Do you have a plan B -- If you’re incapacitated, your business needs to run without you.
By Wendy Helfenbaum, Garden Center magazine -- Running a garden center — especially during an ongoing labor shortage — has many hands-on owners in the trenches for long hours each week to fill the gaps. Most don’t — or can’t — delegate as much as they should. Few have any formal contingency or succession plans in place.

Collaboration: The IGC’s Key to Success
By: The Garden Center Show -- No one business can capture every single customer. We all have a niche to fill, and we can coexist. As many small businesses slash marketing budgets, consider joining with other local IGCs to run ads together on a "support local businesses" theme.

Engaging Via Education
BY: Wendy Komancheck at Green Profit magazine -- My usual garden center interviews in Pennsylvania and New Jersey took an unexpected turn when I eagerly headed to the charming Bloomers Home & Garden Center in Sewell, New Jersey. I first needed to stop by a Philadelphia radio station where Bloomers in the Garden was set to record their weekly podcast and radio show.

How IGCs Can Thrive This Holiday Season
By: The Garden Center Show -- Millennials and Gen X will spend more this holiday season than last, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Independent garden centers can compete with big-box stores by offering better service and value. Collaboration with other local businesses will help you keep money in the local economy.

Teaching American Flower Famers How to Grow Lilies Successfully
By: Garden Media Group -- Royal Anthos and its lily bulb vendors have announced a partnership with the Slow Flowers Society. The goal is to teach American flower farmers how easy it is to grow and sell lilies. Flowerbulb.eu, the promotional arm of Anthos, has a dedicated lily page on its website to inspire and teach American flower farmers. It also contains The Growing Lilies: Master Class. This presentation, soon to be translated into Spanish and Hmong, will give flower farmers the information they need to grow lilies successfully.

Green Career Week (virtual Q&A's scheduled)
By: Lawn & Garden Retailer magazine -- Seed Your Future has announced it has scheduled two virtual Q&A sessions, “Gather & Grow: How to Host Your Own Green Career Week,” where participants can hear from veteran participants and executive director Jazmin Albarran.

2024 Farwest Show offers 4 free networking events
By: Lawn & Garden Retailer magazine -- The Farwest Show, taking place Aug. 21-23 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon, will offer four major networking and social events at no charge. Complete details on events, daily schedules, speakers and education for Farwest are all available at farwestshow.com.

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