Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aileen Campos. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Aileen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I think every job, every career path has its moments. Every job has tasks that may not be fun to do, has weeks that are long and feel like the finish line is no where in sight.

When I think about all the things I had hoped and prayed for out of a career I can honestly say that I am living those wants and goals I set for myself. Things that are important to me are control of my own time and schedule, being of service to others, creating and bringing to life artistic expression, the privilege of getting to build my own team and choosing who I get to surround myself with.

The path to get here might not have been how I thought it would unfold, but when I truly think about the things that I had hoped for I am living out all those hopes.

Being a business owner has opened my eyes to the steps to take to financial freedom(whatever this word means to you, I personally feel this is subjective for each person). Which I felt wasn’t possible working a regular job.

This is not to say I don’t romanticize the idea of working a regular job. The things that appeal to me are the idea of not having to make all the final decisions, the idea of getting to leave my work at work when I clock out, clocking out for the day, weekends off!

But being a business owner is to also know oneself. I know myself well enough to know the type of hard worker I am, how much of myself I would eventually invest and I’m at a point in my life where I’ve shown myself how much I’m capable of. I know that the every day of a “regular job” is not what I want at this stage of life, but I mean that’s the beauty of life, getting to change your mind if and when that time comes.

Aileen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We’re based in South Etobicoke on the border of Mississauga and Toronto. Serving all of Ontario and beyond, wherever our couples love stories take us! All couples of any religions, different cultural background and all LOVE is welcome here! We mainly focus on wedding and event design as well as everyday floral retail orders.

We love working with couples who trust and allow us creative freedom in bringing to life their vision. Working with seasonal and local varieties to bring to life each couples unique colour palette. Our style of design can be described as garden inspired, organic, unstructured and modern in design.

One of the things that I am most proud of is my authenticity and transparency when working with my clients. A word I often get described as is genuine, and kind and I am so proud that this is how my couples view me. I always try my absolute best in bringing to life the vision while keeping the budget in mind.

I love being of service to others, and working together in collaboration to bring to life the vision and palette. I am a believer that flowers are a luxury, BUT that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be accessible to everyone. Everyone deservers to have beautiful flowers on their wedding day!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I would say the first year or so of business is a resilience story;

When I first started this business I had a best friend turned business partner. We had worked together prior to starting our business together and that’s where we had dreamed up what it would look like. We signed the lease in January 2020 and officially opened our doors on a leap year date, February 29th 2020.

Our first space was located in a small town 45 minutes north of Orangeville called Dundalk. Truly so much opportunity in that town and it was so rewarding getting to interact with the locals and sourcing out pieces they would enjoy. We carried fashion, home goods along with everyday retail orders and of course our weddings and events.

We had our space open to the public for about 2-3 weeks when COVID Lockdown measures starting coming into effect. We pivoted to solely focus on floral retail orders, weddings + events. So much uncertainty in the beginning stages, so many lessons learned and many of which were silver linings.

Long story short, I no longer have a business partner and we’re no longer in our Dundalk space. As awful as COVID was and the amount of lives affected, it was a blessing in disguise for us at that time. Because I truly don’t know how we would have physically or logistically done everything.

The dynamics of starting a business with a friend can be so rewarding, challenging and in my case pushed me towards growth both professionally and personally. While in my situation the partnership didn’t work out between us I wouldn’t change how anything unfolded. Hindsight is always 20/20 and the most growth happens in the discomfort.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I love managing and building teams! I love sharing my knowledge with people and being of service.

In what now feels like a past life, I worked in retail management as a visual merchandiser but so much more goes into managing a retail space than the title of the leaders who run it. My best advice would be the advice I got from a former boss when leading people;

People don’t come into work to do a bad job. Most of the time, people want to do a good job and feel like they’re contributing to the team, that they are valued.

I always check myself first, because when leading a team your people will feed off your energy. If you’re chaotic, stressed and uncentered, they too will feel it and act accordingly. It starts with YOU as a leader to set the tone and to control your emotions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nymphfloral.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nymphfloral/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nymphfloral
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aileen-gwen-19a47217/