Six floral industry members shared stories about “beginnings” at SAF Maui 2016. From left: Nancy Godbout and Paul Godbout, Jacques Flowers in Manchester, New Hampshire; Bill Fernandez, Continental Flowers in Miami; Sally Kobylinski, InBloom Florist in Miami; Charkes F. Kremp 3rd, AAF, Kremp Florist, Philadelphia; David Daneshgar, BloomNation, Inc.
Back in September during SAF Maui 2016, the Society of American Florists’ annual convention, six floral industry members shared stories on the theme of “Beginnings.” During each 10-minute talk, a riff on the popular TED series, the speakers discussed how they got their start and the challenges they face (and still face) in running a successful business.
As the year winds down, here are some of the lessons they shared on what it takes to shepherd a business through uncertain times with intelligence, vision and compassion: Make the hard change. Look for ideas everywhere. Make time for rest. Expect the unexpected.
Charles F. Kremp 3rd, AAF
“Not changing things is what is risky.” In the late 1970s, Charles Kremp, AAF, had a loving wife and four children. He also had a father and brother who were taking the family business down a path he didn’t want to follow. By the early 1980s, Kremp, a former SAF president, had made the difficult decision to force a dissolution of his family’s business, separating the retail segment from the nursery and growing operations and taking on the largest portion of the debt himself as he prepared to run the family’s Kremp Florist in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, on his own. “Normally when you divide up a business, you’re dividing assets,” he said. “We were dividing up debts.” Today, Kremp Florist is one of the industry’s most recognized names, but that was far from a foregone conclusion 40 years ago, said Kremp, who at the time drew comfort from empowering words he heard during a church sermon: “If it is to be, it is up to me.” Resolution for 2017: The risk of making a tough business decision can be offset by the reward in the long run. Severing ties with his father and brother was painful but it ensured “the future of my own family was now in my own hands,” Kremp said. “Not changing things is what was risky.”
David Daneshgar
Get in the Zone. When David Daneshgar found himself at the final table of the World Series of Poker in 2008, he was far from where his family expected him to be. Raised in a small California town in a family he described as “conservative, Jewish and Persian,” Daneshgar turned a boyhood interest in poker into a major payout. That road wasn’t without its challenges. After graduating from the University of California-Berkeley (where he designed an undergraduate statistics course centered on poker with a math professor), Daneshgar played poker at night while working a day job. After one $25,000 win, he came home to his mother expecting a reprimand about his unconventional hobby and instead found encouragement. “David,” she said, looking at the winnings, “Can you do that again?” Daneshgar went on to win the 2008 tournament, attend business school and leverage the extensive networking opportunities the world of poker offered to start BloomNation in 2010 — something he said he couldn’t have done without poker, which taught him how to keep his cool, form a strategy and clear out the noise to focus deeply. Resolution for 2017: Take up poker! (Kidding.) Find time for hobbies and outside interests. They clear the brain, teach you things and introduce you to people you might not otherwise meet. One of Daneshgar’s most influential mentors turned out to be Jerry Buss, the former owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, who he met on the poker circuit.
Sally Kobylinski
Embrace the “law of the counterintuitive.” The recession in 2008 hit John and Sally Kobylinski of InBloom Florist hard. “Our sales decreased 40 percent and we had to cut staff,” Sally admitted. Even worse, around that time they realized that one of their employees was homeless, living in a car in the business parking lot. Rather than give up, the couple worked harder, leading their team with all the “integrity, kindness and truth” they could muster. It wasn’t the first time Sally faced hardship. She faced a difficult childhood, but one that today she says has helped shape her philosophy that often “outcomes are the exact opposite of what will be expected. It’s the law of the counterintuitive.” After the recession, the couple built and expanded their business, which includes Orlando Wholesale Florist, and rededicated themselves to their community. “We became a neighbor and a friend and a refuge” for the area, Sally said. Last year, the shop put that value into real action after the Pulse nightclub shooting, when the business offered to supply funeral flowers at no cost to all of the 49 victims’ family members and helped organize a vast and heartfelt industry response to the tragedy. Resolution for 2017: Be a true partner to your community and local groups — plan for what you can but allow for some flexibility. Remind yourself to expect the unexpected.
Bill Fernandez
“No job is beneath me.” Bill Fernandez of Continental Flowers in Miami arrived in the U.S. from Cuba with his family when he was just six. Fleeing a Communist regime, the family shuttled from Florida to Colorado and then back to Miami, trying to find their place in a new country. His father worked two jobs and told his family, “No job is beneath me.” After his mother was hurt at the factory where she worked, Fernandez’s parents invested $500 in a flower shop — a place Fernandez initially had little interest in. Then as a college student studying finance and banking, he noticed three words on a box of flowers at the shop, “Made in Colombia,” and begin to realize the shop and the industry might hold the key to his future. Today, Continental imports cut flowers from dozens of growers in seven Latin nations, selling about 750 million stems each year to around 1,000 U.S. wholesalers and supermarkets. Resolution for 2017: Keep your eyes and ears open. Opportunities are everywhere (even printed on cardboard boxes).
Paul and Nancy Godbout
“Change the carousel of ‘all work.’” In 1974, about five hours after the birth of their second child, Paul Godbout walked into the hospital with a proposal for his wife, Nancy: “How would you like to buy a flower shop?” Paul asked, handing a new baby bouquet, purchased at Jacques Flowers in Manchester, New Hampshire. After recovering from her surprise, Nancy agreed, and the couple soon purchased Jacques. They spent the next three decades growing and building the business at a breakneck speed. “I wanted to be the biggest and best shop ever,” Paul admitted. “It was a nonstop carousel.” Then Nancy received a cancer diagnosis, news that stopped the couple in their tracks and made them rethink their work, work, work mentality. They started asking, “What can we do to change our carousel of ‘all work’”? Paul said. The answer? Simple pleasures. Today, the Godbouts’ daughter and son, Aimee and Adam, are the next generation owners of the successful shop and Nancy and Paul take time for breakfast together and real time off at their summer cottage. Resolution for 2017: Work hard but make time for family, friends and R&R.
See all of the talks in full at safnow.org/video