We were lucky to catch up with Ann Nguyen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ann , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Growing up in a large family with four other siblings and parents who worked seven days a week, my mom never had time to go shopping for gifts. Christmases, birthdays, Easter–we would receive highlighters, shampoo, or a bar of soap. Now don’t get me wrong, I loved the practicality of her choice of gifts, but I did wish that there were easier options for my mom to choose more thoughtful gifts without sacrificing the time to do so. This is why I grew to love every opportunity to go all in when it came to gifting. I started Succulent Friends Co. so that busy people like my mother would be able to send thoughtful, fun, and meaningful gifts with just a few clicks of a button!

Succulent Friends Co. was started with a vision to support other female owned businesses, as well as family owned and social businesses. I’ve always believed in the power of businesses to have sustainable positive impact on our communities and other economies—and I am so grateful to be able to see this dream come to life!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, I had lost my job at an International school and had moved out Joshua Tree to start rock climbing more as well as get away from the noise and start over in a sense. I had just started falling in love with plants…succulents to be exact. I discovered the art of succulent arrangements at a local nursery near my parents’ house and from then on, couldn’t stop creating arrangements and gifting them! I then started sending succulent care packages during Covid to help cheer my family and friends who seemed so far away. They then nudged me to start selling them online and that is how Succulent Friends Co. was formed.

I have a background in Microfinance and social business and wanted my brand to be a socially impactful one. I decided to only source my plants and products from female owned as well as family owned businesses. I wanted to share their unique stories behind their own brands as well…that is why when you click on the individual product listings on our site, you’re able to read about the faces behind the brand and their unique stories.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Succulent Friends Co. was initially a side hustle when I was working full time as a student counselor at an international school. I’ve had many different side hustles ever since college…from wedding DJ to piano teacher to real estate agent… and I am proud to say that I excelled at every side and main hustle I ever endeavored in because I always gave it my all. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that I had to pivot and say “okay, I’m all in with this succulent business at this point and it’s going to work!” And it did! It turns out, most people wanted and needed a simpler and more thoughtful way to connect with their loved ones.

I started making candles for the gift boxes in my kitchen and packing the gifts in my living room and spare bedroom. There was inventory everywhere you looked…from under the beds, to the bathroom closets, ktichen cabinets, you name it! A year later, I had to finally start looking for a warehouse space so that I could claim my kitchen and home back (and also so that I could legally hire employees to help with my growing business).

I now have a cute and chic office/warehouse space in downtown Joshua Tree where Succulent Friends Co. HQ resides.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

Our busiest holidays are Employee Appreciation Day, Admin Appreciation Day, Nurses Appreciation Week, Graduation, Christmas…to name a few. I never imagined the volume of sales I would get for these holidays because I was operating under the mindset that all or most of our sales would be individual sales. However, I soon found out that small to midsized companies would be purchasing from us, along with hospitals, universities, you name it.

My first major holiday was Employee Appreciation Day–companies were hitting me up a few weeks before the actual holiday and I was averaging a few hundred gift box sales a day. I had no way of completing this on my own on time and the desert isn’t an easy place to hire employees. This would have been a major setback to Succulent Friends Co. –we were saving up to move business and inventory into a chic warehouse/office space! It got to the point where I was looking for employees at my local nail salon, at the post office, on my evening runs. And it worked out great! You get to have an informal interview with your potential employees before they even realize they would love the job… and see if the connection is there.

When traditiona hiring methods don’t work for the area you live and work in, it’s time to get creative and really get to know your town. I’ve been living in Joshua Tree for almost four years now and have a new sense of love and appreciation for the community ever since I started this business.    

Contact Info:

• Website: succulentfriendsco.com
• Instagram: @succulentfriendsco

Image Credits
Images by Christine Nguyen and @ivannawashere