Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adam Barkett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Adam thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
I actually began my professional career in healthcare as a registered nurse; I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from the University of South Florida in 2010 and worked about 3 years doing bedside nursing on a Progressive Care (Telemetry) Unit. When an opportunity came for me to transition from performing bedside care to working behind the scenes in Information Technology (IT) in healthcare, I seized it as there was a need for people like myself in healthcare who could work with computers, equipment, and clinical applications necessary for documentation and who also understood and could speak the same language as clinicians trying to perform such documentation. It was a challenging transition but I liked it because I got into to nursing to help people such as patients and now I was helping healthcare providers help their patients. But after a few years in IT, I found myself in a cold building and particularly in the IT Service Center which was a room with no windows and computer screens everywhere and though I was grateful, and I was making great money and had benefits and was providing well for my family, it was killing my soul and my health really. I knew I had to get out of there. So in 2018, my father was turning 70 and was preparing to retire from his interiorscaping business he had started in 1975 only he wasn’t sure how he’d leave it. He didn’t want to just discontinue his contracts and relationships he had with his valued clients and he’d need to figure out how to “dissolve” the business so he could retire so I volunteered to take it over for him. I figured: I was already familiar with many aspects of it having grown up in and around the business and industry, I’m smart enough to learn whatever I need to, I’m physically capable of what the job entails, plus I’m blessed with a green thumb so I took the risk! I left my prominent job in healthcare where I had excelled and that included a steady paycheck with security and benefits to being a self-employed business owner. It has been about 5 years now and I haven’t looked back. Each year has been better than the last as I continue to learn and grow. And best of all, I still get to help people! Plants have countless health benefits and I get to provide and maintain them to people! How awesome is that?!
Adam, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I think insofar as solving problems for clients, my plants are able to transform whatever locale they inhabit for the better. What I mean by that is, plants have been scientifically proven to: improve air quality by their release of oxygen into the air and take up not only carbon dioxide – but pollutants and toxins as well such as formaldehyde and benzene, improve: productivity, creativity, memory retention, and concentration, help to improve mental health as they ease anxiety and reduce stress, fend off illness and boost healing, reduce noise levels and odors, and much more but you get the idea. And what’s so cool about all of these things that plants do is well for one thing they are attractive but also they’re practically just sitting there while doing all of that – simply existing. I’m also very proud of the fact that as a small business owner, I’m able to provide my services for a very fair price as I don’t have the same overhead costs of larger companies. I am determined to do a good job and earn my clients’ business and trust as my livelihood (and that of my family) depends on it. Everybody wins.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Someone told me a long time ago, “If you do what you say you’re going to do, that separates you from 90% of the people out there.” I think my consistency and reliability is what has helped me build my reputation. I come to my clients when I say I’m going to come and I provide the services I say I will provide. People see me tending to my plants at my accounts like clockwork. Rain or shine, I show up and I do what needs to be done.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I highly recommend The E Myth – by Michael E. Gerber and How To Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie for business thinking and philosophy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.interiorplantcreations.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/interior_plant_creations_sofl/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-barkett-01a829191/