Three years ago I decided to start my own business . I love creating classes, events and outdoor activities for kids and I had been doing it for several years already for someone else’s program, and I wanted a way to send out fun activities to kids who weren’t close enough to attend classes. But I thought to myself, I have so many ideas, I’m going to be doing this on my own, and I want it to be my own thing, so I decided to start a gardening activity subscription box. I love subscription boxes, I like the business model and I thought it would be fun to be able to create curriculum and curate something like this for kids.
So, I envisioned the name and logo and I recruited my friend Jessica to design the characters with some pieces of clip art I threw at her and told her my vision. She took that and redrew and created what I wanted! Then I went to work! I applied for my LLC. I designed my logo with the characters Jessica created for me, I created a website, I designed the inserts, I ordered everything I needed, I planned out the 2021 year of boxes, I joined subscription box Facebook groups, ordered a book about running a subscription box business, listened to business podcasts (well I had already been doing that) and I did the whole pre launch and launch and all
that.
It started as a subscription box, and it started slow I also knew I still wanted to teach classes so I started my pilot program for the ‘21-‘22 school year at Christ the King in Redlands in August of 2021. I STILL have kids that enrolled that first year and continue on with me every year!🥰🥰 Christ the King holds a special place in my heart because I taught preschool there for 12 years and I currently do secretary work for the church. So they were all about giving me the opportunity to build and grow there too.
So, in the spring of 2022, I decided that my business wasn’t going to grow if I wasn’t going to put more of my time and effort into it. At this point, I was still working for this other program but there were ideas, visions, and goals I had and I was no longer willing to give away so much of myself for something that wasn’t mine. I hope that doesn’t sound selfish but sometimes there are just things that are put on your heart and they don’t go away and you know that you need to do something more.
I knew that The Blessing Center had a garden and I knew I had to step away from my current job at the time in order to grow and build what I felt was meant for me. So I, nervously, reached out to them and they welcomed me with open arms! Also, my friend Elizabeth put in touch with the owners at Willowbrook Apple Farm and I was welcomed to offer classes up there as well and host their farm camp.
I gave my notice to the place I was at, it was several months notice. I said I would be done in August when the new school year starts. As it turned out, I just could not stay that long. Not only because I was ready to just start really building my own thing, but also, it was no longer a place I felt I should be a part of.
It was hard to leave a place that I felt I had a hand in helping build up. Classes I hosted were always full, events were selling out, I was booking 3 to 4 birthday parties a weekend, I had 3 party hosts working for me, it was going really well. And I stepped away from it all because I felt the calling on my heart to do my own thing and do it somewhere else.
So I left at the end of June and started my classes at the Garden at Hannah’s House and Willowbrook Apple Farm in July. Since I had Sprout and Blossom for a year at this time, I already had a small following on social media so I started posting about offering classes in the garden. It started out small, as expected. But do you know who were some of my very first participants? Families that knew me from where I was before and do you know what they said to me? They said “we’ll go wherever you are” 🥺🥺🙏 A few of them said that to me separately and on different occasions. It meant everything.
It gave me hope and confirmation that I made the right choice.
It encouraged me to keep going with it, and I’m glad I did it even if it was scary to take that leap of faith, even if it started with just 2-3 kids in a class, even if some people tried to paint me in a bad light, even if I had to struggle for a while, I’m so so so thankful I did it!
It is now 2024 and Sprout and Blossom has been my small business for three whole years now. I’m proud to say that we offer after school enrichment programs at 3 different schools. We are now offering our enrichment program at two different homeschool center sites. We continue with classes at The Garden At Hannah’s House and also at the Backyard Farm play school. This month we had 50 subscription boxes go out. Our spring camp days are filling up. April and May are completely booked with field trips to the garden as well as us going to schools. We are a part of the Burge buddies program at the Burge mansion. We have been asked to be a part of career days, science, fairs, community events, markets, and more. We are a vendor with 12 different charter schools and in June, we are participating in the Great Homeschool Convention and also plan on attending the Ag in the Classroom Conference again in September.
Running a small business is no easy feat It takes a lot of hard work, sacrifice, dedication, time, and money. You have to be really passionate about what you do and why you do it. I love what I get to do, and I love that it has brought me so many meaningful connections and friendships. I love connecting with others. I love partnering with others. I love being a part of the community. I love participating in as many things as I possibly can. And I especially love being with the kids and creating a space for them to be outside learning, creating, playing and forming friendships!
And because I made a phone call to ask about doing classes in the garden at Hannah’s house, I love that it has turned into a beautiful partnership, where I get to be a part of the good work that the Blessing Center is doing, as well as continue to grow Sprout and Blossom.
I’m thankful for the last 3 years and excited for the next 3!
