Business: The Growing Place
Address: 25W471 Plank Road, Naperville (second location is at 2000 Montgomery Road, Aurora)
Phone/website: 630-355-4000, www.thegrowingplace.com
Owners: Rich and Carol Massat; daughter Becca manages the Naperville location and son Michael manages the Aurora location
Number of years in business: 80
What does this business sell? Wide variety of plants, flowers, shrubs and trees, including perennials, annuals, herbs, vegetable plants, mums, native plants, roses and ground cover, as well as garden accents and supplies, Rich Massat said.
How many people do you employ? “Year round full time we have about twenty, but close to 100 part-timers and full-timers during the summer months,” Becca Massat said.
What was the impetus for starting this business? “Rich knew that his aunt needed help and the business of growing and selling perennials appealed to him,” Carol said.
“It was originally called Emma’s Perennials and started in 1936,” Becca said. “My dad took it over in the early ’70s. The original owner Emma and her husband Fritz Glatzhofer were relatives of the family. In 1976, my parents renamed it The Growing Place. It’s a family business. I grew up here.”
What’s the best thing about being in Naperville? “The customer base,” Becca said. “And the interest in gardening. We do a couple of levels of landscaping for our customers. You could come in for an in-store consultation, and that’s for DIY gardeners. They bring in some pictures and some measurements and we give advice. We also do at-home consultation (where) we go out to your site. It is still a DIY and less-formal approach, but it gives us a better understanding of the space and a little clearer picture of what the customer needs. And we also do full service landscaping, recommendations and all.”
What’s the biggest challenge about being in Naperville? “Parking. We do have quite a bit, but during peak hours it gets tight with customers loading their purchases.”
When is your busiest time of year? “Right now. May and June are our busiest months. Summers are still busy, and the fall season, too.”
More Top Picks How To Test For Irlen Syndrome At Home
What is the most popular thing you sell? “We carry over 1,000 perennials. That’s kind of what we’re known for. But miniature gardening is huge right now. We’ve got a whole room full of miniature gardens here.”
What is the thing you like to do most? “Interacting with the people. It’s like greeting friends you haven’t seen in a while. … And every year we have our summer parties. Those are fun. This year it will be tied around our anniversary.”
What is your least favorite thing to do? “I love the busy time, but I wish it was spread out a little more. It’s a fun season. It’s a hectic season. But it is a short season!”
What’s the best thing about owning your own business? “Doing what you enjoy doing,” Carol said. “We have the satisfaction of being able to make our own decisions and follow them through. While the demands on your time are great, the flexibility when needed is truly helpful.”
What is the biggest downside? “Owning your own retail business means you are always on call even when you are not working, especially on weekends,” Carol said.
What is the most common question you get asked? “When to plant,” Becca said. “The last fear of frost technically is May 15. Some of the stuff is fine. All of the plants we have on the shelf right now are fine. We make sure they are hardened off. Trees and shrubs are fine right now. The key is, if the soil is too wet, you don’t want to start. So if you squeeze a ball of it and it stays in a clump, you don’t want to plant. But if it crumbles, it’s OK to plant.”
How would you describe your business philosophy? “We work hard to make sure our staff offers knowledgeable, helpful advice,” Carol said. “Giving the customer valuable help in selecting plants.”
What do you wish someone had told you before you started? “The biggest caution would be the government adding and changing rules,” Rich said. “There’s more and more of them, giving small businesses definite challenges.”
Carol added: “Know the business end. Knowing and loving your product is an advantage but knowing the business end is what will allow you to stay profitable and run smoothly.”
What is your biggest seller? “Honestly, it’s our basil, the herbs,” said Jeanette Goodlow, garden coordinator for 25 years. “After that, our hostas. It’s still our number one.”
What plant would recommend that people sometimes overlook? “The perennial geraniums. Customers often don’t understand how reliable and versatile and easy they are. They bloom. We carry the Geranium macrorrhizum. It’s hardy and it makes a fabulous ground cover in shade or sun. The thing is that people don’t know it. It has a beautiful leaf and the flower is pretty in the spring. It’s like an alternative ground cover.”
Daina Saleh is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.