We were lucky to catch up with Hilary Bateman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Hilary thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

For over 50 years, my family has owned property in the USD/Fashion Valley neighborhood. I have always been curious about the little house on the corner of Via Las Cumbres and Friars Road. The location resembles a Victorian house with an old shake roof- almost like something straight out of a fairy tale. The little house has always operated as a flower shop, however; most of the previous owners would only open sporadically or a few times a year for the larger holidays. So, the poor little house was in disrepair and empty most of the time. With my background in real estate, a passion for restoring old homes, and, of course, a love of flowers; I knew that this little house and I were a perfect match.
In 2018, the flower shop became available, and I took the initiative to refurbish the little house back to its original charm and provide the neighborhood with a new, convenient boutique flower shop. It was now time to put my business degree to work and spread the word that this Little House of Flowers was now open for business. In June 2021, we opened our second location in Point Loma- It’s way larger, giving us more design space, as well as investing in a flower cooler to provide our clients with a plethora of flowers.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Opening Little House of Flowers was my opportunity to follow in my grandparents’ footsteps. My grandparents were small business owners in the 60’s, with two successful businesses in Coronado; Bateman’s Window & Shades and Oscar’s Drive-In. It was also an opportunity to merge my business skills with something beautiful that connects people. Every flower has a story – It’s a wonderful feeling to be part of each story.
Our floral boutique is unique to our community because you can either create your own arrangement or ask our amazing team to help you curate one! We accommodate any style or theme our customer’s request for their events, which we love doing. We want to be a part of each customer’s floral journey and be able to tell their story via our arrangements.

Little House of Flowers specializes in the little details, friendly service, and ensuring that our customers are entirely satisfied and eager to return for more fresh flowers. After all, the world needs more fearless beauty; the world needs more flowers.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Managing and running a small business is quite a roller coaster ride! The stress level can be pretty high at times. It changes constantly from one day being a slow relaxing day to a busy day with nonstop customers and phone calls.
We’ve created a professional, fun environment by cultivating a positive attitude in our workplaces and with our customers. Being surrounded by flowers all week, especially as a profession, makes everyone happy and ultimately better for the soul. We occasionally get to take flowers home, which is something you don’t turn down, everyone deserves flowers regardless of the occasion.

With my experience thus far, I’ve learned to not alter my path to accommodate change; rather I’ve learned to adapt and be flexible in the face of change. Adjusting how we do business has been a significant factor in learning how to shift gears while keeping my business running smoothly. I can’t let my fear of change be stronger than my business.

The Little House of Flowers team is resilient, dedicated and always willing to learn new things. We want to continue expanding our craft and continue providing the beauty of flowers to our community. We are actively working on community event projects, such as our floral workshops, opening our space to the community for private events as well as expanding our monthly floral subscription program.
I am constantly looking towards the future and the work that is being accomplished by the flower team and hope that our love for flowers extends to the rest of the community.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Our Senior Floral Designer, Auburn Torres, has been in the business as a designer for over 15 years. At the time, she was working for the previous owner at our little house on Friars Road but once I came into the picture, Auburn came onboard! Auburn is the left brain to my right brain; she oversees the creative, artistic, and design processes while I focus on business and marketing aspects. Not only do we have a lot in common as single mothers, but our work ethic has also proven to be successful over the last four years. Auburn brings so much beauty to Little House of Flowers and has been a large part of its success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.littlehouseofflowerssd.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_house_of_flowers/
• Facebook: https://www.linkedin.com/company/little-house-of-flowers-san-diego/about/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/little-house-of-flowers-san-diego/about/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/little-house-of-flowers-san-diego
• Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@littlehouseofflowers LinkTree: https://lnk.bio/Little_House_of_Flowers

Image Credits
Photos are directly from Little House of Flowers and Marketing Manager, Ariadna Rodriguez