“I sort of started my own business a bit by accident. I was still a student when I got my first client and it made me realise that I could do it, that there was work out there and that people wanted me. I was confident in my abilities but I was a little unsure about the business side of things. So it made me realise that I really needed to get out there and learn a little bit more about how to run a business as opposed to the product I was offering.”
I guess I was quite lucky in many ways because I didn't know much about the way that business worked. I knew enough that I could get started but not so much that it hindered me and that I was scared about cash flows and you know, prioritising things like that. It made me more open to putting myself out there and telling people about what I was doing rather than sticking to established routes and things like that.
I think it is also a great help to me that I didn't know much about business before I started because it meant that I really thought out of the box and did things as they were logical rather than following set business established trends and ways of doing things. And I think actually that helped me in the long run.
I guess the best most rewarding thing about my job is when clients ring me up and are very, very excited about their garden. Perhaps it is something like the tulips have just come up for the first year and they can't wait to tell me that they can see the plants emerging and they are getting really excited about the forthcoming year.
It is when clients who weren't really that interested in plants or the structure of their garden before and really thought of it as just a space that they didn't know what to do with, suddenly they become very, very involved and excited and really take on ownership of the garden. And that makes me feel so happy; it is the best feeling in the world.
The biggest tip I can give anyone starting their own business would be to find something you are really passionate about because if you love your business then you are going to work very hard at it, you are going to push it, you are going to think of new opportunities all the time without really having to work at it.
The other thing is to really just tell people what you are doing a lot and seize every opportunity. Do not become complacent and you will succeed because your passion will be there.
I guess I learn all the time about when I am running my business. I learn new things everyday and I constantly get new things from my experiences. In many ways you learn from your mistakes but I can't think of anything that I have done that really stands out as a glaring mistake. But at the same time, I am constantly developing and mending the way I run my business. Whether it is from comments from clients about things that they thought of in ways I can improve or just things that strike me, you know, in everyday occurrences.
My advice to anyone starting off setting up their own business is 'Stop thinking about it and just do it'. You can't go wrong. There will be moments where you might feel slightly under pressure but at the end of the day if you just keep pushing on, you will get through it. There is so much support out there at the moment and people are really interested.”
