Cliquer Spotlight! Christy Doonan from Alice's Country Rose shares her Floral Journey Story
Vonda and Lori launch a brand-new monthly feature — the Cliquer Spotlight — and their very first guest is Christy Doonan, owner of Alice's Country Rose Floral in Toppenish, Washington. Not the rainy Seattle you're picturing: Christy's shop sits in the desert farmland and wine country of the state. Her story starts as a teenager's after-school job and runs 33 years to a hard-won business she can't imagine leaving — with lessons on pricing, customer relationships, and growth that any shop owner can use today.
From high school job to her name on the door
Christy's parents bought the flower shop when she was a teenager — opening February 2, 1989, right before Valentine's Day, which sounded wise and turned out to be trial by fire. (Fifteen-year-old Christy got poked in the eye by a rose; the smartest thing her mom did was hire an experienced florist to carry them through that first holiday.) It was sink or swim, literally — and they swam. Christy has run the shop since her early twenties, raising five kids in the business, with babies in a swing and staff helping with feedings. Her dental-hygienist mom handled the books and holidays until she passed away, her dad held the title, and in October the ownership finally, officially, became Christy's.
Loving the work — even the holidays
Asked what points her feet toward the door every morning, Christy doesn't hesitate: she genuinely loves what she does. Holidays are her jam — the planning, the pressure, the execution. The only part she'd skip is the aftermath: the paperwork and the tornado-cleanup after a big week. She even started school once, looking for an "exit plan" — and realized the problem: nothing else would give her the same fulfillment. It's not that she can't do other things. She doesn't want to.
The secret behind 74% web growth
Here's the number that gives the hosts goosebumps: Christy's web sales are up roughly 74% from 2019 — the same stretch in which COVID hit and Lori remembers calling Vonda saying "you've got to talk Christy off the ledge." Her formula is a combination of things she controls and a partner for what she can't:
First, real relationships. Customers have her number saved and call her by name — and she genuinely loves them back (even while listening for clues about which Mary is on the line). Second, consistent quality and honest service: own your mistakes, refund graciously when a transaction just doesn't work, refer out what you can't do well. Third — and this one takes courage — premium pricing without apology. "I don't want to be the cheapest, I want to be the best." This Mother's Day proved it: recipient after recipient called to rave, and the difference was the extra $15 the sender spent. She'll still make you a $15.99 bouquet, but you'll see the difference. And when something goes sideways — a flower arrives in poor quality, a substitution is needed — she calls the customer first. Nine times out of ten they just say thank you for telling them; the tenth wasn't her customer anyway.
The piece she couldn't do alone was the website. When her front doors closed, her website became her front door, and partnering with Flower Clique — attainable product photos, streamlined ordering through the flower bundles, and the confidence to charge premium prices — filled the gap. Her definition of Flower Clique, coined live on the show: "the business partner you didn't know you needed." She also credits the member community itself — a group of owners invested enough to pay to grow, where anyone can message anyone about technique, ordering, or business and get a real answer instead of a complaint spiral.
Working hard for a different reason now
What's inspiring Christy right now? Her grandson, about to turn one, who lives clear across the country. When her own five kids were young she went years without a vacation, convinced her customers wouldn't allow it. Now she works hard specifically so she can close for a week and go see him — and her customers just ask if she had a good time.
Key takeaways
- Build genuine first-name relationships with customers — people buy from florists they know and care about.
- Don't compete to be the cheapest; be the best, price accordingly, and let the recipient's phone call prove the difference.
- Communicate proactively about substitutions, delays, and mistakes — customers mostly just want to be told.
- Partner for what you can't do yourself, whether that's your website, your marketing, or a community that actually gets this industry.
- Not everybody is your customer — accepting that is a business skill, not a failure.