Family-owned floral businesses rarely survive the transition from the first generation to the second. As a matter of fact, in this day and age, they are becoming more and more obsolete.
Many studies have shown that there is a high impact on family-owned and run businesses on our economy. In the floral industry, there was a time when this was the norm: a local flower shop stayed in the family, resulting in a local staple, while the whole family was able to live comfortably from running the family-owned flower shop. There was never a question of whether their children would continue the business after their parents’ retirement.
On our quest to find a third-generation family-owned flower shop, we came across Lighthouse Flower Shop in Mesa, Arizona. We thought it would be illuminating to have a brief Q&A with Lisa Miller, the third-generation owner of Lighthouse Flower Shop. This extraordinary accomplishment of running a successful flower business for 58 years definitely beats the statistical odds. We hope you find this interview encouraging, informative, and a piece of floral business history.
Lisa, Age 5
What year did your grandmother Hope Griffin open the flower shop, and do you know why she decided to open a flower shop?
Her first flower shop was in Presque Isle, Maine, and Grandma Hope saw that people getting married at the local church needed wedding flowers, so she decided to open a flower shop.
Tell us how the name Lighthouse Flower Shop came to be.
It was originally called Griffin’s Flowers in Maine and the first few years here in Arizona, but when my mother Ruth took over she renamed it Lighthouse Flowers as a tribute to Northern Maine.
Lisa’s mom, Ruth
When did your mother take over the Flower Shop and why?
My mother Ruth—my Grandma Hope’s daughter-in-law—took over the flower shop in 1974. My mom took over because she didn’t have anything else lined up, and she did have a knack for the floral business.
What is the earliest memory you have at Lighthouse Flower Shop?
Besides being there every day after school and on weekends, I remember making Mother’s Day corsages when I was in elementary school. Once for show and tell I even taught the class how to make corsages. Not bad for a little girl, wiring flowers together!
Lisa and Linda
As we see in the picture above, you have a sister (Linda Tomblin). Did she ever participate in the flower shop business?
She doesn’t have a creative bone in her body, but she went on to become a kindergarten teacher.
When did you take over the family business?
Four years ago, when my mother decided to retire.
Do you still see her around the shop often?
Yes, every day. She actually just ran a delivery for me with my daughter.
What would you say has made your floral business so successful for 58 years?
We are still the original family who owned the shop, and we have customers who are multi-generational. Also, we can have competitive prices because we own our building.
Did your grandmother, mother, or yourself use a wire service? Do you still?
My grandmother no, but Mom used to have Redbook and Carrick—I remember the flip book with the 5×7 pictures we kept on the counter.
We tried a major wire service for about a month. All their arrangements were short and tiny and we got too many complaints.
What would you say was the single most influential factor in the success of your flower shop?
Customer service, honesty with our customers, and high-quality product. I only take on orders I can handle, that I know will represent my brand—even if it means turning business away sometimes.
What are some of the biggest hurdles you’ve encountered while building the family-owned floral business, and how did you overcome them?
Learning to work with social media, SEO, and getting into advertising for the first time. My grandmother and mother did not believe in advertising, so their business all came from word-of-mouth. It was a simpler time to start a business, and there was a smaller variety of flowers and colors to sell in general.
Running a family-owned business can have its pros and cons. What would you say are some of the pros and cons?
Pro: I can set my own hours and have creative control over all projects I choose to take on.
Con: Long hours, and it’s hard to find experienced part-time help around the holidays.
By your measures (or from what you can remember) what year would you say you sold the most flowers?
When I started branding/marketing this created an explosion. This year has been our best year ever. Last week was actually one of my most profitable weeks, it was like a little Mother’s Day week.
What is one change to the floral industry that you didn’t see coming? Is there anything that you did predict?
Pinterest is by far the biggest change. Everyone comes in with the same picture—they don’t allow me to be creative, and everyone asks for burgundy dahlias.
I did predict that people would spend less on events like weddings. A lot of couples are spending less on wedding flowers, but I have noticed that everyday arrangements sales have doubled in price over the last two years.
Do you have kids? Are they going to continue the legacy of Lighthouse Flower Shop?
I have two children, Zoe 17 and Logan 20. At this point in time, they do not want to continue the business.
Does that make you sad?
It does, and I love this business. Nobody else in the family wants the shop. It’s been here for so long, but I’m holding out hope for a fourth generation.
Lisa’s grandmother, Hope
What do you know today that you wish you would have known when you first got started running the flower shop?
My shop is much more profitable when we do fewer weddings. Last October I did 40 weddings, but they were smaller, and I’ve had to turn down other work to keep up with weddings.
What tip would you give someone that wants to be successful with weddings?
Be brave and charge for your work, and charge up front.
What would be the one piece of advice you would give someone who is opening a flower shop?
Be prepared to compete with large grocers and wire service websites, and taking the time to educate customers about the difference between these sites and stores and a real brick-and-mortar shop. Your quality will always speak volumes for your brand, never skimp on quality.
Lisa’s Wedding, 1995
If you could do anything besides own and operate a flower shop, what would it be?
I would love to be an auto mechanic because I love cars. I also tried to get into the army, but they told me I was too small, so the flower business it was 🙂
We all want to know what your grandma’s, mom’s, and your favorite flowers are.
My grandmother loved amaryllis and bearded iris. My mom doesn’t have a favorite. I really like hyacinths and red heart garden roses.
In closing, there are many young new florists. What advice would you give them?
It takes so much hard work to be a good florist and a lot of patience. Everyone who wants to own a flower shop should apprentice at a flower shop. You must keep your flower shop updated on the outside—every year I update my flower shop to keep it feeling fresh.
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One thing we learned in interviewing Lisa is that you can’t start a flower business with the intent to keep it for your family, your goal should be to run a successful business for yourself, and if your family follows your example, that’s icing on the cake. As technology encroaches deeper into our lives, it’s important to remember how Lisa ended our interview: “Robots will never be able to arrange flowers.” We couldn’t agree more.
Florists, are you a second- or third-generation flower shop owner? Please share your feedback below in the comment section.
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I’m the third generation, joining my mom and grandmother in 1981. Two years ago, my daughter left her job because she wanted to join the family. My father is the full time delivery person, and my son-in-love fills in now and then. Well my sister has no desire to join us, she does help out with every holiday. We are a very fortunate family!
I know that I certainly enjoyed this article. It centered on the cold hard facts of what it is like to run a flower shop and the many obstacles you face. I also loved hearing about the past generations and seeing their pictures made it even more interesting! Great going – hope to see more articles like this one in the future!
It was great to see that bridal party picture from the 80s lol
Established in 1913, my Grandfather along with his father began Peck’s Flowers. My Dad grew up in the business (that’s when we grew most of our own flowers) and later took over. I too grew up in the business and wanted to see the Peck name and business continue. I officially took it over in the mid 80’s and I am now 63 and it’s still running strong. It has been in the same location for about 100 years. The building itself could tell stories…. like the bulb cellar that I dug out as a boy to time the blooming of bulb plants. It’s nice to see businesses like ours going strong. So, you can say this is a Fourth Generation, 104 year old flower shop. We are proudly a Floranext user.
Simply amazing – flower shop business that is still going after 104 years! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing.
It was great to see that you are doing so great with your floral family business. Inheritance is not enough, You have to put efforts too and you are doing exceptionally good with it. Thanks for sharing the blog.
mio nonno ha iniziato nel 1919,la generazione successiva ha aperto quattro negozi che con la terza sono diventati solo due. In prima persona sono titolare da oltre 30 anni dell’attivita’ in Salerno e penso che il lavoro si e’ evoluto negativamente nel tempo perche’ il pubblico non riesce piu’ a distinguere la professionalita’ dall’improvvisazione.
It is hard work being apart of a family of florist but it does have it rewards. My family’s flower shop has been in business since 1907, at that time we had to grow our own flowers to sell. Mostly roses, carnations, and sweet peas is what I am told. We were even some of the first people to offer delivery in a car in our small town. I am the 4th generation working with my Mom and sister everyday. It is nice to know there are others that have dealt with the same things we have!