I was so excited to interview my boss babe this month!!! I know I say that all the time, but I seriously enjoy sharing awesome gals who are doing some pretty incredible things and who have some of the best jobs! I am slightly jealous of this month’s boss babe because she gets to work with flowers all the time! I have had a dream since I was little of owning a small flower shop connected to a coffee shop… I’ve always thought it would be so fun to go grab coffee and be able to browse some beautiful flowers while you wait and buy yourself some flowers. So without further adieu, let me introduce ya’ll to my boss babe for August. ( photo cred: merced photography)
Cassie is the owner of the sweetest, cutest, most adorable flower truck here in Springfield. The Ozark Mountain Flower truck has become such a gem in our community and such a joy for so many!
Cassie… Thanks so much for letting me interview you and tell my readers about your awesome business! First off, Tell me a little about yourself!!!
I’m a Springfield native, got away for a little bit for college and ended up with a Psych degree and Nursing degree from Mizzou. I came back to Springfield to work as a nurse and have been working at a local hospital for almost 6 years now.
Wow, you’re working as a nurse while running this business? You must have some pretty insane hours. So when did you decide to start your floral business and why flowers?
I decided to start my business the day I had my idea for it, I literally had my LLC registered the next day. I’ve always loved the flower world, and my husband can attest to this, I would always talk about my dream flower shop on a cute street in Springfield with a little flower stand out front. I always talked about it as a “wouldn’t that be great” scenario and didn’t take myself seriously until the idea of putting the stand on the back of a truck popped into being. ( photo cred: mercedphoto
Your truck is seriously the cutest!!! Got a story behind finding it???
My original idea was to use my husband, Nick’s, ’52 Ford truck. The truck wasn’t going to be drivable soon enough and Nick wasn’t really a fan of me using his truck. So I set out on finding my own truck. I wanted to make it so the sides of the bed dropped down to reveal the stand with the buckets of flowers and we discovered that there were these Volkswagens out there that were already perfect for that. We bought the truck sight unseen from a guy in Kentucky and it was trailered to us in the wee hours of the morning before we had to go to work that day. It was still dark out when it arrived, so we shone our phone flashlights on it and drove it once around the block and signed off on it! It was a huge risk, but it was the best decision to take that leap of faith! She was lime green and her name was kiwi at the time, so we had to change a few things to make her the Stella she is now.
I love the name Stella… it is always fun to hear you talk about her! What has been your favorite part of owning this business???
I’ve really enjoyed getting to know and collaborate with the other small business owners in Springfield. People are doing some really cool things and it’s been so much fun being a part of the behind the scenes. Sometimes when you live in the city you grew up in it can be hard to see it in a new light, but this flower truck business has really opened my eyes to all of the incredible changes happening in Springfield.
(photo cred: emilyjaneorr)
( photo cred: shopstaxx)
Do you have a favorite flower or a favorite way of pairing flowers????
My favorite flower changes daily, but today it would have to be the dahlia. They’re just now coming into season and they’re loud but delicate! My favorite way of pairing flowers is lots of texture and greens in every bouquet. I like to make bouquets that are interesting to look at, so I love throwing in odd elements like thistle, strawflower, or really wispy greens like tree fern and plumosus. I’m sure anyone I’ve ever made a bouquet for or with can tell you my philosophy on bouquets is the greener the better, I really think the greens make the bouquet and love finishing bouquets off with a variety of greens like eucalyptus and ruscus.
When did your dream of owning a flower truck come about???
May 6th, 2018 🙂 I was drinking coffee that morning, watching the news and daydreaming and the idea just popped into my head. I texted my husband immediately, and just told him I was going to start a flower truck! He’s used to me pitching business ideas to him and most of the time helps me come to the conclusion that my business idea isn’t viable, but this time he was 100% on board (which was good, because I was already ordering books on how to start a business and googling how to file for an LLC). That evening we went out for pizza, brainstormed some names, and the next day I had registered my business!
I love that story so much! How inspiring… You just knew that you had to do it and you went for it!
( photo cred: lilacpaperie)
( photo cred: sojournersociety)
What advise would you give others who want to step out and start their own business?
Just jump in. I think it helped that I immediately worked towards getting it started before telling anyone about it, because some of the people I told thought the idea was crazy or didn’t understand how a flower truck would work. Because I had already jumped in feet first, I was so excited about it and had gained momentum in starting the business that those opinions from people who didn’t really understand didn’t discourage me too much.
Do you have a favorite place to park your truck and sell??? If so where and why??!!
Commercial Street. This goes back to growing up in Springfield. Anyone who’s been in this area for a while probably remembers Commercial Street before the recent revitalization. The street has so much history and amazing architecture, it has been incredible to see people taking a leap of faith and investing in the area once again. We park at the C-Street Market every Thursday from 4-8 and Saturday from 9-2 and any chance we get to join in on events in that area, we’re there! The business owners on Commercial Street have created such a supportive community, I’m so grateful to be able to get to know that community!
Does your flower truck do delivery??? If so, when and how much does that run?
We offer bouquet deliveries Monday through Friday as well as Bouquet Subscriptions that are delivered on Wednesdays! All of our bouquet delivery options can be ordered on our website, www.ozarkmtnflowertruck.com
( photo cred: mercedphoto)
How long is a typical work day??? And what does the behind the scenes look like?!
I’m working on this, but right now a typical work day is about 14 hours. There are A LOT of behind the scenes that have to happen and thankfully, we’ve added to our team and now have two amazing people that work part-time to help make things happen! A typical flower truck day looks like this: Coffee, first and foremost. I’ve recently discovered bulletproof coffee and am 100% on board with that! Farm pick ups happen first thing in the morning, there are a few we source from and one where I get to cut my own bunches from the field which is so much fun, but can take up some time. There’s something pretty calming about starting the day off cutting flowers in the field before it gets super hot out! What I can’t get locally I have to source from the wholesaler, so that’s next. The flowers get processed for the day stems cut, foliage removed) and then we have bucket washing. Lots and lots of buckets. After that it’s time to get the truck ready to travel for the day and set up at a location! As with any business, there is the administration side of things that I, as the small business owner, have the pleasure of dealing with. That’s not fun to talk about, but it’s a very real thing that has to get done to keep the business going!
How has your first year been??? Tell me some of your favorite memories
This first year has been a whirlwind! Some of my favorite memories are setting up for the first day on C-Street and wrapping the bouquet for our very first customer! Free Bouquet Day back in April when we gave out free bouquets to all of our customers that came to the truck that day for customer appreciation day! And all of the times driving when people honk and wave or throw the peace sign at us, or roll down their windows and chat at stoplights, that never gets old!
What is your favorite thing to do when you’re not working???
Travel! Maybe that’s why I started a business that’s mobile?? If I’m not traveling, I’m mentally planning a trip, always.
Are you available for hire for weddings and events???
Yes! The truck has been a wedding favor truck at a few weddings this year already and we love going to different events to allow the guests to go home with a bouquet! It’s been so much fun providing something to brides and businesses that hasn’t really been done before! The truck is also available for birthdays, ladies’ nights, bachelorette parties, and showers for flower arranging or flower crown workshops!
If someone wanted to order some flowers, so you have a website they can go through???
Our website is www.ozarkmtnflowertruck.com, and this link right here will get you right to our bouquet delivery page! https://ozarkmtnflowertruck.com/collections/bouquet-delivery
What are some goals you have for year 2!!!
Canopy for the bed of the truck! That will be a game changer for us for sure. I love the slow flower movement, so another goal is I would like the truck to be 90% sourced locally by the end of the year (100% if anyone can get eucalyptus to grow here).
Any words of encouragement or advise you were given when you started out??
Trust your vision!
Simple but powerful- I like it!
It seems like you’re a total team player, so i’m sure you’ve worked with a lot of different companies or have some companies you love to work with. Can you share any of those companies with us?
Anything else you’d like to tell me about your, your business or your life and goals!
Our schedule varies week to week, so people can find us by following us on Instagram (@ozarkmtnflowertruck) or Facebook! We post a weekly schedule and daily updates to both of those pages!
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful business with us and letting us hear how the Ozark Mountain Truck came to be! So excited for you as you continue one with this awesome gem…. Congratulations on year 1! 
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