Without a doubt the last couple of years have been hard on office workers. However, within the office space, other living things also experienced some serious repercussions of the sudden shift from office to home and the subsequent return to the office. Namely, plants!
Jenny Smart, the owner of Interiorscapes Alaska LLC, states, “In the early days of the pandemic, many workers took office plants home to care for them with varying degrees of success or worse yet, many were forgotten or simply overlooked in the mad dash to reimagine the returning workforce.” Jenny elaborated with, “many managers, workers, and Executives can easily understand the importance of having plants in the office in this cold, dark environment to provide an overall feeling of wellbeing, fresh air, comfort, continuity and but they did not know how to re-establish the proper varieties nor care for the plants.”
To solve this problem, Jenny created Interiorscapes Alaska LLC and continues to expand the company to keep up with the surge of businesses requesting her services. Smart states she was always interested in botany, propagation, medicinal plants, gardening, and plant care, but I was unsure of how to create and grow the business. Additionally, sustainability had to be a keystone of the business. To address these issues, Jenny Smart, in 2022, sought out the expertise of Alaska SBDC, with assistance in creating the business, and was immediately paired with advisor Jade Greene.
“Ms. Greene listened to my ideas and concerns and showed me through financial planning coupled with a carefully constructed business plan how I could grow and sustain this business.” In addition to the weekly business advising, Ms. Greene also assisted me with researching and completing business grant applications, which were needed to increase the sustainability of the company. Alaska SBDC continues to be a great resource for increasing my knowledge of my industry’s trends and incorporating opportunities for continued growth.
For example, based on industry research, I decided, after the initial consultation, to purchase the initial plants and to offer a monthly service care contract to businesses to ensure that the plants are adequately cared for so that once a week, I will come to a location and care for the plants including repotting, proper feeding/watering as needed.
In conclusion, Jenny believes that with the Alaska SBDC’s and, more specifically, Ms. Greene’s assistance, she can sustain Interiorscapes. She further states,” I have positioned Interiorscapes Alaska LLC to leverage my love of plants to create a specific number of manageable service contracts while also collaborating with local nurseries to educate the public on identifying various plants, appropriate plant placement in offices (and the home), and proper plant care.
Interiorscapes Alaska LLC is also planning on rolling out additional home plant maintenance services geared toward seniors next year Interiorscapes Alaska LLC can be reached at (907) 978-4635 or Interiorscapealaska.com.
