A Budding Entrepreneur: Charlie Tomfohrde’s plant business continues to grow

Charlie Tomfohrde and his array of house plants for sale at the Hinsdale Farmers Market
Charlie Tomfohrde and his array of house plants for sale at the Hinsdale Farmers Market

Hinsdale Magazine recently met with Charlie Tomfohrde age 13, at the Hinsdale Farmers Market.

Q. Where did your interest in house plants come from?

A. I have always been interested in plants, and I started my first vegetable garden with my dad in 2021. My house plant hobby started in 2022; I had about fifteen plants when the idea of creating a plant business occurred to me.

In the fall of 2022, when I was 12 years old, I sent an email to the Chamber of Commerce requesting to be a vendor at the Farmer’s Market. After an application and an in-person interview, I was accepted, and my business was a go. I had to build my first business, Charlie’s House of Plants, from scratch!

Q. What was your learning curve like?

A. There were a few things to figure out in order to be a vendor, including insurance, registering with the State of Illinois, and obtaining a tax ID. For example, I learned that I needed to form a company in order to open a merchant account to be able to take credit card payments.

I keep a ledger for sales tax and profit and loss. Although I started to propagate plants in the winter to ensure I had enough inventory, I soon realized that I could buy plants wholesale with a tax ID.

For nine Mondays this past summer, we loaded the car at 5:30 a.m. with products to go to the market. We sold a wide variety of plants, including the Alocasia Polly, Pothos varieties, and Syngonium Moonshine.

Q. What are your most important takeaways from your first summer?

A. I am very proud that the plants I sell are high quality and sell for the same price or less than other stores. I learned about renewable sources of soil, the importance of marketing, signage, and that shiny leaves make the product more appealing. I am also proud that I made a donation to HCS Family Services. ■

Author

TomPlayingChess

Hollywood Comes to Elmhurst

Photo-1-Northwestern-Building

New Northwestern Medicine Outpatient Center opens in Oak Brook

IMG_4220

Spring Road Business Association

PDP-330

Elmhurst St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Rotary-GroveFest-Photo-by-Atticus-Fair-1-e1715536466229

Summer is right around the corner, and we’ve rounded up the best events of the summer including live music, fresh food, and family fun.

ERIN-PORTMAN_2_9020_01_19_24

A Downers Grove North alumna who has appeared twice on Jeopardy! Who is Erin Portman?

PHoto-1-Lucas-Typewriter-ANNE-HIGH-RES

 A local 24-year-old’s expertise in typewriters led to a thriving business and book

Jon-MB-team-credit-Garrett-Sweet-e1715535404334

Top Shelf: Pasta Pappone makes for a delicious dinnertime… anytime

High-Res-300-DPI-2022_Prismatica_OBC_017

Still Going Strong: Oakbrook Center continues to thrive, as more malls close

IMG_8678

Hitting the Links: A New Dawn at The Oak Brook Golf Club

Bens-Memorial-Mile-ANNE-SCAn

Ben’s Memorial Mile helps raise mental health awareness while remembering Ben Silver

guy-basabose-fUfGvucgNM-unsplash

Fostering Love: Two local families offer foster children a safe place to belong