Thrive, Not Just Survive…

History chronicles many instances of when circumstances were at their worst, we saw people at their best. Our current lingering crisis is proving to be one of those times. We’ve heard of and continue to share on RAB’s Business Accelerated page, stories, webinars, category profiles and articles filled with ideas to help.

Jason Barrett, President, Barrett Sports Media, shared a recent story of a New York florist in his weekly email:

What Secret Garden has done to try and survive has been awesome to follow. Rather than throw in the towel, the owner, Bonnie McDermott, adjusted her hours of operation, ran a few sales, and offered drop-off and curbside pickup to her customers. But those things are what you’d expect a business owner to do when unexpected circumstances arise. What she did next is what got my attention.

Bonnie started reaching out to other local businesses to forge partnerships. She worked with The Table, a local restaurant to launch ‘Burgers and Bouquets. She partnered with Hudson Valley Chocolates on ‘Cookies & Carnations‘. She teamed with Duffy’s to feature ‘Burgers & Blooms‘. She joined forces with local Verizon Wireless Stores offering a free bouquet of flowers to anyone who showed a receipt from one of their stores. She connected with The Wildfire Grill and introduced a ‘Pandemic Night For 2’, and formed an alliance with Cascarino’s Pizza to create ‘Pizza, Garlic Bread, 2 Liter & Pom Pom’s’.

If you have a florist in your market, sharing this information could be the spark they need. We’d love to share unique things happening in your market, so please let us know the amazing work you are doing.

My mentor told me years ago, “Money flows to good ideas. Give them good ideas, they’ll gladly give you their money.” It’s also important to point out that those great ideas can make the difference between survival and thriving. Who can you share a great idea with today?

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com. You can also connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.