Ready to Grow: How Wetland Plants Built a Stronger Foundation for the Future

When Dr. Ellen Colodney started Wetland Plants, Inc. in 1999, she entered a highly specialized industry with relatively little published research on the plants her customers needed. As stormwater regulations created new market opportunities in the early 2000s, the company had to learn, adapt and refine its approach along the way.

That commitment to continuous improvement has extended beyond growing plants. Since beginning work with the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) around 2017, Colodney has focused on improving processes, strengthening management practices and, importantly, building a stronger team.

Investing in People to Support Growth

Working with SBTDC counselors helped change how Colodney approached human resources, including how to address employee performance and create a workplace where strong employees could succeed. The results have been significant: employee turnover has sharply declined, while the quality and length of employee tenure have improved.

At the same time, Wetland Plants has invested more in its employees. Salaries for employees who have remained with the company have roughly doubled since 2017. While that investment has increased labor costs, it has also coincided with substantial business growth.

Since 2017, annual production has increased by approximately 30 percent, while sales have grown from about $590,000 to $1.3 million. For Colodney, those results demonstrate that investing in employees and improving the way a business is managed go hand in hand with growth. Now, she is preparing her team for what comes next.

Colodney is developing a core leadership team with the goal of giving them the skills, knowledge and confidence to operate more independently. As the company considers new opportunities, that team will play an increasingly important role in shaping its future.

Throughout the business’ evolution, Colodney has continued to turn to the SBTDC for guidance on the specific challenges and decisions facing the business. Over the years, the SBTDC has assisted Wetland Plants with process improvement, technology and systems, management and financing.

“We need good counseling [on] finite issues that we encounter,” she said. “It’s invaluable, targeted information.”

When reflecting on the company’s sustained growth, Colodney credited the guidance she received from her SBTDC counselors with helping build the strong foundation Wetland Plants has today. 

“I can be pretty confident that we would not have increased our sales figures by that amount, and had such steady growth, with minimal external funding, without [SBTDC] advice,” Colodney said. “It wouldn’t have happened.”

Building Capacity for What Comes Next

With a stronger foundation in place, Wetland Plants is now planning for the future with support from the SBTDC. The company is considering an expansion of its physical footprint to accommodate additional sales while exploring opportunities to diversify its market. Colodney is working with SBTDC Business Counselor Matthew Byrne in Elizabeth City as she and her team evaluate those possibilities and determine what would be required to move forward.

It is the kind of decision Colodney said she “would not approach without somebody who is really expert to guide us.”

As Wetland Plants looks toward its next stage of growth, Colodney’s experience shows how thoughtful investments in people can strengthen a business for the long term, creating the capacity to pursue new opportunities and navigate what comes next.