Jenny Behlings, AAF, AIFD, PFCI (left) sold her shop last year to employee Carrie Moore (right).
Jenny Behlings, AAF, AIFD, PFCI first began thinking about a successor for her Custer, South Dakota business when she started it 35 years ago. First, she thought her sons might take it over. When they pursued other careers, she started looking elsewhere for a passionate, talented and motivated person to run her business.
In the end, she found that person in her shop. One of her employees, Carrie Moore, fit the bill and was interested in buying the business.
In the January/February issue of Floral Management, Behlings shared with writer Sarah Sampson how she prepared Moore for success.
“I didn’t want to see it go to someone who didn’t understand how much it meant to me,” Behlings said. “It really was a passion of mine for many, many years.”
Behlings promoted Moore to manager and spent a year helping her prepare to take over the business. Behlings took Moore to industry events, trained her on ordering and accounting, and even helped her secure a loan to purchase the business.
“It was nice I could take her under my wing,” Behlings said.
To read more about succession planning — including how florists have sold their business to industry outsiders, other florists, and passed the business through their family — read “What’s Your Exit Strategy?” in the January/February issue of Floral Management.
Amanda Jedlinsky is the managing editor of SAF NOW.
