Growing together – IPA Mentor Program – Interior Plantscape Association

Coming off the back of the successful IPA Advocates Program started by our CEO Elaine Tunn, the 2021 Management Committee is looking to establishing a group of IPA Mentors, people with particular skills who are willing to share with other IPA Members.

This program is specifically designed to add value to your IPA membership, plus help the whole IPA industry to efficiently deal with problems/issues that we all come across, and have previously solved, just by someone else sharing their advice.

But we are all competitors I hear you say!

Well yes we all compete for clients, but many of us have already found that sharing information benefits everyone as well as raising the professionalism and standard of the industry. This in turn helps justify plants as an investment, not just a cost – so potentially we all win.

Already Rob Shand from Advance Plants (Qld), your current Treasurer, Mark Wilkins from Green Design Indoor Plant Hire (NSW) and I have put up our hands to act as mentors. Rob has valuable skills and expertise in business management and has already helped IPA review its accounting systems and approach. Mark has many skills in the horticultural industry but his passion is sales and marketing and I have a background in horticulture from tissue culture and propagation, through to nursery production as well and plant pathology. We are certain that there are many other members who have knowledge, skills and expertise to help form IPA Mentors Group. It will cost you nothing and increase your industry contacts. You could mentor on green walls, plantscaping equipment, plant requirements or anything else you have built up experience on over your time in the industry. Not everything has to be plant based as we also need to know how to run a successful business.