Latest / Workplace Confessions: Behind Closed Doors / Meet Jenelle Nino, the Owner of Bellini Flowers and CEO of Roses for Veterans

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Meet Jenelle Nino, the Owner of Bellini Flowers and CEO of Roses for Veterans · Workplace Confessions: Behind Closed Doors

0:01
SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Workplace Confessions Behind Closed Doors.
0:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm Elsa Barbie.
0:06
SPEAKER_01: And I'm Don Andrews.
0:07
SPEAKER_01: We have been friends since sixth grade.
0:09
SPEAKER_01: Somewhere between a car wash job, a few questionable boy choices, and 40 years of friendship, we became the kind of people who always want to know what was really going on, including at work.
0:20
SPEAKER_02: Don spent 25 years as an employment lawyer digging into workplace drama from the inside out.
0:26
SPEAKER_02: I built a long career in the beauty industry as a brand educator with a few TV cameos sprinkled in for fun.
0:33
SPEAKER_01: We came up in very different industries, but we have the same passion.
0:37
SPEAKER_01: Meeting new people and asking how they got their jobs, what they love, what they can't stand, and what happens behind closed doors.
0:44
SPEAKER_02: Every episode we talk to a new guest about their lived experience in the world of work.
0:49
SPEAKER_02: And because our guests are anonymous, they can spill the truth without the fallout.
0:53
SPEAKER_01: We get into the choices they made, the tiny cruelties, the surprise kindnesses, and some of the moments that never make it into human resources reports.
1:03
SPEAKER_02: Equal parts informative and title leading.
1:05
SPEAKER_02: This show serves up all the tea while honoring the incredible, complicated, often messy work people are doing across the industries and across the map.
1:13
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Workplace Confessions Behind Closed Doors.
1:16
SPEAKER_02: Let's get into it.
1:18
SPEAKER_02: Hey everyone.
1:19
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for joining us today on another great episode of Workplace Confessions Behind Closed Doors.
1:25
SPEAKER_02: So we're really excited to join Janelle, who is going to be our guest for today.
1:30
SPEAKER_02: So, Janelle, the first question we always ask is what was your first paying job?
1:36
SPEAKER_00: When I was 16, I worked at Heidi's Frozen Yogurt in the mall in North County Fair Mall.
1:42
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you guys remember Heidi's Frozen Yogurt, but it was a big deal back then.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was the yogurt pusher.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: How long did you work there for?
1:53
SPEAKER_00: Probably a couple years and then went to college.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: I went to college for hotel restaurant management.
2:00
SPEAKER_00: And then my first job was with Marriott Hotels.
2:03
SPEAKER_00: So tell us what do you do now?
2:05
SPEAKER_00: I own a flower business called Balani Floral.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: And I also own a run, sorry, I'm the CEO founder of Roses for Veterans, a nonprofit.
2:15
SPEAKER_00: So I've got two things going on.
2:18
SPEAKER_02: So tell us that tell us your journey from entering into college and then what got you into two different types of careers.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: So I my dream was I grew up in my dad was always traveling in sales as I when I was a kid.
2:32
SPEAKER_00: So I we always went to hotels and I said I wanted to be in the hotel industry.
2:37
SPEAKER_00: So I knew that since I was in eighth grade, I was gonna be in hotel management.
2:43
SPEAKER_00: So I did.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: I went to Northern Arizona University, got my degree there, and they Marriott Hotels recruited me to go work in Silicon Valley.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: So we worked during the dot-com phase, and we I did sales, group sales there, and then moved down to LA and did opened up a hotel there, went down to Del Mar, where I'm from San Diego to open up a hotel or reopened a hotel there, I should say, and then moved to got married, moved to Arizona, worked for marriage, reopened a hotel out there, and uh went into banking and then stumbled in the flowers, and it's the craziest story.
3:27
SPEAKER_02: I need to know how did you go from managing people's vacations to managing people's money at a bank?
3:33
SPEAKER_02: What how what happened to me?
3:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because it was more I was I got I from the hotel industry, I was in business travel, so it was about business like talking about people's businesses and getting through their budgets and figuring out how to budget their travel for the year.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: It was so fun.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: We had so much fun, and I ended up like my husband and I found out we were pregnant shortly after I was at Chase Bank, and they were so supportive and all that.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: And I had her, and then after I came back to banking, the housing, there was like a the crash, and I forget what year that was.
4:09
SPEAKER_00: It was 2006.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: That's when the big crash happened, and all the fun stuff about banking crashed.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: So I ended up moving back to California with my husband because he worked at Chase Bank too.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: And I was in merchant services and I did cash management, and I went to another bank and did cash management for them.
4:30
SPEAKER_00: And then my first brother passed away from cancer.
4:34
SPEAKER_00: He was 48.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: And so he we were super close.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: He was my oldest brother, and then I was like, okay, I took a break, and I was like, okay, I'm gonna come back and just give it one more try.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: And I felt like a robot there at the bank.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: I was like, I just I this is not rewarding, like talking about loans and stuff and credit cards.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: It was some, I just was like missing something at that point.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: Then my second brother passed away.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: He was my older brother, same age at 48.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: So they both died four years from each other.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: Wow, wow.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, I need something different.
5:13
SPEAKER_00: So I need something that is rewarding, I should say.
5:16
SPEAKER_00: So it was really weird.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: I was a part of a gym in Vista, and one of the girls was diagnosed with cancer, and we had a bridal shower for her.
5:27
SPEAKER_00: We she was terminal, terminally ill, but she wanted to get married before she passed.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: So we all planned this thing for her.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: And you guys, I'm gonna cry, but right.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: No, when we got there, seeing her face light up because we sorry, let me just back up.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: When we got there, it was at our friends that worked that was at our gym with us.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: She owned a flower shop.
5:55
SPEAKER_00: So when we got there, she let us use her flower shop for the bridal shower.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: So when we got there, all the flowers were just out, and it smelled so lovely, so peaceful and so calm, calming.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: And when she walked in, I was like, oh my god, she's I've never seen such peace on someone's face before.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, this is it, this is what I want to do.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: I want to bring peace to everybody that I possibly can, and so that's what I thought.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, so literally, when was that?
6:25
SPEAKER_00: That was in October of 2019, and by January I had my own business, and by March I left my job.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: So that's how it happened.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: I wish all in the flowers.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: I literally didn't even know what a wax flower or uh amaranth this was at that point.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it wasn't that wasn't the reason, and that was that shouldn't be the reason.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: When you feel this is what I always tell people is when you feel it's not right for you or that you don't feel something in your heart every day for getting up and doing what you do, then pep it.
7:03
SPEAKER_00: Find something that you can we we only live on this planet for a short time, so why suffer through something that you don't want to do?
7:11
SPEAKER_00: Find something that brings you joy and brings something to you that gives you passion every day.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't matter what it is.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: So this is I found it, and I'm so lucky.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: I feel like the lucky person on earth.
7:26
SPEAKER_02: Good.
7:27
SPEAKER_02: Talk to us about the nonprofit part of what you do now.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: Oh gosh, during COVID, which so my business literally started in 2020.
7:35
SPEAKER_00: And during COVID, this widow came to me and asked, Hey, can you help me raise some money to put some roses around my husband's uh section?
7:44
SPEAKER_00: Because he just passed away.
7:47
SPEAKER_00: Because of COVID, they have canceled all of the services at the we're it's this is at Miramore National Cemetery where they were, where they are.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: And so I said, Yeah, I don't know how, but I'll give it a try.
8:01
SPEAKER_00: I put it on our town or home social media or group page, just saying, hey, I've got a this is a widow that really wants to just raise money for Memorial Day.
8:12
SPEAKER_00: Our local channel and Chandel 10, ABC Channel 10 found us, did a segment on it.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: I woke up the next day, we had$8,000 in GoFundMe's donations.
8:24
SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, oh my gosh.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: And I didn't even know what it was, I didn't know what it was at that point.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: I was just trying to help her.
8:30
SPEAKER_00: We get down there that day and to place all these roses.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: We have 8,000 roses, literally packed up two vans of roses, and people are crying down there and just thanking us and hugging us.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh my god, I didn't realize how much of an impact it was.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm like, we have to keep going.
8:51
SPEAKER_00: It's like we have to keep doing this.
8:53
SPEAKER_00: This is huge.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: And then I was thinking, we'll just do this every Memorial Day.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: And then that that Veterans Day, a month before my daughter had lost her grandfather.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: So she said, Mom, I want to do this for my grandpa.
9:07
SPEAKER_00: So we did a did another GoFundMe and raised money, like 4,000 roses for that one.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: And so it we got a following, and everyone, it's we have over 300 nominees for that.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: The nominees are families that just can't be there, that are the parent, the family is from out of town, or they're just not well enough to get to the cemetery.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: So our volunteers will take photos of the rose on top of the cemetery or the gravestone and then send a picture to the family.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: So we've been doing that.
9:41
SPEAKER_00: We became a nonprofit two years ago, and we've been going strong ever since.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: And so that's how the nonprofit started.
9:48
SPEAKER_00: And so roses for veterans is a big part of our hearts and another reason for us to just keep giving back.
9:57
SPEAKER_02: I love that.
9:59
SPEAKER_02: Back to the flower shop.
10:00
SPEAKER_02: Can you tell us again what the name of your flower shop is?
10:03
SPEAKER_00: It's Belani Floral, and so it's B-E-L-L-A-N-I floral in events.
10:09
SPEAKER_00: Belani stands for my daughter's name is Bella.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: And so we I'd always say Bella and I would go here and there.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: And my daughter's 19 now in college, but we'd always say, I would, I would have said, Bella and I are going here, Bella and I are going there.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: And so one of my banking coworkers said, if you ever start a business, it's got to be Belani to be fancy.
10:29
SPEAKER_00: But that stands for Bella and I because she's all you ever say is Bella and I.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: So that's how it started.
10:36
SPEAKER_02: I love that.
10:37
SPEAKER_02: What surprised you most about being a flower shop owner?
10:44
SPEAKER_00: How weird people are about flowers.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: Just randomly.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: I would I would say out of a handful, a bucket of a thousand people, we get 10 that are like, I didn't want a carnation in my bouquet.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: Or I got this happy birthday bouquet from my great aunt, and I don't like it.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: Things like that.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: You're like, how are you not grateful?
11:05
SPEAKER_00: Your great aunt sent you flowers and you don't like the carnation in here.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: So people are, I just didn't realize that people are like I went getting into the industry.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: I thought everyone loves flowers, everyone's gonna be happy.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: No, it's not people complain about there.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: You I guess it's right, it's every industry you across the board, but it's just random.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: Ironically, and I thought this would be the worst.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: I was so scared about dealing with brides.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: I thought for sure that brides would scare me.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: I heard of bridezillas, I've heard of everything.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: I knock on wood, I have never had a bride complain.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: They all are I've had the most loveliest brides, and I thought that was be gonna be my biggest challenge.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: I thought that was gonna be my chance, my my time.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna flee to Mexico because some some bride was gonna just light me up.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: But I've never had a problem with a bride.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: It's just these random ladies who like one lady said, You sent me the most you sent me a dead flower.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh my god, I was so excited because I had these really high-end Lysianthus that for a wedding, and they were like 40 bucks a bunch.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh, I had extras.
12:15
SPEAKER_00: I she's gonna be so excited.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: I gave her these high-end.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: No, she said I that they were dead and they were ugly.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: So it's like you just never know with people what they're gonna like and what they're not gonna like.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: And that was my biggest stressful moment.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: I just had to learn how to let go of that.
12:30
SPEAKER_01: What's the most challenging part about having the shop?
12:35
SPEAKER_00: I was in bank business banking, right?
12:38
SPEAKER_00: And so I would always talk to people about making sure they have their everything set up and all that.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: And here I am.
12:45
SPEAKER_00: It's the I think having a flower shop for any business, but flower shop especially, is that there's no set month, you don't know what the month is gonna bring you.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: So you don't know if you're gonna have five funerals that month.
13:03
SPEAKER_00: Can't come, you can't really gauge that, obviously.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: You got your weddings booked, but you don't know what orders you're getting through for the week.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: So there's many times where you're like, am I gonna make rent this month?
13:14
SPEAKER_00: You just don't know.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: So we're always trying to think of new things.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: I have a stepdaughter that goes to Cal State San Marcos, and we are doing gift baskets for them.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: And so we're always trying to think of new things.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: But my biggest challenge right now is trying to find something that is steady so we know what's coming in for the map.
13:37
SPEAKER_02: So speaking of the floral industry as a whole, if you had a magic wand, what would you change about the floral industry?
13:46
SPEAKER_00: Um I would say the the people that go to the hardest thing is everyone goes to the grocery store still.
13:56
SPEAKER_00: I think the the word on the just getting word on the street about your little small business and getting people to fully support small business.
14:04
SPEAKER_00: Actually, we started our business during COVID and we were really, we were, we had a huge support during that time.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: I think everyone remembered small businesses during COVID.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: We were actually big supporters of our local farmers to help them get through COVID.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: And I was, I actually we had a documentary done on us, and I said in that documentary, I hope everyone remembers small businesses after COVID.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: And I think they have, but I think it's still we have a long road ahead of us.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: It's just going to the grocery stores, the big chains, we get forgotten about.
14:41
SPEAKER_00: So it's just hard getting your small flower business out there sometimes.
14:47
SPEAKER_00: Where do you get your flowers from?
14:50
SPEAKER_00: We have some we have great.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: So basically, I support if you go to my Instagram, you'll say local farmers supporter.
14:58
SPEAKER_00: I I have a lot of local farms I support.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: Sadly, since COVID, we've been they've been struggling.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: So we they've dwindled.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: So I've got maybe four farmers versus 10 farmers that I had in in during COVID time.
15:13
SPEAKER_00: And then I have my flower markets.
15:15
SPEAKER_00: I have the ones in Carlsbad.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: We work with Maesh in Carlsbad a lot, and we work with Rodriguez in Vista.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: They just moved to Vista, so they're super close to us.
15:25
SPEAKER_00: And so we have wholesale markets here in San Diego that we all work with, and they're amazing.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: And and Rodriguez actually has been our new person that supplies our roses for our nonprofit, too.
15:38
SPEAKER_02: How big is the flower industry?
15:41
SPEAKER_00: It's interesting because I'm part of all these florist groups.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: I can't like speak to how big it is, but I would say it's a dyeing industry in some parts because retail business is hard.
15:54
SPEAKER_00: So most of the brick and mortars are shutting down.
15:57
SPEAKER_00: And this is just my experience watching people on my Facebook groups, all my flower groups I'm part of.
16:04
SPEAKER_00: Most of us are moving to studio.
16:06
SPEAKER_00: So I have an in-home studio.
16:08
SPEAKER_00: I have my whole bottom third floor that I work on, that I work out of.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry.
16:13
SPEAKER_00: And most of us are doing that.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: I would love a store, I would love a brick and mortar, but I just don't think people are walking into stores anymore and buying flowers from flower shops or just going in, they're rushing into the grocery store, grabbing that, and then they're going.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: And if that's the problem that we're seeing, and then the expense of rent on top of supplying flowers, it's just it's getting harder and harder for the industry.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: And with the cost of flowers that cost us now, it so when you go into let's say a Trader Joe's and they you can get a bouquet for$12.99, that's not our cost is so much higher if we go into our flower markets.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: So it's really hard competing with our our markets.
16:59
SPEAKER_00: I would say it's just that's just our biggest challenge.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: And so I think that a lot of flower shops are just kind of shutting down because of this, or just like I said, going back to the studio lifestyle, which is for those that have been in flower business forever, is hard.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: That they've had a brick and mortar for 40 years and now they're like they don't know how to pivot.
17:24
SPEAKER_00: And that's the other thing.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: If you don't know how to pivot in this business right now, you're not gonna make it.
17:29
SPEAKER_01: What's the most memorable order you've received?
17:34
SPEAKER_00: There's a mem most so the most memorable one ones are always the ladies or people that either someone that just lost a loved one or someone that was lost a pet, and they get I give hand the flowers, and then they just reach out and just give me the biggest hug, and we just do a shared cry together.
17:56
SPEAKER_00: So those are like those are what those are the orders that keep me going, honestly, make me realize this is my why, this is what I'm doing, why I'm doing this.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if you've ever been to a funeral before, too.
18:09
SPEAKER_00: Like when you're staring into the I this is what I do when I go to a funeral.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: I there's a beautiful flower arrangement and I stare into it and it makes me feel at peace and at home.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: So that's why I tell them what I so my specialty is I do weddings, obviously, but I my my love, my passion is funerals because I have dealt with it, so I know it, and I just love sharing with people like, hey, tell me about or asking people, tell me about your loved one.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: What did they love?
18:39
SPEAKER_00: Oh, they love sunflowers, they loved happiness, they loved wildflowers.
18:44
SPEAKER_00: So I would make that and just think about their loved one, and I think about them when they're sitting at the service, and because this is what I did when my brothers passed, you just stare into the flowers and it brings you peace, or it brings you happiness, and it brings you memories.
18:59
SPEAKER_00: So that's the best part about this job.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: And if I could do that all day long, I would, and not worry about the ladies, worry about their carnations that we're not that we're in their bouquets, but yeah, that's the best part of this job.
19:13
SPEAKER_02: What's the wildest, weirdest, or most unforgettable thing that you've ever witnessed at work?
19:19
SPEAKER_00: So I was thinking about this, and I the I would say the weirdest thing I deal with are the men, their cards are just weird.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: And because I have a florist friend that owns a florist business out in North Carolina, and she her and I share weird cards all the time.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, gosh, we should we could start a podcast on just weird cards, but gosh, guys, dude, the cards that they sent are like last week was your aura has accosted me.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, really?
19:48
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if you was accosted, right?
19:50
SPEAKER_00: But okay, well, just I can't say, I can't correct him or anything.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: So that was interesting.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: And then I had a guy that his wife was pregnant, and uh for nine months I had to send her flowers to her office, and every week he would copy and paste what to expect when to expecting he would be like, Oh, our baby is the size of a walnut, your uterus is growing, and things like that.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: You're like, oh my god.
20:21
SPEAKER_00: And then I just learned to just not read it because I was like, I can't.
20:25
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, this is the longest nine months of my life.
20:28
SPEAKER_00: When is she gonna have this damn baby?
20:33
SPEAKER_00: And I actually had one where this girl, she this guy ordered over$600 in flowers.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: I'm not kidding.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: And I called him, I said, Hey, you hit the button I think twice.
20:43
SPEAKER_00: I think you hit order twice on this because it was the same order, and it was balloons, chocolates, stuffed animal, and large flowers.
20:52
SPEAKER_00: And so it was like 600 bucks.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, he goes, I said, you hit the button twice.
20:56
SPEAKER_00: He's like, Oh, just send it to her.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: And the card was another weird card, and so I run into her because we've lived in a small town, and I delivered to her, and I'm like, oh my gosh, these chocolates are gonna melt because it's really hot out, it's the summer, and I'm like, Hey, I just delivered all these flowers to you.
21:14
SPEAKER_00: You have to get and things are gonna melt, you have to get back to your house.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: She's like, I've had three men send me flowers today, it's okay.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: I was like, I ran around town all day for you, like, give me all these chocolates and balloons, and oh my gosh.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, Okay, I but I'm like, can you make sure that you tell him that you like your flowers so he keeps sending you cringy off cringy deliveries and notes?
21:40
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, Melody, men who end up who call me like late at like on a Sunday night saying that they're gonna be on the couch for the week if I don't bring flowers to their wives.
21:51
SPEAKER_00: Didn't know that flowers worked that way either, but apparently they help men get off the couch andor out of the doghouse, they would say.
21:58
SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: That's the weirdest part.
22:02
SPEAKER_00: I didn't realize.
22:06
SPEAKER_02: I have a just a I have a curious question.
22:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
22:10
SPEAKER_02: You stated earlier that yes, there's Trader Joe's, grocery stores, and people run in, grab the flowers, and they're gone.
22:16
SPEAKER_02: They never think about where they came from.
22:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
22:19
SPEAKER_02: And then somebody comes into your place and they're like probably going, oh my gosh, it's so expensive.
22:24
SPEAKER_02: How do you navigate that conversation?
22:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's sometimes if they just want a dozen roses, sometimes I am honest.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, hey, Ralph's down the street throwing eight bucks.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: Go get it.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: But if they want delivery and it packaged, I put it in a vase, I try I treat the flowers.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: I my flowers will last longer because I treat them.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: And I there the flowers I'm getting are not from the grocery store.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: They're from the wholesale market.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: They're more high-end.
22:51
SPEAKER_00: Who knows how long the grocery store has had those flowers or where they came from.
22:57
SPEAKER_00: And who knows what they treated them with.
22:59
SPEAKER_00: So that's the other thing is got do when you're in the grocery stores and you're handling your flowers at home, wash your hands because you have no, we have no idea what is put on those flowers.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: And it's also it's great.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: If you want to buy a bouquet of flowers, a quick bouquet, your girlfriend or your friend or whoever you're bringing them to is going to appreciate them.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: But if you want artistic work into it, if you want someone to put a personalized letter note on it and to deliver it, then that would be me, especially for ceremonies or special events.
23:33
SPEAKER_00: You do not want to go to a grocery store or you want someone to actually put together something that you have a vision for or that person has a vision for.
23:41
SPEAKER_02: Okay, let's switch hats for a second.
23:44
SPEAKER_02: What is the wildest or weirdest or most unforgettable thing that you've witnessed at work at any of the jobs that you've had?
23:52
SPEAKER_00: I would say when I was in banking, that's why I got out.
23:55
SPEAKER_00: I cannot believe what went on there.
23:58
SPEAKER_00: And I probably stressed most about my daily job of being in flowers, is just never being sent be sent back there.
24:05
SPEAKER_00: They, gosh, like HR.
24:09
SPEAKER_00: I was set up one time by a manager who I used to do merchant processing.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: And I went to a customer's office and set them up with their credit card processing on a virtual terminal, which is a login, so a username and password.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: Come back and I got this long email from the manager at that bank, and he copied all of California and regionals saying how the customer was upset.
24:37
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, huh?
24:38
SPEAKER_00: So I called the customer and she's I have no idea what you're talking about.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: So I replied back to everybody and I said, I and I said, Can you please email me right now?
24:47
SPEAKER_00: And she did.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: And I I copied, I forwarded that or copied her email, sent replied all, because I was blind copied, I'm sure, on many people, and sent that.
24:59
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I have no idea where you're coming from.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: I feel like I'm being set up.
25:03
SPEAKER_00: I was constantly being set up in the big, I think, as being a woman in a higher role in the banking industry, you've got to have really thick skin.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: And I did, but I have that's probably why I'm in flowers now, is just I I have more feelings for people and they do not, and had many HR stories, bosses who had said many terrible things to me at parties for the bankers and all that stuff.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: Not impressed with the banking industry at all.
25:32
SPEAKER_00: And I am so glad I got out of it.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: And I think I that's I think that's why I work so hard at flowers.
25:37
SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, don't ever send me back.
25:40
SPEAKER_02: So was there anything that you learned in all the industries, the Marriott banking, that you applied as being a floral shop owner?
25:51
SPEAKER_00: I think I the one thing I think about hotel industry, it made me learn how to be creative.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: So I learned how to do creative baskets for our clients, make creative notes, and when I was in sales and stuff, and we would go out on sales calls all the time.
26:04
SPEAKER_00: So it learned taught me how to teach to talk to people and really interact with them and learn about.
26:09
SPEAKER_00: I think the banking industry taught me about day-to-day business and how to do online banking and how to do your taxes and all that stuff.
26:16
SPEAKER_00: So it taught it set me up for banking and it taught me to be resilient.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: I if someone complains about their carnation, I am okay with that because of everything I've dealt with in the past with customer service.
26:30
SPEAKER_00: And I just think that the also when I worked at a bank that was more about technology, the word pivoting always came up.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: So I learned how the how pivoting worked.
26:44
SPEAKER_00: And so pivoting really worked for me when I was starting my business during COVID.
26:49
SPEAKER_00: So we when COVID happened, all the flower markets were shut down.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: So you didn't have flowers.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: So I really partnered with our flower market or sorry, our local farmers and marketed them and sold all their flowers I possibly could, did all kinds of promotions.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: We did eucalyptus bouquets and we sold probably 500 a week and we started an online business for that.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: And the eucalyptus bouquets were for showers or for the home, and they were really good for like cold flu anxieties.
27:19
SPEAKER_00: And then we added lavender from a lavender farm, and then we did lavender soap and eucalyptus to pair with our bouquets, and then we did toilet paper bouquets.
27:30
SPEAKER_00: So we don't remember if you remember there was a shortage on toilet paper, so we made color paper bouquets.
27:35
SPEAKER_00: I think just like knowing how to constantly pivot, and that's what we're doing right now.
27:39
SPEAKER_00: We're like trying to think of like what to do next.
27:41
SPEAKER_00: I think that that's really helped me become a business owner for a flower business because learning how to doing flowers and working with flowers is one thing, but learn learning how to really run a business and be up with the up and keep up with the times is another whole different animal.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: So I am thankful for that.
28:02
SPEAKER_01: Where did you learn the design piece of it?
28:04
SPEAKER_01: How to put a bouquet together?
28:06
SPEAKER_00: I literally was on YouTube.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: And you, if you go to our flower groups, they will say, but it's more than I was always creative.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: So it I just learned how to do it myself and YouTube.
28:18
SPEAKER_00: I took a lot of class, online classes from other well-known forests.
28:23
SPEAKER_00: And it's I feel like it's more than flowers sometimes.
28:27
SPEAKER_00: It's the feeling, it's the person I've got.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: I just did a uh wet wedding for a bride that I did her flowers for her since and her partner boyfriend since high school for all their prompts and homecoming.
28:39
SPEAKER_00: So I grew with them.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: And then during college, he would send her flowers for Valentine's Day and her birthday.
28:46
SPEAKER_00: And then when they got married, they're going up north to above Mammoth, which bridge bridgetown, I think is.
28:53
SPEAKER_00: And I they asked if I would be a part of it, and I said, absolutely.
28:57
SPEAKER_00: So it's like being a part of the experience and of their lives is more than the knowledge of where a flower is placed.
29:04
SPEAKER_00: But I have learned, and everyone I've never had a complaint with my brides.
29:08
SPEAKER_00: Everyone loves my work and I've worked really hard.
29:11
SPEAKER_00: I just I always watch what other people do.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: I've had great mentors, and like I said, I take online classes and all that.
29:19
SPEAKER_00: So I just learned really fast.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: And my basically how I started was I just put my bouquet on Instagram and asked how what people thought, and people loved it, and that my town embraced me.
29:31
SPEAKER_00: And so I just just went with it.
29:33
SPEAKER_00: And I guess that's my strongest advice is if you have something that you want to do or a passion that you have, you don't sit on it, just do it, just give it a try.
29:44
SPEAKER_00: And if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.
29:45
SPEAKER_00: But you can't sit there and for years and think, what if, or I'm getting ready to do this.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, just jump all in, jump in and give it a try.
29:55
SPEAKER_00: Because you never know.
29:56
SPEAKER_00: And it worked for me.
29:59
SPEAKER_02: So, what is one lesson that you've learned the hard way?
30:05
SPEAKER_00: I would well, I would say for sure that the not knowing of what the month brings you.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: You're constantly hustling.
30:11
SPEAKER_00: You're like my vacations are few and far between these days.
30:17
SPEAKER_00: So I when banking, I had six weeks of vacation sometimes.
30:21
SPEAKER_00: So I missed that part of just giving, going off on vacation, just on disconnecting with this.
30:27
SPEAKER_00: You can never disconnect, you're always working, you're always thinking, and you're always you can go away, but you're always thinking and working, taking calls.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: So that part wasn't something I had thought about.
30:39
SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of people think that owning a small business is easy and it's lavish, and you don't ever have to work for somebody again, and it's not the truth.
30:48
SPEAKER_00: Those that say that on Instagrams or Facebooks, or they're not being truthful.
30:53
SPEAKER_00: It is the hardest industry you could ever be in, but it's also the most rewarding.
30:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
30:59
SPEAKER_02: So what does what what keeps you going emotionally when you have a hard month?
31:06
SPEAKER_00: I always so there's always a say a Sunday night where I'm like, oh, I say a little prayer.
31:11
SPEAKER_00: I'll be like, God, please let me get some orders for tomorrow.
31:14
SPEAKER_00: My daughter's going into college, she needs 800 bucks for her books, something like that.
31:20
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, why am I doing this?
31:22
SPEAKER_00: This is I just can't handle this.
31:24
SPEAKER_00: And then the next morning I'll get a$600 order or something.
31:27
SPEAKER_00: And then the best thing is I hang on my wall, all my little thank you notes.
31:31
SPEAKER_00: I get I get thank you notes, and I get someone telling me how much I moved them or like how much I like inspired them or how much I got them through a hard time.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, this is what I'm here for.
31:44
SPEAKER_00: This helps you reset those those things like that.
31:47
SPEAKER_00: So I'm it those things every time I say little prayer, I'm not kidding, I get something beautiful like that.
31:53
SPEAKER_00: But you can't live your business on prayers, people.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: Just telling you.
32:01
SPEAKER_02: I know this part, but still.
32:05
SPEAKER_02: What advice would you give to somebody who's either one thinking about being an entrepreneur or two, opening up a flower shop?
32:13
SPEAKER_00: Entrepreneur, I would, I would say if you have something in mind that you want to do, don't listen to people that say just leave your business today, your job, because everyone, there's a lot of there's a lot of moms out there that are just striving to be moms, right?
32:27
SPEAKER_00: But they have to work and they have to, and I see that.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: And I was that mom and I wanted to be at home with my daughter so much.
32:34
SPEAKER_00: And by the time I did this job, I was at home.
32:39
SPEAKER_00: I was able to take her to and from school, but I still didn't get to spend as much time with her because I was always on doing this business.
32:46
SPEAKER_00: You got to think about do you want to do an eight to five or do you want to do a 24 24 hour seven-day business?
32:54
SPEAKER_00: Because that's what it is.
32:55
SPEAKER_00: There's not very many small business owners I know that don't do that succeed.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: So I would say that.
33:02
SPEAKER_00: And then if you have a passion, I would say do it.
33:05
SPEAKER_00: Just even if you're still on your job working in your job, just give it a try.
33:10
SPEAKER_00: I did that, I was working in banking, and I just started a little website by myself and just did an Instagram page and did little things like that.
33:20
SPEAKER_00: And I got the feedback I wanted, and I was lucky enough to do the leap at that point.
33:26
SPEAKER_00: And COVID actually was very nice to me as far as business went.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: So I was I was one of the lucky ones, but I would say hold on to that job and but pursue your pursue pursue your passion.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: If you can't wake up every day and be passionate about what you do, you gotta rethink that.
33:44
SPEAKER_00: I really I can't the things, the thoughts of me going back to banking is just the paycheck was beautiful.
33:51
SPEAKER_00: But I just the there was just no passion in it for me, for me personally.
33:56
SPEAKER_00: And that's okay.
33:57
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Janelle, for joining us today on Workplace Confessions Behind Closed Doors.
34:02
SPEAKER_02: If it's one lesson anybody and everybody should walk away with is you can be successful, you just have to follow your heart.
34:09
SPEAKER_02: And with that, we want to thank you for sharing your story with us.
34:12
SPEAKER_02: You've officially joined the ranks of the brave and the bold.
34:16
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
34:17
SPEAKER_01: That's it for this week's confession.
34:19
SPEAKER_01: We've laughed, cringed, and maybe questioned our own career choices.
34:24
SPEAKER_02: Big thanks to our anonymous guests for keeping it real and reminding us that behind every job title is a story worth telling.
34:30
SPEAKER_02: If you've got a workplace confession of your own, we're all ears, hit us up at our email address.
34:36
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34:39
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34:41
SPEAKER_02: Until next time, keep your badge clicked, your coffee strong, and your stories wild.
34:46
SPEAKER_01: This is Workplace Confessions Behind Closed Doors.