Episode 3 | Wichita Chamber Business Accelerator

It isn’t often you get to talk about a business older than electricity. Jennifer Barnard, co-owner of Tillie’s Flowers, joins co-hosts Don Sherman and Ebony Clemons-Ajibolade to discuss the second oldest business in Wichita. Tillie's has been family owned and operated in Wichita since 1876. They deliver flowers to the entire Wichita metro area, including Augusta, Andover, Bel Aire, Goddard, Derby, Haysville, Kechi, Mulvane, Maize, Park city, Rose Hill, and Valley Center. Tillie's operates out of two locations, one on the west side and one on the east side of Wichita. In the podcast, Jennifer shares how flowers help communicate a unique language. She also talks about how Tillie’s has connected with the community and earned the title of second oldest business in Wichita.

Tillie's Flower Shop
715 N. West St.
Wichita, KS 67203
316-945-9368
and
3701 E. Harry St.
Wichita, KS 67218
316-687-0630
tilliesflowers.com
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Number of employees: 20
Chamber member since 2011

On this episode we discuss: 

• Being the 2nd oldest business in Wichita
• How the business was started and passed through the family
• Learning social media on the fly as a key part of your marketing strategy
• Tying business longevity into a promotion
• The communication of sending a flower and how it differs from other plants 
• How to have longevity through innovation
• Networking with other floral shops 
• How to grow and thrive during a pandemic shutdown 
• How to market by touching customers in multiple ways 
• How COVID-19 has impacted product sourcing and labor
• The benefits of the tight Wichita community

Learn more about Tillie's Flower Shop on their website and like them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Listen on popular podcast directories and aggregators, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Pandora, and ICT Podcast Network or using the player above. Send feedback on this show and/or suggestions for future guests or topics by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or emailing communications@wichitachamber.org.

 Preview:

Wichita Chamber Business Accelerator is a weekly podcast devoted to supporting and learning from area business owners. Released every Wednesday, it's produced by Forge Podcast Co, managed by the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Evergy.

Learn more about this podcast series by visiting our January 7 blog post.