Inspiring Conversations with Jan Westenborg of Green Things

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jan Westenborg.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
We bought Green Things in 2004. It was basically “going out of business”, but in a beautiful location and had a lot of “hope and possibility” with the grounds and existing structures, as well as the product lines and notoriety in the Tucson area. Green Things is located on the Rillito River Path and at the base of the Catalina Foothills. It has over 100,000sf of environmentally controlled greenhouse space on the property.

This provided an opportunity to produce crops, such as poinsettias, annuals, geraniums, and houseplants, that other local nurseries cannot produce. Over time, environmental concerns such as water shortages have created a demand from the public for other crops such as cacti and arid shrubs. We have met these demands as well. However, close to 20 years ago there was an alternate demand.

Aside from plants, Green Things offers pottery, garden art, seeds, growing mediums and supplies, fertilizers, and related products. Zocalo is a sister company that occupies the renovated buildings on Green Things’ property and offers high-end Mexican imports and pottery, including hand-carved Mesquite furniture, Talavera, chimeneas, and related goods.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
With any small business, there are challenges. Some of the greatest challenges we have faced are hiring qualified staff, employee turnover, and finding staff interested in plants and working outdoors in our climate extremes.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Green Things is a full-service Garden Center centrally located in Tucson on 14 acres, carrying a broad array of plant materials including cacti, houseplants, succulents, native adapted shrubs, trees, citrus, stone fruit, roses, vines, annuals, perennials, herbs, and veggies.

We carry related products for outdoor living including pottery, fountains, benches, birdbaths, wall art, chimeneas, and decor items. Our Mexican import store, located on the property, carries high-end folk art from central and southern Mexico, as well as hand-carved Mesquite furniture from the state of Guanajuato. Green Things has entrances from the Rillito River Path as well as River and Allen Roads.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I am definitely a risk-taker. I think the road to success as an entrepreneur requires risk-taking in many areas. First, it is risky to invest your time, energy, and money in buying a business and working to grow it into something profitable. This is especially true if it is a business you have little or no experience with. Running and growing a business is generally a 7×24 endeavor, and not for the faint of heart. I believe my background in the High Tech industry, in a consulting role, provided me with the skills to adapt to and quickly learn about new business environments.

I worked in High Tech for 20 years and was moved around from company to company, and industry to industry solving problems for clients and designing and implementing new software, systems, and processes. I have lived or traveled to all but 3 of the 50 United States, as well as many countries overseas. Constant and frequent travel in itself is not for the risk-averse, as you are thrown into new situations, forced to confront people you don’t know, and must adapt on the spot to customer demands and concerns. In the end, I enjoy risk-taking. I enjoy the challenge and the reward and endure the downside as I know there will be an upside!

Contact Info:

• Website: greenthingsaz.com
• Instagram: Green Things Nursery
• Facebook: Green Things Nursery