Welcome to the first instalment of our hopefully, possibly new monthly ‘Letter from the Founder’!
August has traditionally been our quietest month, but this year, it looks like it's going to be another busy month for us at Sprouts, with loads of exciting projects in the works. Coming up this month, we have internal and external plant landscaping jobs for new business clients, and a handful of weddings that we’re going to be dressing for some wonderful couples. The rest of the year has been a bit of a wild one, with what felt like a string of bad luck recently. It started to feel incredibly personal as it stacked up: a break-in, a burst pipe which has caused an incredible amount of damage at home, to then not one, but two leaks in the ceiling of Sprouts, followed by my car battery being flat earlier this month. I'm hoping for a little bit less stress for the last half of this year. I suppose I should mention and not forget that we have had an incredible start to 2024 as well, we won not one but two awards! The first was the Bristol Property Life Awards 2024 Retailer Winner, and the second was a RHS 4-Star ‘Excellent’ Trade Stand at our first ever RHS show - Malvern Spring Fair. Our stand was situated in the Festival of Houseplants by Green Rooms Market, which was a fantastic event - we would recommend it to anyone and we will be back for 2025!
Whilst we are working on these projects for our clients and praying for no more catastrophes (just slightly over the top I know), we will also be working behind the scenes getting ready for the rest of the year, and everything that the last quarter of the year brings with it. We have loads of ideas in the pipeline for Sprouts and myself, Ferne and Rhianna have been beavering away trying to make these ideas, our products and Sprouts the best they can be. Whether that's making our processes simpler to get your answers replied to quickly and correctly, or to not changing our packaging to cheaper plastic versions, and even to thinking about how our customers use our website and interact with us in store (and how to align these) to give you the best possible Sprouts experience. Now, I realise this all sounds quite… d*ckish big business talk, but I promise you we are just a small team trying to always do our very very best, without compromise, and whilst still being compassionately human. 
Next month Sprouts will be celebrating its 4th birthday and I can’t believe it. We have come so far from that first scary order of 2k worth of plants paid for by maxing out my credit card by mistake. If you didn’t already know, I started this business whilst still working full time in my design job during lockdown, as I was frankly terrified of spending the rest of my life in an office job just waiting for retirement. Some days, which honestly are getting fewer and further apart than they have ever been, I do wonder what I got myself into, and what I’m putting Tom, my husband, through whilst following this dream of mine. But the days are getting better, I feel that I have more of a grasp of Sprouts, our customers, and the highs and lows that come with business - and especially a retail-forward business.
Earlier this year I also received a positive diagnosis for ADHD, and paired with the previous dyslexic, dyspraxia and short-term memory loss diagnosis when I was younger, I’m starting to realise why I am the way I am. More importantly, I am realising why the corporate career within the design world would never have been enough for my often-bored brain, finishing tasks at lightning speed to chase the next exciting project. My role as founder at this, what I'd like to call, incredible business that is Sprouts, makes me feel like I'm exactly where I’m supposed to be. I've never stuck at a job for more than three years and I've been doing this for four, with no sign of wanting to stop. I've got more passion, drive and ideas for the future than ever before.
In a world where it’s easy to feel unimportant, dissatisfied and uninspired, I’m incredibly grateful for our customers’ unwavering support, my wonderful team's enthusiasm and my husband for his support throughout this journey. This all means that I truly believe I can do this, and I can build the business I envision Sprouts becoming for the future, all whilst keeping people and our planet at the forefront of what pushes us forward.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my ramble and insight into my brain. Come back next month for the second instalment, and please let me know if there are any topics you’d like my opinion on! I'm full of opinions, as many of you will likely already know.
All the best, Jessy
