Today we’d like to introduce you to Savannah Jones.
Hi Savannah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
If you had told me 5 years ago that I would be where I am today, I would have probably laughed and cried a little. I was a typical high school senior with a “plan” for the next 10 years of my life. I was going to attend college hours away, eventually become a veterinarian, and then open my clinic. However, this so-called plan drastically changed within 3 weeks of attending college after realizing how homesick I was. One night while sitting in my dorm, the idea of growing sunflowers crossed my mind. I started researching the process, and it seemed pretty simple. From there, I researched other types of cut flowers. I decided I wanted to try to sell them in bouquets at our local farmers’ market. That idea turned into planting an entire field of sunflowers for photography session rentals. I sold a few bouquets the first year but mainly had people come out for pictures in the field. Jo’s Flower Co. expanded from a small garden space into a three-acre field by the second year. This was the year we shifted from being a hobby to a business. We began selling our bouquets at the local farmers’ market; then, we moved into selling tubs of bouquets on different storefronts. By the third year, we added more farmers’ markets to our list, and we were going to three a week with the addition of more stores. We also began doing florals for weddings and other events. This year, I decided that this would be my full-time career after graduating from college. As we enter year four, we are attending five farmers’ markets and hope to add more. We still have flowers in three stores and have begun doing more florals for larger events.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Any successful business can and will have struggles, especially one that relies on the weather and elements for success. We’ve had years where we struggle with the weather. That could be too much rain or not enough. Then we’ve struggled with disease and pests damaging the flowers more than others. This year we’ve also struggled with not getting certain seeds and supplies because of supply and demand reasons.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Jo’s Flower Co. was established in 2019 as a “just for fun” project that eventually became a fully functioning floral company. We travel to farmers’ markets around Nashville selling flowers, and we also specialize in florals for weddings, funerals, and other events. However, our customers probably know us best for the brown paper-wrapped bouquets we sell at farmers’ markets. The biggest thing that sets us apart is we do everything we can to always use our flowers in every bouquet and arrangement we sell. At farmer’s markets, customers will never buy a bouquet or arrangement that doesn’t contain our flowers. However, when you get into bigger orders like weddings, it can be challenging to use our flowers because customers sometimes will have a certain flower or color that we don’t have in stock in the nursery. With this in mind, we try to research trending flowers and colors that we can grow in our growing zone to help our odds of being able to use more of our flowers and greenery. Aside from floral products, we also offer flower field rentals for photography and U-Pick flower sessions. Overall I’m most proud of how we’ve grown as a business. In 2019 we started as a small backyard garden selling a handful of bouquets in total to becoming a business that pushes over one hundred bouquets a week at farmers’ markets.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Something that tends to surprise people is I have no formal education in floristry or horticulture. I have a degree in strategic marketing and a background in agriculture. I’ve learned everything I’ve learned about arranging flowers and growing them from YouTube, books, or what other flowers farmers have shared with me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.josflowerco.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josflowerco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JosFlowerCo/
Image Credits
Allison Steinquest Savannah Jones
