Business coaching comes to Cultivate’26
Running a horticultural business today means making decisions in real time, often without the chance to evaluate the bigger picture. Confronted with the ever-present challenges of operating a business, it’s easy to stay mired in the day-to-day.
That’s exactly the space where business coaching can make a meaningful difference.
This year, Cultivate is introducing Coach’s Corner, 15-minute, one-on-one coaching sessions with more than a dozen industry experts and Cultivate speakers. It’s a chance to go beyond the education session and have focused conversations about your business with someone who has experience and advice for your particular concern.
“We’re always looking at how we evolve education to deliver more real-world value,” said Meagan Nace, senior manager of education program development at AmericanHort. “We know attendees don’t just want ideas; they want to know how to apply those ideas. Coach’s Corner was designed to bridge that gap by creating space for more personalized, actionable conversations that help move businesses forward.”
These coaching sessions are more like a targeted working conversation than a casual meet-and-greet. Attendees can book appointments in advance with a consultant in an area of expertise that suits their situation.
Why Coaching?
“It’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day running of your business,” said Katie Elzer-Peters, owner of The Garden of Words, a digital marketing agency for the horticulture industry. “Talking with someone beyond the circle of your daily grind can draw out opportunities and solutions that are hard to see when you’re in the thick of it.”
Coaching offers something many business owners don’t often receive: an outside perspective grounded in experience.
Horticultural sales and strategy consultant Neal Glatt sees it in practical terms. “Coaching enables small businesses to go where they otherwise couldn’t by gaining insight from people who have already accomplished what they hope to achieve,” he said. “Having an impartial viewpoint on a business hurdle can provide insight to overcome it without the trial-and-error cycles that would otherwise be required.”
This level of access to experienced coaches is included with the All-Access Pass registration.
“It’s a great chance to dip your toe in to see what it is like to work with a coach and to gain a handful of personalized, tangible action items to try at home,” Elzer-Peters said.
From Inspiration to Application
At industry events such as Cultivate, the education sessions are an opportunity for horticulture professionals to learn new techniques and business strategies to bring back to their operations. Attendees are energized but can still wonder how to apply what they’ve learned to their own situations. That’s because many of these sessions are designed for a broad audience.
“In any conference setting, you make the messaging as generic and as applicable as possible,” said frequent Cultivate education session speaker John Kennedy, co-founder of business consultancy BoomerWrangle. “Audience participation in a large event is a macro approach to education. Coaching consults are more of a micro approach.”
Coaching’s “micro approach” is where the transfer of knowledge shines — turning general ideas into specific, actionable steps tailored to an individual business.
“Coaching becomes specific to you at your level, for your challenge,” Kennedy said of one-on-one sessions. “It’s where you help me build your toolbox so that you leave with the specific tools you are looking for. And everybody’s toolbox is different.”
Making the Most of Your Session
With 15 minutes allotted for these coaching sessions, preparing for your consultation is key. Come with a clear question, a specific challenge and enough context to make the conversation productive.
For Glatt, that means being ready to dig in. “No questions are off limits regarding sales, profitability, scaling, management and leadership,” he said. “This is an opportunity to delve deeper into the questions attendees have about their business than we could possibly address in the Q&A sessions.”
Ultimately, coaching is about accelerating progress and helping businesses move forward with clarity instead of guesswork.
“It’s more of a ‘How do we serve you at the level that’s important to you,’” Kennedy said, “so that you leave better than you came.”
Learn more at americanhort.org/cultivate-coachs-corner.
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