We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nancy and Alliison Childers / Klaine Cagle . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nancy and Alliison below.

Alright, Nancy and Alliison thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

As the co-owner of Muddy Roots Collective, a small woman-owned plant shop, I believe that we do a few things differently from the industry standard.

First, we focus on quality and care. We only sell plants that we know are healthy and well-cared for. We check every plant almost every day to insure our customers are walking away with the best chance of keeping it happy and healthy. We also take the time to educate our customers on how to properly care for their plants. This is something that big box stores often don’t do, and it’s a big reason why so many people have trouble keeping their houseplants alive.

Second, we offer a personal touch. We know our customers by name, and we’re always happy to help them find the perfect plant for their home or gift for their loved ones. We also offer plant care consultations and plant doctor services, so that our customers can get the help they need when they’re struggling.

Finally, we’re obviously passionate about plant care. We love learning about different plants and how to care for them. We always try out products before recommending them and learning new ways to solve old problems is one of our favorite nerdy plant activities.

One story that illustrates how we differ from the industry standard is a time we helped a customer diagnose a problem with a plant theyd had less than a week. . The customer had brought in a plant they’d recently purchased at a big box store that had quickly started looking off. Yellowing limp leaves that were already starting to fall off. They’d gotten some not great information online that had made the problem even worse. We took a look at the roots and could see that they were black and mushy. We diagnosed the plant with root rot and walked the customer through the steps to take to treat and avoid the problem in the future. A little fresh soil and a quick lesson in proper drainage saved the plant and made the customer feel more confident going forward.
We want you to be successful even if you’re buying elsewhere.

This story is just one example of how we always to go above and beyond to help our customers. We’re committed to providing our customers with the best possible plant care, and we’re always looking for new ways to help them connect with nature through plants.

We believe that small businesses like ours are the future of the plant industry. We’re passionate about what we do, and we’re committed to providing our customers with the best possible experience. Our dedication to learning and growing will hopefully keep us going for years to come.

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.

MRC was started as a way to share our passion for plants with everyone and to build a community for people to find friends and feel welcome. We’re a small shop in downtown Murphysboro, Illinois that also does pop up events at various locations throughout the year. We also offer a variety of plant care items, local art, and other weird stuff we fall in love with. We were both tired of having the same issues with shipping costs, sickly plants, and in some cases full on scams while trying to grow our collections. So we took it on ourselves to make the kind of shop we dreamed about going to. We wanted a place where you could find rare and unique plants but also a place that’s affordable and accessible.

Almost 3 years later we’re the only independently owned brick and mortar plant shops in the area. We’re able to offer a wide variety of services, everything from a plant doctor service to going out and caring for and styling plants for local businesses. In addition to that we host events activities like classes on holistic gardening or bouquet classes where you can pet baby goats.

It’s so important for us to let our customers know how important they are and that they’ll always be treated like an old friend the second they walk in the door. We want them to know there’s never any judgement here and helping turn someone into a plant person is our favorite thing to do. We live for the tough plant questions and the moments you overshare with us.

We love what we do and we want everyone that comes in to fall in love with nature like we have.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I wish I could say business school but the truth would be we met on a Little Mermaid parade float when we were 4 and the rest was history. Our longtime friendship goes far in understanding the way the other works and is motivated. We know which areas we make up for and which areas to let the other shine.

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

My previous jobs working in social media marketing taught me a lot about how to create engaging content and build relationships with followers. I learned that the most important thing is to have a set personality so that your customers feel like they know you even if they’ve never met you. I also learned that authenticity is key. People can spot a fake from a mile away, so it’s important to be yourself and let your personality shine through in your posts.

One of the ways I do this is by sharing behind-the-scenes photos and videos of our shop. I also like to post funny memes or video content that my customers can relate to. I also try to interact with my followers as much as possible, answering their questions and responding to their comments.

I believe that by building a strong relationship with my customers on social media, I can create a loyal following and turn them into repeat customers. And that’s what it’s all about, right?”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://muddy-roots-collective.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muddyrootscollective/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyrootscollective/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/muddy-roots-collective-murphysboro

Image Credits
Some photography done by Nina Wilson