Business - Being an Entrepreneur III

Now more than ever it is important for green industry businesses to think and act like entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is recoginizing business opportunities and acting on those opportnities to create successful enterprises. The following is the third in a series on being an entrepreneur from a presentation I have given.

How well do you understand your customers, their needs, wants, and desires?

The gardening public has many wants and desires. How well do you understand them? If you are a wholesaler, what are the values of your wholesale customers?

There is more and more emphasis on going green and on being sustainable. Are you incorporating these values into your products and services?

What are your customers yearning for?

What are your customers nostalgic about?

Plant collectors are the green industry version of the connoisseur.

Greenhouses, nurseries and gardens are great places to attract customers. Plan activities for your customers to keep them longer - and buy more.

Gordon Johnson, Extension Horticulture Agent, UD, Kent County