FlowerFive is going on the third week back at large, in Tampa, with the flower buggy. It has been good and it has been sad.

Mother’s day went well. This was my first solo Mother’s Day. It was challenging to face that perpetual ordering conundrum which all retailers face; how much inventory to order or keep on hand? I ordered eight full boxes of flowers, had to return two because they were substandard (code for rotten).

Still, I am happy I sold out of product. This was a better outcome than at Valentine’s day where I had too many leftovers. The sad part was that I sold out on Saturday and no product available on Sunday.

I am working my way back to a standard flower buggy schedule. I have temporarily lost my retirement home vending sites and markets are still on hold. As a result, I have visited a few areas and have been met with a disconcerting obstacle. I have been told to leave an area that I was passing through and believed is a public right of way.

I fear some folks view me as a homeless person…just last Saturday I was asked if I had a phone. I was shocked. In the past I have been told “I have no change” by some. The buggy is my business. It is not a side gig. I have a home. I am running a small business. Yes, it is a lifestyle business and it is not paradigm shift as was the semi conductor or the iPhone. FlowerFive answers the quieter call to fill the heart with affordable flowers which can be enjoyed everyday for you, for those you love, for the clinically proven positive aspects of flowers.

I am looking for additional spots in Tampa that are open to having the added value of curated bouquets available to folks who patronize their location one day to four days per month; for shifts of 1.5 to 3 hours. Please reach out to me if you have or can make an introduction to a place who is interested in being a host to the always flowerish FlowerFive buggy.