Garden and landscape enthusiasts may grow their skills in design and horticulture Friday at the West Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association's annual Winter Symposium.
"I think it's an opportunity for people in the area to hear from some really top notch speakers that we've brought in to Charleston from all over the country," said Julie Robinson, WVNLA's executive director.
Robinson said anyone in the green industry could benefit.
The one-day event features informative sessions by professional landscapers and gardeners covering both design and profit topics including new design styles for naturalistic and sustainable plantings, naturalist style, new plants, making of memorable places, specialty pruning, landscape design-and-build sales process, creating an unbiddable landscape plan, making social media work for your business, and how to become invincible to lawsuits and save thousands in taxes.
Jan Bills, who owns and operates a southeast Michigan boutique landscape company called Two Women and a Hoe, is one of the scheduled speakers. Her company specializes in indoor and outdoor sustainable design, consultation, installation and organic garden maintenance.
Her presentation, "Making Social Media Work for Your Business," is scheduled for 10:45 a.m.
"I'll be sharing how to utilize and leverage social media for small business," she said.
Bills will give tips on how to use Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn for business. She said her Facebook averages between 1,000 and 2,000 new likes each week.
"I really watch my social media closely and have integrated it into my business model," Bills said. "I'm going to share all of my dirty little secrets."
Since 2006, she has assisted clients with their landscape and garden needs and shared her gardening experiences through lectures, presentations, social media and demonstrations along the way.
Her first book, "Late Bloomer: How to Garden with Comfort, Ease and Simplicity in the Second Half of Life" was published in November. Having a robust social media presence, she said, helped her get that opportunity.
"There are other experiences that you can be exposed to with a social media presence," she said. "When you have a presence out there, people want to do business with you."
For more information and to register, visit wvnla.org/symposiums-list.
Reach Anna Taylor at
anna.taylor@wvgazettemail.com,
304-348-4881 or follow
@byannataylor on Twitter.