What do I need to have an interior plantscape business?
Startup Cost: $1000-$1500
Home Base: You can start part-time and go full time once you have enough clients
Training: There are online courses that you can take, on the job training, or self-taught by purchasing books
Let’s get rolling
If you love working with plants and also with nature interior plantscape is for you. I worked as an interior plantscape technician for many years and I really loved working with plants. My training came from right there on the job where I was placed with several interior plant scape technicians.
I enjoyed learning the many different names of plants along with how to care for them, but my greatest delight was going into different areas of the five- star resort that I worked for and create the most beautiful plant designs, bringing total change or transformation to those areas.
Job responsibilities
As an interior plantscape technician your responsibilities include plant design, learning the different names of plants, learning their water and fertilizing requirements, knowing the differences between high maintenance and low maintenance plants, knowing which pest feeds on which plants, and identifying them so that you would know how to treat the plants. Here is some additional information on interior plantscape that can also help and what measures to take in getting rid of them, ( pesticides). Also knowing the requirements of plants as far as lighting is a concern. For example, some plants survive in low to medium light while others survive in medium to high light also you will have to install and extract plants.
Tools needed
- A vehicle – Van, Truck, Jeep is good or you can start off with a car.
- Pruners, 2 is good.
- water jug.
- water tank, depending on the size of the job and distance you may have to travel to service each plant.
- dusters to clean plants, 2 is good.
- Scissors.
- Probe or moisture meter to test the soil’s moisture to see if the plant needs water at the time of service.
- A few bags of fertilizers for indoor plants. Examples of quick and slow-release fertilizers.
Starting an interior plantscape business
Example of how this business works
If you are servicing an office building that has let’s say 10 plants and the contract is set at $15.00 per visit and it takes you about 15-20 minutes to service that office, but the contract is also set at 4 visit within that month that means you would make $60.00 for that month. An office visit once per week at $15.00 x 4 visits=$60.00 per month and if the contract is set at $25 per visit x 4 visits per month that = $200.00 for the month.
This is just an example of how it works and you can go higher as long as you can show why and it makes good business sense. Additional prices can be added with additional services such as fertilizing, pest management, etc… Remember the $15 or $25 includes only the basic such as watering, pruning, and dusting, the additional comes with that other add-on service.
So just use this as a guide, work out your plans and you are good to go from here and it is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. The amount of money that can be made is awesome.
Starting an interior plantscape business
Job opportunities
Job opportunities are great for this type of work. Some of the places that you can get contracts work are:
- Hotels
- Banks
- Office buildings
- Restaurant
Orchids Churches
- Some residential homes may also require your service
- Condos
- Malls
- Motels
- Apartments
Getting set up
You will need to get
1. Your business name, Choose one that is relevant to your business and one that will cause your business to stand out.
2. Business License.
3. Business cards, flyers, or if you have a budget to work with you can take out and add in the papers or the yellow pages, but if this is too costly for you then start with flyers and cards.
4. Once you start making a good salary you can create a website on a budget, of course letting persons know about your business. Advertise on Facebook, youtube, and other social networks if possible.
5. Get involved in local events, that way you are putting your business name out there. Example help to sponsor an event, You can also partner with plant nurseries and local garden centers, etc…
6. Wear uniforms, it looks more professional and it lets prospects know that you take your job very seriously and also be well-groomed.
7. Also, make sure and check to see if you are following all the rules and regulations pertaining to your state.
8. You may also need liability insurance, check to see if this is needed in your state with this type of business.
The final word
Being an interior plant scape design business owner can be very satisfying and rewarding. You can make a really good living based on the type of contract that you agree upon, your level of income can be anywhere from $27.000-$70.000 per year or even more.
It all depends on the amount of work you can get and what is agreed upon by you and your clients. So if you feel like this is for you then let’s get started.
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About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.
Thanks for the info. I like how you keep it simple to understand but it also sounds effective. Seems like a good business strategy for almost any small business.
Do you have any suggestions about books that would have information about the plants you would need to start this type of business?
Hello again my friend Steven, thanks for commenting and I am so happy that I could help. Owning and interior plantscape business is so awesome. Here are a few books that can get you started, 1. The complete book of house plants, 2. Indoor plants the essential guide to choosing and caring for house plants, 3. the complete houseplant book and 4. The houseplant encyclopedia. Hope this helps, Thanks again and have a good night.
Thanks Norman, I too liked your post very much and your suggestions for literature. I want to start a little business, though I live in a small town in rural Kentucky. We don’t have much in large motels, businesses and such. Though I am going to give it a try.
if any suggestions in trying such a business in small towns, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Tiffany
Hi there my friend!
That is awesome! I would have never thought of that as a possible business. And if you think about it there is a lot of viable clients in every city or town, in fact an abundance!
Out of interest, how much should you be charging per client and how (per job done or per hour or some other way?)
From the list you missed out apartment buildings and condos, they too may want and need a specialist to take care of their plants.
Hello Derek it is so good to hear from you and happy new my friend, owning and interior plantscape business can really be great and the monies that are made is awesome, it all depends on the contracts that you are holding. Charging depends upon the size of job that is to be done, You can give a set price because some jobs may not be that big and may take you less than and hour.
So I would just set a price that I believe that is fair and go from there. for example you may have a contract where the building may have lets say 10-15 plants, if you charge let’s say $15.00 per hour and that job takes you half and hour or less you only make $15.00 for that service or the client may want to pay you less
because you finish that service in less than half hour. But if you set the price at $15.00 or $25.00 to service that building it dose not matter if you finish the job in 15-20 minutes because based on the contract the price has already been set, no question asked.
You may offer to service that building four times out of the month so that’s once a week charging them that set fee so that will be 4 visits x 15 = $60 per month or if you charge $25.00 per visit x 4 = $200 per month. You can see then that you would be able to make a good income over a period of time. Hope this helps and thanks for pointing out the list of places I totally forgot apartment, I thought that I had condons listed I guess that one sliped me also I will go back and add these. Thanks again for your help, and all the best to you my friend.
This seems like such a fruitful industry to get into. when I think about it, there’s absolutely no indoor environment that wouldn’t need some kind of service to increase their level of interior decoration with organic plants. Not to mention that fact that appearances are constantly being upgraded. is it a cut-throat industry or is it easier to venture into as a first-time business owner?
Hello Ryan it is so good to meet you and thanks for commenting, becoming and interior planscape designer is awesome especially if you own and operate your own business. As longs you follow the steps that I laid out in this article you can begin to build your business
But like any business it will take time to build and increase the amount of clients that you service, the growth of the business however depends on you and how much time you are will to invest in it. The great part about this line of work is that it does not cause much to start up
Hope this helps, all the best to you and have a good day.
Great Post! I never knew that the plant business could make more than $70,000 a year. Do you have experience in doing plant landscaping? It seems like it would be a really awesome job, don’t you think? I also love the fact there is a job in almost all commercial areas like Hotels and Malls!
Hello Emcqueen, thanks for commenting. The plant business is so vast from landscapes, interior plantscapes, tree trimming, plant nursery, landscape maintenance and so on. In fact last time I checked it was said that this field is a fifty two billion dollars a year business, now that is a lot of money to share round.
I have been in this field now for almost 22 years and have also taken up many courses. I am glad that I could help, all the best to you and have a good day.
Hi Norman,
This is a very informative blog post.I am always interested in gardening, but I never knew about this much business opportunities are there.Could you please give the information where I can get an online training?This blog post almost covered all the essential things to know for a newbie like me.Thanks for this very useful post.
Hello Sudhi135 it is so good to meet you, interior plantscape can be very exciting and rewarding as you work with nature. One website that you can check out that offers training is ACS DISTANCE EDUCATION. http://www.ascedu.co.uk just look for interior planscape course. Hope this helps, all the best to you and have a good night.
Hi Norman,
I come from the Caribbean and greenery and plants are a big thing here. There are loads of plans shops and tons of so-called plant experts and landscapers. Interior plant scaping is also a growing phenomenon as is interior design and decor in general. Thanks for sharing the essential tools and systems needed to start such a business.
One essential “tool” I’d recommend is having a website or at least a Facebook page. Doing the face-to-face social connections as you itemized in your article is essential. However, people somehow feel that you are more credible and serious if they can find you online. Just a thought.
Helllo KW it is so good to meet you,and thanks for commenting, this type of business can be very rewarding as you work hand in hand with nature, the amount of monies that can be made is just awesome. Thanks again for sharing, all the bets to you and have a good day.
Hi Norman,
I love plants, and I’ve always had this thought of opening a business with this hobby! Now that I read this article it makes me want to do it more than ever:) You have given a lot of useful information to start this kind of business.
Is there a place to learn more about interior plants like a course you would suggest?
Thank you very much for this excellent post!
Hello Daniella it is so good to hear from you and happy new year, having and interior plantscape business can be very rewarding as you work side by side with nature. You can check out this website, ACS DISTANCE EDUCATION http://www.ascedu.co.uk. Once you reach this page just look for the interior plantscape course. Hope this helps, all the best to you and please let me know how it goes. Thanks again My dare friend.
Hi there,
This is really a good idea for a business. Do you need to have a “sample portfolio (photos of what kind of plantscape you can do)” to show to your prospects? It’s a bit hard to get started on something that you don’t have past experience with. If your name is new in this industry, how do you convince prospects in the first place?
Thank you.
Hello Pitin it is so good to see you again and happy new year, what you can do if you are new at this is just be honest, all you need to start with is having some knowledge of how this business works, You can go online and do research on the kinds of plants
that are used with interior plantscape, get a list of names and learn about there care. There is and article on my site that you can start with, interior plantscape.Once you have gain some knowledge you are good to go just build on that knowledge
and if you want to take it futhure there are also online course, Hope this helps, all the best to you and hav e a good day.
Hey, so glad I found this sight. I’ve been working for a company for 21 years and am fixing to go out on my own. But I have found my clients have been being charged varying prices although they are very similar in size. Do you have any suggestions on bidding for new clients?
Great idea. I started the paper work to start my Interior Plantscaping business. I have over 40 years of experience working with plants. How do I approach potential customers.