on the sentiment my cousins experienced when reading Gnarly and repeating Grandma’s “Always stay as nice as you are” saying? What’s the dollar value of my nephew finding a cardinal in memory of his grandfather? How much is reading to Danny, Arthur, and Oliver’s classmates worth? What's the payout for seeing a book we dreamed about resting on children's bookshelves and in stores? How many books do I need to sell to make reading and conversing with students ranging from 3 to 12 years old worth our respective times? 10 books? 20 books? 30? 31? 100? (…I can keep going, like Dwight Schrute in The Office episode “Company Picnic” for any other huge fans.) I think it’s obvious by now that the book has accumulated priceless meaningful sales. Not that I’m going to coast. Dan also says, “selling is a verb.”
The meaningful sales mantra applies to harvesting trees as well. It was another season of being closed to the public; however, we still had the opportunity to share the farm and make wonderful memories. Family and friends for decades as well as new friends from the farm gathered to bring more meaning to the season. Maybe the math doesn’t add up, but we lost count of how much the harvested trees mean. Each one was special to us; each family decorating and opening presents around the tree matters.
While we look forward to and strive for bigger harvest seasons, it won’t be at the expense of meaningful sales.
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