Leena Pettigrew started her houseplant side hustle in 2017 after killing her first plant in 2012. An obsession with filling her home with plants led her to start selling her extra plants online through the home décor marketplace website Palmstreet. From July 2023 to July 2024, she brought in nearly $148,600 in revenue, or an average of $12,380 per month, alongside her full-time I.T. job where she makes roughly $90,000 a year.
Pettigrew spends about 20 hours per week sourcing, selling and shipping the plants in addition to her full-time job. She is also a paid consultant for Palmstreet, helping train new sellers. The side hustle has now become profitable enough to replace her husband Marquise’s former full-time income. The couple runs the Palmstreet side hustle together with the help of five contract employees from their garage-turned-greenhouse.
To build her successful side hustle, Pettigrew spent time on YouTube learning about plant care and selling techniques. She started by selling her extra plants to local buyers on Facebook, before transitioning to the online platform Palmstreet. By live-streaming auctions, Pettigrew found success through engaging with customers and offering a variety of plants for sale. The couple sat down to develop a comprehensive business plan after several successful livestreams.
She now sells roughly 100 houseplants per livestream and has increased her prices to start at $30 per plant. Larger plants like Monsteras sell for upwards of $115 each. The income generated from the side hustle allowed Marquise to step away from his full-time auto repair job, reducing his hours to about six per week. Managing contract workers for the side hustle has been a less stressful experience compared to running the auto shop full-time.
The couple has diversified their income streams, with Leena’s I.T. job, Palmstreet selling and consulting, the auto shop, and Marquise’s virtual mechanic gig. They have used the extra income to fund weekend trips around Texas and hope to eventually sell the auto shop, move to Florida, and open their own greenhouse. Their goal is to have enough staff to only need part-time work, and spend more time on their other passions, such as volunteer preaching work.
Leena Pettigrew’s journey from killing her first plant to building a successful houseplant side hustle demonstrates the potential for earning extra income outside of a traditional job. By leveraging her passion for plants and utilizing online platforms and live streaming, Pettigrew was able to turn a hobby into a profitable business. With dedication and hard work, she was able to build a successful side hustle that has the potential to replace her full-time income and support her family’s long-term goals.
