Think about it – what
garden style is most suitable for a corporate garden? Which garden requires the
least water? The least labor? The least amount of space? Square Foot
Gardens! You are ideally
positioned to help any company create the most suitable garden(s) for the space
they have available.
Corporate garden
coaching can be lucrative and satisfying for the SFG instructor, the
corporation, and the employees in many ways.
Corporate
Garden Benefits for the Corporation
·
Excellent,
low-cost employee benefit / perk
·
Increase
health and wellbeing of employees
·
Promote
team work
·
Positive
publicity for the corporation
Benefits
for the Gardening Coach
·
You
get to help a large group of people instead of just one or two
·
Get
your name and business exposed to a large group of people; perhaps publicity
along with the corporation
·
Satisfaction
of knowing that many families benefit from your work
·
Compensation
for your services can be negotiated with the corporation
·
Sales
of other products: raised beds, seeds, landscape fabric, trellises, grids, etc
·
If
you convince the company/corporation to buy a large volume of Mel's books as
"corporate incentives," Square Foot Gardening Foundation will work
with you on a case-by-case basis to get you a commission and get the
corporation a discount for volume purchases
·
Offer
classes for any who would like or need training in SFG; Coordinate a symposium
for instructor certification. SFGF will help you with this
Employee
Benefits
·
Get
to take fresh produce home to families, or eat at lunch
·
Reduces
work-related stress to work in the garden
·
Promotes
better mental and physical health to garden
·
Promotes
a sense of camaraderie between employees and management
·
Learning
experience for non-gardeners; they can take the knowledge home to create their
own home garden
·
Feeling
of pride and accomplishment
Corporate
Giving Gardens
This is a variation
on the corporate garden where you still have the same garden, but instead of
employees keeping the harvest, it is donated to local homeless shelters or food
banks. The garden would still need to be established just as a regular garden.
A corporate garden program could have either all-employee harvests, or
incorporate a little of both – employees could keep part of the produce, while
surplus is donated. Or the corporation may decide to donate all the produce.
However it works it is still a "win-win" for all concerned. The
employees and the corporation can feel great about helping those in need.
Employees still get all the great benefits of physical exercise, sunlight, and
connecting with nature.
Approaching
Local Companies with Your Service
Aside from a business
card advertising your company, you probably already have everything you need to
approach a company with confidence. All of the SFGF teaching aides, the All New Square Foot Gardening book, and
the foundation website will serve as your references and visual proof of your
ability and training. Lots of photographs of your own gardens and those of
others whom you've helped – all of these will be ideal sales tools. If you do
not want to "cold call" for appointments, there are other ways to
advertise this service, such as:
1.
An
ad in your local paper
2.
An
ad in your local Chamber of Commerce Newsletter
3.
A
website
4.
Direct
mail advertising to a list of companies in your area
5.
Postcard
advertising
6.
Flyers
7.
Simply
drop off your business cards at local businesses
8.
Rotary
Clubs
Resources:
1.
Example
of a corporate garden coaching business: http://www.corporategardencoach.com/why
2.
Example
of a Corporate Giving Garden:
http://www.eatwellworkwell.org/corporate-garden.htm
3.
See
our August 2012 SFGF General Newsletter for an article on Harvard Pilgrim
Corporate Gardens.
After the success of their own company gardens, Harvard Pilgrim teamed up with
the gardening company they'd hired, to offer the same services to other
companies.
4.
Also
learn about the Avista
Utilities Square Foot Employee
Gardens in Spokane Washington
in our general newsletter for August.
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