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Top Shops: The Call of Flowers
Sandra Miller’s journey from employee to entrepreneur |
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Written by top shops
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Sandra Miller is the owner and namesake of Sandra Miller Floral Designs in Quispamsis, N.B. The florist’s journey to become a flower shop owner has spanned several years and positions but Miller’s passion has always led her back to flowers.
Photography by Penny Wolfe of bigdayfoto
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Family and fate sowed the seeds that have blossomed into what is today Sandra Miller Floral Designs in Quispamsis, N.B.
After being laid off from a shipbuilding company in 1991, Sandra Miller decided to look for a job doing something she thought she’d enjoy. In her search, she chanced upon an ad seeking a floral designer and immediately applied. Because she had no experience in the field, Miller offered to work for free for the first two weeks. Her manager, Jane Allan, who had trained at the Hixon School of Floral Design, proved to be a wonderful teacher and her experiences in that shop led Miller to fall in love with the industry. She remained with Allan until 1993, when the floral staff at Allan’s shop was downsized but landed a position at a different shop thanks to a great recommendation from Allan. A few years later, Miller opted to take a four-year hiatus to work at a flooring store, learning a bit about interior design in the process.
“But, the call of flowers was strong so I returned to my passion at the same shop I had left four years before,” Miller says. And, despite being a working wife and mother of a teenage son, she managed to study for and receive her accreditation through Flowers Canada.
At a Glance
Company Name:
Sandra Miller Floral
Designs Location:
Quispamsis, N.B.
Owner: Sandra Miller
Years in Business: 1.5
Wire Service: FTD
Website:
www.sandramillerfloral.com
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It was not until her summer vacation in 2009, however, that Miller considered starting her own business. “My brother Luke (Kilpatrick) was at me to open a flower shop.” The promise of independence persuaded Miller and her husband Glenn to take the plunge together.
The day Miller returned to work on Aug. 5, she gave her notice. Then the work began. “It was a little overwhelming,” Miller says. “Where do you even start?” She tackled what she deemed to be her primary challenges first – a storefront and then a cooler. And, it was as if fate had intervened. Friends of Miller’s had a business in a strip mall that had a vacancy.
The hunt for a cooler came next. A quick peek at Kijiji solved the problem. The unit was located in St. George, a small town about an hour away. Miller called and she and the owner agreed on a price, upon inspection of course. Making it a family affair, Miller, her husband and brother made the drive down. To everyone’s surprise, the cooler was still set up in a flower shop that had gone out of business. That discovery proved to be a real stroke of luck as the cooler was just one of many items up for grabs. Miller and family packed up vases, baskets, ribbon, cash register, wire, shelves, display cabinets, even the sink. She and the owner agreed on a price for the whole kit and caboodle.
Miller’s next area of focus was to create her own brand. “I knew I wanted my colours to be black and white. I knew I wanted a logo and I knew how I wanted my sign and business cards to look.” The shop’s tagline, Creating the Bouquets of Your Life, is proudly and prominently displayed on one of the shop’s walls
Physically, things came together quickly as well. “It was because of the hard work of my husband, brother and dad that the shop came together so easily. They worked tirelessly, laying floor, painting baseboards, making cupboards and counters,” she says.
The crazy thing, Miller adds, was that everything from the St. George store fit perfectly. There was no sawing, cutting, adjusting – nothing. Just two months after making the decision in August to go it alone, Miller opened her shop doors.
Response to the approximately 900-square-foot shop has been positive. “When people come into the shop they say they just love it,” Miller said. “It’s very inviting even though it is smaller. I have a ladder hanging parallel to the ceiling, covered with grapevine, which I decorate seasonally.”
As a budding entrepreneur, Miller carefully assessed her strengths and weaknesses. Her strength was in design. Her weakness was bookkeeping. And, it just happened she knew a bookkeeper. Remember Jane Allan, her first employer? Well, Allan had retired from the business and was, coincidentally, doing bookkeeping! Allan agreed to take Miller on as a client and the rest, as they say, is history.
As it grew closer to Christmas, Miller also realized she needed to hire someone to help out on the design end. Designers, she says, are hard to find in the Atlantic provinces. Once again, Allan saved the day by offering to come and work part time.
The shop is located in the Kennebecasis Valley, a bedroom community of St. John, with a population of 27,000. The women of the community, who Miller described as fabulous, make up its main clientele. “They (the women) have been extremely supportive. They have given their personal support as well as that of their places of business/employers,” Miller says. She feels her success is due at least in part to her networking group. “I think that has been one of the most rewarding things I have done,” she says. “I joined a group of women entrepreneurs called the Women of NOW (No Opportunity Wasted). Most recently I have been nominated for the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year award. In the fall I was also nominated for a similar award through the Kennebecasis Valley Chamber of Commerce.”
When it comes to marketing, Miller says most of her customers hear about her through word of mouth. “When I first opened I did a couple of radio campaigns and a lot of print,” she says. Miller is now putting more effort into her website, Sandramillerfloral.com, and her Facebook page, and intends to expand upon both this spring.
Miller also initiated several simple and inexpensive marketing events early on. Two in particular stand out, she says. In one instance, she spent a Sunday afternoon standing at a local farmer’s market handing out business cards and carnations. In a second, she gave children at two local daycares single-sleeved carnations and business cards for them to take home to their mothers. “I know I got a wedding out of that one,” Miller says.
She has also taken part in local wedding shows; something she feels was well worth the effort. “I had 52 weddings last year ranging in all different sizes, from single bride’s bouquets to the largest in my 20 years as a designer.”
Asked what makes Sandra Miller Floral Designs unique, Miller has this to say: “Sandra Miller Floral Designs is a company that wants the public not just to buy flowers, but to experience flowers and the exceptional service which comes with walking through our doors. I have customers come into the store for no other reason than to tell us how beautiful their flowers were and that they could not believe how long they lasted! That is music to my, Jane’s, and now Bethany’s, ears. Bethany Cormier is the newest addition to SMFD. She shares the same passion I do and I think she will be doing some great things “
Her advice to other floral shops is straightforward. “Customers today know what they want and we certainly cater to that but what we also add is communication. We talk to our customer and then make a few suggestions to kick it up a notch. Customer service equals survival.” Her future plans are simple as well. “I have room to grow in my location so I will continue to do what I am doing and give my customers value. I’m hoping they will include my flowers as part of their daily lives, like I do.”
By Marlene Opdecam
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