Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Danielle Signore, owner of Pratum Botanicals, located in Portland, OR, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I sell unique flowers and herbs that I harvest with the utmost respect and care. I package and deliver to restaurants in the Portland area. My customers are a good mix of fine dining, farm table, and tasting menu restaurants. I've had the pleasure of working with Tusk, Berlu, Quaintrelle, Langebaan, Tercet, and Fireside. I work closely with them to create a list of products that they want to elevate their dishes/cocktails to a new level. I love hunting down seeds and figuring out all the quirks of a particular plant and its lifestyle.

Tell us about yourself

I was a chef for most of my life, and during a work-study in Spain, I was lucky enough to work with the same type of product in a 2-star Michelin kitchen. Every day I would be handed the most amazing delicate flowers and leaves that all tasted so different. My job was to create a garden dish with them. When I got back to the state I wanted to be more involved in farming. After several years at Castagna, I built a garden, and that was it. I loved the plants so much, and I knew that was what made me truly happy. I also noticed how terrible the product being sold to these restaurants was. I saw an opportunity to have a small business and work with the people I understood, the restaurant industry.

I love my plants. I don't do micros, and I find them to be insulting to the plant work in general. All my plants live their full life cycle, I sell the leaves, flowers, seeds, and roots when possible. Each chef has a different take on every plant, and it's very exciting. I'm motivated to work harder every year because I want a farm. Right now, I'm in the city doing practicing intense seeding on a very small property. My dream is to diversify and have all sorts of amazing products that I will handle the way a chef would want to receive them. I want forests to forage and let my plants seed and go wild as they deserve.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I can't say that I have achieved it yet. I'm impressed that I make a living doing the weirdest job ever, but even that doesn't count as an accomplishment to me. It's just survival and determination to succeed at my craft. My greatest achievement is yet to come.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Everything LOL. I'm head harvester, seeder, planner, bookkeeping, secretary, and I'm a mom to two small kids. I also work from home, so there are times I never stop working. I want so much to be organized and ahead of schedule, and without a full staff which I can't afford, that's just not the reality. So I guess I answered the question. Trying to do everything because your business is your baby and just excepting you're human, and sometimes you have done enough. I need to remind myself to sit back and look over my gardens and feel happiness soak up the beauty of the work I have done instead of thinking about what I haven't done.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Don't forget to pay yourself. Start a business and personal checking. Separate your finances because one day, you're going to want to go to a bank and get funding. You need to have your finances in order.

Hire someone. You may feel like it's a luxury, but hiring someone to do just a 1/4 of what you do can elevate your happiness and productivity. No, you can't do it all.

Surround yourself with people who bring you up. This goes for clients too. If at any point a client is making me feel like garbage or their ethics don't align, I drop them. Screw the money these people will bring you down, and it's not worth any amount of money. The people I hire work with me, not for me. I share meals and holidays with them. We are building a friendship and relationship that goes beyond monetary gain.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

My business came from a need to grow. I needed to grow professionally and mentally. Being able to support my children by growing plants in our yard may seem insane, but it's given me more than any other job. I'm the boss, and I'm good at it.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.pratumbotanicals.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pratumbotanicals/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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