NOTE: The following story on recent Elon
MBA graduate Laura Schaefer ran in the July 31 edition of the
Burlington Times-News and appears below with the
newspaper's permission.
by Mike Wilder, Times-News
At the age of 23, Laura Schaefer decided to start her own
business.
As if that weren’t enough, she also decided to pursue
a master’s degree in business administration from Elon
University.
She wrapped up her MBA in May, and in November will reach
the three-year mark as owner of The Flower Patch on Huffman
Mill Road in Burlington. Schaefer said she figured it made
more sense to work hard toward her goals at a young age than
to put them off. Completing her MBA brought some relief.
“I didn’t realize how much work it was until I
finished, and realized how much time I had to devote to other
things,” she said.
Schaefer said people are surprised to find a young person as
owner of a florist’s shop.
“Most all the time, they’re really
shocked,” she said, when they ask for the owner or
manager and find out she’s the person they want.
She attributes part of her love of flowers to her mother,
Phyllis Creech.
“My mom’s always loved them,” she said.
Most people who buy flowers are in the 25 to 55 age range,
Schaefer said, and more customers are women than men.
Still, there are exceptions: Younger guys come in for
anything from flowers for the prom to “I’m
sorry” arrangements that can help restore a
relationship.
People want different types of flowers depending on the
occasion. Bright colors are good for get-well arrangements or
something designed to
cheer someone up.
“A lot of people like Gerber daisies,” she said.
“They’re just big, happy flowers.” Roses
are still the favorite for romantic occasions such as wedding
anniversaries.
“Mixed arrangements are my favorite,” she said,
because they allow her to combine different colors and styles
of flowers.
She compares working as a florist to working in the
restaurant business. In both cases, she said, you’re
selling a luxury, not a necessity, and you’re working
with a perishable product. There’s also a combination
of creativity and appealing to the customer.
Different things from her background help Schaefer with her
career. While majoring in business administration (with a
concentration in marketing) as an Elon University
undergraduate, she minored in psychology.
“Psychology and marketing go hand and hand,” she
said, because you need to understand how people’s minds
work to do a good job with marketing.
Schaefer sells silk flowers as well as real ones. They have
to look real, she said, or she won’t sell them.
“We won’t buy a blue rose,” she said,
“because roses don’t come in blue. The whole
point of having a silk arrangement is having something that
looks real.”
Schaefer said The Flower Patch is getting a floral design
specialist for the first time: Blake Jones, who worked at
Janet’s Crafts.
Schaefer and her husband, John Schaefer, have been married
for four years. They met in a marketing class in Elon. He
works for Overhead Door Co. in Greensboro. Someday he and his
wife may have something else in common: He’d like to
start his own business as a contractor.
The Laura Schaefer file
Birthday: Sept. 10, 1980.
Hometown: Schaefer lives just outside of Elon.
Family: She’s married to John Schaefer. Her parents
are Terry and Phyllis Creech. Her dad is director of the
Christian Adventurers Boys and Girls Club in Graham, and her
mom works for the town of Elon.
Education: She’s a 1998 graduate of Alamance Christian
School (she was valedictorian) and a 2002 graduate of Elon
University. She completed Elon’s MBA program in May.
Career: Schaefer owns her own floral business, The Flower
Patch in Burlington.
Favorite flower: Peonies and dahlias.
Favorite getaway: Holden Beach.
First career goal: “When I was a little kid, I wanted
to be a policeman, because my dad was a policeman....I think
I just wanted to knock down doors.”
