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

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.

I had no business starting this business. I have a Master’s degree in Social Work and I’ve spent my adult life thus far working in healthcare. But plants have always been my therapy and I’ve always wanted to own my own business. From the time I was probably 10 years old I wanted to own a store. When I was in college all my friends would tell me that I should open a plant shop. But I let doubt and fear of the unknown hold me back from moving forward on that dream. Until I didn’t. I stopped letting excuses of not knowing what I was doing or not having enough time hold me back, and I started messy, unsure, and not ready.

In October of 2022, I started Root to Rise Plant Co. I started selling plants out of my garage and have grown to having Root to Rise Plants in 5 different local businesses. So far this year, we’ve done over 50 in person events, we participated in huge community festivals and concerts, we are expanding to 1-2 more retail stores, and we are almost 100% booked out for the rest of the year.

Root to Rise sells tropical houseplants and succulents and planty things, like macrame and pottery. We curate mobile events, private parties, and host DIY workshops. We pop up at breweries, wineries, and community and private events.

My husband and my daughter help me run the business and we are about to hire our first employee.

People come to us to buy their plants because we offer super high quality plants that you don’t find in big box stores. We hand select every single one of our plants and they all come from high quality family owned nurseries out of Florida or California. We not only sell them a plant, we provide them with care instructions for each plant that they can take home and help give them a good head start on keeping it alive. We also provide ongoing plant support and maintenance plans. Root to Rise Plant Co. is so much more than just a plant seller. We not only sell plants, we want to empower people to learn how to help their plants thrive for the long term.

I’m most proud of the fact that I started this business with $0, no knowledge of the industry, how to run a business, or any connections. We have been growing faster than I could have ever imagined. Where we are today, 9 months later, is where I thought I might be in 2-3 years. And the encouragement and validation I get from my friends and my clients gives me the confidence to keep building, keep growing, and keep dreaming.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I had a lot of paralysis initially because I did not think it was possible to start a business with no money. So I spent a lot of time trying to write a business plan so I could try to find funding or an investor so that I could get a big chunk of money to start a plant shop. But like I said before, I realized that I had to start building a brand whether I was ready or not. No one knew what I was doing if I wasn’t out in the community showing up. I love Gary Vaynerchuk and have listened to his podcasts for years and his voice was always in my head about hustling. Literally finding something people want and you love, and flipping it for more money. That’s how I decided to just start selling off some of my own plants. So I took that first $200 I made, and turned it into $400, and started bootstrapping myself. Every week, i would take part of what I made over the weekend and buy more plants, and I would use the rest of it to start covering other costs. Buying folding tables, business cards, printer ink, lighting, event fees, etc. Week after week, that’s what I have done so far. Building a business is really really expensive, so having fluid capital is essential, but the compound effect is real. So whether you have $200 or $20,000, if you have a good idea, a good plan, and you have the determination to put the work in, you can start your own business.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

When I first started my business, or had the idea of my business, I had in my mind that I did not want to do vendor events, like farmer’s markets and festivals. I just wanted to open a plant shop, and start big. But, since I didn’t have an extra $100K laying around to open a shop right away, I decided that I should start doing events so that I could start building a brand. So I reluctantly signed up for a local event. I didn’t even have a tent yet. I showed up with a few tables and some plants, and I almost completely sold out. I was surprised at how many people would stop by my booth and share stories with me about plants. People have a lot of stories about plants! They love sharing stories about plants their grandmothers grew, or plants they inherited from a neighbor, and so many other stories. I realized quickly that plants hold roots, and those roots hold connections to something bigger than ourselves. And houseplant people are searching for communities of like minded people who share their same love of plants. It doesn’t matter if you’re good at it or not. If it brings you joy, you want to connect with someone else who understands that connection. I quickly realized that my booth (I quickly upgraded to a tent) was becoming a place where people could gather and share stories and connect with other like minded people, whether they bought a plant from me or not. I really started trying to create a space inside my 10X10 pop up that catered to that. This solidified my brand, Root to Rise, and people started sharing my business with their friends, families, workplaces, and networks, and so on. So all that to say, the one thing I didn’t want to do initially, became probably the most integral thing that helped me create a reputation in my local market.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.RootToRisePlants.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/root.to.rise.plant.shop/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RootToRisePlantShop