Rent-A-Plant For The Office?
Jun 17
If you’ve ever been in an office, especially cluttered with little cubicles, you know how dark and dreary they can be, no matter how much light is pouring through the windows. Imagine spending the majority of your waking time in such an atmosphere.
Now you can make corporate America a little more cheerful by renting plants to local businesses. It’s easy! Your clients choose the type of plants they want to rent, you deliver them to the office. You’ll also develop a weekly schedule, stopping by the office once or twice (or however many times is needed) a week to water and care for the plants. Your client doesn’t have to do a thing! (Except, of course, write you a check for your services.)
Some clients may want the plants long-term while others may just need them to spruce up the office for a day or two when important clients are coming to town. You can also rent plants out for parties. Ultimately, you’ve got plenty of potential clients including doctors, dentists, small businesses and any type of office business. However, you’re not limited to simply offices. You might also market to the YMCA, the local gym, banks, hotels and restaurants?anyone that has a reception desk.
The first thing you want to do is determine what type of plants you’re going to rent. Will you rent only green leafy plants like Spider Plants? Will you offer exotic plants like ivy or cactus? Or will clients be able to rent azaleas, orchids or some other type of potted flower? Write down all the plants you?ll offer and where you can affordably purchase them. Your overhead expenses will also help you determine your fees. How much are you going to charge? You might charge per plant, offering a discount for half a dozen or a dozen plants.
You can be as creative as you want when it comes to offering plants. You may opt for creating a brochure that lists the type of plants you offer, or you might list each type of plant offered, including photos, on your website. Of course, you can always revise the types of plants and/or flowers you’re offering once you find out which clients seem to prefer.
Be creative in finding clients. Grab a few plants, stick a few brochures and business cards in your pocket, and start visiting offices. Show your potential client base what you have to offer them. The worst they can say is “no”. The best, of course, is “yes”! However, even if they just ask you to leave a brochure and a business card, you’re halfway there! You can always follow-up another time.
Of course, you can also go about marketing through traditional means placing classified ads in your local papers, writing articles and submitting them to newspapers and placing a customized sign on your car.
Finally, don’t limit yourself to renting plants. When the holidays roll around, why not rent Christmas decorations to your clients? Or, you might offer to rent decorated Christmas trees - your clients will get the holiday atmosphere they desire without having employees use valuable work hours to decorate.
