Business Spotlight: Budding Opportunities

Ed Kentner and his nephew, Kurtis Abbey, never intended to go into business together.

“It wasn’t even on the radar,” says Kentner, the newly minted small-business owner and a marketing veteran by trade.

But months of handling freelance marketing work for Springfield Flower & Gift brought the opportunity into view. Kentner, a resident of southwest Kansas, would visit Springfield to consult with florist and gift shop owners Brian and Carrie Donaldson, and he’d lodge at Abbey’s house. Late-night discussions about the company sparked some ideas the relatives couldn’t shake.

“Who doesn’t like flowers?” Kentner says of the business’ natural appeal.

The model just needed adjustments, he says, namely branding in a crowded market and a push for corporate accounts.

When a relocation to St. Louis prompted the Donaldsons to sell, the uncle and nephew took the opportunity. Through Good Morning Enterprises LLC, which includes Kentner’s wife, Irene, the acquisition with the Donaldsons closed Nov. 29 for an undisclosed amount.

Both investor owners are keeping their day jobs – Abbey as director of nursing for Mercy in Springfield and Kentner as social media director for Texas-based trucking firm National Carriers Inc. “We’re not going to retire with this,” Kentner says.

Abbey works the operations and financial side, such as managing orders and negotiating contracts, while Kentner handles marketing and the creative side of the florist.

“I’m the right brain, he’s the left,” Kentner says, noting new store signage is on order.

The new owners quickly hired seasoned floral designer Theresa Carter. She folded in her book of business via RosAmung Thorns and converted her commercial space, 1943 S. Glenstone Ave., into the second Springfield Flower & Gift storefront.

Carter is the ticket to the sought-after corporate accounts. She says Corporate Business Systems, American Diabetes Association, Mediacom and City Utilities are accounts she brought into the mix.

From nearly zero at the time of acquisition, corporate account purchases now represent a third of business, compared to retail and online orders through Telaflora, Kentner says. In February, Kentner and Carter secured a contract to supply Mercy Hospital’s gift shops with flowers, and he’s working with Springfield Cardinals officials to sponsor Mother’s Day at Hammons Field.

Kym Priest, gift shop manager at Mercy, says Springfield Flower earned the business out of three proposals received when the owner of its previous supplier retired in February. Mercy had purchased inventory from Town & Country Flower Shop and Gifts in Nixa. Owner Joan Wollard retired, and Springfield Flower took over the service Feb. 28, Priest says.

“They had the best pricing,” says Priest, who has worked in Mercy’s gift shop for six years.

She says Springfield Flower representatives keep weekly tabs on the coolers in the main campus gift shop as well as in the orthopedic hospital.

“Fresh flowers are the bulk of it,” she says, noting green plants also are stocked.

Holding between 30 and 40 arrangements, Priest says price points range from $7.50 to $65. The deal is open-ended, she says, with informal periodic reviews planned.

Through business partnerships, Springfield Flower & Gift also coordinates the rental of tuxedos, linens and table settings, and Kentner says the owners are seeking connections with a bakery and limousine service.

Already through a test marketing phase, Kentner is experimenting with a service to take photos of recipients and their floral arrangements upon delivery to send the pictures back to the person who placed the order.

“How about something besides the bill?” Kentner says, explaining the marketing philosophy and noting approved images also would be posted to social media.

In January, personal fitness trainer Pavel Samsinak had his picture posted on the florist’s Facebook page holding a birthday basket with black balloons attached.

“A friend of mine jokingly sent me a basket full of junk food,” says Samsinak, the owner of Czech Us Out on East Republic Road. “He tried to be funny.”

Samsinak says at first he wasn’t sure why the delivery person asked to take his photo, but he quickly caught on. The photo also was emailed to the sender.

“I think it’s a good idea,” he says. “He’s not from here and just wanted to make sure I received everything. I think it might be nice for other people to experience.”

Kentner has many ideas. He admits there’s been a big learning curve for him in the florist business.

“I thought only leaves were green,” he says, pointing to a flower with green petals. “I’m always learning.”