How to Sell Plants From a Home Nursery Business

Starting a home nursery business can be very rewarding. If you already enjoy gardening and the bountiful harvests that result, you can start your home nursery business and sell your products from the comfort of your own home quite easily.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Sufficient planting area
• Planting supplies & tools
• Pots
• Soil
• Fertilizers
• Internet
• Computer
• Business sign
• Business card
• Business fliers

Get a License

1. Get a license. In order to sell nursery products from your home nursery business, you would need to get a business license. Aside from that, since you are selling, you would need a tax ID so that you can report your sales and income or profit from your business. Ask your local business bureau about the requirements in operating your home based business. There might be some restrictions that may apply in your community such as a home-owner's association restriction. Make sure that you are able to fulfill the requirements and abide by the restrictions provided.
2. Plant in your own garden to start with. If your business thrives and you need to expand, you may want to find a bigger planting area. Arrange your plants in groups. Separate the vegetables from flowers, the trees from shrubs. If you want to specialize in certain plants only, do so. For example, if you only want to sell orchids, just plant orchids. If you want to just sell roses, then just plant roses.
3. Make sure that your plants get enough nutrients and that they are healthy and attractive to buyers. Be ready to invest not only your money, but your energy, which will be needed in order for your home based nursery business to thrive.
4. Put a sign on your fence or gate if it is allowed in your neighborhood. Sell to your friends, relatives and neighbors first. Once you get good feedback, you can explore the idea of advertising your home based nursery. You can put an ad to your local newspaper, in the phone book, and in on-line yellow pages.
5. Get a website so you can reach out to more prospective customers. There are several domain name hosting services and website hosting services available on-line. Pick the one that would provide you the best service. Since you are selling products, use website hosting services that are already established and can offer you and your customers user-friendly transactions. Be sure to include your email address and phone number on your website. Upload digital photos of your plants or any nursery products you would want to sell, captioned with the product name and price
6. Utilize other methods. If you do not want the hassle of having your own website, use big on-line stores or auction companies to promote your business. Ebay is one, if not the biggest, on-line store. Be ready to pay for fees even if you do not sell an item. Read the agreement carefully before you sign up to avoid any surprises.
7. Open up an on-line payment account so you can sell products on-line with ease and security. One example is opening a PayPal account so you can accept cash payment on-line as well as credit card payments.
8. Network. Go to garden shows, flea markets and fairs and sell your products there. Sell your products to home improvement stores, grocery stores, or even drug stores that carry nursery products. Florists or flower shop owners can be great customers, too. Show them samples of your products and then leave them your business card. In no time you will see your home based nursery business grow.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure that your plants have been approved to be planted and sold in the United States. There are certain exotic plants that are banned for entry or sale in the United States. If you are selling to foreign countries when your business expands, make sure you know their agricultural restrictions as well.