Eps 6 | What If You Started Anyway? | Katya Gustova & Galyna Parker

What makes someone start a business in an industry they didn’t even know existed?

For Katya Gustova, it started with a simple desire: to build something that could give her financial stability while allowing her to do something she genuinely loved.

Katya is the founder of Plants for Friends, a company specializing in plant design and maintenance for residential and commercial spaces.

But her entrepreneurial journey didn’t begin with a perfect plan.

She started her business when her daughter was only a few months old. At the time, she was still working her regular job, but she knew she wanted to build something of her own - something connected to her passion and creativity.

She also didn’t immediately know whether people would actually pay for what she wanted to do.

Before she had paying clients, Katya practiced with friends. She completed several projects for free, learned from her mistakes, photographed her work, and slowly built a portfolio.

Eventually, her first major client found her through Yelp.

She was nervous enough to bring her husband along for emotional support.

And the project was much bigger than anything she had done before.

Instead of following the typical office landscaping approach, Katya took a creative risk. She incorporated the client’s brand colors into the planters and created something that felt completely different.

Three months later, they called her back and asked for an agreement.

That moment changed something for Katya.

For the first time, she realized: “I can do something like this and I can win.”

But getting the first client was only the beginning.

Katya talks openly about one of the hardest parts of building a business: uncertainty.

In the beginning, she never knew how many clients would come next month or whether the business would actually grow. She continued working her regular job while building the company on the side.

Eventually, she discovered that her website was one of the biggest factors behind her growth.

Her first website looked beautiful, but it didn’t clearly explain what she offered or guide potential customers toward becoming clients.

After rebuilding the website around her actual services, process, and value proposition, she started seeing dramatically better results from the same Google Ads budget.

Today, many of her leads come through referrals and her professional network - and she has reached a point where she doesn’t even have the capacity to take on every new lead.

But growth brought a new challenge: finding people who share the same values.

For Katya, the business isn’t simply about keeping plants alive.

She believes plants can make spaces greener, more stylish, and more comfortable - and she wants to work with people who believe in the same vision.

During the episode, we also put Katya through the 30 Day Dare Mastery Challenge.

The challenge: imagine you have zero money, no experience, and only 30 days to start a business and make your first sale.

Her advice?

Start with what you have.

Build a simple website. Create an Instagram presence. Study your competitors. Find someone experienced who is willing to help you. And don’t be afraid to approach potential clients directly by offering your expertise before asking for the sale.

Katya’s story is a reminder that you don’t need to have everything figured out before you start.

Sometimes you start with an idea, a skill, a little uncertainty — and the willingness to keep going.

Watch this episode of Dare Mastery with Katya Gustova and discover how she turned her passion for plants into a growing business.

Watch the full episode on YouTube.