We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tasha Adams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tasha , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

There are many factors that makes a business successful, One of the biggest factors is customer service. But not just any customer service, customer service that exceeds expectations. Customer service that makes thier guest come back for the experience of feeling valued and getting all questions and answers to their planty needs. Treating each person as an individual, learning thier names knowing them each time they come back.

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 Tasha. My passion started back in 2014. I was working at a bank at the time and was not thrilled. I also had a newborn and a 2 year old and a 5 year old at the time. I needed something for myself and I found that taking care of plants gave me calmness, peace, and a sort of reset to the every day routine.

I quickly quit my job to stay at home with my children, and to grow plants! My neighbor who quickly turned best friend helped me start my first move as a business and that was the first vision of Lucy, the trailer! From 2018/19 Lucy was built and on the road!

Through farmers markets, to big events, Lucy was able go bring so many plant lovers and the love for the hobby together. After seeing the dire need, I started teaching houseplant 101 classes, at a local coffee shop. From 2019-2021 I made so many plant friends and connections with my customers, I knew most by name. I turned a lot of plant-killing customers into jungle-living, plant loving people.
2021 mobile Joe was built to help expand the business to reach more folks and make more connections.
In 2022 we finally went stationary, where we can now teach classes in house, do repots on plants, have an amazing selection of rare and common houseplants. We also provide interscaping for businesses, plant sitting, plant maintenance, consultations and so much more!

I’m most proud of the obstacles I have been able to overcome like even starting the business, saving up the money to make this dream a reality. I mowed yards and worked fast food. I save my money, so I didn’t interfere with our living wages. I was able to learn how to back a trailer. I was on the brink of quitting at one point. But once my confidence kicked in, I was able to back in a trailer in the smallest of spots!

I love being able to see my long time customers help other fellow plant friends with the planty information and guidance I have bestowed apon them. It gives me great joy to see how far they have came in thier plant journey over the years.

My biggest and proudest achievement is being able to pull the plant community together. Through Facebook pages, to plant swaps, Hickory Lane has been able to bring people together over the love of houseplants. Even supporting other plant businesses is a big and personal achievement of mine this past year. Learning the lesson of just because they are doing the same thing as you doesn’t mean they are taking clientele, or better, it just means your passion has rubbed off on someone else, and that makes me happy beyond belief.

Overall, I am truly gracious to be in the position I am in. I have an amazing support system of plant people. Helped build a community and a safe space for all. I am also grateful I am able to donate to some of our favorite local charities right here in the #417land. This job will never stop feeling like a dream.

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

Trust, communication, quality, affordability are all really good words that have helped me built the reputation for HLP

Quality. Starting off with a healthy plant is so important, especially for the first time plant parent. That’s why some big box stores don’t always have good success.

Trust. Being able to trust that you are buying a plant that is healthy, and matches your lifestyle, is super important to the life of your plant and the success of more plants for the plant parent. Being able to trust that you are being told the right information about your plant baby is detrimental.

Communication. Being able to provide clear and easy instructions to your plant parent is super important. Also being able to ask questions to the plant parent and processing that information is vital to helping the plant parent find the best plant that fits their environment.

Affordability is something I hold near and dear to my heart. Being able to provide plants to all is good business in my opinion. Gatekeeping to the poor sucks. We do our best to keep prices affordable. And if we can drive a plant price down, we will chop and prop to make multiples and then be able to drop the price like that.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Staying consistent, always adapting and listening to our customer feedback helps our reputation. Being able to sell happy, healthy plants at affordable prices is the reputation we hold in the #417land. Also being active in the plant world is super important. The community must trust that you have their best interests in mind when they choose you over another competitive business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hickory-lane-plants.square.site/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/hickorylaneplants?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/2112320405702523/

Image Credits
Photo credit goes to illuminate photography And also JunieB photography