Life & Work with Samantha Todd

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Todd. 

Hi Samantha, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We started as a rental company for events, one year later, we added fresh flowers. We knew that no one wanted to order funeral flowers and look at wedding/event rental, so we opened a boutique in addition to what we already did, and the business took off. My mom and I knew that we didn’t want to have a tradition flower shop store, we wanted a boutique! 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has not been smooth! Struggles are real! To divid our time between 3 business is essentially crazy, and doing it on our own is even more crazy! We were running 3-8 weddings/events each weekend, playing grandma/mom, making funeral flowers and everyday flowers, running consults, meeting with reps for the products we were selling, processing orders, playing janitor, receptionist, banker, and sales consultant. We had no background in business and no one to turn we were growing and growing and killing ourself doing it. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are creative designers that specialize in creative design through flowers, events, personal space, and apparel. We are known for the creative gifts and outstanding products that bring smiles to many. We are most proud of the atmosphere that we have created in the store! People (many) we hear it daily that the store is their happy place! Many have said, “if I am having a bad day, I come in here to talk, look and feel better”. When you are a customer, you become family! We are always there to lend a listening ear and support. 

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
In the beginning, no one would help us, we were looked at like competition. NOW, when I hear of someone starting a company, boutique, etc., we reach out by stopping bye and introducing ourselves. It is so cool to talk to others just starting out, at first it is surface conversation, and then when the questions start to pour out it feels so good to tell them how we struggled and what we would do differently, I look at it like helping them prevent unnecessary headache. Before we leave, I love to take pics of them and us in front of their store and promote them in stories or a post on Facebook or Instagram. 

Contact Info:

• Website: blooms-boutique-and-floral.myshopify.com
• Instagram: bloomsboutiquefloral
• Facebook: Blooms Boutique & Floral

Image Credits
Cassie Nicole Photography