It’s been thrilling to launch my own plant business. It’s strange to think about now, but I’m doing well, and the future looks promising, even though I was a hotel worker before the pandemic. Even though this wasn’t my ideal way to make a living, at least it allowed me to keep the lights on. I had a nice apartment with lots of windows and a few houseplants, but after I lost my job and found myself with too much free time on my hands, I started documenting my plants through photography and video. People started following me on social media and asking if they could buy some plants, so I kept adding more and more each week. That’s how I got my start in the houseplant business; later, I opened a little shop in the town center, but these days, I just use an old van to transport plants to my customers across three states. The air conditioning in my van broke down last summer. Unfortunately, I lacked the resources to have the air conditioning in my van fixed at the time. As a result, I decided to install an air conditioner in my van using the one I had in my condo. For two months, until I could get my van’s AC fixed, that portable A/C kept me cool. The van’s cooling system was fixed for a reasonable price by a guy I found who also owned an auto repair shop. Since the problem was limited to the wiring, he didn’t have to replace the whole part, which saved me some good cash.