This fall, customers will drive from cities as far away as Atlanta to Texas Specialty Cut Flowers in Wimberley, Texas — not for a wedding or an event, but for marigolds, celosia, and gomphrena — flowers that are essential to vibrant cultural celebrations like Día de los Muertos and Diwali.
What started as a side crop of marigolds is now Frank Arnosky’s most profitable two weeks of the year, drawing customers from across Texas and beyond.
“We didn’t advertise — we just had what they needed,” he says. “So we scaled up, rethought how we harvest, how we price — and leaned into the opportunity.”
Arnosky and two other floral professionals will share their growth journeys during the session “Growing Pains and Gains: Real Stories, Real Strategies, Real Results” at SAF Phoenix 2025, the Society of American Florists’ 140th annual convention Aug. 11-14.
The session offers an honest look at business evolution — from uncovering new markets and rethinking customer experience to navigating staffing challenges and culture shifts.
Rob Dillon of Dillon Floral in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, will discuss how a deliberate focus on “Exceptional Personal Care” — a philosophy centered on recognizing coworkers and customers as people, not just roles — reshaped his company’s culture, improved retention, and fueled long-term customer loyalty, even as industry consolidation ramped up around him.
Christine Guenther, AAF, owner of Wildflower in Glen Burnie, Maryland, will share how she reimagined her brand to be more inclusive and accessible, moved her designers from the basement to the sales floor to foster deeper customer connection, and built a workplace culture rooted in kindness, creativity, and sustainability.
Guenther’s journey began with a Google search: how to run a flower shop.
“I had no background in floristry — just a lot of questions,” she says. One day, SAF’s Floral Management magazine arrived, and she devoured and saved every issue. It’s how she found floral accountant Derrick Myers, PFCI, whom she hired. “From there, every connection led to another that helped me grow.”
That chain of connection, she says, all leads back to SAF.
“Everything I’ve gained — the people, the resources, the ideas — comes from SAF,” she says. “I came looking for help. What I found was a community that changed my business.”
SAF Phoenix 2025 offers all the networking, inspiration and solutions that Guenther tapped to grow her business. In addition to networking receptions and a Supplier Expo with high-value giveaways, the lineup includes a hands-on social media workshop, and education that builds skills to address real-world challenges. Sessions cover everything from training and retaining staff to reducing shrink, improving profitability, tapping into floral trends, and building a business that can run without you.
See the full schedule and register here. Amanda Jedlinsky is the senior director of content and communications for the Society of American Florists.
