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Before Oasis Plant Shop took root, its co-founders, Hannah Street and Bethany Mieth were living separate lives. Street was a buyer at a larger nursery, while Mieth worked in an office, feeling increasingly disconnected after her mother’s cancer diagnosis. “I was like, I’m not working in this office. This is stupid. I can’t wake up and do this every day when life is so short,” recalled Mieth.
The two met by chance when Mieth visited the nursery where Street worked, forming an instant connection over plants and faith. Soon, they made the jump to start their own plant shop, each contributing $2,500 and splitting a garage-like space offered to them by Mieth’s grandfather who owned an electric bike shop on seventh street, just around the corner from where their plant shop stands today.
“We just needed to make a hundred dollars a day,” Mieth remembers. And, what started as a simple shared space has grown into a flourishing business, expanding from retail into services and plant maintenance, while maintaining its roots in the community.
Turning plant shopping into an experience
The store, a home nestled in Dallas’s Oak Cliffs neighborhood makes businesses feel like neighbors. Street says it’s common for them to buy a bagel or a coffee from neighboring businesses. “The amount of trade we did in the beginning! It was just like, we might as well be trading this plant for this candle, because ‘Why not?’ I don’t think that happens everywhere.”
When their original lease ended unexpectedly, the duo wasn’t sure what to do. But what seemed like a setback became an opportunity. A space opened just one block away. “It’s green,” Street remembers telling Mieth, who couldn’t make it to the viewing. “It’s ours.”
The space is more than a store, it is designed to feel like a home. “One of the first questions we ask someone when they come in is ‘which way does your window face? North, South, East, West?'” Mieth explains “We want our shop to be a resemblance of what their home could be.” This deliberate approach starts each morning when they light incense and set their intentions “What you’re feeling is what the customer is going to feel” said Street, adding that every day a customer ends up hugging or crying in the store, “There’s just something about plants and dirt that opens your heart to vulnerability.”
Diversifying revenue stream through services
The new location allowed Oasis Plant Shop to expand beyond plants. They added pottery, mirrors, wall hangings, and home decor. But the real business transformation came from listening to their customers. “People came in and they were like, ‘Hey, can you put plants in my home?'” Street recalls. “Then, our higher-end clients were like, ‘Can you care for these plants? I don’t want them to die.'” What started as simple requests has evolved into a service extension of the business. Today, Oasis Plant Store handles everything from seasonal installations to plant maintenance for homes and commercial places.
Oasis Plant Shop's Journey with Square
- Started with basic Square Reader
- Evolved to using Tap to Pay, Square for Retail, Square Invoices, Square Gift Cards
- Transitioned to Square Payroll from ADP
This extension became crucial to their business model, especially as consumer spending has ebbed and flowed at the retail location. “The foot traffic in our shop is still the same amount, but the amount that they spend is way different,” Mieth explains. By diversifying their revenue streams, Oasis has created a more resilient business that can weather changing consumer habits while staying true to their plant-focused mission.
Building a sustainable future for the business
After seven and a half years of growth, the duo face their next challenge: building a business that works around family life. Just as they guide customers to choose plants that will thrive in their specific environments, they’re creating a business model designed to grow even when they can’t be there every day. “We love Oasis so much, but we love our families a little more. That’s how it’s supposed to be,” Mieth explains. “Our next goal for the next however many years is to figure out a real way to have families and be the moms we want to be and also have Oasis.”
Their approach to staffing reflects the same philosophy. “We’re a stepping stone and it has been such a freedom for us to come to this point,” said Street. This understanding has made the interview process with potential employees really transparent and has created strong retention.
This mindset has helped them build a sustainable business model that serves their families, community, and staff. Where they once dreamed of multiple locations, their vision of growth has shifted inwards. They’ve discovered that Oasis’s magic lies in its connection to its customers and are focusing on ways to strengthen these roots without having to be physically there all the time.
