Seerojnie Singh, better known as ‘Aunty Baby,’ is the go-to person for plant lovers living along the East Coast Demerara. Her wide variety of flora keep her customers returning,
Singh established S Singh Plant Shop five years ago. Singh said she was at home with nothing to do when she came up with the business idea. She knew of other plant shops in neighbouring communities and thought to give it a shot. She purchases all of her plants locally from other plant shops and resets them to her liking before selling them.
Initially, Singh’s husband drove her around to sell the plants. This went on for several years until last year when she decided to sell from her home. She explained that driving around and selling plants was not working out as she had planned. Operating from home worked; customers she already had could visit her residence at their convenience whenever they wanted new plants.
The 55-year-old woman shared that when she first started, she sold just about ten plant varieties. Today she has hundreds as she expanded her business, by reinvesting the profits.
Among the many varieties are croton, bromeliad, begonia, Christmas tree, rose, palm, ficus, ixora, African violet, gardenia, and hibiscus. Singh also has pepper plants. The ixora and ficus plants are among the most popular. She has had customers purchase as much as 100 ixora plants at one time. The plants sell as fast as she purchases them for resale.
Asked how it is that she has so many customers, Singh said the reason was more than her wide variety of plants and reasonable prices. She believes that a lot of it has to do with her attitude towards customers. While this newspaper was at the plant shop, several customers turned up. Singh’s jovial nature and vibrancy made it easy for customers to approach her. If someone left without making a purchase, she accompanied them out to the road and sent them off cheerfully. “The way I treat my customers makes them want to come back. I’m always pleasant,” the entrepreneur shared.
S Singh Plant Shop is usually open all day, seven days a week. On some days business is really slow and there are no sales. But the good days make up for the slow ones. She noted that she is not trying to exploit anyone. Sometimes she makes $200 in profit on one of her plants, while for a few others, she can look forward to $1,000 in profit. Singh said she barely makes any profits on her more expensive plants, like roses and orchids, because they are high maintenance and, therefore, costly.
Many days work on her plants starts as early as 5:30 in the mornings. The meagre profit does not really pay for all the time and effort she puts into caring for them. When this was brought up, she said, “No, it don’t cover the work I put in. But you does still be thankful. It better than staying at home and doing nothing and you not making money.”
Singh said she does not offer English roses for sale as they have been known to die within three months of being replanted here. The variety she sells, she said, would last for an average of five years or more if cared for well. She shared that she has seen a rose plant with 75 roses blooming all at once. Just last week, she said, she purchased two young rose plants which together had 50 roses.
Asked which of her plants are the hardest to maintain, Singh pointed out that the croton and the hibiscus are prone to getting fungi if they are not sprayed with pesticides. Additionally, she said that while the hibiscus flourishes with her, people have shared that theirs died. “The hibiscus don’t gree [agree or flourish] with everybody,” said Singh.
A lot of her customers are women in the workforce, while some are housewives. She has her share of male customers as well. One woman, she related, said that as soon as her husband gets his salary, she hurries to Singh to buy her plants. The woman, Singh chuckled, confided that she is addicted to buying plants.
Asked how the competition from other plant shops affects her business, Singh, a mother of nine children all of whom are grown, said she understood that everyone has to make a living and she is not bothered by it. Her customers, she enthused, often say that she is the best, referring to how kind and generous she is.
At times Singh gives discounts on sales, or throws in a free plant. She recalled an occasion when she was buying plants at Plaisance Market and there was a woman who really wanted a plant but did not have enough money to cover the cost. Singh paid for the plant as a gift for the woman, who was a complete stranger.
Choosing to get into the plant business, Singh said, aside from being her job, has added merit. Today, it has moved beyond making an income as knowing that she brightens her customers’ day brings purpose.
S Singh Plant Shop is located at Lot 3 Le Ressouvenir, Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara. For more information, Singh can be reached at 601-6335.
