From Corporate to Florist: Marina’s Leap into Entrepreneurship with a Blooming Flower Subscription Service

Most Valuable Lesson or Insight:

The most valuable lesson from Marina’s story is that following your passion and taking bold, calculated risks can lead to fulfilling and successful entrepreneurship. Marina’s journey shows that even when you’re in a stable job, listening to your inner calling and taking action—despite fear and uncertainty—can open doors to a more joyful and purposeful career. Her story emphasizes the importance of self-trust, adaptability, and the willingness to learn as you go.

Top 5 "Between the Lines" Lessons:

1. Passion is a powerful driver: Marina’s love for flowers and her dream of owning a flower shop were always present, even if she didn’t initially see it as a viable career path. Passion fuels persistence and creativity.

2. Signs from the universe are real: Sometimes, opportunities present themselves at the right time, and recognizing them as signs can lead to life-changing decisions.

3. Support systems are crucial: Whether it’s family, friends, or a co-working community, having a network of encouragement and advice can make the entrepreneurial journey less daunting.

4. Starting small reduces risk: By launching an online subscription service instead of immediately opening a physical shop, Marina minimized financial risk while testing the market and building her brand.

5. Perfection is not a prerequisite for starting: Marina embraced the idea of learning as she went, proving that you don’t need to have everything figured out before taking the first step.

   
   

Five Actionable Steps:

1. Identify your passion and align it with a market need: Reflect on what brings you joy and explore how it can solve a problem or fill a gap in the market.

2. Take calculated risks: Start small, test your idea, and scale gradually to minimize financial and emotional stress.

3. Leverage your network: Surround yourself with supportive people who believe in your vision and can offer guidance or resources.

4. Invest in learning: Take courses, seek mentorship, and immerse yourself in the industry to build the skills and knowledge needed to succeed.

5. Embrace imperfection: Launch before you feel 100% ready, and be open to adapting and improving as you grow.

Transcript:

Host:
Welcome to Business Chats! Today, we're going to be talking to Marina. She’s going through a big change—she just quit her job and is starting a new business after only a couple of months of deciding she actually wanted to work on this. It’s fascinating, and I cannot wait to hear her story. I mean, the first time she said she wanted to change her career, she mentioned she’s doing “God’s work.” She started the first subscription service for flowers in Valencia, which is exactly the kind of service I absolutely love. There you are! Hi, beautiful!

Marina:
Hi! I’m glad I’m here. Well, thank you for inviting me. I think it’s especially interesting that I was thinking today—you and the co-working community were the second people after my husband who found out about my idea to make this change. I’m very happy that I was here from the beginning because seeing this whole thing come to fruition is just so exciting.

Host:
So, first of all, let’s start from the beginning. Can you please tell everyone who you are and what it is that you do?

Marina:
Yes, my name is Marina. I basically launched a few weeks ago the Online Flower Studio, which was a very drastic change of career for me. Even though everyone who knew me knows that I always said, “What’s your dream?” When anyone asked me, I’d always say, “I’d love to have one day a flower shop—like a flower café where you can come and chill, have a nice, beautiful atmosphere, drink tasty coffee, maybe eat some nice pastry.” But I never thought about it seriously. It was like a dream you’d do someday when you’re retired.

I think two—now it’s three—months ago, I just randomly received a message that someone was selling a flower shop here in Valencia. I was like, “I’m not going to buy it, but maybe I’ll just find out.” So, I had a conversation with that lady, and then I had a little bit of practice in her shop. I realized, “This is a dream that can come true. You don’t really have to only think about it—you can do it.”

Host:
So, let’s give people some context. What were you doing before?

Marina:
Before, I was working in a PR agency, working with English-speaking coaches. Overall, I’m Ukrainian and have lived abroad for more than 10 years now. I had a history of working online remotely, but the last five years I dedicated to PR, and it was a big part of my life. So, this was, in a way, a very unexpected change for me too.

Host:
When you saw that announcement saying the flower shop was going to be sold soon, did you see it as a sign from the universe? What went through your head?

Marina:
Yeah, that’s exactly what happened. I think maybe someone will think I’m crazy, but I was already at that point meditating a lot because I was feeling like I wasn’t exactly in the right space of mind. I was connecting to myself, and I think maybe I went out on some special vibrations or something because it just happened so strangely. It was very unusual because, as I said, I never thought seriously about it. But somehow, I saw this advertisement and thought, “Someone has done it.” Then, I talked to this lady who sells it, and her story is very similar to mine. She was a lawyer, changed careers several times, but she always was passionate about flowers. She said, “I always wanted to do that,” and then I decided to do it.

Host:
It’s kind of silly, right? You see flower shops everywhere, so obviously, there’s a market for it. But you didn’t think this was for you because you were supposed to be working in corporate. Was there something specific that wouldn’t let you go off your own way? Maybe it was having a steady salary and being afraid of taking the jump?

Marina:
Well, of course, it was very scary to make this decision because I realized I wanted it, but then to decide to leave my job was very difficult. It was very stable—we had a good team. I lived happily in that job environment, but I had such a strong feeling inside that if not now, when? When am I supposed to do it? When I’m retired? I have to try now when I’m still full of energy and when everything around me burns when I think about it.

I always try to surround myself with flowers. I love it so much. I’ve always been passionate about it. By the way, the funny fact is that while I was studying law at university, I was also studying floristry. So, I think at that time, I already had this passion. But, of course, when you’re 18 or 19, do you choose a career as a florist? You think, “No, I’m going to be a lawyer earning huge amounts of money.” But now, probably when you grow a little older, you understand that you want to do what you love, which brings you joy.

Host:
Absolutely. It’s funny because the same happened to me. I was thinking about it the other day—when I was little, I was designing my mom’s business cards and doing that kind of thing as a hobby. Then, it wasn’t until the pandemic where I was like, “What am I going to do?” I think it was May 2020 when I received an email saying, “Hey, we’re giving away one free year for website hosting for new business owners.” I was like, “This is it. This is my sign from the universe. I’m just going to take the jump.” And I’m so glad that I did. You’re going to be so excited that you did it too in about five years from now.

Marina:
Well, I have a mission here—a real mission. I feel that in Spain, at least in Valencia, we don’t have enough flowers around us. That’s a problem for me. For example, in Ukraine, we have a very different culture. Even in England or Germany, flowers are very accessible. You can go to the supermarket or a simple retail shop and get a beautiful bouquet or at least some mono bouquet of flowers and come back home with a batch of flowers. But in Valencia, if you want to find a florist, it’s already a quest. If you’re lucky enough to find a florist shop, you come in and see flowers in pots and dried flower arrangements. If you’re very lucky, there’s one kind of rose or chrysanthemum. You just don’t even have what to choose from.

So, I really hope that, in part with my help, we’ll be able to grow this for people.

Host:
I mean, I think what you’re doing is super important. It sounds super silly—oh, flowers—like, why is having fresh flowers around so important? But honestly, my life has changed a lot since I started getting flowers every two or three weeks. It’s just having that little piece of fresh detail for yourself that makes a room so beautiful. I usually have them on my desk, so it’s something beautiful to look at every day. I’m a designer—I need to be surrounded by that kind of aesthetic.

Every time I went to the shop to get them, I found a florist that was selling flowers for the cemetery. I don’t want to get my flowers from a place like that—I’m sorry, I don’t want that energy around me. So, I finally found a florist, but it was crazy expensive to have a bouquet made. I would just get a little group of the same flower and bring it home. People would always look at me like, “Is this your birthday?”

One day, I went to a shop after getting the flowers, and this lady asked me, “Is this for a gift? Is that why you got flowers?” I was like, “No, I got flowers for myself.” She was like, “You know what? You’re right. I’m going to go get myself flowers soon.”

It’s the way of making yourself feel better. It’s like getting your makeup on and doing your hair—it’s a detail for yourself and for your home that makes it feel so much more warm and inviting. The process of rearranging them—because you ideally have to change the water and cut the stems every second day—can be like a special ritual.

Marina:
Yes, it’s such a pretty thing to happen. I’m so excited that you actually started this.

Host:
So, you saw the ad for this shop being sold. You could have bought it. What made you go the subscription online route instead of trying to save to open a shop as the first step?

Marina:
Well, there were a few details about that shop that I didn’t really like. I knew straight away that I’m not going to buy it. You have to feel it’s your place—you’re going to be happy there—and it didn’t click for me. So, I had to think, “How can I do this if I don’t have a physical business model?”

It was your idea, actually. You said, “Hey, Marina, you should do a subscription.” I realized I had this flower subscription when we lived in the UK, and I was really happy with it. They have huge companies that provide it all over the UK. So, who knows? Maybe I’ll also grow to that level. But at this moment, I know that it’s very convenient because you don’t have to go and look for flowers.

And by the way, how good is it when you receive a surprise each time? What flowers will it be? How amazing is that? Someone brings the bell, and it’s like a bouquet of flowers for you.

Host:
Yes! And I also want to mention—for businesses, it’s good to receive a ready-made bouquet that you just put in the vase, and it’s ready. But some people, like me, like to receive flowers unarranged and then sit down and create it in their own way. It’s also an enjoyable process.

Marina:
Yes, it’s a full experience. I think this is the first time I’ve seen this in Spain, and it’s absolutely necessary. There are a lot of foreigners who are definitely going to be looking out for it.

Host:
I’m so excited for you to tackle that. You mentioned the core for shops—so you’re also doing a subscription for local businesses in Spain?

Marina:
Yes, I think it’s a very big market. Offices, co-working spaces, hotels—they all need flowers. I can see many of them just don’t have it, probably because they don’t have it on offer. Reception isn’t going to go to the florist shop looking for flowers to put on the desk. They just stay without flowers or put some dried arrangement. But fresh flowers are fresh flowers. For any business, it’s not a huge amount of money to have them delivered once every two weeks or even every week. It will make people who come see them feel more at home.

Host:
Absolutely. The brand value that small businesses can have just by having that small detail says a lot. It’s like showing up to an important meeting and not having your nails done as a woman—it really changes everything. If you have a small boutique that’s competing with big chains, those small details are the ones that make the difference from a branding standpoint.

Marina:
Yes, absolutely.

Host:
How long did you wait to actually take the jump?

Marina:
I think at least several weeks or months. I was negotiating with myself. Around one month, I decided, and then I gave a two-month notice. I didn’t want to leave suddenly. During that time, I was mentally preparing to become a business owner. It’s also pretty unusual and scary when you start—you have millions of questions and aren’t sure about so many things. But I think this inner feeling that I’m going in the right direction, that I’m doing what my heart really wants, helps me a lot.

Host:
That’s the main drive. Being in business is not easy if you don’t have that kind of passion. You can’t make it. But you do, so you’re going to be just fine.