While lockdowns and the pandemic had a crippling effect on many small businesses, let alone new businesses, Botanic Ridge’s Brock Williamson’s experience has been the exact opposite.
Having left his previous job in late 2019, Mr Williamson started The Plant Guy in 2020, a retail nursery specialising in succulents and landscaping materials from his parents’ home in Botanic Ridge as life as knew it was turned on its head by Covid-19.
Little did he know that the upcoming requirement to spend copious amounts of time at home would do wonders for the home improvement market.
“It was probably the best thing we did because in the last two years, anything in home improvement, like we sell paint, plants, anything like that, has just taken off,” Mr Williamson said. “A good thing has come out of a very bad situation.
“I think people have a lot more pride in their homes now than they did two years ago, particularly with spending more time at home.
“And now you see on Instagram, it’s almost like a competition between friends for who can have the best photo or best street appeal.”
Mr Williamson’s success saw him recognised as the Cranbourne Chamber of Commerce’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the ‘Love Your Local’ business awards on Thursday 24 March, recognising someone that has shown outstanding entrepreneurial ability in the past 12 months and perused their passion to build a strong business.
Born with a green thumb, recalling asking for hardware store vouchers as a kid while his peers begged for new bikes or gaming consoles, Mr Williamson worked as an apprentice at a plant nursery for nearly eight years before launching his business.
Being his own boss and his sole employee, Mr Williamson spends between 60 to 100 hours per week coordinating orders, deliveries, online promotions and more, while providing the crucial customer service that he believes separates him from large department stores, along with his wholesale prices.
“When I was starting to get into VCAL at school and I was starting to think, where do you want to go with this, how do you want to turn it into a career and I got into production, horticulture and nursery.”
“If a customer comes in and they need help or advice to be able to do something, then I can just point at basic products and say “you need to use that for this” etc, or they come in with a photo and say “I’ve got this space,” or “what’s wrong with this?”.
“That’s all part of customer service.”
To learn more about The Plant Guy, check out his Facebook page at facebook.com/theplantguyvic/
