Meet Nicole Goldman of SB Garden Project

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Goldman.

Hi Nicole, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After my son was born, I left my career as a teacher to begin SB Garden Project. I’ve been gardening for a little over ten years, but really discovered its true impact while teaching during COVID. Teaching during a pandemic was a dystopian nightmare and after a long day on Zoom I began to seek solace in the garden. And all of a sudden my stress just melted away. I started to grow plants from seed and began to have plant sales in my neighborhood and was connecting with neighbors I’d never met before over gardening. It was such a joy to connect with strangers over a shared passion. When I decided to leave teaching, I had this burning desire to share with others what I had learned about growing food over the last decade. And I had this feeling that others wanted to grow their own food, too, but just didn’t know how or had no idea where to start. My mission with SB Garden Project is to empower people with the knowledge and skills they need to tend their own veggie plots whether that be a container garden on their balcony or raised beds in the backyard.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’d been teaching for seven years and working in education for eleven years, so leaving my career as a teacher was not in the cards. When I returned from maternity leave, I found myself in an environment that didn’t support me as a working mother. so I chose my family over my career with no plan B. A month later and only a few weeks before my son’s first birthday, I decided to start SB Garden Project. Choosing entrepreneurship while raising a young toddler has not been easy. It’s tested my marriage and left my family with little financial cushion on which we can rely. The early days of the business were built on eight hours of childcare a week though have gradually increased to three full days of preschool. As my son has gotten older—he’s now two and a half—things have gotten both easier and more challenging.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
SB Garden Project was born from a desire to empower others to learn to grow their own food. I offer garden education through 1:1 coaching (with a dream to expand to group coaching!) and partner with other local businesses to put on garden classes and workshops. It’s important to me that people gather in community to learn about gardening. I’m mostly a self-taught gardener—I read a ton of books, watched dozens of YouTube videos during COVID, and learned from trial-and-error though it wasn’t until I started taking an in-person gardening class at our local city college where once I was in community with others I began to thrive as a gardener. Most of my clients are families who are short on time and aren’t able to spend hours learning about gardening in the way that I was before having a kid. So, it’s important to me to be able to support families in their desire to grow their own food and share with them the knowledge I’ve gained from tinkering in my own garden over the years.

In addition to garden education I also design, install, and maintain edible gardens for clients.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Some of my biggest supporters have been other women in my motherhood support group, the Centerline Community. These women have offered words of wisdom, shared my offerings with their friends and family and on social media, celebrated my wins, and helped me troubleshoot the challenges.

My business coach has also played a huge part in my growth as a small business owner. After a year of figuring it out alone and not knowing how or where to spend my time to move the business forward, I finally feel grounded in my role as a business owner and clear on where to focus my time and energy.

And my husband! For taking the lead with our son on weekends when I’m out hosting all-day community events.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sbgardenproject.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sbgardenproject/

Image Credits
Marie Drdla, Ari Kirk, Tori Snyder