Abe VanWingerden
Metrolina Greenhouses co-owner Abe VanWingerden kicked off the GROW Executive Summit by highlighting the best opportunities for growers to position their businesses for long-term success through consumer engagement. Speaking inside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC, which served as host for a VIP reception, VanWingerden didn’t hesitate to embrace the metaphor in comparing his industry to the racing world. He offered attendees five points of advice to embrace in the next five years.
Be able to handle sharp turns. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, 35% of people will be working from home moving forward. As business owners seek to fill their talent pool, they should use this to their advantage when they’re able, and offer as much flexibility as possible. This may seem daunting for an industry that relies on having workers on location, but when it comes time to handle leadership positions in marketing, logistics, or sales, it can be a great opportunity.
NASCAR is entertainment, and so is the home. Many of these same people who will work from home will also entertain from home. Make sure you offer plants that enhance the interior and exterior landscape. Know when to lead and when to follow. A lot of drivers in NASCAR have figured out that being in first place the whole race doesn’t matter. It only matters to be in first place on the last lap. VanWingerden said that greenhouse growers sometimes try to be leaders all the time, expecting to be in first place. However, sometimes it’s better to be in the “draft,” a NASCAR term that is the practice of two or more cars, while racing, running nose to tail, almost touching. The practice reduces aerodynamic resistance, allowing the two cars to go faster. When it comes to certain challenges in the industry, such as how to increase online business, VanWingerden said greenhouse growers need to learn how to draft off each other, rather than letting retailers decide how the race is going to be run.
Know where the finish line is and how to get there. Start by looking five years down the road instead of five weeks or five days. Yes, it’s a business where we must know what happens daily, but you must have a strategic plan and know where you want to be. At the end of the day, after 500 laps, you want to finish the race first. But the only way to know how to do that is to know how to run those 500 laps.
When you have the momentum, build on it. Metrolina’s most recent internal consumer gardening panel showed that in 2020 85% of gardeners said they would spend more on gardening in 2021. Going into 2022, that percentage increased to 95%.
