Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jade Adams. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jade , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Oglewood Avenue Plant Shop was not something I’ve ever dreamed of doing or perusing. I actually started the concept on accident. I went to school at the University of Tennessee Knoxville with aspirations and dreams of becoming a surgeon. During my last semester in school, I lost my best friend and partner in a head on collision in December of 2018. After the tragedy, my priorities, desires, and dreams were forever changed. Life became too short. Things that seemed like they mattered… simply didn’t anymore. Everything was rocked and shook and my perspective changed. My everything changed including my career choice. I decided to pivot. It was an extremely hard year for me but I decided to focus on one simple thing. I received my first houseplant ( a memory plant from my boyfriends funeral) and promised to keep it alive. That one special plant snowballed into a growing and massive collection that truly made me happy and gave me something to care for and nurture during a very dark time in my life.

Fast forward to 2019. During the pandemic everyone was spending the majority of their time at home as was I. I noticed many people were re-organizing, spring cleaning, and changing up their household environment. I personally didn’t have much to “clean” but I did have over 300+ houseplants collected. I decided it was time to give some of my plant babies new homes and made a post about a plant sale on Facebook. People seemed to LOVE all of my plants and how much education I provided with each and every plant they adopted. After my collection was cleaned out I noticed everyone still wanted me to educate them on plants. I started selling more and more plants, doing local pop ups and markets, and educating people on social media platforms about the benefits of houseplants.

My first post about the plant sale was in May and by September of that year I found a cute little brick and mortar location not too far from my house. Everything in my bones was saying lets jump in to this venture! That is when Oglewood Avenue was officially born, We have been operating for two years now and try to help everyone be the best plant parent they can be. We try to be a place that is surrounded by happiness and hope.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Jade Adams. I like to call myself an accidental entrepreneur since being a small business owner sort of fell into place for me. I’m 25 years ago and in the last couple of years graduated college.

I originally went to school to become a medical doctor and seemed to be on the trajectory to spend my time studying and in the hospital the rest of my days. However, after a sudden tragedy decided to go into a happier and less stressful career path. I followed my passions and opened a small houseplant shop located in Knoxville, Tennessee. We specialize in indoor houseplants specifically tropicals, statement plants, and harder to find specimens. We like to debut the plants that you don’t see at traditional big box stores or garden centers. Our motto is “Making all people, plant people.” We truly believe that everyone who comes into our doors can become a plant person and that having a “green thumb” just takes patience and practice! What sets us apart from others in our industry is the amount of education we provide to our customers! Before you even take your plant home you are educated on the ins and outs on how to take care of it and have a basis and good foundation for the plants success.

I am proud that even though being a small business owner was not planned it has been one of the greatest joys to watch something being build created and built from an idea. Not having a background in business, everyday seemed like a roller coaster. From taxes to inventory to getting people in the doors of the shop, a new obstacle is always presented which challenges and also excites me. I would want potential clients to know that there can be growth after a major life changing tragedies. That even if you feel like you are in a dark place there is always potential to grow and bloom. That is what Oglewood Avenue is all about.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is the foundation of the success of our plant shop Oglewood Avenue. We mainly use Instagram and Facebook as a platform to get our information out about new plants, restocks, and what’s new in the shop! Our audience was built majority by word of mouth and collaborating with other small and local businesses in the area. We also did local giveaways to reach a wider audience with businesses that match our brand aesthetic and also that were local to the area to get the most customer traffic. We found a lot of success by educating our customers, having rotating products that were fun and interesting, and also by showing our faces and personality on the media platforms! People fall in love with our mission and personality and THEN they fall in love with our business and products. The best audience I have to built your audience on social media is to just show up and be engaging with your followers. Show the behind the scenes, your successes, your hardships, and all the in between.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients that we have seen being a very local store is by participating in markets, craft fairs, and pop up shops! We noticed that since we are a plant shop that our audience loves and grows plants but what about the people who don’t think they have the ability to take care of a houseplant? How do we get their attention We had a eureka moment where we realized that you probably won’t go into a plant shop if you believe that you are going to kill any plant you touch. We decided to try pop ups and different craft markets on the weekends. During this time we noticed that a lot of people WANTED to be a plant person but simply had no idea on where to start or thought it was impossible. Once we educated people on where to begin and the easiest plants to start with they became regulars at our shop.

Contact Info:

• Website: Oglewoodavenue.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/oglewoodave/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oglewoodave
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTEBSCmTYFU&list=PLPBX4CwI7bw-t0f4mDvwt_5N0qT98p7_q
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/oglewood-avenue-knoxville-2
• Other: Press: https://oglewoodavenue.com/oglewood-in-the-press/

Image Credits
Shawn Poynter Jalynn Baker