Although I’m afraid bragging about it might make it go away, I must say I have great parking karma. I can find a parking space when others can’t, and find free ones when pay spaces are the rule.

Last night, while attempting to find parking to see a play at Seattle Center, I had totally given up, and was ready to (shudder) pay for parking to not miss the curtain, when a free space appeared two blocks away from the theater. Two weeks ago, I found free all-day parking DOWNTOWN! (OK, it was a Saturday and I did have to move my car once.)

What accounts for all this parking luck? I say it’s the same thing that helps businesses succeed.

Does that sound weird? Let’s break it down and see why my ability to find parking spaces is similar to what every successful entrepreneur experiences: We make a lot of our luck. Here are the five ways that finding parking and running a business are related and alike:

1. They reward attention. Near one of my haunts is a confusing no parking sign with about four different restrictions on it: No parking 4-6 p.m., except Sundays and Holidays, two hour limit except with Permit #19, Metro only 8-4 Tue. through Thurs., you get the idea. I swear, I’m the only person who reads these signs. These spaces are available more often than not, just because it’s too complicated to figure out if you’re safe from ticketing.

Similarly, paying attention to the right things in business may mean you find a better internet connection deal, or find an RFP (request for proposals) for a good opportunity that others may miss. It may mean you see a new partnership opportunity, or a new market need. Paying attention pays off.

2. They reward persistence. Let’s take the Seattle Center theater case again: I first went to one lot (too expensive), then to another (required exact change), then to another (full up) and then found street parking (permit required). My husband was starting to sweat bullets that we’d miss the curtain. I was secretly getting anxious, too, and ready to go back to the too expensive lot, but my natural stubbornness prevailed and I drove around one more time. Voila! (What I saved in parking fees, however, will now have to be applied to marriage counseling!)

Never giving up is one way that businesses thrive. Sometimes, all you have is your persistence, and you never know if the next time you try, it might work. How many filament materials did Thomas Edison try before he found the one that worked? More than 6,000.

3. They reward cheapness. Frankly, I’m cheap in most places in my life, preferring to buy my clothes at warehouse sales and eat at funky holes in the wall instead of more upscale venues. This is part of the way I was raised. So I make a game out of economizing, and actually enjoy living within my means. Looking for free parking is part and parcel of that ethos.

When we were first looking for office space, free parking was one of our top priorities. Keeping overhead low is so baked into my business culture that every expense is questioned, and every perk is suspect. This policy helps us reap more profit in good times, and avoid layoffs and debt in bad. It doesn’t mean we don’t invest when necessary, but it does mean we’re careful about expenditures.

4. Both reward a certain kind of risk taking. Here’s where I come clean. Sometimes I don’t pay for street parking when I’m running in to pick something up, or I pick spaces that are a teensy little bit illegal. (Oh, come on, I’m only one foot into the red curb!) Of course, I could always get busted by the parking enforcement people, and when I do, I try to accept it with grace (and fail utterly). But when I get away with it — oh, the joy!

Every business has risk, and sometimes the risk pays off. Playing it too safe will not lead to growth and market dominance.

5. Both reward goal setting. If you don’t set out to get free parking, it’s much easier to fill the meter or buy a space in a garage than to spend the time I do looking for that one free space. Similarly, in business, you’re much more likely to achieve your goals when you have them, and then put the processes and resources in place to make them happen.

So while there is no free lunch, there is often free parking. May the parking fairies rain empty slots upon you. And may your business thrive as well. So while there is no free lunch, there is often free parking. May the parking fairies rain empty slots upon you. And may your business thrive as well.

- Lynn Parker

This article was published in Puget Sound Business Journal where Lynn is a guest columnist.

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