I only had one free Saturday morning in October to go raspberry picking. But on the morning that I had made plans to go, I woke up to the sound of rain. It was pouring, and the temperature was in the mid-40s. I thought about not bothering to get out of bed, but I knew it was my only chance for raspberry jam.

If you’ve never had homemade raspberry freezer jam, you might not understand the draw. But let me assure you, it is unlike anything you’ve ever bought at the supermarket. My sister-in-law and I had decided to pick the late fall berries and make jam, so even though it was raining, we bundled up and headed a half hour north to the U-pick farm.

When we arrived at the farm, we were directed to the berry patch, and discovered we were the only two people crazy enough to try to pick berries in the rain.

Although we were pretty well covered in our hooded sweatshirts and ponchos, we couldn’t wear gloves while picking the berries. After several minutes, my fingers were so cold and numb that I thought about giving up.

The funny thing was that, as I stood there hunched over a berry bush in the muddy field, I remembered a conversation I’d recently had with a manufacturer’s rep. He started his own company last year in the midst of the recession. “You can’t pick your economy when you’ve got a good idea,” he told me.

And I realized his statement could be applied to many situations. You can’t pick your weather or your economy when you want to do something, so you might as well go ahead and do it no matter the temperature or conditions.

And later on, whether it’s opening a jar of jam or reaping another kind of profit, the result will be well worth it.