What’s the origin story of your business?
Hello, my name is Jill Thornell and I am the owner of Classy Cactus farm. In the summer of 2020, my son Hayden wanted to open up a lemonade stand. Since we were in the major part of the pandemic we didn’t think that it was a great idea. However, I wanted my son to be able to do something that interests him. I read an article on Facebook that talks about the best plants that ship. That led me to order some succulents online. My son and I made cards and started selling them on Facebook. Things started to blow up and we had a lot of people buying plants. This went on for weeks and we even had an order from a local hospital! I love the idea of owning a business so I opened up an Etsy shop. That took off as well and I became a business owner!
What’s an obstacle that you’ve had to overcome to build your business?
An obstacle that I have faced that I’m trying to overcome is finding commercial space for my business. My husband owns his own business and his space has expanded so I am fortunate enough to be able to utilize that space. At the start of our business, our whole house was filled with plants. It covered the whole house but it was our only option at that time.
What is unique about owning and running a business in Murfreesboro?
The community is what makes running a business in Murfreesboro unique. It also gave me the opportunity to quit my job and run a business for my family that allows me to have more time with them. I love that the community supported my son and came together to allow us to make people smile.
As a business owner, what keeps you up at night?
Sales is one thing that keeps me up at night. You never know if you’re going to have the same sales as the year before and we want to be able to keep that consistency. Another thing that keeps us up at night is making sure that we create smiles. That is our mission!
If you could wave a magic wand and make one problem go away in your business what would it be?
I would have to say space. Getting a commercial space is very expensive. We are still on the look out for potential spaces!
If you could travel back in time to the day you started your business, what advice would you give yourself?
I would say focus on the idea and your dreams. Starting out, this was just something for my son to do. I didn’t think it would get this big so I didn’t stress as much as other businesses would when starting. If you didn’t have to worry about the financial aspect so much and could put more focus into the ideas and dreams that would be some advice I would give.
What time of the day are you most productive?
I am most productive in the morning. Even though I left my job and became a business owner, I still have the same schedule. I go to sleep about 9 p.m. and wake up around 5 a.m. I like to get stuff done early in the daytime so I have the rest of the day to spend with my family and relax.
What’s one thing you’d say to a person starting a new business?
I would say to always focus on your mission. I have always believed that if you truly believe in what you do and put effort towards it, everything will fall into place.
What’s one thing you’d say to a person who’d owned a business for a long time?
I would say always be open to new opportunities and help. Don’t get stuck in your ways and come up with new ideas. Change is very important because it leads to Improvement.
Learn more about Classy Cactus Farm by visiting their website!
