Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”?
I’ve been in the plant industry now for over 10 years, and my background is in digital marketing. So starting a website that sells plants seemed like a no brainer. So my best friend and I started this company in 2017 as a side job, working nights and weekends after the kids went to sleep. When COVID hit, our sales really took off and we jumped in full time and have been growing like crazy ever since.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
When we started Plant Addicts, I had a full time job at another large party supply company in the Omaha area. During my time there, I managed 3 different teams at once, working on 2 different websites in 2 different buildings and I had 2 different bosses I reported to. It was definitely a crazy year trying to balance that very intense job along with starting Plant Addicts.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Positive attitude — things are going to go wrong in life and at work. You can choose to either focus on the negatives or positives when that happens.
Problem solver — as a business owner or leader, you have to constantly solve problems and change what you are focused on. In a single day, I can work on content, emails, the website, human resources, and finance. It can be very hard to shift gears like that.
Learner — one thing I’ve done my entire career is to try and learn as much as possible, even if it doesn’t directly impact me. In meetings I’ve always tried to learn every other aspect of the business and more often than not, it comes in useful down the road. This allowed me to advance my career faster than normal. And when you own a business you have to constantly learn new things in order to survive and grow.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
You can be mad that roses have thorns, or be happy that thorn bushes have flowers. The choice is yours. Obviously, this goes back to having a positive attitude.
Are you working on any interesting or exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We actually just finished a very cool new project on our site. When you visit our site, it will detect your IP address and look up which growing zone that you are located in. Your growing zone is very important when selecting which plants to grow in your yard, in order for it to survive the winter. This makes things way easier for our website visitors to know what growing zone they live in (which beginners often do not know).
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about creating a successful garden to grow your own food. Can you help articulate a few reasons why people should be interested in making their own vegetable garden? For example, how is it better for our health? For the environment? For our wallet?
I really love growing my own food for 2 reasons. First, the food you grow at home will always taste better than store bought food. Second, when you have peppers, tomatoes, onions and other veggies right outside your door, it makes it a heck of a lot easier to eat healthy. One other bonus reason to grow your own food is because it’s really fun to do with your kids!
Where should someone start if they would like to start a garden? Which resources would you recommend? Which plants should they start with?
You should visit our site of course! We have over 2000 plant care articles, a staff that is available for live chat for any questions, and several plant experts on our team that answer questions our visitors have as well.
The main thing is to just get started and don’t get frustrated. I own a plant company and I still kill plants all the time. Its part of learning how to garden and what works and doesn’t work.
Can you please share your “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Successful Vegetable Garden To Grow Your Own Food”?
1. Peppers are some of the easiest plants to grow. I suggest starting with peppers (not all of them are spicy).
2. Pick a spot that gets over 6 hours of direct sunlight. Water the plant when the soil is dry an inch or two deep or when the leaves start to look droopy.
3. Make sure you have fertile soil, that also drains well. Add compost and fertilizer if your soil isn’t very high quality.
4. If you plan on growing veggies in a container, make sure the container has good drainage and plan on watering the plants more often because the soil will dry out faster.
5. Pay attention to the label on the plant. That will provide basic care instructions for you to start with.
What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they start a garden? What specifically can be done to avoid those errors?
1. Overwatering the plants. This is very common with houseplants as well. Make sure the soil dries out between waterings.
2. Planting the plants too close together. Its easy to try and squeeze a bunch of plants into a small space. But you will regret it come July. Pay attention to the label on how far apart to space the plants.
3. Don’t think that you will get it 100% right the first try. The important thing is to get started and learn as you go!
What are some of the best ways to keep the costs of gardening down?
1. Buy smaller plants (or seeds) from the store or online. You might have to be a little more patient to start with, but its a great way to cut costs.
2. Save seeds from the prior year. This is relatively easy to do actually.
3.Share with your neighbors. Maybe 1 neighbor grows peppers, one grows tomatoes, and another grows cucumbers. Then you can all share instead of trying to grow 3 different types by yourself. What a great way to get to know your neighbors better as well!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Everyone should be growing their own food. You don’t have to be 100% self-sufficient, but you can at least grow a plant or 2 at home. Even if it’s in a small planter on your balcony. If everyone did this, it would get a lot more people interested in gardening and eating healthier.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
Shaquille O’neal — he was my childhood hero growing up watching him play basketball. He seems like a really genuine, fun and happy person to be around. I still follow him to this day, as he’s an extremely successful businessman.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Just visit plantaddicts.com and sign up for our newsletter. We send emails about cool new plants, gardening and plant care advice, and different promotions we are running to save money on our plants.
Thank you so much for the time you spent on this interview. We wish you only continued success and good health.
