Company

SARASOTA DOWNTOWN

Media Downloads

Feb 12, 2010

On the air with Jake and Fletch

May 5, 2009

Mother's Day Radio Commercial

May 11, 2008

Sarasota's Favorite Mom Winner

Mar 20, 2008

At the ballgame!

May 3, 2007

Mother's Day interview with Chuck Englund

Feb 14, 2007

6 Foot EPIC roses

Nov 15, 2002

WWSB 40 Special

Nov 15, 2002

Commercial

Oct 23, 2000 - Florist business blooms and thrives on the art of never saying no
by Heidi Godman, WWSB News40 anchor
photographs by Bill West

It''s not your typical flower shop - not some sleepy little place where the hum of the cooler is the only sound to compete with a customer seeking a get-well bouquet. Beneva Flowers & Gifts rocks at the pace of a New York City deli at lunchtime. Five operators with headsets take phone orders as walk-in customers place their own requests or pick up arrangements and gift baskets. Just beyond the front counter, designers craft their floral creations and glide in and out of a living-room-sized cooler. And in the middle of all this activity, owner Art Conforti stops to consult with a designer before moving on to help a customer or take an order from across the country on his own portable headset. When he pauses to survey the nonstop action around him, he can''t help but smile and appreciate how good he has it these days. "When you see it all working, that''s the best feeling of them all," says Conforti, who moved with his family from New Jersey to Sarasota 15 years ago.

The son of a florist, Conforti, 36, never imagined himself following in the family trade, let alone becoming one of the most successful florists in the nation. Beneva Flowers is ranked 32nd out of nearly 30,000 Teleflora florists in the United States and has become an industry leader. Steering away from family tradition, Conforti entered the trucking industry in New Jersey. However, he never forgot the advice of his father: If you learn a trade, you''ll never be hungry.

"It was the best advice in the world," Conforti says. Though it might be hard to believe as one looks around the thriving business he took over from his father more than a decade ago, Conforti refers to himself as "the worst salesperson in the world."

"I can''t make you buy anything," he says. "I am an educated order taker." Place an order for a special occasion and you''ll see what he means. If it''s a special anniversary, Conforti will ask a husband questions about the kinds of flowers his wife likes, her favorite colors, the kind of mood the flowers should create. He and his loyal employees do a good job the first time and they''ve got customers for life. "As we''ve grown, the thing that worries me most is a loss of personalization," Conforti says. "I don''t ever want to let that happen. Once people feel like they''re not being given enough attention, they''ll go somewhere else. It''s important to me to keep that personalized attention for every customer. We''ve never said no to an order. If it can be done, it will be done." That includes last-minute rush orders across town in the afternoon or deliveries to new moms or other special customers at 2 in the morning. Giving customers what they want is nothing new to Conforti, who spent many lunch hours serving up Sabrett''s hot dogs downtown before devoting himself to the family floral business. He even offered "dogaholics" a discount card – a free dog if you buy eight. Before his hot-dog-stand days, Conforti got to know the Sarasota community by driving a SCAT bus. After a visit to his parents, who had retired to Sarasota a few years earlier, Conforti decided he would make Florida his home. Conforti''s wife Donna and their daughter Tina also work long, but rewarding hours at the family business. Son Nicholas divides his time between school and baseball, with an eye on one day replacing Derek Jeter as the New York Yankees All-Star shortstop. "I thought Sarasota was the most beautiful place in the world," Conforti says.

"I knew this was the place I wanted to raise my family." Conforti heaps praise on his "outstanding" employees, but reserves the highest honors for Donna: "She''s the most patient, loving, understanding person that could ever come into my life." Keeping the business in the family was always the intention, even if no one quite planned that the little florist shop in south Sarasota wouldn''t remain little for long. While Conforti cheerfully drove the SCAT bus and befriended passengers, his father ran the 900-square-foot Beneva Flowers shop at the corner of Beneva and Gulf Gate Drive. Conforti worked there when he could, though he says when he was a kid helping his dad at work, he "was nothing but a pain in the neck to him." The chance for more opportunity and a pleasant recollection of Sabrett''s hot dogs from up North led to his next business move. The Bronx-born Conforti saw a crying need for a good hot dog, so he made the investment in a portable stand, which he later hired someone to run during the day. Conforti would set it up in the morning and pack it up in the afternoon.

While other hot dog stands featured thong-wearing girls at busy intersections in those days, Conforti kept his operation tasteful and tasty. "People couldn''t believe it when they saw that (Sabrett''s) umbrella," Conforti says of his fellow New York and New Jersey transplants. As busy as he was, those hard-working days evoke only warm memories. "I cherish that time in my life," Conforti says. "That''s what made me what I am today."
Now, Conforti is quick to give back to the community that has supported his business so enthusiastically.

Through his Helping Hands program, every time a person places an order, that customer can request that $2 of the purchase price be directed to a school or church in Sarasota. A parent might call up with a child at Ashton Elementary and one at Riverview High School, in which case the donation can be split. Now in its fourth year, the program has generated several thousands of dollars for programs that can use all the help they can get. Conforti says he hopes more businesses will join in. "If everybody did it, think about how much we could accomplish for our educational system," he says. At their current growth rate, Beneva Flowers & Gifts - and those gifts include wine, chocolate and plenty of yummy or cuddly surprises – will certainly keep the dollars flowing to the students or missions that need them. Conforti says that after a heady five years of 600 percent growth, annual increases in sales volume have leveled off to a still-staggering 28 percent. The size of the business has also ballooned to 4,800 square feet, though the address hasn''t changed. The one downside of such growth is that Conforti finds himself spending less time with the hands-on work of being a florist. "This kind of growth is tremendous," he says. "Don''t get me wrong. But there''s a lot that goes with it. You become more of an organizer."

And there''s plenty to organize: Conforti manages 35 employees, including 12 designers. Even away from the shop, the Beneva operation is bigger and more high-tech than you might think. At a wedding, for example, florists and drivers are all armed with radios, ready to respond if more flowers are needed at the last minute. Back in the cool, fragrant shop on the corner, computer technology allows customers to place orders in as little as 12 seconds. All the necessary information is on a computer screen. A dozen red roses for the wife at work? Done.

"I''m always striving for the best-quality product at the fairest prices," Conforti emphasizes. "We''re bringing in product from as far away as Holland, Ecuador and Hawaii. That''s one of my biggest challenges: I''m always looking for an edge, looking to do it better and smarter. All that fine-tuning makes a difference in the way people are treated - you know, the Ritz-Carlton and Disney effect, where customer service is elevated to an art." In 1995, Conforti and his employees dove into cyberspace and committed to using technology to help their business grow. In the summer, Beneva Flowers receives about 125 orders daily. In season, the number jumps to nearly 200 per day. About five percent of those orders are via the Internet, and that number is steadily rising.

Perhaps above all other professions, florists have the greatest opportunities to stop and smell the roses. Art Conforti seems to understand the key to making customers and his family happy. For the Conforti clan, it starts with the work. "What a joy, even after 10, 12, 13 hours on the job," Conforti says, his voice weary, yet still upbeat just imagining another long day. "My wife and daughter come home and we''re all equally exhausted, and sometimes still talking business. It seems like every time we go someplace, we notice how they treat the customers, and we talk about ideas we can bring back. We have a ball working together. Life is short. Why not spend as much time as you can doing what you want with the people you love?"