None of my Business S6-E9 Liza Roeser Atwood

On this podcast episode, I have Liza Roeser Atwood who is the founder and CEO of Fifty Flowers. Liza’s path to this business is quite interesting and unique and I really think you will enjoy it. She graduated from Texas A&M with a Parks and Recreation degree but something was telling her to take a different route.

Listening to that voice she found herself in the Peace Corps and moved to Ecuador. Her commitment to the program was for two years, but after the two years were up, she didn’t want the adventure to end. She stayed in Ecuador and got a job on a flower farm.

Liza’s flower journey began here. She started by doing the books for them and eventually started selling flowers from the farm to the wholesalers. She learned a few things while going through this part of her journey. This was her first real foray into sales and LOVED IT! This is a rare quality in humans. Liza also learned an enormous amount about the flower business right from the source.

Through all of this experience, she found a hole in the market. An opportunity if you will. She created a business that took flowers from farm to consumer and eliminated the middle man.

I asked Liza how a flower makes it from farm to your table and it’s a really a miracle. I am excited for you to hear the journey it takes. We chatted about how she got her business off the ground in 2001. This was right when the internet was in its infancy and no one knew quite what it was yet. She built up a rudimentary website. She also deployed some guerilla marketing with stickers in airports and other crafty tactics.

One of her first big opportunities was to do the flowers for Miss Universe. Liza is a strong networker and sees the importance of educating those who need to know, about flowers. “Everybody is a lead for me” she told me. This is the statement of an aggressive salesperson. These two qualities have opened some big doors for her that has allowed her to grow 50 Flowers faster.

Once Liza cracked into the bridal industry she discovered it was a match made in heaven. Since then, the company has really taken off. She currently employs about 30 in people in two countries and last year sold over 4,000,000 roses! They also just got into the subscription game for those who want to get flowers every month (I am talking to you husbands).

My thanks to Liza for coming on and sharing her story. Find her and 50 Flowers in the links below!