Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in floristry but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Rosa Kim, owner of Rosa Floral Design, located in North Vancouver, BC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am the owner and the florist at Rosa Floral Design in Edgemont Village, North Vancouver. It is my job to create a custom-tailored floral artwork that delivers sentimental value to the customers. My customer base is not specific to a certain category; rather, people from a variety of age groups, occupations, and backgrounds. The common characteristic of my clientele is that we share emotions together.
Tell us about yourself
I came to Vancouver with my two sons from South Korea in 2002. I was a full-time housewife and a dedicated mother to caring for my kids to provide them with a better opportunity to grow and learn in a better environment. At the same time, I always had a passion to pursue my own dream of being a florist because working with flowers always brought me joy and happiness. The passion for achieving the dream of being a florist and the owner of a flower business was so great that it got me to start my own flower shop despite a language barrier, and little knowledge of how to run a business in Canada. It is true that it is sometimes difficult to separate running a business with profits from doing what I really love to do. However, the main goal of me being a florist and the owner of this business is to find the best way to balance living the dream that I have always wanted and providing my customers with joy and happiness that I find every day at a reasonable price tag. It is such a pleasure and motivation for me when I see my clients happy and healed by my work, and this is what keeps me going. Not only that I want to keep getting better at what I love to do, but I also would like to keep raising the bar for my dear clients; I’m always looking for an opportunity to improve the quality of my work by continuously educating myself.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is that my work is being recognized, appreciated, and trusted by my customers. Many of my returning clients say: “You know what I want, Rosa.” As a florist or as a business owner, nothing’s more rewarding than my work is being recognized and trusted.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Honestly speaking, being a florist is not as fancy an occupation as it sounds. It requires a lot of physically challenging duties and understanding clients’ very specific but subtle tastes. However, not only that I am a very optimistic person but also the person that I always wanted to be; I regard these challenges as a part of my job, not a hardship. My passion and love for flowers always overcome the difficulties I face. The only situation in which I need to be extra creative is when customers are asking to include the flowers in an arrangement that is not available due to whatever reason.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Do what makes you happy. Do never hesitate; act immediately. Even though I’m an immigrant parent who speaks English as a second language, I have never been afraid of starting a business because I have a great passion for my dream and confidence in my capacity.
- Don’t follow the money. If you put your heart into your work, people will recognize and appreciate your hard work.
- Take care of yourself. To become a business owner, you need to be physically and mentally healthy. Just like nobody ever knew that COVID would happen, we never know what will happen tomorrow. Your mentality must stay strong enough to believe in yourself that you can fight with uncertainty.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.rosafloraldesign.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosafloraldesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosa_floral_design/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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