by Melanie Marten

Created on: March 05, 2008   Last Updated: March 06, 2008

Many people and businesses love the look of live houseplants. Not only do they create a sense of comfortable home life, they provide filtration for the air we breathe. Many people, however, do not have green thumbs. They might not want to spend their time caring for the houseplants or have the knowledge necessary to choose and grow houseplants that will thrive in their home or office.

Starting a home business dedicated to the placement and care of houseplants provides a wanted service and can mean big profits. If you enjoy gardening and houseplants, this type of home based business if for you.

Home Business Services to Offer

What services to offer in a houseplant home business depend on your skill level and supply of materials. You might decide to offer houseplant placement. That means you will choose, purchase, and plant houseplants for the home or office for the owner. You could also choose to simply take care of the houseplants by watering, trimming, repotting when needed, or fertilizing them.

Home Business Getting Clients or Customers

Marketing to get customers for your houseplant business should be done locally. First, decide how far you are willing to travel to tend houseplants. Advertise your services in local newspapers, on bulletin boards, and with flyers if legal in the area. Stress the benefits of having houseplants in a home or office and describe precisely what you will be doing for the customers.

Having prices listed on your sign or flyer give potential clients an idea about what it will cost. Introductory discount rates may help land more clients.

Since it is unlikely that a person would hire you to take care of one houseplant every week, offer other services. As mentioned above, placing houseplants or creating multi-plant arrangements is a good idea. Caring for houseplants when a client is away on vacation also increases a customer base.

Home Business Organizing the Work

Once you have several clients in your houseplant home business, you will need to keep careful track of what services you provide and when you provide them. You can use a simply calendar sheet for this, or a computer program.

Obviously, you must confer with the client or customer about when they want you to come to their home or office to care for the houseplants. People with specific days or time frames must be accommodated as closely as possible. If you do not, you can lose them as a client quickly.

Many other houseplant business jobs will occur once per week. Try to schedule these at the same time every week as the customer will come to expect their service on a particular day.

In order to avoid cases of unscrupulous clients saying that you did not do the work contracted for, create a client job card. This can be as simple as an index card with the client information, or a log sheet in a customer file. Write the name and address of the client, what job you do for them, and how long you will do the job for. Then, have slots for the client to sign or initial every time you complete the job. That way, you have proof that you have completed the service to their specification.

Running your own houseplant home business allows gardeners or those who love plants to earn some money with their hobby. Not only can you start a lucrative business, you can also provide a great service to those who enjoy houseplant in their home or office, but do not have the skills or time to take care of them.

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