Flowers have long served as the perfect way of showing appreciation to loved ones. A vibrant bouquet of flowers communicates everything from a joyful congratulations to a heartfelt sorry. The only trouble is their colourful petals droop and wither over time, leaving recipients to throw away these symbols of good intentions.
For Lillian Katiso, a Kenyan accountant and businesswoman based in Uganda, the premature death of flowers is unacceptable. Growing up in Kisumu, she kept little pots of plants on her family’s balcony and delighted in tending to them as they sprouted. Even as she shipped off to boarding school, she carried her love of plants and kept one on her windowsill. Having continued to keep plants in her garden even in adulthood, Lillian has had a lifelong love affair with plants that is evident through her Kampala-based company Maua and More. The shop lives up to its name by selling flowers, succulents as well as providing sound guidance on how to keep flora living for longer.
Moving to Uganda
When Lillian got married, she moved from Kenya to Uganda with her husband in September 2003. In a new environment, she took some time to adjust to new foods, languages and cultures as well as do some job hunting. When November rolled around, Lillian got her first job as an accountant in a management consultant firm. On recommendation from her former workplace, she had taken a chance and submitted her credentials to the firm. She ended up working as a financial services professional for nearly thirteen years before transitioning into her own consulting company Zaddock Associates. Still, she longed for a venture that would allow her to step out from behind her desk.
Re-Discovering Gardening
As she glanced through a newspaper one day, Lillian read about a person selling herbs in pots. The idea intrigued her and her childhood love of gardening came rushing back.
Bold as ever, and warmed by her childhood memories, Lillian reached out to the editor via email to find the person who owned the herb business. Seeking out other people who shared her love for nature came naturally to her. After all, Lillian was a gardener through and through – passionate about tending to plants, speaking to them and understanding their needs and strengths. She also believed in the power that plants had to support wellness and regulate health factors such as stress.
As luck would have it, the editor established correspondence between Lillian and a lady who was looking for strawberry seedlings – the same ones Lillian had growing at home. She jumped at the opportunity. When the lady seeking the strawberry seedlings visited Lillian’s home garden, she was impressed and insisted on writing an article about Lillian’s gardening. She did not realise her fun hobby would grow into anything bigger, but soon enough, Lillian was being asked if she sold plants.
As she scaled up her operations to meet clear demands, her creative flower venture was initially called Green Gifts and Gardening. She had a sense that she wanted to advise clients on how to choose and keep flowers such as orchids that lasted more than a week. One day as she was musing about what to do with the abundance of flower saucers at her disposal, destiny guided her hands and she spelled out the word maua – and subsequently the word more. It was official – Maua and More was born in 2014.
Scaling a Business
At the beginning, Lillian would garden at her home and bring plants to the shop but as demand grew, she had to begin buying from nurseries. Her client base had consisted of homeowners looking to add some greenery to their homes but she soon began to field enquiries from corporate clients such as hotels and offices looking to beautify and purify air for better living and workspaces.
Lillian’s business success is not all down to luck. In fact, her strong background in accounting meant that she believed in precise bookkeeping and financial prudence. Lillian understood deeply what was needed to keep a business afloat financially and was able to replicate the services she offered to other companies in her own gardening venture.
With three store outlets in Uganda, Lillian became a national gardening sensation in Uganda – even being listed as one of the top 40 under 40 inspiring and influential women there. Her story is one of taking the plunge and believing in one’s ability to provide excellence. Her strides in business have made her a gardening superstar who we are proud to claim as one of our own.
Have you ever visited one of Lillian’s Maua and More shops? Do you do any gardening of your own? Let us know in the comments!