Could dh make a living working at a Garden store? Owning one? Any other career change ideas?

[walkermamaof4]

He loves to work with his hands, loves to be outside, hasn't ever enjoyed his current job, which he has had for nearly 20 years. I'd love to see him doing something he'd love. He is not good in crowds, but is great one-on-one. He is the hardest working person and kindest most thoughtful person I have ever known. He has had to do ordering, training, running of crews of men on multiple jobsites for years. So while he can do these things, I am not sure he enjoys doing them. He is very handy - once remodeled our home by himself, including tearing out walls, electrical, plumbing, and even the staircase - and a perfectionist so very slow but the job he would do would get noticed as being phenomenal. He is also very neat and precise. He does not love to read books, but has devoured information on the web about landscaping and gardening.

 

How much could he make working for a garden center? Owning one (i'm not sure he'd really enjoy all that this option would require)? What other ideas seem like they would suit him?

 

it would be amazing to see him make as much or more money doing something he loved.

[gardenmom5]

I would think he'd make more owning one, but there are caveats. what is the col where you live? do people have disposable income to spend on more involved landscaping/plants? how many other garden centers/stores/landscapers are there to compete with? could he fill an empty niche market? I would think it would work as a supplemental income while building up a business.

[magnificent_baby]

I can't imagine it would be much more that minimum wage. But if he had a plan to learn as much as possible on the job, while planning on opening his own, might be worth the sacrifice.

 

What about going back to school on the side for an electrical or similar degree? Then he could open his own business.

[Dandelion]

There would be a lot of overhead involved in starting up and running a garden center (leasing or buying a building, inventory, etc.). How about a landscaping business? A lot less overhead and upfront costs with that.

[Lizzie in Ma]

DD works at the local garden store for $9/hr. But she is happy and loves it and that matters too.

[G5052]

It's a tough business. We know several people locally who have been involved in various aspects of that. Your business is seasonal, and you compete with the Home Depot and Lowe's offerings.

 

We know a retired gentleman who does vegetable garden consulting on an hourly basis. He's very much in demand and works out of his home, but his customers are generally quite well off. At one point he was trying to recruit my DH to do it as a side job, but it wasn't the right time to do that.

[Kebo]

He sounds perfectly suited for general home minor remodeling / handyman work. It would probably pay better than garden work, but I would be guessing on that...

[sparrow]

I would look into a landscaping/mowing business over working in, or owning, a garden shop. In our area, business is picking up for landscapers and mowers. It was one of the first services people cut out when the economy was tanking. Now that things are starting to turn around a bit, people seem to be loosening the purse strings and hiring someone to do their yard work.

[unsinkable]

How about a tree removal business?

 

This is a very dangerous job that I don't think you can jump into without hands-on training.

 

 

[KungFuPanda]

How about a tree removal business?

I would look into a landscaping/mowing business over working in, or owning, a garden shop. In our area, business is picking up for landscapers and mowers. It was one of the first services people cut out when the economy was tanking. Now that things are starting to turn around a bit, people seem to be loosening the purse strings and hiring someone to do their yard work.

 

With his background, landscaping seems a good choice. He could start small without leaving his urgent job and if he grows to the point of needing a crew, he has the experience to manage them.

 

Around here, trees cost THOUSANDS of dollars to take down. If there's a storm that knocks a tree into a house, insurance pays the tree guys, so evenin a recession they seem to have work. (I live in a deciduous forest area. I'm guessing tree guys in Phoenix don't charge 5k to remove a tree.)

[datgh]

Garden Centers don't pay much and if you own one you need a lot of business savvy and plant know how as you are dealing with a seasonal business and perishable products plus as one poster stated you are competing big time now with the box stores. I have a degree in Horticulture, just about my minor in business administration and about fifteen years of experience and I would be lucky to make fourteen dollars an hour and being in the northern part of the country expect to not work much at all in January and February. Garden Centers and landscapers are also one of the first businesses to suffer when the economy tanks as people only tend to spend disposable income with them. Over the last few years the families that I know who own garden centers laid off most of their staff and are putting in much longer hours just to stay afloat. A rainy spring also means no sales and suddenly the owners are telling you to go home. It has worked for me as I am not the bread winner of the family but it isn't a great career if you want a dependable, stable job. Sorry to be bursting your bubble but my husband (he has a degree in Landscaping) and I have been there and done it and the above has been our reality. If I was going to do anything, it would be a seasonal greenhouse to suppliment my retirement where I grew a few things and bought all other plant material from wholesalers as I needed it. I'd close down at the end of June and use the money to winter in Florida!

 

Since your DH likes to work with plumbing, how about heading in that direction. We have a friend who is a successful plumber, is busy all the time, and takes on apprentices occasionally. Since in this country over the last twenty or so years the push has been to send kids to college, kids haven't been going into trades like plumbing. As the older plumbers are retiring, there are fewer plumbers left so they soon will be able to name their price.

[Starr]

I have friends that had a hardware and garden store. He said it was impossible to make money unless you really knew the ins and outs. Every dime was being put back into the business. Eventually they closed. He says there are things he might have done differently but no one tells you and you're broke by the time you figure it out. He fit all the criteria for making it work.

[J-rap]

There is one garden store in our town, but it has taken on lots of roles: landscaping, lawn care, floral arrangements and delivery, plant nursery, Christmas tree sales. I think he does very well, but I don't have details. He has retired school teachers who want to continue working part-time helping out, or current teachers who have summers off.