Success Story – PERFECT PETALS
                                           Florist & Gifts

                       ** NEW LOCATION **
                                   225-C E. Main Street
                                   Rising Sun, MD 21911
                                   www.perfectpetalsltd.com
                                   Teresa Guinn & Dinah Jones

Perfect Petals Florist & Gifts in Rising Sun was opened this year by perfect partners, Teresa Guinn and Dinah Jones.  They met when they were teenagers and have become best friends over the past 13 years.  They have spent many hours together on vacations and road trips with their children and never had an argument!  Realizing they got along so well with each other, they began talking about owning a business together.  In June of 2006, they each separately found out that a flower shop, Perfect Petals Ltd, was for sale.  When Dinah mentioned she had “the perfect business opportunity for us!” they were both surprised to find that they were thinking of the same business.

After meeting with the owner, they sought counseling about buying the business.  Initially, they met with Lera in the Small Business Information Center of the Elkton Central Library where she helped them with the research for their business plan and then referred them to Harry Hammond, the SCORE counselor.

“[Lera and Harry] were a great encouragement and help to us and guided us through the whole process.  Mercantile-County Bank (Chick Ham and Bill Pannill) was excellent to work with and left no financial stone unturned!  Even with all this help and guidance, there were still questions to be answered such as: Should we relocate the store?  Should we hire someone to manage the store or should one of us work there full time?  Lots of  people, including our families and church families, were praying for God’s direction.  Soon enough, everything fell into place and our questions were answered. “

As it worked out, they relocated the store to a more visible location in the Rising Sun Plaza and Teresa became available to work full-time at the store.   Perfect Petals is a full service florist located in Rising Sun.  They also service the surrounding areas in Cecil County.  The floral designers with the original store, Diana Kirk and Shirl Coates, have remained with them.  In addition to flowers, they also have unique and distinctive gift items as well as snack and fruit baskets and a new line of gourmet coffee, tea, and food baskets.

“Although the last six months have been challenging in many ways, we are so happy and excited to have this opportunity.  Our customers, townspeople, and local business owners have been very welcoming and supportive. It’s been an honor to get to know them all a little better.”

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