We were lucky to catch up with Sara Ward recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Buying my business has been one of the biggest risks I have ever taken. We had moved back from living abroad the year before and I felt lost. I was working in the food business and learning a lot about how to manage people and vendors. Looking back now I am thankful for all the things I learn because it help prepare me for owning my business and do something I was passionate about.

When the opportunity came before me to by my business in some ways seemed unattainable. and I was not deserving of it. We did not have many resources and the amount to purchase was pretty large. The previous owner agree to finance it for me with a down payment. I was terrified of failing and putting my family in debt. But taking a risk meant I may fail and I had to come to terms that is okay. Not that I wanted to fail but because if you don’t try you never know what is possible. Now after almost owning the business for six years I am so glad I took the risk. Yes there are days that are hard and sometimes I want to quit but on those days I get up and keep going. Most of the time the day gets better and I remember why I am doing this. I am almost finished with paying off my loan and am looking forward to how I can grow my business even more. This means taking another risk.

Sara, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Inspired by nature, art, and all things beautiful, I have always had a passion for creating. I love finding beauty with lush garden flowers but also in the unusual. After living in Philadelphia and then Peru, I have been excited to carry on Wildflowers’ passion to provide the most beautiful flowers in Saint Louis.

Growing up in an artistic environment, I loved being around color and beauty from a very young age. My entry into the world of floral design was a natural one, as friend after friend asked her to do flowers for their weddings. For over twenty years, I been an avid home gardener, never able to resist cutting beautiful blooms and displaying them throughout my home. Entertaining has always provided a great opportunity to decorate a table with gorgeous garden style flower arrangements.

For the past fifteen years I have been creating beautiful floral arrangements for weddings as well as a variety of events. I was able to be a part of Wildflowers over 20 years ago, helping Jane , the previous owner, with weddings and events. In Philadelphia I worked at Home Influence, a well-established floral design studio. The markets of Lima gave a wonderful chance to buy flowers directly from the growers. I have been at Wildflowers and mentored by Jane Winter since the fall of 2015 and have loved getting to play a vital role in creating beautiful events.

We help our clients bring their flower vision to life through their events. We also, provide flowers for everyday events like birthdays, holidays and funerals.

I am most proud of the work and style of flowers we do. We are not your traditional florist. We design in a natural and artistic way for all the moments of peoples lives. Taking into account color, line and form. I love when someone calls and say I am so excited I found you because your work is so different than other places. They understand our philosophy of design.

I am learning to set boundaries on the work we do. There are so many amazing designers out there and we may not be the best fit for most. I am learning it’s okay not to be all things to all people but to focus on our style and become the best there is. Sometimes, this scares me when payroll is coming around but then someone calls and is excited to work in our style and I relax and know it’s going to be okay.

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

I have found that owning a business is not for the faint of heart. Each day you have to get up and keep going even when you feel like quitting. When I get to work and see my to do list I try not to get overwhelmed but just committing to do one thing at a time.

There have been some times I have not been about to pay myself and realizing I need to raise my prices. I was afraid of loosing clients and maybe I have lost some. But I remember each day is a new day and there are always new people out there who want to buy my flowers. I do not need to be ashamed of my prices or what I think is a fair wage for me and my staff. We all work really hard at what we do.

Keeping my business afloat during the pandemic was so scary and exciting. I saw that I could work thorough hard things and finds solutions. This time taught me to make the work I am most proud of. I do not need to be all things to all people. I have to work to design the work I feel is the best for my business. This may mean recommending other places for people to buy from.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

One of my most favorite books I have read is “Radical Cantor” by Kim Scott. I would not say I am a good boss. I have such a long way to go to becoming one. This book helped me see it’s okay to be human and care for my staff. One thing I took from the book is to sit down with each of my management and just see how they are doing at work but also in life. I think sometimes in business we work so hard at being professional that we take the humanity out of people. As an owner you are juggling and interacting with so many people. I constantly have to remind myself we are all human. We all make mistakes. I try to learn from them. Sometimes I have to make the same mistakes over and over until the change comes. I try to remember this with my staff as well. We are all in process.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wildflowersstl.com
• Instagram: wildflowersstl
• Facebook: wildflowersstl

Image Credits
1. Joan Fisher,2. Kelly Park Photography 3.. Ali Duffy Photography 4 & 5. Sarajane Herrmann Photography