A Career in Nursing Meets Floral Design: The Story of Janet Woloszyk (Member Spotlight)
Some florists come to flowers through family; Janet Woloszyk came to them through a prom-day emergency. This month's Cliquer Spotlight features the owner of McCandless Floral in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — a woman Vonda calls one of the hardest-working people she knows in the industry, which is saying something in an industry full of hard workers. For years Janet worked 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. hospital night shifts as a nurse, then came to the flower shop to design — all while raising three kids under nine. Her story is a masterclass in passion, discipline, and knowing when to ask for help.
From wrist corsages to a 28-year partnership
Janet's start "wasn't by choice." She was dating a man who had just opened a flower shop, and they needed help on a prom day that collided with a wedding. Her first six wrist corsages weren't great; by the thirtieth, they looked pretty good. She kept helping out while holding a retail management job, went through nursing school, had a child — and when the business partner wanted out, she and her now-husband of 38 years bought in together. She's been an owner for 28 years of a shop that's been in business for 45, and she finally retired from nursing about three and a half years ago. Her secret to doing both for so long? A genuine love of work that started as a 14-year-old candy striper, and a simple rule: "If you tell me I can't do it, it's gonna get done."
Shorter hours, bigger business
Here's the counterintuitive part: a few years ago Janet cut her shop hours to 10-to-3 on weekdays and 10-to-2 on Saturdays — after talking it through with Vonda, who encouraged her to try it — and the business has kept growing every year since. She still arrives by 6 a.m. to prep the day, and she still answers her phone around the clock, because when someone's parent dies at seven o'clock at night, she believes they should reach a real person. The reduced storefront hours bought back family time without costing sales — proof that hours open and business done are not the same thing.
"If I'm not getting the business, that's my fault"
Asked the secret to her growth, Janet lands on two things. First, never stop learning: she's done Dale Carnegie, and she's currently in a program about reading people. Shops that stop expanding their knowledge get stuck doing things the way they've always been done. Second, refuse the competition excuse: "We don't look at anybody as competition... if I'm not getting the business and I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do, then that's my fault." Relationships do the rest. When an older Pittsburgh shop closed a year and a half ago, the family recommended everyone to McCandless — because Janet had built a good relationship with them for years. She doesn't advertise for weddings at all; every wedding comes from a bridesmaid who watched her team work a previous one. Some customer families have been with the shop 40-plus years, kids included.
Facebook Lives, garden clubs, and being unapologetically yourself
Janet's Facebook Lives have a devoted local following — Lori says her community adores her, and the comment sections prove it. Her bravery on camera comes from not worrying much about how she looks: she's spoken to garden clubs of 400 people, her son thinks she should do stand-up, and she uses comedy to break the ice. She calls out viewers by name mid-video; one woman told her she fell off the couch when she heard hers. During the pandemic, people called just to say the videos gave them something to look forward to. The lesson for camera-shy shop owners: authenticity beats glamour, every time.
Key takeaways
- Shorter hours can coexist with growth — align open hours with how your customers actually buy, and prep hard before the doors open.
- Own your results: treating competitors as the reason for slow business is an excuse that stops you from improving.
- Invest in relationships years before you need them — a closing competitor's referral doubled Janet's growth.
- Let your work advertise itself: a beautifully executed wedding recruits the next several from the bridesmaids watching.
- Know what you can't do alone. Janet uses Flower Clique for her website, education, and profitable flower bundles — like a board of directors concerned only for her business.