A new opportunity buds

Sarasota area florist Art Conforti recently confronted one of an entrepreneur's greatest challenges: The exit strategy.

Conforti sold Beneva Flowers & Gifts Inc., one of the largest independent florists in the region, to a couple from Chicago. The company has about 50 employees, and the couple, Dave and Shannon Shuel, plans to expand the company's services to include plant rentals and possibly landscaping. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

For Conforti, who founded the business in 1986 with his parents, the sale represents a big relief, the culmination of a process that lasted nearly five years. Conforti listed the company for sale in early 2011, using American Business Brokerage in Sarasota.