What is “Spartina”

Spartina grass is a perennial grass that grows to four feet tall. In its native environment it is found in East Coast salt marshes; it also exists on the West Coast of Washington and California. There are at least 14 subspecies.

The characteristics of the grass provide an apt set of analogies for growing a business. Know where to plant your business to gain maximum benefit.

Below are some of the ways we can understand business, using Spartina as an analogy.

Spartina Grass Business Principles
Perennial Generate a business return year after year, growing stronger; Spread your business presence wider each year
Erosion control qualities Discard unneeded aspects of your business; Protect what is valuable. Leakage of resources is detrimental to a growing business
Economically Beneficial Be economically beneficial to investors, employees and customers
Displaces native plants when in non-native environment Displace existing competitors by using your unique and inherent strengths; become stronger than they are rather than tear them down
Dominant plant in native ranges Find the right market for your product. Only then is dominance possible
Tolerant of wide range of environmental conditions Be able to weather a variety of economic and market conditions; Create a scalable business
Reaches maturity in 3-4 months The sooner the business matures (reaches profitability), the faster the profits are available
Self-Sustaining Renew Business models with similar new products and off-shoots rather than starting from seed stage every time
Spreads by seed, rhizome or vegetative fragments Grow the business in a variety of ways to respond to market conditions quickly
Wind Pollinated Grow business with free publicity—word of mouth; press releases; articles. These spread the seeds of your business without any investment
Reproductive Vigor The ability to continue to grow, and produce products and interest creates a sustainable business
Robust Form Robust means strong; your business organization, vision and finances must be strong from the outset.

(see http://www.wapms.org/plants/spartina.html and http://www.spartina.org/species.htm for more info on Spartina Grass).