Karen's Flower Barn

A Brief Look into what Makes Karen's Flower Barn work.

For this month’s article, we wanted to shine a spotlight on a small business that has helped us decorate our home beautifully - Karen’s Flower Barn.

This is located in the beautiful countryside of Buchanan, Michigan and I think you’ll agree with me when I say that this business is inspirational.

Karen’s Flower Barn started off 20 years ago as a way to generate income for the family, but also for Karen to stay at home and take care of her child - Holly.

Originally called Holly Bouquets, the business started to grow by offering more items such as fresh flowers and hand-crafted wreaths. This is all the while Karen’s husband worked long hours in the steel mills. She never intended for this small home-based business to get this big, but it eventually got to the point where this was the primary source of income for their family.

This is a great deal of work for Karen. Other businesses have their own marketing, payroll, development, production, and sales departments (or persons) but Karen does it all. You wouldn’t be able to tell how much Karen does when you meet her. Every time I have visited Karen’s Flower Barn I don’t see a tired person, I see someone who is enthusiastic about her products. It's as if you've entered a fairy's den, full of beautiful flowers, intricately weaved into designs that will take your breath away.

Year over year this business has grown, but when Karen discovered the farmer’s market her customers and profits quadrupled! While everyone is sleeping in, Karen is loading up her flowers, bouquets, and other items for sale before the sun rises in the early morning.

Karen keeps moving forward and embraces technology. You can now find her on Etsy where she sells her products as well. What if you don’t have cash or check on you when you stop by? That’s ok too as she is able to take major credit cards with ease.

Karen does have a piece of advice for all small business owners - “Don't grow too big too fast.”

This is because you have to get to know your customers and look them in the eye. They will tell you what they are looking for, after all, she started off just knowing how to grow flowers.

Be sure to follow and like Karen's Flower Barn on Facebook, you can also find Karen's Flower Barn on Etsy. 

See what Karen made for our new home!

 

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Written by: Geoffrey Pyrzynski