We sat down with Laura Johns, owner of Snakeroot Botanicals. Snakeroot Botanicals is a plant, herb, and nature store with two locations in Fountain Square and Fishers. Johns has a passion for plants and has taken a road to entrepreneurship to spread her knowledge to the Indy community. You can shop online or check out either location!
Fishers: 8597 E 116th St, Fishers, IN 46038
Fountain Square: 1052 Virginia Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46203
Erin Holler: What do you sell in your store?
Laura Johns: The prime focus is our house plants, but we also sell bulk herbs, bulk teas, incense, accessories, gardening tools, soil, and things of that nature.
EH: Do you have any previous jobs/ventures?
LJ: No, I did not. My husband loves entrepreneurship, business, and things of that nature. He is the co-owner of Square Cat Vinyl. We talked for a long time about turning my knowledge and love of plants into a business. I was always like, “Yeah, maybe. We’ll see.” Then one day he came home and was like, “I’m serious. We’re doing this.”
EH: Why did you decide to open a storefront?
LJ: My husband really wanted to turn my ideas into a business. I’m not really business minded per se, but I love plants, plant management, inventory, and things like that. I feel like he found a way to kind of combine our two knowledge bases to make this. When this space specifically became available, and it was next door to the record store, he said it was meant to be.
EH: Do you have an online store or any other locations?
LJ: We have a location in Fishers and we have an online store as well. All of our inventory at both locations is online.
EH: Which came first, the online store or brick and mortar?
LJ: Technically the online store because we launched the website while we were building this space out. It was just a couple of months that the online store was up since we were getting ready for this space to open.
EH: What skills or qualifications do you think are important before launching or managing your own storefront?
LJ: Skill-wise, it’s a lot of inventory management and attention to detail. Being able to envision a bigger picture and take those steps to achieve it. Non-skill-wise, I’ve really found that being in a neighborhood that has a community, like Fountain Square specifically, is really beneficial to starting and opening a business.
EH: What is the most effective marketing tool that you’ve been using recently?
LJ: Our main tool of marketing is social media. Primarily Instagram and Facebook.
EH: What’s more important when opening a storefront: location, having a nice cash cushion, or having a lot of retail experience? Why?
LJ: I found it helpful to have someone on your team who has an entrepreneurial mindset. I really do think the location and the community you put your business in makes a really big difference. Having the cultural trail near us gives the opportunity for people to see our store without necessarily having to look. That has been awesome.
EH: How did you decide which vendors, products, or brands you would buy to sell in your store?
LJ: A lot of the brands—for instance, our seed brand—is a nonprofit that has worked on preserving heirlooms and native seeds trying to combat the big seed industry. I try to find brands that fit our mission and match us. Making sure that they’re respectful of nature, loving of nature, they’re on the organic and non-chemical side of things. That is something I really look for in a lot of our brands. We try and be as organic and natural as possible, and I want to make sure that the products and the things that we’re carrying in here and the people who we are buying from are fitting that mission.
EH: Do you work with vendors on a consignment basis?
LJ: We do some consignment with local potters, but the majority is purchased at a wholesale level.
EH: Do you carry any local vendors/brands?
LJ: We carry some local pottery and all of our honey and beeswax candles are done by Hardwood Honey, out of Greenwood. One of our growers is on the south side of Indianapolis.
EH: What is the biggest challenge you have faced running this business?
LJ: The biggest challenge for me was really getting to understand the business world and trying to make all those connections.
EH: What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of opening their own storefront or who is interested in gaining management experience?
LJ: My most extensive advice would be to pick the mind of somebody who has owned a business. You can hear some of the trials and tribulations that they went through. It can help you around some of those issues or get through them without having as much of a troublesome time.
EH: What advice would you give to an upcoming brand that’s looking to build a strong relationship with a retailer?
LJ: Going in and physically introducing yourself, so that people have the ability to put a face to your name. That makes a big difference. If you have a passion for your product and you can make a connection with the person, you’re probably more likely to have reoccurring business or relationship with them.
EH: Are there any online resources that you regularly visit to help run your business better or keep up with the latest industry trends?
LJ: There are some plant channels that I watch. There’s a girl named Summer Rayne who is wildly brilliant when it comes to plants. She is somebody that I watched a lot in the beginning stages of learning about plants. I learned a ton from her.
EH: Any last thoughts?
LJ: I want people to know that even though people might associate our store with just plants, there’s a lot more here. There are all kinds of herbs, accessories, and products that are available for people who even have a black thumb.
