How Many Good Part-Time Jobs for Stay-at-Home Moms Are There?
This one's for the moms out there who love to garden. Our kids rely on us for pretty much everything—physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. But showing up for our kids in every single way can be exhausting, if not impossible. I mean, how can you be there physically if you have to work 40 hours a week in an office to pay the bills? How can you help your child through a breakdown if you're so exhausted from a long week you can barely function? How do you possibly find time for it all?
We're constantly choosing between this and that: work more or spend more time with our kids. Do everything for them or do something for ourselves.
When my four kids were little, I really wanted to be home when they were home. But I also needed to contribute financially. I applied to all different kinds of jobs, and when I couldn't find anything that worked with my schedule, I created a job that would. Here's what I did.
Quick Backstory
I had four children in the span of five years, and I was homeschooling them all up until the fall of 2015, when I decided I just couldn't do it anymore. My husband and I were worried about our two oldest kids transitioning to a formal school system, so we decided to enroll them in a small private school. That decision came with a bill for $18,000 in tuition, and I felt responsible for it.
I started hunting for a job as soon as school began. I applied everywhere—offices, schools, hospitals, you name it. None of the jobs I was applying to would work with my ideal schedule. My youngest was done with preschool at noon, and I really didn't want to have her in daycare all afternoon. Plus, the jobs I was most suited for (development jobs) would have me on the road, working nights and weekends.
Everyone has different priorities, but for me, I still wanted to do pickups and drop offs and after-school snacks. So I started trying to figure out what type of business I could start for myself. My love for the garden ultimately led me to garden consulting.
What Is Garden Consulting?
A garden consultant is like a coach for adults who want to learn how to garden. A consultant might walk a client through a DIY garden installation, install a garden for them, create custom garden designs or planting plans, plant up a garden and perform routine garden maintenance, host gardening workshops, teach gardening classes—or any and all of the above.
To become a garden consultant, you need to have experience gardening in your climate.
Here's why garden consulting has been the perfect fit for me as a busy mom of four.
Garden Consulting Lets You Set Your Own Hours
Garden consulting allowed me to go and serve my clients while my kids were at school and after-school activities. As soon as they were finished, I could "clock out", pick them up, and spend the rest of the day with them.
In the early days of my garden consulting business, I would gather all the materials for a DIY raised bed garden for a client while my youngest was in preschool. I'd pick her up at noon and take her with me to deliver the raised bed, soil, and plants. Then, I'd pick up the rest of my kids, drive to soccer practice, and come home to make dinner. Overall, I was running my business as a part-time job in just 4 hours a day.
If one of my kids was sick and needed to stay home for the day, I could work from home doing things like writing blog posts, creating custom planting plans for clients, or scheduling social media posts. On a couple of occasions (okay, maybe more than a couple), I would have to take my youngest on a garden consultation with me. Consults only last one hour, and most of my clients were moms themselves, so it was never an issue.
I'm so thankful for this type of flexibility because I had time to enjoy those small moments with my children as they were growing up. If you'd like to dictate your own working hours, too, consider becoming a garden consultant.
Garden Consulting Lets You Charge for Your Time
Time is your most precious resource, and yet I didn't value my time very much when I first started my own business. I only charged $25 for a consultation. It took me a while to realize that people were willing to pay me for my knowledge and experience. Eventually, I upped my consultation fee to $50 and then $100.
I also started adding a little markup on everything I sourced for a client's garden space. With my wholesale license, I'd get a 25% discount off retail prices, so I'd charge clients the retail price and make a little margin on each item. I also charged extra for delivering items, setting up their gardens, or coaching them through the installation. The clients were more than happy to pay a little extra in order to have my help selecting the best products for them and ensuring a great end result.
This business model helped me make the most of every minute. Plus, I was earning enough to cover that tuition and pay for my kids' clothes and shoes and activities and clothes and shoes and everything else.
Garden Consulting Means You Get Paid to Do Something You Love
I've talked to so many fellow garden consultants who've told me their garden became their little escape after they had kids. I had always loved gardening with my family and popping out to my garden when I needed to get away from them for just a minute. So becoming a garden consultant let me combine my passion for gardening with my desire to start and run my own company. Plus, I got paid to do something I was already doing for free (like giving gardening advice and going plant shopping!).
I'll never forget the day I got my first check from a client (whom I met while on a field trip for my daughter). "I just got paid to garden!" I texted my husband. I'd done a bit more labor than that, of course, but it was such an incredible, pinch-me moment. An entrepreneurial dream come true.
Most importantly, because I loved the work I was doing, it energized me each day. I wasn't depleted by the time my kids got home from school.
As my business grew, I was able to hire contract workers. That meant I could focus more on doing the parts I loved, namely, talking to clients, planting their gardens, and helping them find success (not putting my carpentry skills to the test by making all the raised beds myself).
If you've ever wished you could quit your day job and turn your love of gardening into a full- or part-time career, this is your sign.
Becoming a Garden Consultant Was the Best Thing I Could Have Done for My Kids
When I first started my business, I felt so guilty for spending money on this idea I had. I took $450 that could have bought clothes or shoes for my children, and I spent it to make my career dreams happen. And there have been times when I wasn't able to do something for my kids because I had to be a business owner.
But let me tell you something, within a few years of starting my business, I was doing things for my kids I never thought possible. So for a short time, I did less for them, so that in the future, I could do so much more. And my kids were watching.
My daughter came home the other day and said, "Mom, our teacher asked us what we want to be when we grow up, and it was the weirdest thing. All the girls said they wanted to be nurses and lawyers. No one said they're gonna own a business."
I said, "Well, Becca, what did you say?"
"I told them I'm owning my own business."
Why does she have that vision? Because I went for it. I told my kids, "Mom can't buy this for you right now. I need you to wait. I'm doing something a little bit wild, and I need you to hang in there with me." I packed my kids into the minivan to go on installs with me. I had them carrying bags of dirt into my backyard.
And now, they see the whole picture, the end result. But they had to carry some dirt to get there. When they look at their own futures, the possibilities for them are endless.
Is Garden Consulting Right for You?
If you're a mother and a gardener, you might want to consider garden consulting. Of course, you absolutely do not have to be a mom or even a female to start your own garden consulting business. But I know this will resonate with many of you.
Garden consulting is an opportunity to work around your busy schedule. It's an opportunity to spend more time with your children in the mornings or the afternoons. It's an opportunity to earn good money for your family. It's an opportunity to spread your love of the garden with other people. It's an opportunity to show your kids the possibilities.
I know how life-changing becoming a garden consultant can be, which is why I teach gardeners how to start a business like mine all across the country, even around the world. I've taught consultants who could only work a couple hours a day. I've taught consultants who started with zero and grew their businesses to six figures. And I'd love to teach you.
Gardenary is the place to come to start a garden or a gardening business, so check out all of our resources to help you grow to the next level.
