Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Wendy Gomez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Wendy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
I feel creating your own standard of success is an important place to begin. It’s where everyone struggles when starting their own business. When I was starting, it was so easy for me to get caught up in comparisons and to trick myself into believing I was doing something wrong because my path looked different than that of others. I really had to ground myself in what I do and do it really well.
This became very clear when I started to host classes in the shop. I came from a back round in education and have had a long love of crafting. I took my skills, passion and love of plants to try something new and it was a hit! We now offer classes regularly and have been able to build a wonderful community through these events.
Take chances, trust yourself and keep learning. It’s the quickest way to whatever success means to you.
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 Wendy and I’m the owner of Knots and Plant Shop based in Martinez, CA. Knots and Found is a local plant shop whose mission is to build confidence in every plant parent no matter where you are on your plant journey.
I took over the business from my Mother in law, the OG Plant Lady, who shared her vast knowledge of plants and expertise in small business ownership. I have been so lucky to learn from the best. She instilled in me the importance of customer service and creating space that the community can connect with.
This is precisely what our shop is known for. Connection and community through plants. From plant advice to repotting services to community events, we are grounded in making sure everyone who comes in leaves feeling supported and joyful. I believe we learn so much from having plants in our spaces and that process has changed a lot of people’s lives. I am so proud to be just a small piece of that.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
We’ve had to make some serious pivots in the last couple of years in the plant business. In 2020-2022, plant business was unstoppable. Due to the pandemic, many people were stuck at home with disposable income wanting to make their interior spaces more enjoyable. During this time, it was hard to us to keep up! Many small plant businesses popped up around this time and since then, many have closed. We found in order to stay in the game, we had to pivot and get creative on other ways to diversify our business. Only offering retail was not going to be sustainable. That’s when we began to really sink into events to bring new folks into the shop. We also invested more in our pop up program to bring ourselves to new audiences. This has allowed us new ways connect to keep to our mission.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
My my mind, every interaction we have in the shop, at an event or during a pop up, counts. Our priority on customer connection, knowledge sharing and quality really sets us apart. We listen intently and really want to hear customer perspective so we can link you with the right plant option for you. Ultimately, we want everyone to feel and be successful in their plant journey. This has given us a great reputation amongst our community and many have been inspired to share about our shop because of this foundation. We are so honored whenever someone shares about our shop or brings their friends in.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://knotsandfound.com
- Instagram: @knotsandfound
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/knotsandfound
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/knots-and-found-martinez-2?osq=knots+and+found
