Art Conforti's Innovative Journey: From Floral Roots to Local Business Empowerment and Beyond

The Method to the Madness: How a Visionary Leader Turned Every Challenge into an Opportunity, Transforming the Floral Industry and Championing Independent Florists Across the Nation Amidst Ever-Changing Circumstances.

My name is Arthur Conforti, and I am a tireless entrepreneur with a relentless passion for the floral industry. As someone who is always working, always thinking, and always seeking new opportunities in both business and life, I have what some would describe as a “larger-than-life” persona that has driven me to success. Yet, at the core of my ambition is the genuine desire to help local florists thrive in a retail market that grows more crowded and expensive every day.

Over the years, I have dedicated myself to empowering local florists to succeed and grow, especially now during these uncertain financial times. My journey began at Beneva Flowers, a flower shop in Sarasota, Florida, which my parents and I started in 1986. I bought the shop in 1992 with $250,000 in sales, and it quickly grew to a thriving business. My father, a hardworking florist, taught me valuable lessons about running a successful business, and I strived to create unforgettable customer experiences.

Throughout my career, I have embraced challenges and turned them into opportunities, constantly pushing the boundaries of what was possible in the floral industry. I have never shied away from innovation and have been a trailblazer in adopting new technologies, marketing strategies, and partnerships to help local florists stand out in a competitive marketplace.

In 2015, I sold Beneva Flowers and shifted my focus to using my experience and expertise to help other florists succeed in the competitive retail floral market. From there I also started helping other fellow small business owners around Sarasota - a community I love and want to help thrive. My journey has been a series of inspirations and opportunities, leading me to new ventures and partnerships that have shaped my career and the industry as a whole. I am committed to helping local florists navigate the challenges of today's market, and my passion for their success fuels my ongoing pursuit of new ways to empower and support them.

Beneva Flowers and Early Growth

Beneva Flowers began with just my mother, my father, and me. I bought the shop outright in 1992 with $250,000 in sales, and it quickly grew to a thriving business. My father, a hardworking florist, taught me valuable lessons about running a successful business, and I strived to create unforgettable customer experiences. In 1996, I purchased a POS system called RTI from Redbook, which was soon acquired by Teleflora. This system, with its Preferred Customer Card and Reminder Card features, played a significant role in growing our sales from $350,000 in 1996 to $1.7 million in 1998.

Coast to Coast Flowers

As the internet became a key player in the floral industry, I saw an opportunity to expand our reach and secure orders away from competitors like 1-800 Flowers. With this vision, I started Coast to Coast Flowers, an online service that connected customers with local florists across the nation. By offering a user-friendly platform and exceptional customer service, we quickly distinguished ourselves from the competition and gained traction in the market.

Coast to Coast Flowers' success was driven by aggressive marketing strategies, a focus on quality, and leveraging the power of local florists. We prioritized customer satisfaction, ensuring that every order was fulfilled by a reputable florist who shared our commitment to excellence. As a result, the venture quickly amassed $4 million in sales, surpassing Beneva Flowers at the time.

The success of Coast to Coast Flowers not only demonstrated the potential of online sales in the floral industry but also reinforced the importance of strong partnerships with local florists. This venture allowed us to provide customers with a reliable alternative to major competitors while supporting independent florists in their growth and success.

AFC Wholesale: A Commitment to Quality and Accessible Pricing

Recognizing the need for more accessible flowers and better pricing to support the rapid growth of my businesses, I established AFC Wholesale. By leveraging our buying power and direct relationships with growers, we were able to secure the freshest flowers at competitive prices. This enabled us to offer a wide variety of high-quality products to our customers, making us a trusted supplier for florists in the industry.

AFC Wholesale's success came from our dedication to building strong relationships with growers and maintaining a robust supply chain. This allowed us to consistently deliver premium flowers and foliage to florists, ensuring their customers received stunning arrangements made with the freshest ingredients.

"Yes We Can" Attitude: A Customer Service Revolution

The key to winning over online customers was providing an unforgettable customer experience. I adopted a "Yes We Can" motto to emphasize our commitment to exceptional customer service, both within my businesses and for the florists we worked with. This approach meant going above and beyond to fulfill customer requests, no matter how challenging or unique they were.

By embracing the "Yes We Can" attitude, we cultivated a culture of proactive problem-solving and solution-oriented thinking among our team members. This approach not only helped us build strong relationships with customers but also earned their trust and loyalty. We continually strived to exceed expectations, ensuring that every interaction was an opportunity to create a memorable and positive experience for our customers.

To support the rapid growth of my businesses, I realized the need for more accessible flowers and better pricing, leading to the creation of AFC Wholesale. With a commitment to exceptional customer service and a "Yes We Can" motto, I focused on winning over online customers by ensuring they always had a positive experience.

Conforti Collection

Innovation has always been at the heart of my endeavors, and I like to think big! When I wasn’t satisfied with the quality of the products offered by most florists, I saw an opportunity to produce and offer my own! The Conforti Collection is a more opulent option for customers who - like myeslf - were not satisfied with ordinary gift options. The Conforti Collection also helped other florists enhance gift offerings by partnering with companies like Lenox, Fitz and Floyd, and Spode to create collectible, numbered trains with unique packaging.

LocalFlowershop.com: Empowering Local Florists and Connecting Customers

Localflowershop.com is an online directory that I developed to help customers find real local florists. Today, it is still the most comprehensive listing of actual brick and mortar florists around the world and plays a crucial role in helping customers differentiate between order gatherers posing as florists and real local florists. It enables florists to showcase their products, and customers can easily find local florists.

The directory grew out of my need for distribution of florists to carry the trains that I created. Florists could see who was carrying the product and send them orders, making it easier for customers to find local florists. I realized that creating a directory for local florists was the next logical step, and that grew into Localflowershop.com.

Flower Manager: Embracing the Digital Age

Recognizing the importance of a strong online presence for florists, I created a cutting-edge website for Beneva - and later shared with others - called Flower Manager, a tailored website solution that empowered florists to thrive in the digital age. This all-in-one platform offered customizable templates, e-commerce capabilities, and social media integration, allowing florists to showcase their products and connect with customers seamlessly.

During its development, I collaborated with Kerry Durban, who saw the potential in Flower Manager and suggested sharing it with other florists. Initially hesitant, I eventually agreed to license the site to Kerry, realizing the benefits of cost-sharing and collaboration. Together with my development team, Gravity Free, we combined our industry knowledge, vision, and technical expertise to provide a cutting-edge web solution that helped countless florists expand their reach and grow their businesses.

Floral Prodigy / Telephone Solutions

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years is that tracking phone calls (and just about everything else) is paramount. Floral Prodigy was a project I created to assist florists with their telephony needs. It was a partnership with Tie Technologies, and its focus was to help florists capture more orders and increase customer satisfaction. The system provided features such as automated attendant, voice messaging, call recording, and call tracking to enable florists to answer the phone and help customers quickly and efficiently. It quickly gained popularity and became an industry standard. Through projects like this, Art's impact on the floral industry continued to grow, helping florists nationwide capture more orders and succeed in a competitive market.

Floralapp

What better place to get customers to see you than on their phones? When mobile apps started to gain popularity, I wasted no time in developing FloralApp. FloralApp was the first mobile app that let you order flowers on your phone directly from a local florist. It was a revolutionary idea that made ordering flowers easier and more convenient than ever before! Although the app's initial management faced some challenges, Teleflora eventually acquired it and is currently evaluating its future.

Customer Service and Innovation

Beneva Flowers' success is built on several factors: exceptional customer service, innovation, quality and variety, and community involvement. For 18 consecutive years, we were voted the #1 florist and received the Service Company of the Year award in 2008 - one of the proudest accomplishments of my career considering we won out over the Ritz Carlton for that honor. Their exemplary customer service is something always admired and tried to model my businesses after, so I know how much hard work, coordination, and attention to detail they put into serving their customers. I also know that you don’t beat them out for a customer service award on accident. Even being in their league is commendable, but hearing your small flower shop’s name announced as the winner instead of theirs was truly a dream come true! Our innovative efforts, such as online ordering, social media marketing, petal reward points, and Lucky Stems, have always kept us ahead of the competition.

Community Involvement

Being an active member of our community is essential to me, which is why I created the Helping Hands program in order to be involved and active in the community while also giving back. I always believed in giving back and did so with my Helping Hands program where a percentage of sales are donated back to schools and area churches and fundraising efforts. At the end of the day, It is good to know you did something that really makes a difference.

Conclusion

In 2015, I sold Beneva Flowers and started using my experience and expertise to help other florists succeed in the competitive retail floral market. My journey has been a series of inspirations and opportunities, leading me to new ventures and partnerships that have shaped my career and the industry as a whole. Each step along the way has not only inspired me to grow as an entrepreneur but also allowed me to contribute to the growth and development of the floral community. Through perseverance, innovation, and a commitment to excellence, I have been able to create a lasting impact on the floral industry and the lives of those who have trusted me with their floral needs. As I look to the future, I am excited to continue embracing new opportunities and inspiring others to achieve their own success in this vibrant and ever-evolving industry.