Turning a hobby into a successful niche business

Stephanie Selig’s small steps made a BIG difference

By Cherie Courtade

Landscape companies come in all sizes and specialties. One often overlooked segment is that of the one-person business which serves a niche market. Stephanie Selig of Fort Collins represents that latter model.

Her professional career in the green industry was borne out of a lifelong hobby. She grew up in a family that kept a large garden and greenhouse, and it instilled in her a love of plants. After years as a stay-at-home parent, when her children started school, she decided to turn her hobby into a small business. That company, Patio Plants Unlimited, specialized in container gardening and small gardens. She also can create an outdoor room on a patio, deck or balcony.

Happily for Selig, with experience she has learned her worth and grown her business.

In 2006, she began with about five clients, though notes that “when you are just getting your business started, you are practically giving yourself away.” Many of her clients are older adults who want a beautiful garden but may no longer be able to do the physical labor required to maintain it.

Happily for Selig, with experience she has learned her worth and grown her business. Selig now manages about three dozen recurring clients with maintenance services.

Upgrade knowledge and skills using multiple resources

After a few years in business, Selig realized that pursuing formal education related to her work could provide validation of her qualifications. She had hands-on experience and satisfied clients but understood that having a degree would demonstrate to prospective

customers that she had the knowledge to do the job properly. She enrolled at Front Range Community College (FRCC) and earned an AAS degree in horticulture.

Her horticulture degree, and the knowledge that came with it, enabled her to expand her service offerings to include landscape design. She provided designs for the DIY homeowner and called the new business Landscape Design by Stephanie Selig.

In spring 2018, Selig rebranded and combined her two businesses into one company, Sundrops & Starfl owers. The combined company offers container gardening, automatic drip irrigation design and installation, landscape design, garden maintenance, and small garden installation.

Her experience with drip irrigation systems helps her clients keep beautiful plantings and save water. That specialized knowledge has come from multiple sources, including classes at area nurseries, an irrigation course at FRCC and plenty of experiential learning with her personal landscape projects.

Learning the business of business

Of course, as an entrepreneur, Selig is not just a horticulturalist. She is also the accountant, appointment maker and sales team. She learned the business side of the company with the help of the Larimer Small Business Development Center (SBDC), enrolling in classes and taking advantage of their free consulting services. The relationship with her SBDC consultant continues with annual check-ins.

“Unlike a friend giving advice, this person isn’t afraid to hurt your feelings and can speak frankly,” Selig explained with a laugh. Her consultant has given her advice on what she needs to do—or stop doing—in order to make her business successful.

Another right hand

Today she is no longer a one-woman team. Selig has hired an assistant, Chesney Babbitt. A CSU student of environmental horticulture with an emphasis in landscape design, Babbitt began as a summer intern in 2017 and continues to work part-time, helping with every aspect of the business. “She truly is my #1 assistant, my right-hand person,” Selig says.

With a combination of experiential learning, education and community resources, Stephanie Selig has succeeded in building a business out of her passion. Along the way, she’s learned to adapt her operations to fi t her capacity and continue to offer services that refl ect her passion. | CG

—Cherie Courtade is ALCC’s communications director

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