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Site created by Lisa Bush Ryan Walsh Nicole Corley Photography by Ryan Elenbaum
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Phone:
616-245-4962 2404
Eastern Ave. Grand
Rapids, MI 49507
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To contact us: |
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2404 Eastern Ave SE, Grand
Rapids, Michigan49507 |
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The Potpourri is Grand Rapids’ foremost bridal bouquet preservation
center. The Potpourri carefully
preserves your precious and frequently expensive flowers to save the
memories for years to come from weddings, funerals and all other special
occasions. In a day when stores are offering 24-hour service and businesses
are requiring employees to put in overtime, Barb Bush might at first
glance appear to be heading in the wrong direction. The owner of the
Potpourri reduced her store hours of operation from full time to only
eighteen in 1999. "Basically" the professional floral designer
explains, "I work around my kids schedule." But the decision to make a change was based on more than just
family matters. The Potpourri, advertised as "Grand Rapids’ Foremost
Fresh Flower Preservation Center," was formally a retail store
offering cards, gifts and custom silk arrangements. But Bush says,
while seventy percent of her sales were for preservation, 70% of her
time was spent on the gift shop. By closing the retail portion of
the business concentrating on the portion that brings in the most
income. "I do take this business seriously," Bush asserts,
but the statistics along with her family needs have led her to try
this different strategy. Operating with the new hours, she reports
that things are working out well. It helps, of course, that her business
is primarily one in which the customer drops off or picks up orders;
being open 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. four days a week and from 7 p.m.
to 9 p.m. on Mondays is therefore sufficient to meet the customer's
needs. |