Chiles has a heart for community and small businesses

MT. PLEASANT—Small business and close knit communities are near and dear to From the Heart owner Tena Chiles.

Chiles has own four successful businesses over the last 20 years of her small business journey.

She grew up in Fairfield, and enjoyed participating in life with her mother and community through floral designs.

“I started crafting and doing silk flower arrangements very early on in my twenties,” Chiles said. “My mother and I made wreathes and arrangements for the fall and Christmas craft shows around the area. I ventured into fresh flowers in my 30's as I have worked for other florists before starting From the Heart.”

She loves this most recent adventure as the owner and operator for From the Heart in her current home of Mt. Pleasant.

“I enjoy making arrangements for any event large or small,” Chiles said. “I love to design and add personal touches that match up with people's wishes for their orders.”

Personally, Chiles’ favorite flower is a sunflower, with Gerbera Daisies as a close second.

Knowing how a beautiful fall arrangement makes her feel, Chiles loves to gift that feeling to others as she creates floral arrangements for weddings, birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and so many other special and ordinary occasions.

“My favorite part of this business is getting to make people happy with the designs I arrange no matter what the occasion,” she said.

It isn’t all a field full of wildflowers, though.

“The most challenging part is probably trying to keep up with floral trends and come up with new and unique products/arrangements to keep customers coming back,” Chiles said. “Finding good employees is another struggle.”

She spends much of her behind the scenes time tracking inventory, ordering, and keeping up with those home and floral trends.

“The floral industry can be tough and expense if you don't know what you are doing,” Chiles said. “It's hard to guess what people will want to order as far as different colors and types of flowers. There can end up being a lot of waste if you don't know what people like.”

“You have to get a feel for your own clients and area,” she said. “Certain designs and flowers sell really well in certain markets but you need to get that feel for yourself to make it successful in the area you are in.”

When the challenges seem to outweigh the joys, though, Chiles has routines in place to keep herself going.

“I motivate myself to try to be a better and kinder person everyday by having a devotional and prayer time each morning,” she said.

She keeps herself grounded by attending church and community functions, and finding creative outlets.

At the heart of it all, Chiles just sees herself as a small town girl who loves to support other small businesses and continue to bring joy to her customers.

“I would like people to feel comfortable enough to tell me exactly what they are looking for and if I can get it for them, I will,” Chiles said.

Supporting her customers and other businesses is important enough to her that she happily does so with her money and by sharing her own words of wisdom.

“I will always try to find shops like myself when sending out of town orders before I choose corporate companies,” she said. “I feel we have a niche because we are not tied to certain products or designs like corporate stores are.”

“For anyone wanting to start this kind of business I would suggest doing some research in the area you are looking at,” she added. “See where the traffic is, make sure there is plenty of parking. Make sure you are familiar with business laws and permits. Employees are another issue to know how to manage and train. I would definitely suggest taking some business courses at a local college or online.”

As for the future for From the Heart?

“I look forward to continuing to make people happy about their purchases, especially in the fresh flower category” Chiles said. “I love to make people smile.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com