She's only 22 years old, but business is booming. Gretta Solie had a dream, and it is about to become true. Homegrown BK is a plant-based delivery and maintenance service, now providing greens to some of the swankiest hotspots in New York. Gretta and her green fingers work hands on day and night, and she is one of the most promising young entrepreneurs we have ever met. We are super-proud to have her as part of our growing Spiff-community, and hope you enjoy our chat below! And oh ! Check out her business here, of course 🌱
Full name: Gretta Solie
Age: 22
From and current city: From Calabasas, California, now living in Brooklyn, New York
Occupation: Interior plant and floral design, founder of Home/Grown BK.
Hi Gretta! So happy to get to know you better. How would you describe your life today?
Hey! I would describe my life today as exciting and creative. There is never a dull moment!
We believe that! Now, what do you love the most about your life?
I love my family and the support they give me, my wonderful boyfriend, the creative environment I always work in, my dog Oliver, and of course, all the plants and flowers I’m always surrounded by!
How, when and why did you decide to start your very own business with plants?
I began thinking about starting a plant business during my second semester of college at the beginning of 2016. Upon graduating in May of 2016, I began to build and put the pieces together of starting a business, and Home Grown officially launched this fall, a few months ago! The process of starting a business was not easy, but thankfully I had the support of friends and family, and took bits and pieces of advice and information that I had received, which helped a lot. I decided to start my own plant business because I knew I loved plants and flowers and wanted to create my own path utilizing my creativity, while also incorporating living objects into interior design.
Can you tell us a little bit about the journey you have had, and what the upcoming year might bring?
The journey to starting a business has been an exciting learning experience, and I still discover new things about myself and my vision every day. I’ve learned a lot about the various ways to do business, including the important aspects of dealing with money and clients, but also I have learned a lot about myself. This upcoming year is already looking pretty exciting! We are signing on some big clients in January, which I am very excited to do their interior plants for their businesses. I’m hoping this upcoming year that Home Grown continues to expand. Another goal for this upcoming year is to work more with flowers, which I have recently discovered I really love!
As a young female entrepreneur, is empowering of women an important cause to you?
Yes! I am a very big supporter of women’s empowerment and absolutely support that cause. I think in recent years, social media has made the world more aware of the large amount of female entrepreneur’s and just how capable we are at starting and running a business.
Absolutely! At Spiff, we are all about green investments and sustainability. Do you think having a ‘green image’ is important these days?
I do believe that having a green image is important. When a company has a green image, it instantly draws me to their business and would definitely help as a deciding factor when picking a green business over a normal business.
I am always looking for ways to make Home Grown sustainable, and to eliminate any waste from my products.
How would you describe your relationship with money?
I would say that I have a positive relationship with money. Starting a business has helped me have a better understanding of the importance of knowing what you’re doing with your money, where it’s going, and how to manage it. Budgeting and saving is also something that I find to be very important, and has helped me a lot when starting Home Grown.
Do you save and/or invest money today?
I definitely do save money. I try to make it a priority to put aside a portion of profits into a savings account, and to keep that money separate so my savings can grow over time. This helps me continue to grow my funds, and also is a great way to have financial stability in case I run into a problem and need extra funds. I haven’t quite gotten into investing money, but would love to learn and utilize that in the near future!
How is Spiff going to improve your life?
I think Spiff is a great idea, and makes saving and investing money an easy process. Personally, the thought of investing money is a daunting process, but Spiff makes it easy to understand and fun to do with friends and family.
What’s your dream purchase?
That’s a tough one! I think a dream purchase in the future would be a cool house somewhere on a lot of property with a ton of animals, cool old cars, and lots of room to be creative! I’ve also been looking at the process of building my own greenhouse, so I think another dream purchase would be to have a huge greenhouse wherever I live in the future.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I see my business, Home Grown, growing into a much bigger business and expanding in other states besides New York! I think a Home Grown LA would be amazing, so maybe that will exist in five years too! I see myself being very happy, maybe adopting another dog, and spending time traveling around the world while finding new and better ways to do business.
Make sure you visit HOME/GROWN here.
Thanks for reading!
Tusen takk!