Cha-ching! (1-13)

So, you think you've got a beef with the economy? Consider the plight Kimberly Sevilla faced when she decided it would be a great idea to start a garden center -- in 2008!

"We opened our shop in the middle of a recession," Sevilla recalled recently. "Many of the garden center owners that I have met are pessimistic about the future and concerted about how business has changed. I see a huge opportunity."

There are at least two reasons Sevilla drinks from a half-full glass. One is the demographic at her store, Rose Red & Lavender, an urban garden center in Brooklyn, N.Y. "Most of my customers are under 30 and new to gardening," she said. "They are the DIY, Etsy generation and have a general mistrust of chain stores and mass-marketed items, so they want to support the little guy, and they want to learn how to do things themselves."

Which leads to the other reason Rose Red & Lavender has succeeded at a time when failure of some sort is the norm: Rose, Red & Lavender uses demonstrations targeted toward these eager-to-learn customers. The main topic is often edibles. "We do workshops on Saturday morning at 10," Sevilla said. "Each workshop lasts about an hour. In our neighborhood we have a lot of beginner gardeners, and the workshops are a great way to explain the basics of gardening. Teaching people what to do with their harvest is a natural fit. It takes advantage of the time before fall planting season and gets people excited about gardening."

Classes focus not only on the nurturing of the plant, but on what to do with the food. For example, once the customers' tomato crops come to fruition, Rose, Red & Lavender classes show the new gardeners how to can the tomatoes. Another demonstration shows how to turn a backyard fig into a tasty jam. 

The bottom line at the quaint urban retail operation at 653 Metropolitan Avenue: Sevilla and staff have matched service to market -- and, consequently, found a way to thrive during a recession. Cha-ching!