Christine Letcher, Master Gardener & Consultant continues to expand with the help of CBDC Cumberland and the Self Employment Program.
Dream jobs do exist. Just ask the owner of Christine Letcher, Master Gardener & Consultant.
Sometimes, however, a little help is needed along the way.
For Letcher, who as the name of her business implies, is a Certified Master Gardener, that help took the form of CBDC Cumberland.
Letcher started her business four years ago after retiring from the Garden Centre at Masstown Market, a job she held for 15 years. Her time there allowed her develop her passion for both gardening and interacting with customers.
After completing the Master Gardener course at the Agricultural College in Bible Hill, she felt she was ready to open her own business. She admits, however, that she wasn’t quite sure how to turn that desire into a reality, which is when she learned that CBDC Cumberland offers the Self Employment Program.
“The course is the thing that helped me put things into perspective,” she explains, “because I was not sure - I didn’t know where to start.
“The program helped me do up a business proposal - it helped me do it one step at a time,” Letcher explains, adding that was the push she needed when it came to launching her business venture.
And business has been good, with Letcher’s clientele growing from one when she started to more than 30 regular clients in Wentworth, Debert, Onslow, Truro, Linden and the surrounding areas.
In addition to providing a full range of gardening services, including pruning, transplanting, edging, mulching and planning, Letcher also offers consultations, an area of her business she is looking to expand in the immediate future.
Letcher explains that while many people are interested in transforming the landscape of their properties, most lack the knowledge needed to turn that vision into a reality, let alone provide the proper maintenance for their plants once all the work is done. Through consultations with clients, she says, she can help them acquire the knowledge needed to achieve those goals on their own.
About the Self Employment Program
The CBDC Self Employment Program assists eligible, unemployed individuals create a job for themselves by starting a new business. The support provided by the program includes business implementation training, advice, coaching and financial assistance.
Nick March, CBDC Cumberland Advisor, explains that the Self Employment Program is administered by the CBDC, Nova Scotia Works and Employment Nova Scotia.
“It’s an interesting program,” he says, “because it allows entrepreneurs to maintain their EI benefits while working through getting their business up and running.”
March says there are several stages involved once an entrepreneur enters the program.
“The first chunk of the program is to work through a business plan and get that approved,” he explains, “and then they also attend monthly meetings with us to go through how the business is going and they also provide monthly reports on how the business is going versus how they thought it would go.”
Additionally, March says CBDC Cumberland offers a variety of other supports to potential entrepreneurs, such as launching a website, as was the case with Letcher’s business.
In terms of the small business loan component of the program, March said CBDC Cumberland does not operate in the same manner as most large banks do when it comes to considering an application.
“We make money off the interest for the loans,” he explains, “but it’s simply to allow us to lend money out to the next person and to make sure we’re able to operate … we’re not sales-driven, we’re community-driven.
“All our loans are ultimately approved by our board of directors, which is a group of community members and entrepreneurs, too. We’re more concerned with the impact on the community.”
About CBDC
CBDCs are not-for-profit organizations that support the success of small businesses in rural areas of Atlantic Canada by providing financing, training and advice to entrepreneurs.
Future Growth
For Letcher, she continues to eye the future with plans to grow her business, while at the same time enjoying where her entrepreneurial spirit has led her.
“When I get up in the morning, I don’t have that, ‘Oh my God, I have to go to work.’ I just get up and it’s refreshing. I feel very fortunate. I’m 67 years old and it’s taken me this long to get here, but I did it. I’m actually loving what I do.”
For more information on Christine Letcher, Master Gardener & Consultant, visit www.gardenchristine.com or email info@gardenchristine.com.
For more information on CBDC services and to connect with your local CBDC, visit our website at cbdc.ca.
~ Saltwire
Photo Caption:
Master Gardener & Consultant Christine Letcher started her business as a retirement project with the help of CBDC