Confessions of a serial entrepreneur
By Jessi Burg

 I have started two successful companies over the past five years, and I’ve learned that growing a successful business means following the money. You have to ask yourself: “What are my client’s currently paying for, what else are they willing to pay for and how does that overlap with the work I want to do?”

I opened my first business, Soe Harvest, in 2017, planning to teach people how to grow vegetables in their garden. This rapidly became overall garden maintenance, followed by working with clients to incorporate more sustainable and edible plants into their landscapes. Three years later, my vegetable garden coaching business had turned into Pears to Perennials, a design/build and maintenance company focusing on sustainable landscaping. I sold it in 2021.

My current business, Outgrow Your Garage, was started in 2021 and has followed a similar trajectory. What began as a direct- to-business consulting company has become an on-demand business development program. At the beginning, my clients were mostly existing trades and service companies looking to solve specific problems. Soon, I needed programs my clients could work through on their own. This segued into working with other consultants, nonprofits and business coaches to create business education that could be used by any small business — whether my clients or someone else’s.

There is always more to learn
At first, you think you’re starting a business about something you understand. I knew about growing food in urban areas, so I started a landscaping business. But, as the saying goes, ‘I didn’t know what I didn’t know.’

Following the money to develop your ideal business offerings means you’re always learning new things. The transition from vegetable gardens to overall maintenance happened because when I went out for a vegetable garden estimate, clients had questions about their roses. I didn’t know the answer at first, but I went home and studied. Once I had a few maintenance clients, they wanted to know how to expand their gardens, reduce water use or add pollinator habitat. This incentivized me to learn more about native plants, and I could use that knowledge to market my business specifically to people who were looking for a long-term relationship with their landscape professional. Read the complete article in Colorado Green.