The story of Sophia’s Roses: Sophia Van Heerden
What led you to start your own business?
God may have planted the “seed” far more back in time than I’ve imagined. My dad used to put a small rose bud in front of my bedside table put of my mother’s garden when I was still very young and when I would wake up in the morning, I would see this first. Roses thus always made me feel loved.
I’ve always wanted to be a farmer, but never imagined being a floral farmer. When I matriculated I applied for agricultural college at Elsenburg and we even paid my first quarter of the year upfront. On no 99 I decided to rather study Biokenetics at the University of Stellenbosch. I thought to myself that I won’t ever generate enough money if I’d studied agriculture, because I will always be a foreman or admin for a farmer. I thought if I studied Biokenetics I will be able to start my own practice in George and only be 4 hours drive from the Karoo, therefore can go to the Karoo every weekend and hopefully buy my own farm.
During my second year at varsity, I met my now husband and got engaged. I had to finish my studies at first, get my degree and that Dec 2009 we got married. Marrying a Karoo man, was my “Quik ticket” to living my “Karoo-dream” (I thought). My husband never farmed himself, at least we lived on a farm and that was good enough.
My husband was building the Eskom lines between Koffiefontein and Tulbagh and I thus had a lot of time on my hands. I am not a cook or anything and had to keep myself busy, I thought gardening would be a great idea. I planted only grass, as I didn’t know anything about gardening at all. When my husband worked in Beaufort-West area during the construction of the Eskom lines, I had my two babies and we were so bored, we went to the local nursery to view the birds and pets in order to keep the kids busy.
On that day, I purchased my first rose…the Just Joey, to myself, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
So I’ve planted this Just Joey in my garden in front of my bedroom window and the splash of colour made my “soul so happy”, I just needed to buy more…I ended up planting 500 more. I literally became addicted to roses.
In 2017 we moved to town. It was the worst time of my life, I lost all I loved, lost trust in myself and all of mankind, cried myself to sleep for months in a row.
The yard was full of rubble and building material, it was such a lot of mess, we had to use a 20 ton excavator and two tippers to remove it all.
My husband then asked me what I wanted to do with the space and I said I would like to plant roses.
He then asked me how many I’d like to plant and my answer was that I’d like to plant the entire area full of roses. We then phoned Ludwig’s Roses and asked them how many roses I can plant in the area, they replied about 5 000! (Do you see what God does? I had 500, God worked magic to multiply this 10 times)
My husband was shocked as it was quite pricey, he then said he will buy the first 1000 plants and then I must buy myself more roses from the money I’ll be making from these roses. This changed my entire scope of what cultivars to buy as cut roses needed long stems, good vase life, etc…
We thus planted our first 1000 rose bushes and they were only 7cm big! At that time I wasn’t even aware that that roses can be that small. In Feb 2018 on Valentines Day, I sold my first few bunches (maybe only 5)! I never new that people would buy roses, so was quite surprised when people were ordering more than I could deliver. I then purchased more land , bore a hole for water there and in 2019 after finished planting my entire garden, ordered 8 000 plants and planted them on the new area. In 2020 we ordered and planted 5 000 more plants. We are currently working to make space for much more plants on a farm….aiming for almost 50 000 plants! (Again God is multiplying my plants 10 times more)!
If you weren’t growing roses, what other direction/ industry would you have liked to have gone in?
Farming first of all, I love cattle and sheep. I’d probably also do some interior decorating, fashion designing, event planning or anything that get my “creative juices” flowing!
What do you wish people knew about being a business owner, and specifically about being a business owner in the Karoo?
If you’re not willing to take risks, you won’t get anywhere. You can be anything you can imagine, if you work hard and stay focused, with the help of God, you can accomplish more than just you’re biggest dreams! NEVER give up!!! Not even if it seems to be the only way out! You are only as limited as you allow yourself to be! You, your mindset and perspective are your only limitation!
What is the next passion in your life after roses?
I have a crazy mind! I can’t just choose one. If I am not farming roses, I just love being on the farm, in nature, with the cattle and sheep and horses , I LOVE animals!!! Also love travelling! I also love drawing and painting….I also love spending time with family.
Who has inspired you with the way they do ‘business’?
I was never inspired by someone, as I never even noticed myself I was becoming a business owner- still don’t see myself as one. I had become with time however very inspired by Elon Musk…he is fearless, he goes beyond, he live what he has imagined, he works on his dreams every single day, despite the backlash he get from all kinds of people. He don’t use his money to live a high and fancy life, he uses it to fund his dreams…I just LOVE his perspective about life!
What has growing roses taught you about life?
Photo: JH Swiegers
Stay humble, you are never guaranteed about what tomorrow will bring.
The more you give, the more you’ll receive. God really does fill your “giving cup” ten times more than you can ever share. If I have too many flowers, I share them with all in town, it never hurt my business in any way!
Honesty and integrity goes al long way. If we had hail or bad weather, rather tell your client the roses are not good enough, people really appreciate it when you’re honest. They even thank me for that.
Stay true to yourself. I grow roses I love, I don’t grow popular cultivars or more known cultivars….I still can’t supply my demand.
You are always good enough, God uses me in one of the smallest towns in SA, in the Karoo of all places and my roses go everywhere!
Never loose faith! Today you’ll have hail, next week you’re blooms may be bursting with color.
Please may you share a few words of wisdom for girls or young women who are unsure of the career path they should choose?
Never chase money, chase you’re passion and money will follow.
There ain’t something like “a good” or “a bad” career choice, if you love what you do, you’ll be successful!
God’s timing is always perfect…give it time, not all flowers bloom at the same time…discover yourself, you’re biggest desires…if you don’t know what to do now, God will show you the way as time pass.
You are as limited as you allow yourself to be. Don’t ever say you don’t have enough money, don’t ever say you don’t know the right people or you’re situated in the wrong place, if you truly want to achieve your dreams, you’d need to do the hard work. You’d need to start down under…if you’re not willing to start under, you won’t be strong enough to handle the top!
Study the word “integrity”…you’ll need to know and live this word…this small word will open doors for you.
Work hard, stay focused….never ever loose focus of you’re goal and stay in constant prayer every single day, every hour of the day…thank God for what you have, ask him to guide you to what He knows is best and trust the process…be the clay in you’re Masters Hands and you’d be surprised to know how much there is to explore about yourself!
Material things and money doesn’t define you. You’re soul does. Don’t ever treat somebody if you don’t want to be treated as such. The world’s most successful people doesn’t come from a background of wealth.
Never be ashamed to ask for help and offer help if you can.
A positive mind attract positive things. Don’t ever feel sorry for yourself and don’t be afraid to make mistakes or to start over. Love yourself, you are beautiful and deeply loved by God!
