The floral industry in the United States generated an estimated $19.4 billion in sales last year. And Rachael Johnson, owner of the Bloom Room,
a new high-end florist, is hoping to turn a profit off this budding market.
The 25-year-old floral designer has been serving the Valley since 2001 from her home in Grayhawk. In January, she opened.
Her first retail location at The Market Street in DC Ranch in Scottsdale. Johnson spent $200,000 getting the 800-square-foot shop equipped and operational.
The Bloom Room's first year revenue projection originally was $120,000. However, business has been blossoming faster than expected, so she now is projecting $450,000 for 2006.
"I was going to get lines of credit to start my business, but my uncle ... said he gladly would loan me the money," she said. "Originally, I wanted to keep it under $100,000, but it didn't work out. I needed double that amount to pay for build out and hard goods.
"Borrowing that much money makes me feel great some days and not so good other days," she said. "But it certainly made it real, and it motivates me to work really hard. I love this store. I have great employees and everyday there are new possibilities."
The Bloom Room services large-scale accounts such as Desert Mountain Country Club in Scottsdale, high-end weddings, private parties and a large number of customers who want fresh flower arrangements delivered weekly to their home or office.
Johnson said Bloom Room is not a wire service like Tele-floral or FTD, which sets it apart from the competition because it does not replicate flower arrangements from catalogs.
"I'm young, fiery and creative," she said. "Many designers get old and set in their ways and do flowers arrangements the same way every time. But not me, I don't conform, and I'm willing to take chances."
Over the past three years, the Bloom Room has created all of the floral arrangements and decorations for 60 percent of the in-house events held at Desert Mountain. They also decorate the entire club for Christmas, which includes six different clubhouses each with a different theme.
Sophia Bettelheim, director of event planning at Desert Mountain, said she enjoys working with Johnson and recommends the Bloom Room to couples planning weddings, events or parties at the club.
A Los Angeles wedding planner impressed by Johnson's panache and distinctive floral arrangements contacted the young floral designer recently to bid on several celebrity weddings scheduled for this winter in Arizona. Although bid results have yet to be announced, the floral budget for one of the events is $360,000.
"Floral design is a very competitive business, and there are many high-end designers in Phoenix, but Rachael takes a marketing approach to her business that most floral designers fail to take," said. Dottie Brown, general manager of Conroy Wholesale Florist, a Phoenix wholesaler of cut flowers, floral and seasonal supplies for florists, event planners and designers. "You have to market yourself and your presentation, and that's where Rachael excels."
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The Bloom Room uses fresh seasonal flowers from places such as Holland, California, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador. Since most of the flowers are flown in directly from growers,shipping is extremely costly, sometimes costing more than the flowers themselves.However, the flowers are fresh and last a lot longer, which is a real advantage in the business, according to 26-year-old Josh Johnson, Rachael's husband and business adviser.
Josh Johnson started his first company, Extreme Travel, at age 16 and since has owned and operated four successful companies.
Last year he sold two insurance companies and two body shops to start US Family Insurance, a full-service agency in Scottsdale. He is president of the company.
In addition to running his own business, Johnson helped his wife of two years get Bloom Room up and running. He assisted her in writing an informal business plan, projected the annual revenue stream and helped organize the invoice and billing system. He also bought her a refrigerated van and had it painted pink.
"I thought Rachael was crazy for wanting to get into this business," he said. "But then she did a wedding, and I saw her talent for myself. She's had no formal training in floral design, but she definitely is a natural" As Bloom Rooms' busy season approaches, the owner plans to hire two additional employees, bringing her team to four people. From September through the end of May, the floral company is booked solid every weekend with events, parties, weddings, etc.
By late fall, Rachael Johnson plans to offer themed gift packages in her store and online. A yoga-themed package, for example, will include one free yoga class, yoga mat and a vase of flowers.
She has been working on a series of similar packages for months and plans to promote them through her Web site, so she can grow the business by shipping flowers nationally.
Up to now, Bloom Room's growth is an upshot of referrals and word-of-.mouth advertising. Johnson plans to keep it that way to maintain her company's exclusive persona.
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