Stopping to Smell the Roses: Reflecting on a Decade in Business
We at A to Zinnia Floral & Gifts would like to thank our employees, their families, our customers, and the community that has so graciously supported us these past ten years. You have celebrated us and our passion for what we do, and for that, we are eternally grateful.
Many of you may remember that our property was an old gas station that was tax-forfeited. When we went to the county auction, we were outbid, and we lost the property; we couldn’t afford to go as high as the other bidder. The people who did buy it decided it would cost too much to renovate it, so they returned it to the county. Later that fall, it went up for public auction again, and there was only one other gentleman and us at the auction. I didn’t know who he was at the time, and he asked me what we had planned for the property, and I told him we wanted to open a flower shop. The bidding started at $65,000, and he didn’t bid…I still owe him that apple pie! The property was gifted to us by God to use our talents and gifts that he gave us. Once we did get it, there was much panic and self-doubt, but ultimately, we flourished. We are growing our sales every single year, all because of you - our friends and customers’ support.
Between years 2 and 3 of our business being open, we had a banker that we worked with that told us the community did not want what we were offering and that we should close our doors. We 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. From weddings and birthdays to celebrations large and small, we plan to be in this community for the next 30 years to serve and meet the needs of its members. While not always a glamourous job, we find it 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 wholeheartedly in being active as a business within New Ulm and surrounding areas by supporting our customers. We help many organizations beautify their events, whether they are working to raise capital funds, support cancer patients, or fundraise for local schools and clubs. We understand the importance of supporting the members of our community and hope that they, in turn, will support us too. One of our favorite community events is Make Someone Smile Week, which is in part donated by Teleflora. We provide more than 600 smiley face mugs to New Ulm, Sleepy Eye, Fairfax, and Gibbon area nursing homes. We also send these mugs to group homes and Meals 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 customers that assist in bringing this event to fruition each year.
We can only learn, grow, and improve for the future. We strive to provide beauty, love, hugs, and warmth to our community, and we are honored to do so. This month we will be offering 10% off online and in-store as a small thank you to our customers for the past ten years of patronage. We wouldn’t be here today without you.
