We were lucky to catch up with Neicy Geis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Neicy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I was working part-time for a local flower shop and really fell in love with the aspect of being an integral part of my comminuty, getting to know my neighbors and providing a feel-good service that everyone loved really brought me joy. To see the looks on people’s faces when I delivered an arrangement was like no other, and sometimes entirely changed what may have been a really horrible day for them, if only for a second. I’ve shared, laughter, hugs and many tears with the recipients and there’s really nothing like being a part of someone’s day in that way.

One thing I didn’t love about the job was the massive waste generated by the floral industry, There’s so much waste during production, processing and daily wilting that a huge percentage ends up in the trash and that’s before it even reaches the consumer! Not to mention that once it does reach the client, it has a shelf life of maybe a week, then goes straight into the trash and you’re stuck with another vase you’ll end up donating to Goodwill. And just imagine how much that’s multiplied when it comes to weddings!

Nothing about that felt good to me and I knew there had to be a better way. I’ve always been into houseplants and loved creating succulent gardens and saw that as a more sustainable form of gifting… that was the start of my business.

I began creating them at home for a few clients and started getting tons of orders. Within 6 months, I had a full fledged shop operating from the dining room in my home. I had the opportunity to take over a close friend’s sewing studio and was considering whether or not I was ready for a retail space. I rented a booth at Sunnyside Musicfest to test the waters and it was a huge success! It just snowballed from there and I knew the leap into brick & mortar was the next logical step. I’ve never looked back and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done! After 3 amazing years in the smaller shop, I expanded into a much larger space and am loving every minute of it. Business is great!

Why does your business stand out against the others? What should our readers know more about your business?

As I mentioned, Tigerlily Goods was founded on providing a more sustainable form of gifting. While that’s still a huge part of the business, it quickly transformed into a full-on plant shop and one of the things my clients love the most is the plant doctoring services we provide. We know nurturing plants doesn’t come naturally to everyone and we’re more than happy to help diagnose your babies, whether you bought them from us or not. We encourage clients to send photos of their strugglers and we’ll help get them on the right track and ask that they bring them in if they don’t feel comfortable doing it on their own. There’s no charge for this service, we just want people to feel empowered when it comes to caring for their plants and sometimes it just takes a little hands-on advice to get you going.

We also offer repotting, which is free with a pot purchase, or a small soil fee if you bring your own. We love showing you how it’s done so that next time you may be comfortable enough to do it on your own.

We have an amazing staff of knowledgeable plant enthusiasts who are well-versed in finding the right plant for your space. Whether low light is a concern or you’re gifting to someone who knows nothing about plants, we’ll make sure you leave here with the right plant and the knowledge to care for it.

We also offer plant themed gift baskets that are totally customizable. These make great housewarming, birthday or condolence gifts and local realtors love them for closings and home anniversaries.

Another service we provide is interior plantscaping, providing plants and maintenance for foliage in your commercial or residential space. There’s not much we don’t do and we’re always open to fun projects. So hit us up if you have an idea, we’ll figure out a way to make it happen.

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

I’m proud to say that my followers are entirely organic and I’ve grown these numbers one-by-one by genuine interaction and engagement. I follow most of mine back and feel it’s really important to know who your clients are. It’s a community and you’re providing a service to each and every one of them so don’t forget it! I would never consider buying my followers and think it’s just icky that anyone would.

Yes, it’s a full-time job running my social media but it pays off in a big way and I honestly don’t know how I could pass it off to anyone else. It’s the genuine engagement that means everything to my clients and them knowing they can reach out to me, pretty much 24/7, is why they trust me with their plants and come back time and time again.

My husband has be known to give me a look when I’m messaging in bed at 11pm and has suggested I set hours for communicating with my customers. But there are no hours, I have no idea what their schedules are like and if I have time when they reach out, I’ll respond. Besides, I never know what may come up in the morning so it’s best to not sleep on any task I can knock out right then. That’s definitely a lesson I’ve learned in business, do it now if you have time because you never know what tomorrow will bring and you’ll end up in the weeds if you procrastinate.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like everyone has a covid story but it was honestly a very pivotal time in my business and while sadly, many small businesses closed down, I know of a few that could’ve sustained had they just been a little more adaptable.

My first shop was close to 200sf, a hole-in-the-wall, hidden gem of a space….not at all conducive to social distancing. Plants were just starting to peak as a quarantine past time and the store was busier than ever. I knew I needed to make a change to keep myself and my customers safe so I closed the shop a few weeks before shutdown even happened and transitioned to delivery. People were starting to get nervous about sharing such a small space with others or even going outside at all! I often had a line out the door, only letting in 3 at a time, but even that felt sketchy. The transition into delivery was a great option and a huge relief to many, since they could get plants delivered right to their doorstep without ever leaving the house. I also offered curbside pickup which some preferred or actual window shopping where they’d look thru the window, pick their pot and plant, watch me pot it, put their card thru the mailslot and pick it up outside. We made it fun and it was one of those awesome pandemic adventures we’ll never forget.

This nearly doubled my clientele, if not more so, as word of mouth traveled, I become busier and busier. I was the traveling plant lady. The covid years actually turned out to be my best ones yet and that definitely can’t be said for all small businesses, I felt very fortunate, for sure.

The lesson for me was to ride the wave and not let it crush you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tigerlilygoods.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/tigerlilygoods
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/tigerlilygoods

Image Credits
Self