Homeward bound for growth business

For Kiwi expats, Sarah and Cliff Scott, coming back to New Zealand and getting into business was a no-brainer.

After being away for ten years, spending seven of those years in Singapore, they say that moving back home was a lifestyle choice.

The proud new owners of Growing Spectrum, a long-established wholesale plant nursery, speak to us via video call from the porch of their home in the Cambridge, having just returned from a quick weekend trip to the beach.

“We really missed the outdoors and the lifestyle that New Zealand has compared to living in such a densely populated city” says Cliff.

Sarah is a commercial lawyer by profession, most recently working in the sales department of a tech start up in Singapore. Cliff has a civil engineering background and has spent the last 12 years in construction insurance, underwriting large projects such as roads, bridges, power plants, and oil refineries.

Seemingly a world from what they are doing now, their skills and experience in business and technology, as well as risk management and finance, have allowed them to jump feet first into the horticulture industry and navigate their way through the world of business ownership.

“We have complimentary skill sets and it’s something we had always wanted to do,” says Cliff.

“Rather than continuing in full time work for corporations where you can sometimes feel like you are spinning wheels; when you own a business, you are able to believe that what you do each day contributes to moving things forward.”

“Every small victory feels more significant” adds Sarah.

While running a business can be very rewarding, it can also be a challenge – but for the Kiwi couple, this was one of the most attractive things about the opportunity.

“It’s a lot more overarching,” says Sarah. “You have to learn every single part of the business. Every day is different, every day is a new challenge. The flexibility is good too. The opportunity to be in the office or outdoors is a big part of what we love.”

Running a large-scale plant nursery, growing a huge array of plants and selling them to garden retailers throughout the country is no small feat, and there was a steep learning curve for the couple who came from a corporate background.

But, from plant propagation and importing products, through to sales, dispatch and logistics, Cliff and Sarah have been up for the challenge every step of the way.

They say that the existing team of staff made the transition a lot easier.

“It’s a well-established business and a lot of the staff have been there for a long time,” says Sarah.

“They are great at what they do, and we have some of the best staff in the country, which has been one of the luckiest parts of it for us. The fact that it was an established business made it a lot easier.”

“We aren’t start-up people” she laughs.

Buying an existing business can have a lot of upside as often there is existing income with loyal clients and forward work in place.

“The hardest part was finding our place in the business,” says Cliff.

“It can be easy to get caught up in the more hands on, day-to-day stuff, but it’s important to make sure that you have a plan in place and you are executing that plan.”