Best in Bloom, Inc. of DeWitt, a locally owned wholesaler of flowers, serves 100 florist clients in locations that include Massena and Auburn. Owner Steve Jocz has seven employees that make the deliveries, but Jocz will “often” drive one of his six delivery trucks to “stay connected to his loyal customers.” “I always look for […]
Best in Bloom, Inc. of DeWitt, a locally owned wholesaler of flowers, serves 100 florist clients in locations that include Massena and Auburn.
Owner Steve Jocz has seven employees that make the deliveries, but Jocz will “often” drive one of his six delivery trucks to “stay connected to his loyal customers.”
“I always look for a way to find what my customers need, and the highest quality flowers are what they have grown to rely on from Best in Bloom. To this day, I still check every incoming shipment to make sure the quality is what I expect,” Jocz said in a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Syracuse District news release that tells his story and how his business benefitted from the SBA’s Emerging Leaders program.
Jocz began selling flowers from a delivery truck in 1993 for a wholesaler, the SBA said. He was promoted to sales manager and later to store manager when his sales numbers kept outperforming other branches.
Jocz found that he had a knack for selling flowers, and interacting with customers was part of the job that made his work “not a job at all,” the SBA said.
After nearly 20 years in the industry, Jocz decided to strike out on his own as a wholesaler. In 2012, he attended a small-business workshop series that the Onondaga Small Business Development Center (SBDC) offered. The SBDC is a program that the SBA and Onondaga Community College support.
The course helped Jocz develop a startup plan and his networking efforts with bankers, lawyers, and insurance agents familiar with the challenges facing many startup companies. Joan Powers, regional director of the Onondaga SBDC, encouraged Jocz and gave him “confidence to pursue his dream.”
When Powers recommended Jocz get involved with the SBA Emerging Leaders program in the spring of 2017, he figured it was “the right time for his growing company to add strategic planning,” according to the SBA.
Jocz believes he benefitted from working with Emerging Leaders instructor John Liddy and learning from other business owners. As a result of the “intensive” training program, Jocz put new business processes into place, including 24-hour customer service and a new company website. The changes helped produce a 25 percent increase in the company’s revenue, the SBA said.
“Without the SBDC, I wouldn’t have started my business, and without the SBA Emerging Leaders program, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Jocz said in the release. “My goal for the future is to continue to develop sustained growth and keep my customers happy.”
