Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in home care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lisa Delane, Chief of Operations and Marketing of Shop Living Gardens & Living Gardens Landscape Design, located in Laguna Hills, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Shop Living Gardens is an online outdoor furniture and décor store. We seek out exceptional all-weather furniture and décor, so you can design beautiful, functional, and comfortable outdoor rooms. All our furniture is designed with quality and simplicity in mind, creating a timeless aesthetic and a place to relax and unwind.
As we seek out furniture and décor options from around the world for our growing number of customers, we must keep several things in mind. First and foremost, our furniture and décor have to be stylish, but just as importantly, it needs to be built with the utmost quality materials that will last and look fabulous for many years to come.
Our clients are looking for style and quality and something a little different from the usual options other retailers offer. They also understand what is necessary for an item of furniture to be worthy of being called outdoor furniture. Each piece needs to be made of high-quality materials in order to be durable enough to fight against the elements and withstand the effects of rain, snow, and sun.
With that in mind, we ask our clients to look at their outdoor furniture as an investment, not just an expense, just as they do with their interior furniture. We also suggest they take care of their investment with covers and cleaning. If you take care of your investment, it will last for years. We are often asked if expensive outdoor furniture is worth it. The short answer is yes. You may need to pay more upfront, but quality outdoor furniture saves you countless dollars in the long run because of its durability.
Given that we know from experience how time-consuming it can be to run a landscape design business, we wanted to help other small businesses expand and purchase furniture for their clients as well. To this end, we now offer ‘To The Trade’ pricing to qualified designers so that they can also take advantage of providing gorgeous furniture to their clients across North America.
Tell us about yourself
I was born in London, England, and was lucky enough to travel to many exciting destinations with my family, experiencing other cultures and meeting amazing people around the world. These experiences have influenced the way I live, my style, and my ability to work in any environment.
A number of years ago, I moved to California and started my Public Relations company, Tigerlily Skye PR, working with luxury lifestyle brands. My sister, Sacha McCrae, also moved to Southern California and started Living Gardens Landscape Design, a full-service, award-winning landscape design firm creating beautiful and functional outdoor rooms. With the success of her business, she needed to focus on the design side of the business and needed assistance helping clients select and purchase the right furniture and décor for their newly designed outdoor spaces. Since I was already handling the PR side of the business and was very familiar with her work and style, it seemed like a natural move to expand my role. I started by building relationships with furniture and décor vendors so we would have access to the pieces needed to bring the spaces together, allowing our clients to not only have beautiful outdoor spaces but make them functional as well.
Soon the word spread as our design clients told their friends where they purchased their outdoor furniture, and our client list grew to more than just local landscape design clients wanting to buy furniture and décor. Hence, Shop Living Gardens was born.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
To be honest, my biggest accomplishment has happy customers. When they see the design and finishing touches come together, and it is beyond what they could have imagined, it makes me smile. This may seem like a small accomplishment to some, but this keeps me going and pushes me to achieve more each day.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The hardest thing is balancing time between work and family. When you own your own business, you put so much of your heart and soul into everything it can leave you without time and energy for the other very important parts of life. This is something we all need to work on, and my sister and I try to remind each other that we need to take a break and enjoy life as well.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Try and be organized, or as organized as possible.
- Have a goal as to what you are trying to achieve. This goal can sometimes move or change as your business grows but keep your focus so you can work toward getting there.
- Understand that you have to put time and energy into your new business, but also try to find a work/life balance.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://shoplivinggardens.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoplivinggardens/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ShopLivingGardens/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisadelane/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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