BROOKVILLE, Pa. – Arlene Reinard has been the smiling face behind the Brookville Flower Shop for 13 years.
When she bought the business, she was a young woman who enjoyed floral design as a hobby, but had no experience running a business.
“I knew nothing about running a business,” she reminisces. “The opportunity came at the right time and I bought the business. I had some design classes in college but nothing that prepared me enough for the huge step I was about to take. I was jumping in based on the fact that God had blessed me with a talent that I wanted to share with others.”
Over a decade later, Arlene, now an experienced business owner, has sold the Brookville Flower Shop to Ben and Brandy Carrier.
“I had been tossing around the idea of selling the shop over the past year,” explains Reinard. “Owning any type of small business can be challenging. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and had started to dream of other career ideas. I just wasn’t sure I was ready to move on quite yet.”
Reinard was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, a major factor in her decision to move on from the business.
“When I received my diagnosis of lung cancer I felt it was God’s way of telling me ‘It’s time Arlene – time to take care of yourself for a while.'”
Looking back at her years running the shop, Arlene reflects on the thrill of the ride.
“I’ve learned so much about business, and met so many wonderful people. I’ve grown over the years as a designer and created some masterpieces that I would’ve never dreamt of doing way back then. I’ve also made my share of mistakes. My rule has always been as long as I learned from the mistake then it was worth it – and I’ve learned a lot.”
Many aspects of the floral industry have changed during her career as a florist as well. Flowers are readily available from almost anywhere now including big box stores, grocery shops and the internet, but grab-and-go flowers lack the personality and quality that a florist can provide.
“My goal for Brookville Flower Shop was to always encourage people to just walk through our door,” she says. “I wanted to provide our customers with the opportunity to purchase quality flowers, designed with our creative touch and also receive personalized customer service.”
One key change that Arlene implemented as owner was a website.
“In order to stay competitive in today’s world, Brookville Flower Shop has had a website for about nine years. That is our own personal website, orders come directly to us via the website and we fill them just like we would for a customer walking through our door,” she explains.
Reinard warns against placing a flower order through some of the national online florists.
These sites can be known as “order gatherers”, and can sometimes lead to disappointment for the customer and recipient.
“These are the websites that “pretend” to be Brookville Flower Shop and then take advantage of the customer.” she cautions. “Trying to compete with these types have been a challenge the last few years but local florists are beginning to win that battle again.”
Arlene is confident that Brookville Flower Shop clients will be in good hands with Ben and Brandy.
Brandy has been in the floral design business for over 12 years, and has personally worked as an employee at the Brookville Flower Shop for approximately seven years.
“Brandy is an extremely talented woman and this is her passion as much as mine,” Reinard says. “Although I will miss it every single day, I can sit back and relax now, knowing that she will be taking care of my customers just as I would.”
Although Reinard has a rough road ahead of her as she goes through cancer treatment, she remains optimistic about what God has in store for her next.
She cites this gem from Erma Bombeck as one of her favorite quotes: “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope to not have a single bit of talent left and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me'”
She also thanks the town of Brookville for providing her with an unbelievable 13 years.
“Thanks to my husband, my family, all my friends and loyal customers for making it all possible – I couldn’t have made it without all of you. Some day when I am fully recovered I hope to be able to share one of my other talents with this small town. Until then, it’s been a pleasure Brookville.”
Above article provided by our News Exchange Partners at The Brookville Mirror.
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