Farmville is a very popular Facebook game application created by Zynga, a prominent company and developer of social games on the web.  It has more than 55 million monthly active users as at the date of this post. Inside the game, you can create your own farm, plant fruits and vegetables, raise nice animals and decorate the farm the way you want it. You can also send and receive gifts to and from your friends and neighbors. In the market, you can buy your desired seeds to plant, animals to breed and other stuff and infrastructures you want depending on your current level. As of the writing of this post, I’m just in the 12th level of the game. Nevertheless, I already enjoyed and had so much fun with it. And beyond that, I have learned the following ten business lessons that every business owners and entrepreneurs should reflect.

1. Patience is a virtue

Investing money is like planting of plants, you cannot earn from it in a minute. You must embrace time and enjoy “waiting”.

2. Know how to forecast

A farmer needs to ask himself what to plant, when to buy seeds, when to plant, when to harvest, and when to sell? An entrepreneur may also need to ask himself what to produce, when to buy materials, when to produce, when to sell and whom to sell. In other words, we all need to project matters, energy and time to align them to our goals. We must have the ability or technique to see the future so that we can avoid the negative outcome and reach the positive results.

3. Spend wise

In Farmville, if you have money, you can buy seeds, animals and infrastructures in the market depending on your current level. But purchasing those things must be in an intelligent manner. If you want to maximize your harvest and achieve your farm’s objectives, you need to buy the seeds that will give you the most profitable harvest, buy the animals that will provide you the most lucrative breed, and infrastructures that will help your farm the most. In business sense, you should exchange your money with goods or services that will not only maximize your profit but will also give your business the highest level of productivity. 

4. Be friendly

In Facebook, the more friends you have, the more neighbors you can get in your Farmville. And the more neighbors you get, the more people will help your farm and send gifts to you. If you have more neighbors, you can help more people and earn more points. That’s the same when you do business. The more friends you have, the more customers you can get. If you have more customers, you can generate more revenues and profits.

5. Help thy neighbors

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, you can get points when you help a neighbor. You can also share your wealth to them and get positive feedbacks like messages of gratitude. This can be true in the real world. By helping other people, you can build a great reputation. This reputation will become an important factor to bring your business in its true success.

6. Take care of your farm

Plants and trees will wither if a farmer forsakes to harvest their fruits and vegetables. To avoid this, a farmer should regularly visit his farm to take care of his plants, trees and raised animals. Taking care of your business must also be done. Some greatest businessmen consider their businesses as their babies – they always keep an eye on them and watch them as they grow. They nurture them, protect them, and handle them with warmth and care.

7. Work Hard

All games, including Farmville, have a lot of stages. The 12th level is what I have just achieved. One of my neighbors has already reached the 37th level. In doing entrepreneurship, several steps of ladder also await us. To reach the highest level and get into the top of the ladder, we must work hard. A hardworking person is one who gives his pure energy and time to accomplish his goals.

8. Organize your stuff

Being a farmer also involves some engineering and architecture. By putting your plants, animals and building in an organized manner, your farm will not only look as a beautiful masterpiece, but it will also run smoothly, eliminating any waste of time and money brought by a disorganized system. In business management, organizing is one of its important functions. Putting your business elements (people, properties, products, services, etc.) will also help your business run in an optimized speed and gain maximized results.

9. Don’t stop learning

When I was still in the earliest stage of the game, I thought I have already figured out the key to climb quickly in the higher levels. But as my play moves farther, I realized that there are still better ideas I can use to achieve that goal. As entrepreneurs, we should not stop learning and researching to attain our objectives. The business world is like a deep blue ocean, there are still untapped opportunities that we must constantly explore.

10. Take a break

When I was not aware of the Farmville in Facebook, I was so hesitant to approve any game applications in my account. The reason is… I know that any game can be so addictive. But this one passed on my closed gate on gaming. Now, I am almost an addict of this game. This makes me visit my Farmville almost every hour even though I know that these visits are already redundant. Thus, the final business lesson I got from this game is – to learn how to take a break. You know how important it is to regularly take enough time of break in working for your business. These break-times will enable your body, mind and soul to experience relaxation and rejuvenation that will make you a better person and a more effective entrepreneur.

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