Graduated FSU: 2008
Major: Business
Current City: Bridgeport, Illinois
Her Campus (HC): How did you end up in Bridgeport?
La’Toria Basken (LB): I originally moved to Chicago shortly after graduating from FSU. I was young and wanted to experience city life. New York seemed too big, LA seemed too glitzy, and Atlanta seemed too close, so I decided on Chicago. I had never even been to the city, let alone Illinois. I picked it because it always seemed to be on the lists of great cities to live in. I packed up my stuff and told myself if it didn’t work out, then I could always try somewhere else. I lived in Chicago for a couple years working/training at a florist shop while they paid for my flower design classes. Eventually my boyfriend — now husband — took me to visit his family who live in Bridgeport. I fell in love with the area and my husband’s father is a commercial real estate agent who always kept me updated on spaces that would work for a floral shop and eventually one came along that I couldn’t pass up.
HC: What made you decide to open The Flower Bed?
LB: I worked at a floral shop all through high school and college for extra spending money. After a while I realized that I absolutely loved doing it. I always loved the romanticism of flowers and helping boyfriends, fiancées, husbands, lovers, and family members pick out the perfect arrangement to convey the emotions they have for the recipient. It just seemed like the next step to try and own one myself.
HC: How did you decide on a name?
LB: At first I was at a total loss about what to name it. I became near obsessive over finding a name, I asked all my friends and family. Heck! I even tried to casually drop the question into small talk with near strangers. Everyone kept coming up with terrible puns and parodies like “Shop to Smell the Roses” and “Little Shop of Flowers.” It was an absolute cringe-fest. Another popular suggestion was “Flowers by…” which felt overdone and cliché. I finally decided on “The Flower Bed” after looking out my kitchen window and looking at the mass amount of flower beds and pots I had set up all over my tiny backyard. The answer that I had been looking for months had been right outside my window!
HC: What is the biggest struggle with opening your own business?
LB: Contractors, contractors! Let me say it again — contractors! You really need to stay on top of them, keep repeating exactly what you want, and make sure they aren’t trying to take advantage of you.
HC: What do you miss most about FSU?
LB: This isn’t so much FSU but the Tallahassee area. I loved going every spring to the Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens. If you haven’t been, then I absolutely recommend going mid-March to late April. This is when most flowers are in bloom and it’s absolutely breathtaking.
HC: Any advice for upcoming graduates?
LB: Don’t be afraid to move to new places miles away from home. It could just be the best thing you ever decided to do, and if it turns out to be terrible then at least you gave it a go.