A Reflection on Being the 2020 Business of the Year
As 2020 comes to a close, we at A to Zinnia Floral & Gifts would like to thank our employees, their families, our customers and community that have so graciously supported us this year. We were named the 2020 Business of the Year in January, although we did not get to have a formal celebration with the community, you have celebrated us and our passion for what we do all year long. For that, we are so grateful.
The saving grace of a small business in times like this is that we are nimble and can easily adjust to our current situations. We have been presented with some brick walls this year, but we figured out a way to climb over, go around or simply bust through those brick walls to get to the other side. I can tell you from working closely with other business owners this year that they have had the same struggles as we have. A small business owner has the guts to make the hard decisions, we had to change and adapt to all the limitations that were presented this year. Some businesses added online sales, some choose to close their doors to protect the well being of their staff, some had to fight for every single dollar that came through the door. We don’t get a guaranteed paycheck, we might get paid last, we might have to commit to the long-term growth of the business to not take a paycheck in the beginning, but we have the guts and the gumption to make those hard decisions.
Between year 2 and 3 of our business being open we had a banker that we worked with that told us that the community does not want what we are offering and that we should close our doors. We literally started this business from nothing with a lot of sweat equity. We are proof that if you work hard, have strong business ethics and have the guts you can make anything happen. We plan to be in this community for the next 30 years, to serve this community and the needs of its residents. This is not a glamourous job, but it is rewarding because of the relationships we get to build with our customers. This is our gift, our art and our skill that we humbly offer to this community and surrounding towns.
We believe whole heartedly in being an active business within the community by supporting our customers. We help many organizations beautify their events where they are working to raise capital funds, or support cancer patients, or by donating to local schools and clubs. We understand the importance of supporting the members of our community and they in turn will support us. One of our favorite community events that we do is Make Someone Smile Week, it is in part donated by Teleflora. We provide close to 800 smiley face mugs to area nursing homes in New Ulm, Sleepy Eye, Fairfax and Gibbon. We also send these mugs to group homes and meal on wheels. This takes place in July and we get lots of volunteers to help assemble the mugs and deliver them. We have 4H clubs, bible study groups and our customers that assist in this event.
We can only learn and grow from this time and be more prepared for the future. We provide beauty, love, hugs and warmth to our community, and we are honored to do so. Thank you for supporting us for the last 8 ½ years and especially this year.
We are grateful for you. Merry Christmas!
Sincerely,
Heather Hacker Hammer