Episode 118: How To Build Resilience and Create Meaning in What We Bring Into Our Homes: An Interview with Ryan Klewer of Plant Charmer
In today's interview episode, Fiona talks to Ryan Klewer, the man behind Plant Charmer, an interior plant design studio. Ryan shares what plants mean to him, how plants can help everyone build mental strength and resilience and how he switched careers from graphic designer to founding an interior design studio. Listen to the full episode and learn Ryan's thoughts on why it's important to create rituals that help you build resilience, and why there should be a meaning behind every purchase.
Topics discussed in this episode:
Introduction
Plant Charmer
Catching Up
The History Behind Plant Charmer
Starting The Business
Covid's Impact
On Mental Strength and Resilience
On Switching Careers
His Mom's Influence
Life Growing Up
Doing Business with Plants
Working with Your Partner
What To Do with Your Space
Things Ryan Had To Learn
Resources, Getting Help
Tech Recommendation
Doings Things Differently Now
Moment Most Proud of In The Business
Dream Client
What's Next?
Getting in Touch
Conclusion
Get in touch with Plant Charmer
Episode transcript:
Whatever that item may be that you add to your home or office, be a plant or an object, make sure you have respect and personal value for that object. It might be the item itself that you have a connection to or the story behind it. I think by using this approach, rather than feeling a space for lots of new, trendy things you might not like in a couple of years, brings that sense of common purpose into the space.
Hello and welcome to Episode 118 of the My Daily Business Coach podcast. You can probably hear the smile in my voice because I'm excited about sharing this interview episode with you. I think there's so many tips and insights and realness and yeah, just think it's such a great one. And I loved conducting the interview and I know that it'll help so many of you listening. I am recording this podcast as always in my back garden office in North Warrandyte. And again, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land in which I record this podcast and I do the bulk of my work. Though Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation are the traditional custodians of the land on which I work and play and have my fun. And I want to pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded. And we all have so much work to do. But we can do it and we can do it together so that we can all move forward together.
So today's episode, like I mentioned, is an interview episode and it is with the amazing Ryan Klewer of Plant Charmer. Now transparency - Ryan has been a client of mine and I absolutely loved working with him and seeing how his business has developed. But aside from being a client, Ryan is just an all-around super nice guy. He absolutely loves what he does. He is passionate about plants. He really takes it all to a next level. So it's not just about how cool they look and how they're styled. Obviously, styling is a part of it, but he's really in touch with what plants can do for us, both in a physical sense, but also in a mental health sense. And he used to always talk about this in our client sessions as well, just the kind of meditative element that plants can bring into our lives, particularly if you are living in the city or you live somewhere that is removed in some way from a lot of nature. And I know that he's also someone who doesn't make it in any way uncomfortable or unapproachable to talk about plants, particularly if you're someone like me who is not a green thumb. Although I have been able to keep one plant alive recently and it is thriving, I must say. But in general, I'm always someone who's scared of plants because even though I live in North Warrandyte, I'm surrounded by Bush and it's beautiful. I just have always thought of myself as someone who kills plants and my husband is the opposite. So my husband absolutely loves plants and he's always buying new plants and indoor plants and he really takes it personally. If they don't thrive, he's like, why am I doing wrong? Almost like he's a parent to these plants. And I love that Plant Charmer works with people like myself, but also like my husband, and also works with brands and architects and big companies to look at how plants can really help their lives, their business, their community as a whole. So, Plant Charmer is an interior plant design studio. So from residential to commercial, like permanent to temporary installations, they offer a range of services to meet the needs of whatever your project is.
So it could be that you've just had a renovation. And actually, I'd love to add some plants to your house. It could be that you're an interior stylist and you actually want to start collaborating with a company like Plant Charmer to do more of the interior plant styling and education and kind of consulting with you to show you what's possible in a particular space. It could be that you work in a big company and you'd actually love to have a really beautiful kind of plant installation when people come in. So whether it's a hairdresser or a corporate or it could be a big home or or maybe a restaurant, these are all of the kinds of things that Ryan and his team work on. And they also do maintenance. And as well as that, they've recently started a lot recently probably, gosh, I don't know, maybe a year ago an online store and a physical store of just the most beautiful plant, kind of stands, candles, kind of vessels and pots and other things that go with that life of plants. And everything that he puts on to that store is curated and really considered. And everything is about things looking beautiful, but also having a consideration for the meaning behind them.
And in this chat, we talk about what plants mean to Ryan, why he's so obsessed with them, because he actually didn't start out in this field. He started as a graphic designer, which is also probably why his actual branding of plants is so beautiful as well. So in addition to his business journey, we also talk about his own kind of practises for keeping sane and keeping everything going, despite the challenges that we are all going through with a pandemic. It was such a delight to talk to Ryan about these things. And sometimes I think once I have a client on the podcast, I'm like, I should just ask all clients these questions when they come in, because I find it fascinating to learn more about people, more about their business journey and why they do things the way that they do.
So if you're not already following, make sure you go over and follow Plant Charmer on Instagram. It's @plantcharmer. You can also follow the Plant Charmer Store, which is @plantcharmer.store And if you want to find out more after you listen today, definitely check out plantcharmer.com.au And of course, we'll link to that in the show notes. But without further ado, here is my interview with Ryan Klewer of Plant Charmer.
Welcome to the podcast, Ryan, how are you feeling about life right now? I mean, we recording this in our fourth Melbourne lockdown.
Thanks for having me, Fiona. It kind of feels like deja vu. Once again, the lockdown seems to be panning out the same way I did for the previous game. Up on Ellen. I've once again decided that we needed to escape the city. We planned a little getaway up north just to kind of reset the mind and relax the creative muscles a bit. And then just as we're were about to leave, we entered into lockdown. It's kind of gotten to a point now where it's kind of mildly comical. It's happened every time we planned a little getaway just to kind of relieve some of that business stress. And very I stress a downs happened, but we both understand that with the current situations are and it's far from terrible considering how bad it is around the world.
Yeah, I know, because I think if I'm correct, you were going to Sydney to see her parents or your parents, so.
Yeah, over Christmas.
Yeah. And then you got locked in from them, like from that statement from us.
Well yeah. So the funny thing was we actually had some accommodation booked in Palm Beach, which is where the first cases were actually brought to life in that Sydney lockdown. So it wasn't even it was just the side locked lockdown was literally the exact location where we planned. And we drove we got up to Sydney and then that's when the news came out. So we had to turn around and drive straight back.
Oh, God, I'm so sorry about that. And yeah, I feel you. And I know, like, you know, both of us are in a good situation and definitely everyone in Australia is not as locked down as we're not anyway, like India and other places. But it still sucks. Suffering is suffering. So, yeah, I'm really sorry to hear about that. And I hope you get to go on the trip not too far.
We are also planning on going to Seattle on that plane. But I think these latest cases, I think is going to have to add that to the cancellation list as well.
Oh, I know. And I do. I don't want to be like negative Nancy, to the rest of the country, but I do feel like people outside of Victoria can understand it. Like I think they've had six days of lockdown on average and we've had like one hundred and something. Yeah, it's yeah. It's just let's hope they left soon. So people would have heard me talk about Plant Karma and Brian in the intro and how we kind of kostov that. How do you describe plants, because I know people out there who might follow you on Instagram. I think one thing and other people might think another thing. But how do you describe the business and can you also talk us through why you started Plant Charmer?
Yeah, sure. Right now I would best it as being an interior plant design studio. And now recently with the retail store being opened up in the start of January and now going live now online, that's kind of the ethos also like the encompass many of the business regulations. Thank you. Thank you. But really, I consider plants to be involved in a project that isn't tied down to a clear destination. The more I learn and discover about the world of plants and styling, the more POS I seem to discover and follow down. And I'm really open into following those paths at this moment in time. Like I viewed it as a means to bring more joy and happiness into lots of people through a medium of plants and objects, and to create an aesthetically pleasing environment through the use of those mediums is a by-product of creating this bond for the people having a client come to a space once I've completed the project and to see how and here they're in amazement is what I really aim to achieve. I believe it's all of us to see the beauty in nature. It's in all of us, I reckon. I think this is inherent value of stepping outside into the world, the natural world, and just like letting it absorb us and being like putting all we see like a fantastic landscape. So I really want to condense that down as best as I can and introduce that to people in their homes or in their businesses and create that feeling of war.
Yeah, I mean, I think that's incredible. I don't know if you've seen it. Think it's called like what happened when the world changed and it was actually talking about covid and how humans stopped polluting and travelling and tourism and everything kind of dried up. But actually what happened to the planet was that nature was allowed to breathe and all these incredible things happen to animals and plant life. But I also think to your point that like during covid, no matter where you are in the world, nature has been such a bomb. You know, people are really seeking it out to get some stress relief.
Definitely. Well, I think especially for us talking for myself here in Victoria, being like living in a city and having these lockdown down restrictions and having these radiuses that we can't extend out of, it's so hard to find that aloneness in nature all that time in nature. We have parks and we have areas where we can catch glimpses of that. But we're often surrounded by so many people that we can't just sit down and find that place so that you require that we can when we're outside in nature.
I completely agree, and I am so fortunate to live in North Warrandyte where I live because it's just surrounded by nature. And even our neighbours, they just moved in at the end of 2013. And I was like, good timing. And they moved from the city to out here. But yeah. And then I guess, like you've described what you do and I love that and I've seen your work and it's beautiful. Why did you start Plant Charmer?
I think it was almost a reaction to the job that I was in. I mean, it wasn't it was not a creative job. I was a graphic designer, but I felt there was lots of restrictions within that role. I couldn't express myself freely. And I think plant trauma was just. As a result of me wanting to rebel against that nine to five job and to do something now, I could express myself in something that I could share with others. And it just happened to be with plants because that's what I do.
Oh, I love that. And also, it's so obvious then why like you graphics and your visuals look so good.
Because, yes, it is something that's been there.
Yes. Yeah. You can take that skill set and bring it in. And so because we are talking about covid and because you're in the plant business and I'm guessing a lot of your work is well, I know from some of your installations and you're going into places and maintenance and styling and that sort of stuff and even having the physical space. Now what happened in 2020. Like how has covered and even again here we are, another lookdown. How has it impacted your business and your life?
Personally, it's been quite tough, but I believe my resilience got me through it. I think that was a major contributing factor to kind of getting through it and pushing through it. And that is a result from the amount of care that I put towards myself care. And due to my mental strength, I practised meditation. I like to get out into nature as much as I can. I exercise most days and I've actually started the new I wouldn't call it a technique, but a practise of having cold showers in the morning. That really helps me kind of like wake up. If it gets your skin tingling, you feel warm, you feel alive. And it is really I feel like it sets my guy up.
Yeah, it definitely doesn't get easier. It doesn't matter if it's out of hand. It's still just as shocking, but it definitely it definitely works. But regardless of all that, it's still been like a huge roller coaster, knowing that I can find these highs and I can ride these highs if I get like an amazing job prospect or finish up a really amazing project. But I still know that just around the corner there's going to be a lot. So being able to have that mental resilience has really helped me in those times where we enter another lockdown or I can't engage with new clients. So all those kind of things that come as part of an after-effect of living through kind of a year or two. And then I guess business wise, it's definitely pushed me to try different things. I had to reflect on a lot of important things during twenty twenty, and how can that central to my business opened up a retail shop during a very, very volatile time for brick and mortar stores. But the opportunity came up and I wanted to give it a try. I feel that's very important to me, taking control and taking advantage of opportunities when they arise because I'd rather do something and fail than not do it at all and then just slip to potentially regret that. And it's also really important for me to have a respect for nature, and that means I have a considered approach to my design and investing things that are long lasting. So what I stock in the store, and this is a reflection of how I approach the retail store as well, and how covid has affected me in that way is. It would have made sense to go out and get something that would have sold really well and just punched it out and try to make as many cells as possible. But I still wanted to bring these values that I applied to platformer in terms of styling. Into plan in terms of what I stock or what I someone stole, so all the items of incredibly well considered that ethical brands, the items that you buy and you keep in your house for a long time, you wouldn't throw them away. I think corvids made me be a lot grabby in terms of how to push the business, because I think it's obviously a very bad time in terms of what's happening. But in terms of having an opportunity there to be brave and to push yourself and to try things that you wouldn't dare do under normal circumstances has proved to be very rewarding in some regards.
Oh, I love that and hats off to you for having that mindset and also what you talked about with the mental strength and it being a practise like we forget, even just the way that mental health is still a stigma here. We forget it's just like physical health. If you had a knee, you would keep working at that every single day to get the knee. Right. But I love that you're saying it, working at mental health and mental strength and resilience every day. And I think lots of people listening will take that away, like, OK, you can't be case on this one day a week. So I do something. It's like, well, kind of every day I'm similar. I like hummock outside for ten minutes. I have my cup of tea, I drive my morning walk like it. Those things have to be there for me to be able to face the rest of the day.
Yeah, I think that's totally right. I think about it and I think it's reframing it as something. There's the analogy going around that you can't go to the gym once and expect to come out. If you like your hopes and dreams, you've got to incorporate that into your life, you know, across the entirety of your life. And I think if we can learn to accept the fact that mental health or taking care of your mental health isn't something that you can fix overnight, it's something that you've just got to incorporate into every day or weekly or whatever it may be for the entirety of your life, then you start accepting the benefits of it, which aren't these dramatic, drastic changes. But it's little things that build up as you get better, as you practise more
Totally. And yeah, that part about nature. Like, I think, you know, obviously that's a huge part of what you work with and what you help people bring into their lives. But yeah, like if you're like Buddhist priest, like so many religions, it's like they will go off to somewhere where this is peace, this nature, and kind of get this spiritual selves. And then they super calm people as well. And yeah, what you said about pushing yourself, I think 2020 for lots of us has been really difficult, but also, like you said, doing things that you wouldn't have potentially maybe pushed yourself to do or had the opportunity to do. It was just like any other year. So things like that, because I think people don't stop to really consider like, what did I do? I have often say to people, what did the person three years ago, you three years ago, think of what you've done in twenty, twenty and most of the time when you put it in that people like, oh my gosh, I actually did so much. This is when we often think about future selves and I'm still nothing.
It helps a lot.
Yeah. Thank you so much. So why plants and I know this must be a question you get all the time, but what was your childhood like with you just a parent super into plants or horticulture or even design because obviously a graphic designer as well. How did you come into to doing what you're doing outside of just not locking up and letting it change?
Yes, sure. We like the more I think about the term or the question of plants. And as you said, I've discussed this numerous times with people when discussing the more I discover and remember about my childhood and how nature and plants were always there for me. I remember spending days from sunup to sundown out in the fields behind my home or down by the river in the forests, building stuff, building little huts, catching in six catching bugs, catching fish, climbing up trees, swimming all day, and then coming home covering ticks and leeches. But, you know, being joyful about that and then picking them off and actually, Joy, like having the best time out there. And I think reflecting on those times has really made me think about why plants intrinsically mean so much to me today. I mean, like my first job, I remember I was about four or five years old and it was this lovely lady that lived across the road from us. And she had this immaculate Victorian style garden. And she used to pay me and lollies to rummage through the leaves and capture all the snails for me. She called me Eagly, and I've been told I discovered that I had twenty twenty vision. So maybe there was something in me I could follow those little baby snails in a way at all. A little plant. So I think. Upon reflection, especially in those early, younger days, I did find myself being in nature what it was as thought kids were, I was into gaming and all those kinds of things in sporadic moments. But I feel like my real my real enjoyment came from being at being at in nature and using my hands and just experiencing it. And then as I moved on into my life at 18 years, my mother, she bought a little block of land up in Coffs Harbour and she started a little nursery there. And that was my job for a while. So I made sure that everything was running smoothly there. I built the greenhouses, I tended to the plants I propagated, made sure that everything was looking fresh and healthy for the markets. And again, at that moment in time, I think I lost a little bit of that appreciation for nature. And I saw it more as a job, less as something that I aspired to do one day. But now that I look back at it, that gave me the tools to decide that I wanted when I made that decision, that I wanted to remove myself from that nine to five job and into something a bit more creative. I think leaning on the plants was an easy option because I already had those practical skills in taking care of plants and growing plants and understanding what they needed to survive.
Oh, I love that. Is your mom still in the business?
Yes, she still she's down and she just has a little store now that she runs on the weekends and she just sells plants as she grows herself. It's just like a little hobby of hers now that she loves to do it because it gets her involved in the in the community and she gets to spend time with the plants. I think there's a common ground that we both share that love and appreciation for nature.
Yeah. What does she think of plants?
She loves it. She wanted me to like she's like, oh, can you please send up some plants and I'll sell them for you or I'll do this. If she constantly sends me photos of plants that she spots and she asks me if I know what they are and what not. So she's very enthusiastic about the brand.
Oh, I love that. And I love hearing that background as well and kind of that substance to just the knowledge and everything that you have, and especially when you're learning those things, when you're young, it's like you don't even realise you're learning. You're just taking in all this knowledge like a sponge. If I had to learn about plants now and I've talked about it with you before, that I'm not a green thumb. So if I had to learn about it so much harder than when you get that information, when you're a kid and even just talking about your background and your youth, I had a very similar one. We were always in nature. And even just recently, the other day it was sunny. We get heaps of skinks around here and there was heaps. And my son said, Did you have things when you were growing up? And I was like, yes, we used to catch them and put them in ice cream buckets. And and he was like, Can you catch one now? And I caught one. And I was like to be right back. Like, we kept it for ten minutes because my husband was like, you can't keep it. It's really cool. But yeah, it's it's such a lovely experience to have that
it is hard to put yourself back in those shoes or have that kind of perspective. I know it's definitely something that is very critical to forming like, you know, ideas or passions later in life.
Yes. Yes, totally. And so a question that I wanted to ask you is a good decade ago, what was it, two thousand nine to say? Around 2010, I was working at Amazon and I was heading up the kitchen at home department in the U.K. and we had millions of products, but there was a very small amount that would to do with plants like plan holders, plant this plant, beautiful plants and stuff is very much the terracotta pots you could get. So now we've seen in the plant world that this explosion of plant styling, plant books, plant businesses. Why do you think that this has happened? Do you think it's just this more access and we've got like YouTube and social media? Do you think it's that we're more reliant on technology and so we need it? We need a break from that? Like, what do you think it is that has created such a popular thing? And I'm sure even growing up with your mum, she might have been one of not that many plant businesses.
You know, it's a great question. And it's interesting to know that you work in an industry back then where you dealt with those kind of ways, you kind of items, and those that kind of like you have first hand references to how it was back then versus now. I mean, ten years ago, I was just out of high school.
I am so much older than you!
And I had no first hand experience with interior plants, apart from seeing them in shopping centres and whatnot. But I think the knowledge that having plants around us in our homes, in our businesses, in places that we gather as humans, we've been known it's been beneficial since some of the first major studies released in the nineteen seventies. I think having plants in the home went in and then went out of fashion. I believe it was more of a trend around having interior plants back then, but having plants in places where humans gather, such as shopping centres, hospitals, hotels and corporate workplaces that never went out of fashion. Let's look around. I think that's because of that proven scientific evidence that suggests that plants do much more for our health and wellbeing than most of us actually think. When you think about it, those are nurseries that grow. Most of the plants that we now consider to be indoor plants have been operating and growing the same plants for decades, supplying them for larger copper, facing businesses that lease out and maintain the plants in the spaces, obviously before like hotels and hospitals. But now a lot of those nurseries have expanded their offerings to include a much faster selection of plant spaces to maintain that competitive advantage. But that change can be more recent. I'm not too sure, like, as I was saying before, how plants in the home became on trend again. But it has. And that train hasn't stopped. We've seen an explosion in new businesses entering the same that there has been there's literally been a mass shortage of plant. Available, especially recovered, due to that demand, the monetisation of the indoor plant movement has seen the surprise of the thousands of YouTube views and influences that you were talking about cashing in on its popularity. I don't think you need to be passionate about this, saying that there is a huge market there and all you have to be is clever enough or smart enough or creative enough to utilise plants be and influence, be it setting up your own plant, retail space or whatever it may be to figure out that you can make money from it. And then even touching on the point where you suggested that there might be an opportunity there for people to use it as like a switch off mechanism to kind of disconnect from the tech world or whatever it may be, and kind of like surround themselves with nature in their own homes. But I think. It's almost fed itself back into the machine where to get more inspiration and to get more ideas about what plants you can get or how you can start with them as push people back into that tech world of being on Instagram or being on YouTube, like following these creators and getting get a situation where what they may have they may have seemingly used to escape from technology in the form of bringing in plants into their home, has caused them to be sucked back into that hole
I haven’t thought about that but it’s so right. And even like I've seen lots of companies now do very realistic looking plants that are like almost more expensive sometimes than real plants like this huge kind of ones that you really can't tell if they're fake or not. But you'll see them in the back of people's zoom coals and stuff. And it's almost like a set up, like it has to be perfectly styled and stuff.
Yeah, it's well to think about because they're trying to replicate something that is inherently natural. Yeah. And they're using probably a plastic based. Yeah. That's made from oil and it's kind of not saving the world by bringing a few plants into your home, but at least you're not doing the opposite, you know, adding to the pressure. Yeah. So what I find as well with a lot of the people I've come in contact with throughout my projects is and through plants is that the everyday person can see through that. They're getting that savvy now with plants that if a business tries to fool them and go, oh, let's go down the artificial route, because it's maybe easier to maintain, we don't have to worry about dying because the prices in some cases are actually more expensive. Most cases are more expensive than fibro plant, but the consumer or the client or whatever it may be, is coming in now and going, that's not real. And then they associate that essential cop out to the business. So I think if you're going to do it, you're going to use plants. You might as well go the whole hog.
Yes, yes, go the whole hog, but yeah, it just sat right in the 70s, my parents, we moved out here in the early 80s when I was really young. And my mom just when you were talking about it, I was like, oh, yeah, my mom would always have hanging baskets in the kitchen, but it was very like 80s and she would have lots of plants around the whole veranda at the front, like all around. She was always buying plants. Yeah, but I feel like she had to have them in the kitchen and even sometimes to be like little little, tiny little flies. She's like, oh, mom lets out. But she should always be watering them in the sink and then taking them out to dry on the veranda and. Yeah, but it was very it was not a I wouldn't say I'd look back and be like, oh, super cool. What she was doing. It was just to have them in the house.
Interesting how that works and maybe would have it would have been a different story. Social media was back then the access to the Internet. It's interesting.
Yeah, always. And so another one kind of question that I wanted to ask you, because I think it's really interesting. It comes up a lot when I work with couples, is that you live with your partner, who is also a creative small business owner and an artist. Important. What is the setting for this audience yet? How do you help one another with your relevant businesses or do you kind of keep it separate? And I guess sticking to that, if people are listening? What advice would you have for someone who runs a business and they partner also runs a business or two separate businesses? Like how do you avoid things like competition or comparison? I actually literally just had a damn recently from someone who said my husband started a business covid he didn't have a business before. I have had a business for a while, but I feel like every time I do something new, he's not there yet and he's kind of like defensive about it or kind of derogatory about it. And obviously I'm not a marriage counsellor, but I just wanted to ask you, like, how do you work with that? Because you're both so good at what you do.
Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, it's an interesting one. Definitely from the outside, I've seen there's a lot of very powerful couples out there that either tend to work on their own projects or they work on a project together and they work really well in the super compatible and they create something that's amazing. It's a bit different with me, Ellen, because obviously we're both creative and we both ventured down similar paths and we also face similar challenges. But generally we seem to stick it out alone most of the time and we just checking to see how each other going. And I think that could be down to the fact that we both have very similar strengths and we have we both have very similar weaknesses as well. So the majority of that support for each other is is multiple. We're not really coming together and expressing a need or want for advice on something that we know that we're probably going to give the same answer if the other person came to us and proposed the same situation. So we just try our best to help each other up and listen to our respective problems. Actually really enjoy this. We're working together as we do have to push ourselves individually and not rely on the other person too much. Every achievement is celebrated and there is a very little, if any, competitiveness or comparison that goes on between us. Like if it wasn't for Elon, I probably would never reflect on any of my achievements. I attended as brushed them aside and just moved on to the next task where she generally grounds me. And I hope I do that for her as well. So we haven't gone down that path of becoming a power couple and working on the problem together and really smashing it out and working on it. We kind of just go in our own lines and then when we need to be kind of like made up in the middle of a conversation and then we diverge again and like this go down that path separately.
I love that there's a poem by Khalil Gibran. I remember exactly what it's called, but basically it's a lot of people use it at weddings, but it basically talks about how your house but you're both different columns in the house and you can still be separate people. But together you create this life together based on your own as well. Exactly. Yeah. It's really nice what you've just said. It reminded me of that poem. Well, another thing that people might have seen you and Ellen on the design files, because you have had both your business and studio profiled as well as the two of you and your incredible warehouse is the warehouse kind of has . Are you still there in Collingwood?
Yes, we are.
Yeah. And so I've just seen that on the pictures and obviously when we did some calls and stuff. But I've also been able to visit your beautiful space, which is the A store boutique, what do you call it, store to store. And it's so beautiful. And I feel like you're honestly someone I'm not saying this lightly. Someone who can create beauty where others would say constraints, like with with the space itself, with the financial constraints, with got these materials that we can use. So. As someone who seems to kind of create this magic with spaces apart from plants and working with plants, what else could people do or add to their space, be at home or office to feel more tranquil and calm? And I guess especially right now when we're in lockdown at the kind of tips or things you'd suggest to people to kind of get that just beautiful, calm space that you seem to be able to create effortlessly.
Well, thanks for those kind words. I really appreciate that and really means a lot. It's interesting. So I think this is a very interesting and personal question, and it touches on something that myself and I believe a lot of people are feeling right now. I know covid is really stolen the limelight the past year and a half, but the other relevant and real issue is the climate crisis. This issue takes up a lot of space in my mind, and I think it rightfully should I bring this up, because whatever that item may be that you add to your home or office, be a planet or an object, make sure you have respect and personal value for that object. It might be the item itself that you have a connection to or the story behind it. I think by using this approach, rather than feeling a space for lots of new, trendy things you might not like in a couple of years brings that sense of common purpose into the space. So like, for example, I did a recent installation for a Collinwood bath house, good sense of self. And as you walk into the main the main room, the main foyer, you turn to your right. And this is beautiful staghorn that's mounted on the wall. That staghorn is over 40 years old. It came from this amazing, lovely old lady that she had. And she was selling it because she had to move out of a home because her partner had previously passed away. And she had she couldn't stay in this house anymore. So it's getting demolished. So she had this beautiful plant that she'd nurtured for so long and it brought so much joy to her. And she just wanted to see it go somewhere where it was going to be loved. And when people see that plant in sense of self, they feel something. They say it's amazing when they see that story, it takes them somewhere else. And I think that's the same with adding something to your space. Like, sure, I could say you can get these really amazing hand rolled incense that smell really nice and they make you feel calm. Or you could get these these essential oils that it's amazing that made over here that made all these ingredients fantastic. But I think having something that you can bring to harm it could be it could be a drawing that the son did at school or it could be a handmade piece of ceramics. But if you feel that and connect to that and you can believe in the story behind that, I think that brings so much more tranquillity or calmness or holiness to a space than any other object really can.
Oh, like, yes, yeah, I completely agree and it's really interesting, both of my parents have passed away in the last few years and I went down recently to my sister's farm just before lockdown, thankfully, and got all these old things from dad, like stuff that had been left behind by mom and dad. And I was going through it and kind of figuring out what would go to the shop and what would stay. And, yeah, there's definitely some things that aren't necessarily trendy or cool. I'm like, oh, no, like like I found like this printout of this Rijad keypad reading whatever one of the poems. And we used to have it in our kitchen. And I was like, oh, these are the poems. I'm just going to get them framed. And they kind of late 1970s with all these kind of bad flower drawings on them. But I'm like, no, because they mean something. So, yeah, I think that's really, really good advice. Thank you.
I think it's I think it's great. I heard you say, you know what will go to an op shop. And I, I don't think there's anything wrong with also letting go of things. Someone else is going to find that and they're going to put their own meaning to it. And then they're going to continue that story for that object. Know, it could it could live a whole life with them and then they could donate it and then it could live out from someone else. This is stories that come with it. And even if we're not told those stories, we can create our own minds if those objects.
Yeah. Oh, so it's funny because I walked into this room and saw my parents like sideboard and they had all this beautiful dogwood, huge furniture that they brought out from England. And I said to my sister, oh my God, I haven't seen it. And also I've never seen it without a lot of crap. I said, oh, God, I wish I could wish I had space for it. And she was like, no, it's going to go to she dealt with this antique dealer. She's like, he's going to come and pick it. It's exactly what you said. She said, people are going to take it. And instead of it sitting in our garage, it's going to sit in someone's home or someone's business. And they have a Neelesh. Yeah, so true. Oh, my gosh. I can talk about this in your business because obviously this is a business podcast. Yes. Have you to learn during your time in this business to lock up level. And obviously I'm guessing quite a bit, even if you had this great experience with plants and what would kind of be three things that might have been maybe the hottest that you've had to learn?
I've had to learn a lot and force myself to do tasks that I struggle with. I'm not a very structured person. I never used to use a cow and I never had a dog before, I found it difficult to manage manage multiple things because of that. So I've had to learn to talk to and do supplies. I've had to understand taxes. I've had to employ staff. Now I've got to run and manage a retail store. So basically, everything that comes along with being a small business owner, I think reaching out and getting coached by yourself was the real kick in the pot that I needed to take the business to the next level. So thank you for that. But I think as I think as a whole, I've just had to learn to take on so many roles and do so many different things. I'm definitely starting to learn now and I'm in a privileged position now that the business is at a point where I can actually start to delegate funds to areas where the. My time is better spent doing something else or I just don't have the ability to maximise that part of the business, so that's definitely helping. And that's definitely something where the next six months, a year, I feel like that's going to be the major focus of the business is how do I manage scale and how to scale the business up through some of those challenges. But I feel like the hardest things to learn would definitely self discipline. So I wouldn't say I got like the world's best work ethic, but I've had to get better at it. That's been really hard. So that's one of them admin admins always being difficult. I'd rather be doing something creative or spending time. I'd rather spend 20 hours on a project coming up with the best idea for it than one hour trying to sort out my admin side of the business and then potentially just being alone sometimes in business, like being the sole trader, doing it by itself. It can get quite lonely. Sometimes you just want someone else to kind of come in and give you a hand or have someone to chat to. And I've got like I've got mentors. But Ellen yourself, I can always call up and chat to. But sometimes I wish I just had a like a business partner that kind of really get on board with and brought about.
Yes, oh, my gosh, I hear you on so many things, and I don't think any of those necessarily things might get better and you learn to embrace them, but I don't think they necessarily disappear. Like we all will have moments where it's like, oh, come on, this has to get done. I say, I'm constantly saying, Killackey, come on. And, you know, and I work with people all the time and I know what to do, but and the loneliness as well. I think that's a big point. Whenever I'm coaching couples or even partners, even if they're not romantic partners, I'm always like, oh, it would be so good to have would. Yeah. And to have that. But then on the flip side, I also like control, like my stuff my way.
It's not you that way. You have that other person there.
Thank you. Thank you for watching. I really appreciate working with you as well. And all that aside from our work together. Have you had any mentors or you mentioned Ellen full or coaches or even like mantras or quotes or books that have really helped you with this business?
For sure. There have been a couple of significant people in my life that have given me the opportunity and responsibility to really push myself in work and in life. Some of them haven't directly impacted the business, but past experiences that I had with them have really fallen to I am today and I thank them for where I am now. I mean, as an early 20 something year old trying to figure it all out, it's quite incredible and humbling, reflecting back, knowing that someone took the time to take you under their wing and guide you through. And that's definitely something that I want to put onto someone else and God through someone else. And I've currently got an intern that I can really see a big future for them. And I really want to be able to give them all the resources that they can possibly have to grow into something that they want to achieve when they get a bit older. And it's not always doing so and so getting them to be better at what they're doing in that current point. But it's giving them the responsibility to really push themselves. And I think even if they fail, they'll still learn a lot because that's the experience that I went through. And then in more recent times, the help and support that you gave me was very incredible. I already mentioned you. But just having someone like yourself to talk to and assist and to discuss my thoughts around the business gave me an incredible insight as to what I could actually change. Having an opportunity to do that is a process that you can't put a monetary value to that. And then I turn to books and podcasts when I'm in a bit of a rut. I'm always reading plan and design books. I'm always got an idea for a particular podcast that might spark some interest. But generally when I'm in a good headspace, I'll tend to turn it down a little bit. But then always find once I start to get into a bit of a rock, I kind of seek out a bit more motivational self-help kind of content just to kind of like pick me up, because sometimes it only takes one episode or one phrase or even one sentence to kind of just like kick back into gear.
Oh, yes, and thank you again. I love to work with you. Yeah, I agree that like this so much and I love that you mentioned your and I think sometimes we forget that we can also be the help for other people and we can be like just what you said, like pay it forward and take that good karma that was given to you to somebody else. Like, you can give it to somebody else as well. And it doesn't even need to be big things. Like I remember years ago, I used to do the social pages for The Age newspaper and I have to go to these events. And I was quite nervous and I was like twenty four. And I remember I used to always just like shake hands with celebrities or whatever, and I'd be like, Oh hi, I'm Fiona from The Age. And I remember one particular person who I won't say his name because people have a love hate relationship with him, but every single Australian would know who he is. I shook his hand from the age and he said, Fiona, what's your last name? And he said, Well, you you are a respectful dress and you need to have that respect in yourself. So when you introduce yourself, I want you to say hi, I'm lucky and you're going to remember this name. And I was like, oh, and I would just speak so taken aback. But it really gave me the confidence that if someone like him was giving me this bit of helpful advice and then from then on, I always like, oh, like I'm a real person. I'm not. Oh, that's just Fiona. You don't even need to know your last name.
Yeah, that's a good bit of advice.
It was just it was really good. So also in terms of like things that have helped you, what about technology? Obviously you work with plants and just kind of off screen, but other kind of tools that you just can't live without when it comes to running the business.
Yeah, like I use all the adobe tools pretty much, and I use them daily because that this helps in terms of like to be able to connect for clients and make things look really nice and well presented. And then I also use the Google. See, I think that's really the integration. That's great. And then I use Trello as well to distract a lot of my projects is definitely more like I know there's like a never ending list of different apps and tech tools that I can integrate into the business that help me scale. And I'm being forced into those essentially because I know they're beneficial. But the main point is just like that first initial learning phase, just trying to download an app or a particular capital and understanding how to use it. And then also because there's so many out there in the market understanding how relevant that one is to your business and if there is one, even slightly better. Are you missing the boat if you commit to this one? So my uptake hasn't been as fast as it probably should, but that's based on the time constraints or just looking for that perfect one.
Yes. And this is no should should police. But I feel like that sometimes to just get sorted with one and then someone's like, oh, have you heard of this? I get sent an email like, hey, this new email provider that makes sorting your inbox even easier. And it's like, oh, maybe I should try that. So I think sometimes it pays to sit back and be like, what do I actually need these things helping me stick with what I have right now. Exactly. Otherwise, it gets too complicated. Yes.
And so what's one thing that you would have done differently if you were just starting out now? Maybe someone's listening. What kind of thing do you think you might have done differently?
This is a tricky one. I think you're going along the journey from where I began to where I am now didn't start. Two years ago, when I started tomor, it started when I was a child playing out in those fields. So I think every little thing and every little mistake and every little lesson I learnt formed what it is Omri's. Now, if I was going to change one thing, it would potentially be be more proactive with those kind of tools, because I think you can be a hell of a lot more productive if you have the right apps in place from the beginning. And it can save you a lot of headaches down the line. But I think the journey is something that you can't you can't replicate. So I wouldn't probably change too much.
Good answer. And I agree. So much of what we learn through mistakes is like the best learning, the best education. One hundred percent. And so on the flip side, what are you most proud of from your journey in business so far?
I think the thing that I'm most proud of is that I always push myself to do a better job, every project that I've completed so far. I've been incredibly proud of. But there's always that little voice in my head telling me that I can keep pushing. I don't know if I'll ever reach a point that I don't feel that way, but I'm incredibly proud that I have that desire to always push myself
A good one as well. And I feel like, yeah, even that's a good thing to point out, because sometimes we can be like, oh, me, too hard on ourselves. Or, you know, it's like at least you have that you want to do better or even just like what. It's almost like a curiosity. Like what could I do if I could do this.
This is exactly I think you always going to like every project that I do, there's always a sense of comfortability and nervousness that I get in my stomach. And I've heard it before and I say other people say before, but a lot of like performers will say before they get on stage. But I feel when I don't feel that way, I think I need to change things quickly because I'm getting too comfortable and I'm just replicating work. So I'm always going to want to have that little wee nauseous gut feeling when I do a project because I know I'm really pushing that boundary.
Yes, yes. And I know I didn't ask you this, but can I just throw another question out there? Have you got any, like, dream clients like when you were talking about that? I was thinking about Beyonce. I always says that she still feels nervous and she feels like you could put out absolute rubbish and people would love you. So I didn't think about Beyonce and these things. Do you have a dream client? And even if someone's listening to this, like, do you have all I'd love to do an installation for this type of business or giant hotel group or whatever. Sorry to put you on the spot.
It's fine. I think there's like lots of amazing brands out there that I would love to work with. I'd love to work with a sample, the lab, one of those kind of industries. I'm one of those kind of businesses that have such a strong focus on the product that they use and how it connects with nature and how they kind of shift so much attention onto what they're actually producing. And it's not about mass production of an item. It's about the item itself and how high level of quality that product is and how it performs its tasks. But I think my dream job, and it's something that's been tugging at me for a while now, is it wouldn't matter who the client was, it doesn't matter what their status is. I think I would love to do something that was more regenerative. There was the Future Food Project. I think that was the name of the Fed Square where those are well renowned chefs and I can't remember who that who start with. But they did an installation and they lived out of a home in Red Square wells and integrated food system. And I really like that idea of how nature and food interact and how we can live in a space where it's all connected in one big symbiotic ecosystem. And I think I would love to go down that route and help design and style help play around with a project like that where it's not all about the aesthetics, but it's also about the practicality and functionality of a planning process such as that.
Oh, amazing. And if those people listening get in touch with Ryan on that day. Yeah. Where can people connect with you? And I guess what's next for you? What have you got on at the moment.
Yeah. So I've got a few really, really fun projects on the boil over. One in particular, there's a new creative hub called Stoke Studio run by a very good friend of mine, Kate Bowman, down in the Morning Peninsula. So I'm helping to design that and bring that to life and I'll be open in the next few months. So get around that. I've also opened up a new online retail store, which are homes, mostly brands, which is intentional. And I wish to keep the offerings as local as possible. And I've also just launched a collaboration with my good friend Joey from Mock Turtle called Chiloe, which I'm really excited about. But now it's a range of hand painted planters and it's going to expand from that into more functional furniture. And you can check all that out on my Instagram just at Plant Chamma on my website dot com that I use.
Oh, amazing. So many good things coming up. And is Instagram the best place? If someone wanted to send you a message or tell you what most resonated from the podcast or get in touch about a project, or is it the website or the
Instagram is great. There’s a form on the website to get in touch. But whatever’s easier for you guys.
Awesome, well thank you so much. I have loved working with you. I've loved watching your business. You're so dedicated and committed to what you're doing and to the output and the results. So it's been an absolute pleasure to talk to you and to work with you.
Thanks so much for having me.
You're so welcome. Bye!
Oh, what a lovely guy. How awesome is Ryan from Plant Charmer? I absolutely loved getting the opportunity to work with him, but also just having this opportunity to have a chat and really discover more about him. I loved hearing about his background, how he grew up and how much of an influence that is on his life now as an adult. I also, yeah, just really took away so many kind of nuggets from everything he said for life and for business to things that really stood out to me were when he talked about building resilience and building mental strength and creating a practise or rituals around doing that and not leaving it to be something that you just do every so often or when you really feel like it or when you get a break. But to do things as small as you know and as bigger as because I'm sure it's quite shocking. I have actually tried it a couple of times, but not as brave as he is.
But, you know, having a cold shower and taking time out to go into nature, look after himself. You know, those things have to be done regularly to have any kind of great impact. Sure, we can go and we can do some nice afternoon every so often, light some candles, get a massage and feel good. But it's kind of temporary. Whereas what I loved that he was talking about was really making it a practise, making it just part and parcel of your every day so that when things do strike and he talked about having the highs and the lows, you're more equipped to deal with them because you've got this practise in place. So that really, really spoke to me.
The other thing that I loved about, you know, everything that Ryan shared was the idea that everything that we collect in our home, in our office, everything that we sort of buy and purchase, needs to have meaning behind it. It needs to have a story. It needs to resonate with you on some level. And he mentioned climate change. And I know that I work with various clients in this space, but also in kind of I've mentioned here before, Erin [], who does a lot in the kind of research into waste and landfill and the kind of effect, an impact on our planet from the home, you know, industry. And I know that a lot of people listening to this are in that space. So I loved, you know, including Ryan.
A lot of you know, he does installations and big things for commercial clients, but he also works with residential clients. And, you know, I loved what he was talking about, that everything that he's creating is built to last. And it's not kind of throwaway kind of home where a home goods. So I loved that he put that out there because I think, you know, it just needs to be said sometimes that really look at what we're doing because we are doing whatever we're doing now is going to have a lasting impression for our children and their children. So I really, really loved that approach. There's so many other nuggets of wisdom and business tips. And even just the idea was when he was talking about, you know, having to have discipline and having to force yourself sometimes to do those admin tasks. I loved it because we all have that. We all have those things going on.
So I loved chatting with Ryan. If you have found this episode useful, definitely, you know, don't be a stranger. Go on over to Instagram. You can find Ryan at @plantcharmer or you can check out his website and contact him there plantcharmer.com.au.
And of course, we'll link to that in the shownotes. I'm sure Ryan would love to know what you'd most took away from today's episode. And of course, the shownotes, including a full transcript and all the links to Ryan stuff will be available over at mydailybusinesscoach.com/podcast/118 as this is episode 118. Now, if you found this episode useful or any of the episodes that we've put out, I would love it so much. If you might just take two seconds and leave a review for us on Apple podcast. It just helps other small business owners across the globe find this podcast and hopefully fall in love with their business again as well. Thank you so much for listening. I'll see you next time. Bye.
Thanks for listening to the My Daily Business Coach podcast. If you want to get in touch, you can do that at mydailybusinesscoach.com or hit me up on Instagram at @mydailybusinesscoach.
