Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Mubarak.
Hi Diana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I am a second generation Palestinian American. My Mother refuged here when I was 12 years old. As a child I always had the entrepreneur attitude. I would take my mother’s pastry at a local park and sell them although I barely know English.
I had several failed attempts to owning my own business but COVID lockdown was a turning point for many of us. It saddens me to think of it as such but it finally put my dedication stress at ease.
Little shop of flowers was founder by Sefika Kurt in 1992 making it one of the oldest businesses in DC. She decides to sell her store after 30 years. I learned about the opportunity in the begging of August of 2020. COVID as we know it caused a lot of uncertainties in business owners and for some, it was a good time to retire.
I worked for three months prior to owning the business learned from the previous owner everything that I could. I also went to Stratford Carrier Institute for flower design online school while training to own the business for free. On October 10, 2021, I bought the business, and my first paycheck as a business owner was on January 1, 2020.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Little shop of flowers is a plant & flower shop that provides unique tropical plants and unconventional flower arrangements. We are specialized with artistic flower arrangements and one of our famous bouquets are the dry and fresh flowers bouquet. What makes our flower shop inviting is giving our clients the pleasure to create there own flower bouquet or arrangement. Also, we encourage our friends and neighbor to celebrate their events using our shop space. Little shop of flowers is first and most is a community flower shop we do our part in active donations and we hope to grow and create more jobs.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
If there is a smooth ride in business, please share it. There is no such thing in business. I bought the shop when others were closing. It was already a dark beginning and a dark tunnel to walk into. We stopped listing to the news to try to be optimistic and concentrate specially that we had a leader that was hard to trust. We focused on what our clients needed in the time and did our best to deliver and comfort every client. The only way to save our business was to create an atmosphere that was safe and inviting and that’s where our art and creativity skills was put to the test.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Sure, there is washingtondc.score.org. Great mentors. I didn’t discover them until recently.
Pricing:
- 100 arrangement minimum for delivery
- 65 bouquet minimum for delivery
Contact Info:
- Email: littleshopofflowers@gmail.com
- Website: Littleshopofflowersdc.com
- Instagram: @littleshopofflowersdc
