Meet Darika Saekow | Plant business & Reptile mom

We had the good fortune of connecting with Darika Saekow and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Darika, what do you attribute your success to?
Uplifting my community is the most important factor behind my success. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t acknowledge each and every one of my supporters or uplift my fellow small businesses in my niche. I believe that people choose to support me because on top of my business, they can see who I truly am as a person. I am always expressing my gratitude to all of my customers and supporters because I know that without them, I wouldn’t have a platform to showcase my business and lifestyle. I do so by always acknowledging everyone in my posts, hosting a bunch of giveaways for the community as a way to say thank you, and including handwritten personalized letters with every package I send out. I also am a firm believer of uplighting my fellow small businesses around me and showing them support, because I believe that the only way to grow is to work together and to not see each other as competition. On top of promoting my own brand, I like to shop from other sellers and post about it, or give them a shoutout as well, incase anyone who follows me would be interested. Because of all the connections and genuine friendships that form from me doing so, I have gained a huge community who is always willing to stick together and work together to spread love and joy to others by using our own niche as an outlet.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business name is DD’s Plants & Pets. I specialize in bringing the jungle to your home by providing tropical houseplants for you or your reptiles! The variety of plants that I provide allows anyone in their plant journey to find something they love wether they are a beginner plant parent or an advanced rare collector. I also offer a huge variety of types of plants including but not limited to indoor tropical houseplants, carnivorous plants, aquatic plants, and terrarium plants. You can always catch me every weekend selling my plants at in-person pop-ups, reptile expos, or vendor markers in different cities throughout California. I also do occasional live sales online, and can ship within all U.S. territories.

My love and passion for reptiles is what sets me apart from other plant businesses. Because I am also a mom to over 40 different reptiles, I can offer guidance on what plants would work in various reptile enclosures, so that they get to enjoy living in a naturalistic environment and bring the greenery into their home as well! I believe that plants and reptiles go hand in hand and it is so exciting to be able to share my passion and educate others more on reptiles in general.

The most exciting thing about my business is getting to see so many people grow in their houseplant keeping journey, and also seeing so many people learn more about reptiles and even get one of their own! There is so much misinformation out there about reptiles, and I’m here to show everyone that not all of them are scary, just misunderstood!

Starting my own business wasn’t easy, because not everyone is here to support you. However, at the end of the day, YOU are in charge of what you choose to do with your life, so just do what makes you happy and the true supporters will be there every step of the way. You have nothing to prove to others, but everything to prove to yourself.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My absolute favorite place to go in SoCal would be Rainforest Flora. Every time I visit, I always make it a point to go there. Not only do they sell the coolest air plants, bromeliads, and tropical plants, the full place is located in a giant green house and there is even a huge pond filled with turtles and koi fish that you can feed! It’s definitely a great place to take your family and kids, or go alone and enjoy the peaceful scenery.

Another place I absolutely love is the Huntington Garden & Library. You definitely need more than one day to walk around and explore everything, but my favorite section of all time would be the indoor greenhouse.

Food wise, I love anything in the Thai Town area in Hollywood! My top two choices would be Hoy Ka, and Thai patio. My number one dish I would recommend would be the Pad Phet Moo Grob, which is a stir fried crispy pork belly dish sautéed in thai chilies. Close by for desert, there is Bahn Kanom Thai, which is a mini marketplace area that specializes in famous deserts from Thailand! These specific deserts are so hard to find anywhere else, so I always make it a point to bring back tons of sweet treats for my family, every time I visit. My favorite drink from there is the blended Milo, and my favorite desert is the pandan custard muffin, especially when it’s fresh out of the oven.

When I am not craving an Asian cuisine, Teddy’s Red tacos is my next go-to! If you haven’t tried it yet, you are absolutely missing out! Best birria tacos I have ever tried, hands down.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout would go my husband. He’s the one who pushed me to do pursue my business and do what I love, and not worry about if it would be successful or not. He just wanted me to do what makes me happy. Growing up as an Asian American, my culture and lifestyle taught me to aways work hard by making sure I stay in school and get a degree, in order to have a successful job to provide for myself and a family one day. It’s not really popular to take any risks, because security comes first. I was very hesitant to quit my job in order to pursue selling plants for a living, but my husband assured me that as long as I have fun and do what I love, he would happily provide for me and if anything, use him to fall back on financially. Fast forward to a few years later, my business has expanded and been so successful, that my husband actually quit his own job of being an engineer, to work with me full time! He has believed in me since day one, and has continued to prove to me how much he is willing to help me live my dream.

Website: https://linktr.ee/ddsplants

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dds.plants/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/DDs-Plants/100090020196055/