Editorial Blog

The article details the evolution of Joanne Argante's business. She started making silk flower arrangements in her home, was soon selling the arrangements at the Pickering flea market, and eventually opened Joanne's Flowers and Gifts in Oshawa. She ran the store for 30 years until, as the article notes, "big box stores and the Internet uprooted her."

All independent retailers face the challenge of competing with big box stores. However, what's interesting about Argante's story is that she concedes there are a few things she would have done differently. For instance, while she signed up with the FTD wire service for "a short time," she did not stick with it. According to the article a busy flower shop can receive up to 40 orders a day from FTD and other wire services. She also "looked at setting up a website, but then backed off." She thought the human touch would set her store apart from competitors who were going high tech. What she failed to ask herself was how high tech could be married with the human touch to create a more successful business.

I can certainly empathize and sympathize with Argante's story. We all engage in either/or thinking at some time or another. However, in business it's a mindset that is antithetical to innovation. And as the Conference Board of Canada just pointed out, it's innovation that every business and our country needs the most.