Bhausaheb Navale quit his job that paid him Rs 3 lakh per month at the age of 50 to fulfil his dream of running a business.

The Pune resident started a nursery business called ‘Greens and Blooms’ in March 2020 with his friend Sharad Patil. The duo invested almost Rs 50 lakh of their own capital.

The world went into lockdown merely 23 days after this floriculturist launched his business of growing exotic flowers like orchids and anthuriums.

Heavily dependent on imports, the first year was rocky, but the 55-year-old father of three didn’t lose hope.

His passion and experience in floriculture helped him build a business with a turnover of Rs 2 crore in the past year.

Inspired by his father, a farmer, he chose to study agriculture, after which he worked in polyhouses and horticulture training centres.

After working in floriculture in India, he worked in Ethiopia for a decade, handling over 200 acres of rose cultivation.

He returned to Pune in 2015 and worked in a nursery to learn about the Indian market. In December 2019, he quit and worked on building his own nursery.

Bhausaheb secured the licences required as most of the plants had to be imported. The phalaenopsis orchid came from Thailand while anthuriums were imported from Holland.

The lockdown delayed the process, including getting basic materials like flower pots, cocopeat, and soil, among others.

“Sometimes I wondered if we made the wrong decision or started at the wrong time. I encountered a challenge at every single step. Imagine starting a nursery with no flower pots or plants,” he says.

Bhausaheb pivoted and started with local plant varieties, and started selling by June 2020. Greens and Blooms is a wholesale business which caters to nurseries across the country.

The nursery has over 100 varieties of ornamental potted plants and exotic flowers. Starting with one acre, the nursery is spread over two acres today, selling over 7,000 pots every month.

An orchid takes about a year and a half to grow, while anthuriums take around eight to nine months to grow. He sells one anthurium pot for Rs 200 and an orchid pot for Rs 400.

“Whether you run a vada pav stall, a chai shop, or even drive a rickshaw, you will be satisfied the moment you do something of your own. Being your own boss is the best feeling. Whatever you are talented in, if you give your 100 percent, you will be successful,” he says.

For Bhausaheb, the risk was absolutely worth it, as he found immense happiness.

“If you have the mindset of thinking about lost opportunities in your career, you can’t find happiness. You will never feel ready to take a risk. Remember though, that some risks beget big rewards,” says the entrepreneur.