May is graduation month and the team at Leafscape wanted to take a moment and speak to those soon-to-be post-grads during this special season. If you’re facing graduation and are interested in horticulture, here are some life lessons and tips for your career from our leader, Robin Connell.
Robin has been learning about plants since she was a freshman in high school when she was involved in the floriculture team of Future Farmers of America (FFA). After competing in the national FFA competition, she became more aware of the many different aspects of the horticulture industry, including creating commercials for florists, building flower arrangements for a wedding, designing within a budget, tropical plants and more. One part of the competition was landscape design, which opened her mind to a new aspect that interested her. Starting at this point, she learned many valuable life lessons.
1. Begin with what you love.
Studying plants came easily for her, so she entered college at Louisiana Tech to pursue a plant science degree. After many classes, some worries and conversations with her advisor, Robin ended up adding a business degree and graduated not knowing where her career would go.
2. Pay attention to what you like and don’t like.
In her job search immediately after college, Robin actually stumbled across an ad for a job at Leafscape. After meeting with the then-owners who did not have a position available that they felt was a good fit, Robin ended up taking a job at a florist and learned a little bit of everything. From helping out with HR, marketing, sales and even IT, she was able to see the process in detail. Although she quickly learned this was not the best spot for her, Robin gained very valuable on-the-job experience and insight into her passions.
3. Don’t give up.
Robin reached back out to the Leafscape owners to let them know she was in town and wanted to reconnect. The group caught up and the owners ended up offering her a job, although they didn’t exactly have a job description for her.
4. Take advantage of learning experiences and opportunities available.
Robin began at Leafscape and hit the ground running helping to launch the company’s redesigned website, editing copy, implementing a time-tracking system and documenting many of the daily processes. She found that, although she did not begin by working with plants, her skills were valuable to the company and she took this opportunity to improve the existing infrastructure. When the manager position became available, Robin was offered the promotion. Five years into working at the company, the owners offered Robin the business and she became the owner of Leafscape.
5. Be open and pursue your passions.
This thread can be woven throughout Robin’s career. She never went into this field thinking she’d own her own business, but she believes her success is partly due to just being happy at work. No matter what she was doing, she found a way to do what made her happy. Robin continues to reap the benefits of enjoying her work and the people she interacts with daily.
At Leafscape, our love for plants and excellent service motivates our daily work. We truly do enjoy taking care of our plants and customers each day. If you’re interested in joining our team, learn more here. Or, give us a call at (888) 821-5770 and learn how our dedicated team of indoor plant professionals can breathe life into your space!