How I Built & Sold A $500k Service Biz đ¸
Learn the lessons, challenges, and systems that made it scalableâand ultimately sellable.
You never know where an idea might lead. You start with a sparkâan idea for a new business or productâand think, âThis is it!â
You begin the journey, following a path youâve mapped out. Then, something unexpected comes along, capturing your attention and fueling your passion.
When I started my company, The Contained Gardener, I never imagined it would grow into a business that it would lead me into bidding on high-end projects for malls and hotels or one Iâd eventually sell.
At first, it was just a means to an end. I needed a job, and Iâd always wanted to start my own business.
Follow along as I share my personal journey of turning a simple idea into a thriving niche service business with annual sales topping $500K. Along the way, youâll learn the lessons, challenges, and systems that made it scalable and ultimately sellable.
Start with the End in Mind
Before we begin, and because Iâm âDoinâ It My Way,â, Iâd like to share the next phase of my journey.
When I self-published my second nonfiction book on desert container gardening, the creative nonfiction story Rileyâs Garden Oasis, my intention was to leave a legacy of specific techniques for struggling desert gardeners.
But Rileyâs book inspired a new passion in my life: writing fiction. And I fell in love with my characters. Itâs also given me an inroad to storytelling which I enjoy weaving into my business writing.
Letâs get into it!
How I Built & Sold A $500k Service Biz đ¸
I knew I wanted a niche, but it wasnât until I successfully grew pots of flowers through a long, hot desert summer that an idea finally came to me.
People loved my pots and kept asking: How did you keep them alive? Thatâs when you know youâve got a good idea.
But Iâll let you in on a little secret. My passion is not gardening. Yes, I love the results of a well-groomed garden with high color.
My passion is BUSINESS!
âĄď¸ What talent or passion do you have that people need? What do you wish you could do today?
Everyoneâs path to purpose looks different. Itâs okay if itâs messy. What matters is finding something meaningful to build, one small step at a time.
When you choose your business, ensure itâs something you can do for years.
âŠď¸ Ask yourself: Can I imagine doing this every day, every week, for the long haul?
Here I am, 30 years after starting this desert gardening business, still writing posts and newsletters, teaching classes, and selling books. When your work aligns with your passion, it becomes second natureâit gets into your blood.
Start Small and Nurture Growth
The first two years of running The Contained Gardener as a solo entrepreneur gave me time to start putting systems in place. I did it all: generate sales, create estimates, shop for pots, plants, and soil, and deliver everything to clientsâ homes.
I used to joke, âI design pretty gardens, go shopping (with their money), and play in the dirt.â
After a little unofficial market research, I started small. I didnât need many supplies to offer custom gardens at peopleâs homes. Their 50% deposit paid for the materials.
Thankfully, I had a consulting job to pay the bills. During those early years, it felt like I was making five cents an hour after factoring in all the non-revenue-producing work.
But the effort paid off. My client numbers grew from âwalking the talk.â And I got better at selling the entire package,
Design
Installation
Ongoing Maintenance
In addition to designing and installing the garden, I offered maintenance as a way to generate recurring income and potentially offer the client more pots and plants.
A big break came when I landed my first restaurant job, which required 40 flats of flowers. Thatâs when I realized I needed help. I hired some people, found suppliers who delivered and began significantly growing my business.
âĄď¸ Pro Tip: From the moment you conceive your business idea, talk to people. Get them interested and start building your email list. You will hear me say this time after time.
From that day, my business grew. I loved having staff and bidding on larger jobs. Fortunately, my only competition was landscapers, and they really did not want to be bothered with flowersâwhich are too fussy!
Letâs break my business growth into stages
Start-Up Years 1 - 2
My first client was a cousin, which was a great way to test my services and still get paid!
I placed a small ad in a local monthly newspaper, and the day after my ad came out, I got a client whose job paid for six months of advertising.
When the paper hit peopleâs homes every month, my phone would ring. I received no calls in the fourth month of my contract. I was frustrated and got a copy of the paper, where my ad was missing. I called the editor and explained my frustration as all of my sales so far came from those ads. They gave me two months free, but the lesson learned is not to put all of your marketing in one source.
âśď¸ Since my services were one of a kind, a good number of people were sold before they called me. An excellent place to be. Consider this in claiming your niche.
The Best Marketing Tool for all Businesses
A friend was a Constant Contacts advisor, and she told me I needed to start a newsletter. I had no idea what I was doing, but I trusted Pam and did as she advised.
Everywhere I went, I encouraged people to sign up for my newsletter. I offered a door prize at class events, usually a plant or small potted garden, and people signed up. My list grew to 2,000 during this phase.
Improving Efficiency
I developed a method to complete the estimate at the clientâs home. This caught them at their highest excitement and anticipation of what would come. At first, I created a paper form and used a calculator, but soon, I purchased one of the first mini-computers available that would fit in my bag.
Less efficient, but still working alone, I shopped for each client individually, using their deposit. I asked for 50% down and the remainder after completion. This deposit meant I had no out-of-pocket expenses from day one of starting the business.
I used my SUV to pick up and deliver materials. Sometimes, this meant two trips and figuring out how to place heavy pots on my own.
My first efficiency strategy, which developed out of necessity, was buying pots from places that delivered and tipping the staff generously to set them in place!
âĄď¸ Pro Tip: Consider your sales process and your prospectâs experience. Their interest level is the greatest when they first contact you. Be prepared to present them with a plan and the âaskâ as quickly as possible. Donât be afraid. No one ever died when someone said no to their offer. đ
Growth Phase Years 3-8
Sales grew, and with that, I added staff. I was very fortunate that my first employees were part-time and had other jobs, so they were not solely dependent on their work with me. We had ebbs and flows and low-season work, so it was nice that they took what I gave them. I always had someone waiting in the wings to cover when someone called out. And I needed to be prepared to go out in the field myself.
My first full-time employee was an operations manager. She took most of the administrative tasks off my shoulders so I could concentrate on design, sales, and marketing. She had worked in an accounting office and a nursery. A Godsend!
Marketing Strategies
I partnered with a marketing agency (for trade!) to elevate my image. My goal was to become the name people thought of when considering desert flower gardening, and we:
Rebranded my image with a new logo, colors and advertising collateral.
Advertised in local magazines, direct mail, and event programs.
Built strategic partnerships with nurseries, realtors, and landscapers.
Grew the email list to 4,000 through events, classes, and referrals. This continued through my classes and talks. Everywhere I went, I had business cards to hand out. Another great source of interested gardeners is at nurseries. I asserted myself when I saw people looking confused.
Created a keep-in-touch strategy for current and past clients.
Residential sales grew, but a major growth spurt during these five years was adding commercial clients to our portfolio. Although the profit margins were not as high as residential, this elevated our credibility and visibility tremendously.
Not far from home, there was a family restaurant (Mimiâs Cafe) with lovely flower beds and window planters. We ate there once, and I admired the flowers. I asked the host who did the gardening, and she said that a woman was doing it.
Over the next few months, I noticed the flowers werenât looking as good. We purposely went to dinner there, and I asked to speak with the manager. I mentioned the flowers, and seeing his frustration over how they looked, I casually explained my business. He said it was perfect timing because the regional manager was coming for a visit the next month, and his gardens could not look the way they did.
I was elated!! I always considered myself a good wheedler, and here I am again! I guess weâd now refer to this as good positioning.
Soon after, restaurants became our number one new commercial target, followed by professional offices and hotels/resorts. Our commercial portfolio included new builds of an open-air mall, restaurants, a golf clubhouse, model homes and a hotel, the last three with the Ritz Carlton.
Nothing like a bit of name-dropping. đ
My local restaurants agreed to spend money on their look, even when times were tough. I reduced their contract by a couple hundred dollars a month and took that in gift cards. I gave these to my A clients, knowing they would go there to eat and spend additional money, making it a win-win for all. And, of course, my partner and I had some great dining experiences.
Systems
I developed systems to increase efficiency and reduce costs during this growth period.
I offered clients annual contracts that included twice-monthly maintenance, two seasonal repottings each year and all regularly scheduled plants and material costs. They paid monthly, stabilizing the monthly revenue.
I no longer designed and shopped for each existing client individually for the seasonal changeouts scheduled over four to six weeks in the spring and fall.
I created a series of designs and assigned specific designs to each client.
We started ordering most plants from wholesalers who delivered flats to our yard. We planted over 100,000 plants each season.
Fortunately, a good friend was a master of databases and spreadsheets. We created a multifaceted series of sheets that automated the order list for each week and then created pickup lists for each client. This system was the number one process that led to the businessâs eventual sale.
The automated process began with the clientâs initial design and installation information and continued through their seasonal plantings. We only had to update their records when we increased their pot numbers and sizes.
âŠď¸ Pro Tip: To create systems in your business, notice tasks you do repeatedly. Then, think about how each task can be simplified or delegated.
Experts suggest writing out the process, primarily when you will hand that off to someone else.
Donât overcomplicate the process. Keep asking yourself, is there an easier way to accomplish this?
I also developed a marketing tracking sheet that guided my advertising strategies and saved me money.
My operations manager recorded every call, email or contact from a potential client on a spreadsheet and assigned to a âhow heardâ number. That was the first question we asked.
Then, if the job was sold, the sale amount was added to the tracking sheet.
A second worksheet automatically calculated the number of calls per marketing source, its total sales, and monthly and annual average sales. This showed me that my yellow book advertising (are you too young to know about phone book yellow pages?) was no longer necessary as more people were using the internet.
âĄď¸ Pro Tip: These days, this would be called Return on Investment or ROI. The Yellow Pages only brought in $500 a year for $200 cost. Our average job was $1,500âobviously a waste of money.
Stabilization Phase
There comes a point in a mature business where things level out, and you need to decide if and how much to scale. It helps if you learn how to pivot by choices and circumstances.
The first significant pivot we experienced turned into an opportunity. In 2007, there was an unprecedented freeze in the southwest desert. Plants were dying everywhere, some hanging on for a month or two, finally succumbing to the stress.
We did not guarantee any of our plantings, and clients wanted their gardens restored. It was one thing to replace low-cost flowers, but succulents were dying everywhereâand they were expensive. But they knew what they wanted!!
I started visiting clients to assess their situation and make a plan, and I called in all of the staff.
That year, we hit a half million dollars in gross sales. (That sounds more impressive than $500,00!)
And then,
The Global Financial Crisis of 2008
Everyone was suffering especially the middle class. New sales plummeted, but we only lost 5% of our clients, and luckily, mostly D clients. Those are the clients you either need to motivate to buy more or end your relationship with. The loss of these people did not affect our bottom line very much.
However, new sales were very slow to come in. And yes, I was incredibly anxious. The business had kept me awake at night for years. Now, I was apprehensive about money, my workload, and my clients - a few of whom were rather difficult. I had a love-hate relationship with my staff. There were times with a lot of drama.
With the downturn, we had to trim expenses to maintain profits. Unfortunately, I had to discontinue health benefits and bonuses. My key staff stuck with me, and that meant a lot.
We used this time to continue to streamline our processes.
Reduced unproductive networking costs
Reduced paid advertising
Increased client contact
Increased frequency of the email newsletter - the list was now over 5,000.
Price-shopped materials to reduce costs
Reduced part-time staff members to fully utilize full-time staff.
One of my most remarkable stories from this period demonstrates the power of the email list.
There was a time I didnât know if I could meet payroll. I contacted a couple of long-term clients and was honest with them. I asked if they would pay an early deposit on their next seasonal job. I also emailed my list, saying I had a few spots for adding new pots to their yard and would give them a break on materials.
We got enough work through these contacts to meet payroll for the following four pay periods!
Time for Another Pivot
Unfortunately, the financial crisis slammed into my plan to end my role with the company. The responsibilities of were beginning to wear on me.
However, in 2008, I created a ten-year plan to rebuild the company, preparing to sell it.
Soon after I made this decision, I had lunch with a very good friend, a business coach. In a casual conversation, she asked, âWhat is your next plan for your work?â
I explained my 10-year plan, and her immediate response was, âAre you going to do this for another ten years? Youâve told me you were tired of running a business with staff issues.â She also knew I would be over 60 in 10 years, and this business was very physically demanding.
I replied, âWhat else would I do?â
Her reply came quickly. âYou would make a great business coach. Youâve grown a tiny business into something remarkable, and others would want to know how to do it.â
If you know me, it wonât be surprising that this sparked a quick game plan. It felt like my life had come full circle, as my original career goal was to transition from running a business into consultingâsomething very similar to business coaching.
I dove into books and online research, learning everything about preparing a business for sale. Being a fast action-taker, I quickly worked to improve the processes already in place following the economic downturn. I focused on boosting sales and profits while ensuring the systems were streamlined and replicable for a future owner.
I spoke to my business banker and accountant, and the accountant sent me to a business attorney who specialized in business sales.
I also wrote down what I wanted from a sale.
Sale price
Materials price
A six-month contract to work with the company (which would give me time to focus on building a coaching practice.)
A commission for future referrals
All rights to publishing and classes.
I went to a December meeting of the local Association of Professional Landscape Designers, of which I had been a member for years. The presenter was the president of the association, and he talked about his family-owned company and where they saw themselves in the next five years. I was very impressed, and I knew I wanted to sell to them.
I called him the next day to thank him for his presentation and to express my appreciation for it. I casually asked if he would like to meet for coffee âjust to talk business.â
Since the holidays were upon us, we set a date for January. I suggested he come over to my office to see our operations.
The fateful day arrived. He had no idea I was looking to sell my business. After we talked for a while, I casually mentioned I was thinking of selling sometime in the future.
Surprised, we talked a little more, and before he left, he said he might be interested in pursuing the idea more.
The very next day, he called me and said heâd returned to his office and talked to his team (i.e., his family), and they were interested in buying!
Fast forward a few months. We agreed in April to close in August, and they met every one of my requests!
My staff were mad at me for selling. However, they each had an opportunity to interview with the buyers and those who did were offered full-time positions, which two accepted. They are still working there today. And Iâm proud to say many of my clients are still being served by my buyers!
When advising and coaching business owners, I always tell them,
âBuild your business as if you want to sell it.â
Not every type of business can be expected to sell, but adopting this mindset changes how you look at things.
Almost how you would clean your house differently if your mother-in-law were coming for an extended visit.
âĄď¸ As I reflect on these lessons, Iâm finding creative ways to share themâthrough the stories of my fictional characters. Riley, for instance, faces her own challenges in pivoting from her work as an architect to finding something new, and her journey mirrors the early days of my own.
Stay tuned as weekly stories bring these lessons to life and applications to business in a way thatâs both entertaining and practical.
I like how this demonstrates the connection from early career to passion and expression in writing.