Meet Ginny Niebauer

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ginny Niebauer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ginny , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

At 15, I entered the work force while still in high school. I went through many jobs and struggles as I grew into adulthood, continuing to work and support myself.

I always wanted to own my own business and thought long and hard on what I could do.

After 35 years, while in my garden after work one day, my husband yelled out to me … you know what, this is what you love to do … why don’t you figure out a way to make money doing it. So the seed was planted!

I love being outdoors, love plants and love nature. It took a while, but I never gave up on the idea of owning my own business. I took an online course teaching myself the art of floral design. Half way through the program, I realized not only could I be a great designer, but I could actually run the whole operation.

So with a lot of grit and determination, ART among the FLOWERS was born.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Today, I’m 62 and realize I have a lot more to learn and strive for (I get to be 100 – right) ….

Finding my passion and having fun growing my start-up floral shop has been a blast! From buying my first stem in 2016 to now owning a 2,800 square foot retail space in 2025, we’re no strangers to the struggles our business can encounter with climate, sickness and logistics.

Stocking our first floral cooler with over $2,000 worth of fresh cut flowers, Hurricane Matthew blew through Florida taking out all power and causing much destruction. Fortunately, we invested in quality coolers and our inventory was saved, along with our retail space. People started sending flowers letting their loved ones know they are thinking of them.

Then in 2020 we scraped enough to finish our 3 year lease and buy the retail space we are in today.

Just when we thought we were on our way, COVID 19 hit the United States and all small businesses were asked to close their doors. Fortunately, we had an agricultural license so we were able to keep our business open. Unfortunately, we also had to let our staff go, so it was just my husband, Jim and I that ran the flower shop behind closed doors. Again, people were sending flowers to reach each other and let them know their loved.

Then in 2023 businesses we’re opening back up and we were able to start hiring staff again.

We won Florist of the Year in 2023, found one of our wedding bridal bouquets in People Magazine, was nominated the #1 place to shop in Palm Coast by Trip Advisor, and recently was featured in Florist Review as one of the 10 ten florist.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back, my husband and I had a couple little sayings: 1) failure is not an option; and 2) how do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time!

We never give up no matter what the obstacles are. We would go around, go over, or figure out a way to turn an obstacle into a learning experience and concur. We work long hours, and when we get tired, we rest, and then start all over again. We eat healthy and workout every day too!

Finally, we stay honest and compassionate and love what we do.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

One of the biggest areas of growth for me has been to really listen to my customers. As an artist, all you want to do is create your own designs. But over the years, I have learned to put aside my vision of a design and really listen to our customer’s vision. This way we can incorporate both ideas and come up with something spectacular.

Another area of growth for us has been technology. We’ve learned to follow-up with customers from previous years with texting and sending email reminders. This has brought in revenue that could have been lost.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Candice Coy
Images by Alina

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