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Site created by Lisa Bush 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. |