Husula Garden Got a New Entrepreneur – a Successful Change of Ownership Marked a Leap into a New Career
29.10.2025
Jesse Paavola jumped into being a horticulture entrepreneur without experience in the field. The smooth change of ownership was carried out with the support of LADEC.
A winding gravel road in Hollola runs through a clean rural landscape, just fifteen kilometres from Lahti city centre. The road ends at the greenhouses of Husula Garden, where lettuces, herbs, and sprouts flourish.
In November 2024, Jesse Paavola and his spouse Minna Back-Paavola, bought the garden business – despite having no background in horticulture.
“It was quite wild, but when an opportunity came up that felt right, we had to seize it. We originally searched for a farm or some countryside property, but when we found this in the business marketplace – and it came with a house and a job for my spouse – that was it,” Paavola explains.
already had entrepreneurial experience and had recently gone through a generational transfer in a family-run car repair business. However, the leap into the garden business was a step into the unknown.
“We started completely from zero, but we had plenty of enthusiasm and courage,” Paavola smiles.
Growth Through Early Challenges
Husula Garden was established in 1972, and the selection has included lettuces and herbs. Recently, with the Paavolas, spinach and sprouts have been added. The main product is iceberg lettuce, of which a couple of thousand heads are delivered weekly to shops in the Lahti region, all year round. In addition to the entrepreneur couple, three permanent employees work on the premises.
“It was clear that we would not have managed without the existing employees. Their expertise was crucial,” Paavola says gratefully.
The beginning was not easy. The business deal was made in the dark autumn just when the garden’s seven greenhouses required large amounts of light and heat. The electricity contract turned out to be expensive.
“The electricity bills were brutal, and this summer’s good sales went to covering the winter’s financial gaps,” Paavola describes the first year.
LADEC by Their Side Through Each Stage
The business acquisition would not have gone as smoothly without external support. Lahti Region Development LADEC Ltd was involved in the planning and preparing the financial calculations. Paavola especially praises the specialists’ ability to discuss scenarios and offer various perspectives.
“We created the business plans together. Although I understood numbers as an entrepreneur, it was a huge help to talk with people who really understand business,” Paavola says.
“Our close circle doesn’t have that kind of expertise, and crunching numbers and analysing alternatives isn’t the same at home. From LADEC I got excellent support for all of that.”
Steady Growth in Business and in the Garden
Paavola looks ahead to the coming winter with confidence. A new, more affordable electricity contract is in place, and they have gained a great deal of experience over the past year.
“It’s still not easy, but things are moving in the right direction all the time,” he summarises.
Entrepreneurship can be highly rewarding at its best, and at Husula one can see how a bold business transfer can open doors to something entirely new.
“The change and the leap into something new probably scared our close circle more than it scared us. Now that things are progressing, it feels good. There’s a sense of achievement – that we managed it.”
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Text: Sami Turunen
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Photo: Entrepreneur Jesse Paavola of Husulan Tila Oy / Husula Garden