Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharon Grant.

Hi Sharon, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?

I was once called a “Serial Entrepeneur”, when I gave a short talk a few years back about my two small businesses – one a Young Fives School program I ran out of my home and the other my burgeoning plant business.
I found the description amusing and now that I am on my third business I have embraced the term, enjoying its dark underbelly of possibly someone who cannot stop looking for a life fit to its more positive creative springboard.
Although my path might seem somewhat crooked, upon reflection, it definitely has commonalitites that spark from my creative endeavors and experiences.
Nature has been a big influence for me and I have always enjoyed plants, bugs, decay and rebirth/the rituals of seasons.
It is that influence that has shaped my teaching of young children, the plant and oddity arrangments I now make and the overall aesthetics of Little Green.
To enter the shop is to see me nestled in its corners and camoflauged in its walls.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

I am not sure a smooth road exists and perhaps the rough patches are there to build resiliance and a sense of accomplishment that wouldn’t grow otherwise.
There have been periods of calm admist the constent needs of the shop and it is always a bit of a surprise to sit in those monements and look at what I have done as if peering in from the outside.

With each venture I have learned more and more about running a business -from all the many legalities, paperwork, financials, employee management, and pivoting when necessary.

I am by no means an expert and I struggle consistently with the daily business needs of the shop. There is an undeniable weight to the responsibilities. It can often feel like being alone on an island – especially when events out of our contral happen. Some of these are just minor set backs but we have been dealt a couple of significant blows in the past year.

We were told of a two month construction project that would be taking up our limited street parking as well as facing intense noise, dust and a road closure right in front of our shop. The construction continued for 6 months and while we have enjoyed peace for the past couple of months now, they discovered a default in the welding so they will back at it for another month to reopen the road right in front of us. We reached out many times to the city for any help they could offer, maybe a different place to keep their large equipment so customers could find parking and perhaps of bit of rent relief from the loss of sales we experienced. We received nothing. The lonliness of being a small business in need was overwhelming at times.

Just as we were recovering from the construction and building up to a fruitful holiday season, someone threw a rock through our window. (We are in an historic building with huge windows surrounding two sides of the building.) We spent the day cleaning up glass and boarding it up. We decided to draw our logo on the outside to show our resilience although my heart was very heavy. How much would a 8 foot by 5 foot window cost?

Alright, these were two cases of some significant set backs but while a litany of curse words roiled on my tongue I tried to search for the positives in such situations. Imagine Monty Python singing, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.”

Would I have become friends with some of the crew working outside our shop? Not likely. They will not be life long connections but these kind of passing relationships that bond us for a period of time are no less valuable. As a bit of a joke that small biz owners have to do everything themselves, they let me sit in the cab of an excavator as if I was digging the big hole in the road in the front of our space. It is a reminder that we are just doing the best that we can.

And about that window? We put up a Go Fund Me for the cost of $1,500.00 to replace it. We had the entire funds in just one day, paid for by the community that frequents and supports Little Green.

And that is a reminder that we are not alone. Our shop is meaningful to others and the creative community we have built is felt and enjoyed.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Little Green A Plant Bar?

Little Green A Plant Bar is an interactive retail space. We specialize in providing a creative community environment and hosting events, ranging from baby and bridal showers to birthday parties, team builds, staff meetings and local gatherings. Little Green holds monthly concerts for local Jazz musicians to come and play together, as well as a bimonthly live event where local singer-songwriters perform their original repertoire. We are proud to offer many handmade oddities, arrangements, and consignment gifts from local artisans. Little Green is celebrating its third year as a Woman-owned business and has plans to refine upon what we’ve built so far.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?

Little Green A Plant Bar opened its doors in the Summer of 2022 amidst the most tenuous times for businesses in the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other local stores had either shuttered or were just beginning to reopen. We embraced this risky idea with a small savings and took the necessary steps to open our doors. We had a bit of help from family and friends and with a lot of determination we scoured marketplace sites, meeting behind face masks to acquire low cost or free supplies. We trusted that people would wish for a space to socialize, hear live music, take creative classes, mix among plants and get in to the weird oddity or two. We recognize that the pandemics effect on our lives is present everyday and the fall out still remains to be seen, socially and economically. We consider our shop to be a safe space as we continue to navigate and determine our call to action.

We remain resilient and hopeful for the growing morale of our community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.littlegreenaplantbar.com
• Instagram: littlegreenaplantbar