Courtney and Tyler Haisty realized their dream of starting their own business when they opened The Floral Court in January 2023.
Married since 2014 and both alumni of Arkansas Tech University, Courtney received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and Tyler received his bachelor’s degree in business.
“My business degree from ATU has helped in so many ways with the business,” said Tyler. “If I could point to one thing specifically, it would be the project we did in my Money and Banking class with an Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) client. In that project, students were matched with a start-up business to assess and report on funding options for that business. That class taught me what the basics of starting a business were and what tools to utilize. I know I use those tools every day.”
Courtney explained that her reason for wanting to start a business was so she could push her floral design and creativity to its greatest potential.
“Having my own shop of some kind was a dream I had growing up,” said Courtney. “I have always been an artsy person and dabbled in all things crafty. Not long after I started working as a floral designer, I knew I had found my niche and wanted to eventually open my own flower shop.”
The Haistys came to the ASBTDC regional office at Arkansas Tech for assistance with their project. They worked with Ronda Hawkins, business consultant. She helped them throughout the business planning process, the loan request preparation phase and the start-up process.
Courtney found the step-by-step start-up steps for business formation, licenses, permits and best practices the most helpful.
“We had no idea where to begin, but the ASBTDC made the process much smoother, and it was comforting having someone to go to with all our questions,” said Courtney.
Tyler found the market research and how to budget/project what their business could achieve the most helpful.
“The projections that the ASBTDC helped us with better set us up for understanding how much we needed for start-up as well as how much we needed to be profitable,” remarked Tyler.
The Floral Court is located at 911 East Main Street in Russellville. Learn more at www.thefloralcourt.com or by searching for The Floral Court on Facebook.
“If you have a dream that seems so far out of reach, but it keeps you awake at night, go for it,” said Courtney. “Starting a business from the ground up is no easy task, but it is definitely worth the work. Make use of programs such as the services provided by ASBTDC so that you are aware of the risks and are better equipped for the project.”
Learn more about the ASBTDC regional office at ATU at www.atu.edu/asbtdc.
