It’s Saturday and if everything goes right it should be a busy day. Sun is shinning with a high of about 77°F. These days who knows? I got started in the garden center business in the late 70’s, when Saturday and Sunday where the BIG days. You had people lining up waiting for you to open the gates. Now, while Saturday and Sunday are still big sales days sometimes the weekdays challenge the weekends for dominance.

You also can’t count on a big day just because the sun is shinning. Instead of lining up at our gate they might be heading off to do any number of other outdoor activities. Times have changed in our business and it’s a challenge to address these changes.

Still, I won’t complain as it doesn’t do any good anyway. We love our job most of the time and wouldn’t trade it for a desk job any day. This is the key to success in this business. You had better enjoy what you do because you will be doing it six and seven days a week in the spring. It’s also a risky business. Nothing is for sure in the garden center business except change. I believe that if you can ride the wave of change and am willing to take risks your business will thrive. This is where the love of the business comes in since it may take a few years to start thriving.

We will be celebrating our third anniversary May 19^th. We have people who come in and say they didn’t think we would still be here. We survived! It hasn’t been easy but sometimes surviving the first few years is what it’s all about. If after a few years you can still open you doors with a smile on your face you’re on the way.