Cacti photo led to plant lover’s successful business
Plants in homes and offices are familiar sights. There is a wide variety to choose from and while some people opt for the known, tried and true plants, others want something more exotic; Preya’s Creations is happy to provide them.
Preya Rajkumar established Preya’s Creations on December 13 last year. The business supplies exotic plants, like orchids, cacti, succulents, desert roses, as well as arrangements and hanging baskets for them.
Rajkumar, a wife and mother of three, said that she was always involved with doing crafty things with her children and was looking for something to do when she saw someone post a photo of a tray of cacti on social media. She sent the photo to her husband and the two began toying with ideas for plants. Among the ideas they came up with were fairy/fantasy-styled gardens. However, this idea was discarded as they were not sure how to source the plants and accessories.
Still, her husband, who has remained supportive throughout, encouraged her to get her business started. As such she bought her first tray of cacti on December 12.
“I bought it the Saturday and on Sunday, I spent all day [arranging] them and I finished in the evening. I was shy to post about them but my husband liked them so he took the pictures and posted it on his profile,” Rajkumar said. “I decided to share in WhatsApp. I posted it at six o’clock and 12 hours later, by the next morning, orders were placed for all 12 that I made.” Preya’s Creations was open for business.
Rajkumar, who works in the Information Technology department at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, shared that she began purchasing orchids, which she would keep with her at work until she could take them home. Many of her colleagues became interested and she began to sell orchids also.
She was one of the women who exhibited their businesses at the Women’s Expo this year at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. Her business idea, she remembered, was praised by Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud as being “unique”. There was no other similar business there.
“I’ve noticed that people are more gravitating to having decorative plants in their homes and offices,” Rajkumar said.
Every two weeks, she has a new shipment of plants arriving in Guyana. While business is thriving, the entrepreneur said that if a few plants do not sell, she does not fuss as she happily adds them to her garden. She purchases
varying species of plants so that if one is not purchased, she has a new kind to add to her collection.
Rajkumar is very particular about her collection of plants; she does not sell them. Crotons are among her personal collection. Her business is operated from her home in Eccles and she has remodelled her former guest bedroom for that purpose. She noted that sometimes when customers arrive to pick up a plant they ordered, they might see one they like in her personal collection and indicate their interest. She does not budge to sell unless it is one she wants to be rid of. “This is just not a business for me. Once I can get back my capital, I’m good.