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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.
He decided to sell Beneva, he says, mostly for two reasons: One is his son doesn't want to take it over. And two, he says he's spending about 80% of his time on another company he runs, Beneva Solutions, which works with florists nationwide to improve online sales and presence. (Beneva Solutions wasn't part of the sale.) “I have an unbelievable opportunity to grow the technology business,” Conforti tells Coffee Talk.
But deciding to sell and actually selling, Conforti discovered, are two vastly different things. He had a price, but he also says finding someone that understood the firm's family-like customer-service culture was a key factor. Looking for that took time and patience. The Shuels met Conforti about four months ago, and the potential buyers and seller had multiple in-person conversations about the company and the industry. “When you go to sell your business,” says Conforti, “you can't just sell it to anyone.”
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