This story is part of our 1,000+ Stories campaign. What’s your story
Name: Pauline Jordan
Business: Hortic Therapy
Location: Southampton, United Kingdom
Industry: Healthcare, Wellness & Fitness
Reason for starting? Whilst visiting a relative in a care home, I observed that there was not much variety in activities to create stimulation. Due to my horticultural background, I know the benefits of gardening, so I offered to conduct a table-top gardening session as part of my visit to my relative. It was greatly received, and the residents enjoyed it. They were cognitively stimulated, the fine motor skills exercised and there was great social interaction amongst the participants. I later did some research on dementia and found out that gardening is a great therapy for people living with the disease.
Related: Read about another personal services entrepreneur here.
How do you define success? You need to ensure your project is commercially sustainable and that you have some experienced partners to work with, as you can’t do it all by yourself. Go with your passion, step out of your comfort zone and don’t be afraid to be different!
Biggest success: Seeing the difference the gardening sessions are having on the lives of senior citizens.
Related: Women Mayors Talk Climate Change
What is your top challenge and how you have addressed it? My biggest challenge is planning my time effectively. I have addressed this by using a paper diary along with electronic reminders on my phone.
Who is your most important role model? I admire the work Richard Branson does and how he started out.
[box_light]Website www.
Twitter @PjHortic
Facebook www.
Tell us your story!
Read about another entrepreneur here.
Edited by The Story Exchange