Name of Company: BELL’S FLORIST
Name & Title of Entrepreneur: Margaret P. (Jean) Bell/ Owner; Operator
1. Tell us a little about yourself:
I am 70 years old and celebrated my 50th wedding anniversary on November 4th, 2011. I had three children. One took her life. I used to be very shy in school but now I am the opposite and make up for lost time. (Laughing); I seem to be a very outgoing person now. I am an organist at church.
2. What made you want to open this business?
My husband was diagnosed with cancer. He wanted me to be self-supporting if something happened to him. (Business operated for 12 years and her husband is much alive today.)
3. Did you have prior experience or knowledge of the industry?
Yes. I was first hired by a florist because the lady thought I was already a florist when I came into her store. I worked for three other florists before opening my open shop. I did floral arrangements and bookkeeping for the last florist. Even when my two week’s notice was approaching its end she did not want to let me go.
4. How many employees did you have besides yourself? And how do you select the people that join your staff?
I had one designer and a delivery technician. I gave them the title delivery technician versus delivery person. I wanted to keep my people happy and around so I always paid them one dollar more per hour. During holidays and special occasions I would hire two other designers and five to six other delivery people. I never advertised for employment. I used word-of-mouth or hired people that I knew. I was also involved in an investment co-op. The co-op used networking and the swap system for delivery.
5. What do you like most about owning your own business?
The first two years were great for tax breaks.
6. What do you like the least about owning your own business?
It controlled me instead of me controlling it. There were so many deadlines (for example: funerals needed flowers quickly but you had to buy the fresh flowers and allow them time to drink water and fluff out for arranging.) I was dealing with nature and perishable items. Tax-wise there was no way to deduct a carnation that had died even though it had to be thrown out.
7. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced along the way?
Meeting deadlines and going to flower shows and updating the trends.
8. If you had it to do all over again is there anything you would have done differently?
I probably would have gone in with a partner from the beginning so I could have more free time and not as much responsibility. Also, I would have put my husband on the payroll for Social Security reasons. He put a lot of work and hours into the business too and will not receive the SS credit for it.
9. Do you have any advice that you would like to offer to potential entrepreneurs?
Just go for it! Give it a try. Give it all you have got. Why not? And if you fall flat on your face then so what? Get up and try again!
I really enjoyed my conversation with Jean. She joked how her family was in the process of building a new house while she owned the business. The kids were dropped of the school bus at the florist shop and the family rarely ate at home. So the kids asked if they were going to build a house without a kitchen. They figured they did not need one. But Ms. Jean decided to cut her hours back instead to spend more time with her family.
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