Get to know Rayne Gibson

NM: How did you get started in horticulture?

RG: I was born and raised in Natchitoches, Louisiana. In 2002, we moved to Alexandria, Louisiana which is the nearest city to Forest Hill, the nursery capital of Louisiana to open a wholesale growing operation. I was 10 years old, and my first job was busting grass. I worked at the nursery every summer until after high school graduation. After working labor for eight years growing up, I decided I hated the nursery business, and I wanted to be a landscape architect. I did an internship, and I absolutely hated it (laughs). I thought, I'm pretty good at this nursery business, so I went to Louisiana State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with a focus in horticulture and nursery management. I went back to the nursery to grow it, and I did that for about five years. I ran it entirely with the owners mostly retired for the last three years. In 2020, I moved to Fort Worth and worked for a high-end residential landscape contractor. Then I got the opportunity to be a site manager for a wholesale nursery. Last year, we had our first baby girl and have another one on the way, so we decided to move back to Louisiana to be close to family.

NM: Why did you decide to start a consulting business?

RG: I was groomed since I was 10 years old to take over the nursery. My first job was busting grass, and I got an insider look from an owner’s perspective at a very young age. With that I had a good understanding of business practices, and especially after I came back from college, it was my position and prerogative to grow the business to the next level. ... ‘How do I make a nursery top tier in the nation? How do I improve production? How do I improve nursery logistics?’ I did like anyone would do. I googled it. I YouTubed it. I did LinkedIn learning classes, and I very seldom would actually find something that was helpful and true to the nursery business. You can find broad strokes on business practices, but very few things actually touched on production and wholesale nurseries. So, I wrote a mental book of how a proper nursery should survive in the 21st century because a lot of the nurseries, especially from the nursery boom in the 70s and 80s, are still living in the 80s. All throughout my journey after college, I’ve helped nurseries. The nursery industry is very open and helpful, so anytime someone would have a question, I would help them out because that’s what you do, and I always enjoyed that. So, I figured I would do consulting, and it has proved to be a much-needed resource. I’m only in the second month of business and gained great traction from companies in North Carolina, California, Illinois, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. That’s just off of grassroots marketing, so I know that there’s a big need out there. I hope I can fill it.

NM: What’s your favorite part of the job?

RG: I love seeing the click. When it clicks into an owner or manager’s brain: ‘I never thought about this before’ or ‘man, this really does work.’ The biggest reward is seeing a business owner get enlightened about the potential of their business, seeing that they can be bigger than what they are and their goals are actually achievable. That click of satisfaction that my clients get is what gives me satisfaction. A lot of nurseries get stuck in a rut. They get stuck in doing the same thing over and over for years and years. I want them to feel like they have a resource to grow.

Photos courtesy of Rayne Gibson

NM: How does the consulting business work exactly?

RG: I offer off-site and on-site services. For wholesale and production nursery clients, I highly recommend an on-site visit because it gives me the best in-depth knowledge and the best personal connection to the client and their problems. I can see the operation in person and understand exactly how things move. I do detailed analysis and reports, evaluations of the facilities, personnel and the processes. I work on reporting analysis and evaluations. Then for off-site services, I work on the financial reporting. I look at profit-loss statements and balance sheets. Then I do deep dives into revenue and expenses to break down exactly where they can save money or where they can make money.

NM: Have you come across a common issue or a common rut nurseries get stuck in?

RG: Yes, definitely. There are three areas. Number one is branding. A lot of nurseries and businesses in general don't have a solid understanding of what their brand is, where they fit into the market, what problems they solve and what value they create for their customers and clients. Number two is marketing. The green industry doesn't do a very good job of marketing for its individual businesses. Number three is the biggest topic, and that's financial management - the breakdown and deep dives into revenue, expenses, sales items, SKUs and trends, but all of that is backed up by their marketing and by their branding. That's why I put them first because you can't expect growth in financial management without first growing your branding and marketing.

NM: When you’re not working, what do you do for fun?

RG: I’ve always been very motivated by traveling, so this consulting business has given me the opportunity to travel across the country. We bought an RV to be able to take my family with me, so we can all experience these places together. We enjoy going to garden centers and visiting all the local nurseries. We enjoy hiking, walking through a local park, boating, skiing, whatever we can do to stay outdoors is a big part of our life.

For more: https://www.taprootshc.com/