Monday, October 5, 2009

#71 CHOOSING A MANAGER* (revised 6/3) "wife, husband, or other?"

Managing a garden store can be extremely difficult and full of pressure. Each day gone is one day lost in the short planting season. All the profits that will signal success of failure are measured in weeks rather than months. The manager must have a laser focus every minute of every hour. No distractions can get in the way of this quest. It is only eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep, work.


This total attention to the “garden store mistress” can play havoc on personal relationships or it can strengthen those relationships. A wife, husband or other must be totally understanding, supportive and committed to the cause. There is little time, no energy left for idle conversation, friends over for dinner, a trip to the ballgame, or leisurely walks in the countryside. Until the gardeners have finished the planting and summer arrives, the drive is relentless.


A wife, husband or other can be a tremendous asset to the manager. If that person is a partner who can share the burdens of the stress of the springtime and can otherwise contribute to the emotional stability of he or she who runs green garden gates, no one is more important.


Children, also can be a stabilizing element of the manager as he or she works through the busy weeks and months. The living arrangement at the store, although small and compact is designed to accommodate a small child or even two small children.


We, at green garden gates, welcome a partner to our manager with the understanding that all efforts and attention of the manager is devoted to the success of green garden gates.

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