Becoming a Business

Today I officially filed for a sole-proprietor business license in Carlsbad, CA and launched my website. Steve and I decided that the name Tollfsh didn’t fall off the tongue in the context of a plant business, but it’s all about branding so I chose to roll with it anyway. I’ll have to be sure to do a section on the Tollfsh in the about page… I completed my first batch of business cards, they should be arriving presently.

If you’re curious why I’m here doing all this work it’s to create a business that allows me to feel fulfilled through the act of creating, not only a physical product in terms of arrangements and plants for clients, but also a customer-client relationship that simply cannot be realized in a retail environment alone.

Having worked in the retail industry for the last three years it became clear that clients are often overwhelmed when stepping into a plant store. Not every store associate shares the same level of knowledge or customer-service experience which can be frustrating for shoppers. Additionally, without a hands-on interaction in the clients’ home to better assess the environment for the prospective project an adequate recommendation for a plant cannot be made.

I am taking what I learned about business operations and execution from my experience as a veteran, my charming stubbornness as a gay non-binary person, and creative inspiration from three+ decades as a captivated plant purveyor to help my future clients experience the refreshing and rehabilitating effect plants can have, even on the most high-strung person like myself.