<aside> 👋 Hi, I’m Ian. I run a technology consultancy called Gardener.
This is the 5th Perennial Report, a yearly review of how the business is doing and what we learned while doing it. These reports exist to make starting and growing a creative business less intimidating for those considering independent work.
If you haven’t read these before, or need a refresher on previous numbers, here are the reports since Gardener’s founding in 2019:
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Table of Contents
Gardener is a technology studio that builds websites. 9 out of 10 projects are ecommerce related and the businesses we primarily work with make anywhere from $2-10M in revenue per year.
Gardener has also become a “studio-as-case-study” - sharing resources and learnings on how to operate a business in the creative and tech industries. There are no desires for growth or acquisition, but rather remain an example of a human-sized business.
2024 was a big one for Gardener. It marked the 5th full calendar year in business (2019 was a half year). Top-line business was as steady as ever, even with poor market sentiment creating a huge drop in lead volume. We released a reel celebrating of all the work and collaborators to date. We remained busy! So busy in fact that some (possibly many) of you might have noticed there is no 2023 report. Well, we’re back.
To pick up where we left off, I moved from Brooklyn back to rural Virginia to recalibrate. I’ve been working part-time on Gardener since 2022, and have been coming back to center with the remainder of my time. I put out a record. I went on four different tours to play music. I met so many people that I’m happy to know and love.
I’m saying all this as a reminder - both to the reader and to myself - that we should be creating businesses that reciprocate health and create space for life’s other rich delights. Another way is possible; we can have our life’s work without pruning the parts of ourselves that make us whole.
HIGHLIGHTS