Hi All!!
Just a little about myself ... I'm retired after a 25 year career in the corporate world (finance) back in 2001. After a long vacation (& divorce) I decided to get busy again and that's how I stumbled into this business.
I knew little about the floral trade at that time (obviously - or I would have chosen another field of stress) however, with a little work and luck I found a location, designed the showroom and counter & workroom areas (even swung the ole hammer which of course helped soften the fingers and knuckles on more than one occasion
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After all was said & done I opened a "floral & gift shop" in north Jersey in the summer of 2002. Naturally I was in no position to run a business which I knew little about so I hired a designer&former-flower-shop-owner to assist me with daily operations and to learn from.
I'll honestly say this - I was having fun, in fact maybe too much fun as 2 years later I opened a second store (shoulda had my head examined at that point) ....... in a quaint downtown location approximately 15 miles away.
After five years (of struggles) the business has experienced consistent growth (triple digits last year primarily due to increased funeral arrgt work, which I hope will continue).
All I can say is that it's been nothing short of an adventure since the town mayor officiated the grand opening almost six years ago.
Looking forward to sharing ideas, learning from you all, and being a part of this group.
regards,
doc
Just a little about myself ... I'm retired after a 25 year career in the corporate world (finance) back in 2001. After a long vacation (& divorce) I decided to get busy again and that's how I stumbled into this business.
I knew little about the floral trade at that time (obviously - or I would have chosen another field of stress) however, with a little work and luck I found a location, designed the showroom and counter & workroom areas (even swung the ole hammer which of course helped soften the fingers and knuckles on more than one occasion
. After all was said & done I opened a "floral & gift shop" in north Jersey in the summer of 2002. Naturally I was in no position to run a business which I knew little about so I hired a designer&former-flower-shop-owner to assist me with daily operations and to learn from.
I'll honestly say this - I was having fun, in fact maybe too much fun as 2 years later I opened a second store (shoulda had my head examined at that point) ....... in a quaint downtown location approximately 15 miles away.
After five years (of struggles) the business has experienced consistent growth (triple digits last year primarily due to increased funeral arrgt work, which I hope will continue).
All I can say is that it's been nothing short of an adventure since the town mayor officiated the grand opening almost six years ago.
Looking forward to sharing ideas, learning from you all, and being a part of this group.
regards,
doc
