In August 2022, I was fortunate enough to purchase a business! Planted is a boutique houseplant store in downtown Champaign, IL. We sell a wide variety of indoor houseplants, planters and plant related gifts. I never thought I would own my own business and it's been such a thrilling n
year.
I am blessed to have a business partner, Kristyn McReaken, who co-owns Planted with me. Funny enough, I was actually Kristyn's nanny when I attended University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Our friendship has (obviously) blossomed and she approached me with the idea of going into business together in March 2022. Our space was an existing plant store operating under a different name and Kristyn happened to stumble upon the only social media post the previous owners made about selling. Both Kristyn & I were in the "what's next?" phase in our lives, so this opportunity almost seemed like a sign. I had graduated with my Masters in Social Work from Dominican University in 2021, but wasn't quite ready to make the jump into the professional world full-time. Kristyn worked in public accounting for 16 years before leaving her job to homeschool her children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both of us are plant lovers and it's not often that an entrepreneurship opportunity like this comes along.
Being a Trinity student helped me become the person I am today. I have always felt so supported by the people I met throughout my Blazer journey. Being a business owner isn't easy, but the strength and sense of empowerment I feel is thanks to God, my family and the Trinity community. Come stop in & visit if you ever find yourself in the Champaign area! Planted is located at 16. E Washington St. Champaign, IL 61820 and our website is
www.plantedu.com
