Ronna Moore

Fear of failure leads to procrastination and accomplishes nothing. Just move forward and let action kill the doubt.

 

Ronna Moore is the founder and CEO (Chief Everything Officer) of Fairy Homes and Gardens, a boutique ecommerce fairy garden miniatures retailer that offers everything from inspiration to execution on designs. Fairy Homes and Gardens ships nationwide, offering the best selection in fairy garden fairies, houses, accessories, and more. The shop also sells plants seasonally. It’s the perfect place for garden enthusiasts, hobbyists, and fairy garden fans to gather.
Ronna is happiest when she’s outside planting trees, weeding gardens, and observing nature. She has been playing in the dirt since she could walk, which prompted her to study horticulture in adulthood. Ronna has worked as a personal gardener, garden designer, and sold perennials at a farmers’ market before eventually opening a boutique nursery, Idyllwild Gardens, in Missouri. She has now moved on to her latest gardening endeavor: sharing her love of fairy gardening with fellow enthusiasts.

Where did the idea for your company come from?

I have always had an interest in fairy gardening and began to explore it a little while I owned my nursery, Idyllwild Gardens. Because I was already interested in gardening and was talking to customers every day about how to take care of their outdoor spaces, I feel my interest was a natural growth. It was only a matter of time.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I begin every morning with a cup of hot tea and taking my dog for a walk around the property. I love seeing what is blooming and making mental notes of what needs attention. The rest of my day is segmented into tasks, such as dealing with emails. I try to not be sidetracked by emails all day long, which is why I keep the morning as the set time to respond. Customers are always the exception — I respond to them immediately. Any content writing, blog posts, or Facebook posts are always done in the morning when I am at my most creative. I begin packing orders after lunch to ensure they get sent to the post office before closing time.

How do you bring ideas to life?

The ideas are the easy part. It’s implementing them that can be tough. I write down a plan with a list of tasks necessary to bring the idea to fruition and take it step by step. If I don’t follow this method and break my ideas down into manageable pieces, I can become overwhelmed and abandon the idea.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I love that fairy gardening is growing far beyond fairies. Anyone can get into the magic of miniature even if they aren’t into fairies specifically.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I plan out my day the night before. Of course, unexpected things pop up, but it prevents me from wasting time in the morning wondering what I should do first.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Perfectionism and procrastination has been a lifelong stumbling block. I would tell myself that fear of failure leads to procrastination and accomplishes nothing. Just move forward and let action kill the doubt.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I never get up to an alarm. I don’t function well without enough sleep and resent the rude awakening of an alarm. When I wake up to sunlight coming in through my window and the sound of birds, I am much more excited and prepared to start the day.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Find one new avenue to either promote your business, your brand, or a product each month and try it out. I’ve gained so much traction in the trying and it’s helped open my eyes to new methods of doing things.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Admitting I can’t do everything by myself and hiring an SEO Company to help me optimize my site.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I try not to look at it as a failure, but rather another learning experience or another step in my business education. I began with a small nursery and, after some years, I finally came to realize that it wasn’t going to be financially successful. However, I didn’t want to give up completely. I took from it the fairy gardening that I had become known for and that was becoming a growing trend, and I turned to an ecommerce business rather than another brick and mortar store.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Design and manufacture fairies of color and ethnic people in miniature. Everyone wants and deserves characters that look like themselves, their children, or grandchildren, and ethnic fairies are difficult to find. There’s a great market for it and you never know who you’re going to inspire to develop an interest in gardening.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I spent it on Skillshare, an online learning community with hundreds of classes that I can watch anytime I want. There are videos on everything from designing a graphic in Canva, to promoting your business on Instagram, to crafting a newsletter in Mailchimp. There are also dozens of art tutorials for my personal interest.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

Toggl – it helps me track my hours. Working from home can mean you think you have worked all day, but much of the day has been trips to the refrigerator, walking the dog, and personal tasks. Toggl keeps me accountable for my time.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

It may be cliche, but Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg has been a great personal resource. I recommend it because of its boldness. It inspired me to look at things I did in business differently.

What is your favorite quote?

“The secret of getting ahead is starting. The secret of getting started is breaking your tasks into smaller manageable tasks, and then starting with the first one. “ – Mark Twain

Key learnings:

• Lean In, always.
• Remote workers: track your time and don’t let your dog distract you.
• Always pivot with the times.

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