We had the good fortune of connecting with Courtney Zuber and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Courtney, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When I started Cone Flower Designs in 2018, I thought about how I was 23 years old and about to launch a company. If I fail then at least I tried and if I succeed then I made my dream a reality. Starting a business isn’t easy and I knew that going into it. I wanted to prove to not only myself but to the men and women out there who think young people can’t succeed actually can. With hard work and determination you can do anything!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Being the owner of a company, you wear many hats. I do everything from ordering flowers, filling buckets, processing, designing, emails, proposals, consolations, inventory, cleaning, training, web design, organizing, etc. The list never ends, but I love it so much that I don’t look at it as work. Cone Flower Designs specializes in wedding and event florals. Lately, because of Covid-19, we’ve started selling wrap bouquets locally and expanding our ever-growing list of items we offer. The thing I’m most proud of as a company is how far we’ve come with being almost 3 years old. Connecting to other vendors and getting to share our talents is incredible. Social media has played a huge part in growing my company. I love getting messages and comments and getting to interact with people who really care about what we are doing. I’ve made so many friends who I’ve never even met just because they found us through a hashtag or one of their friends tagging them in a post. It’s truly been incredible. The one thing that I believe sets us apart from others and is how much we truly care about our clients. I do everything I can to really work with someone’s budget, no matter what it might be. We educate our clients on the flowers, greenery, anything that is being used on their big day and how we might be able to repurpose ceremony florals into the reception so we can stay within budget. Education is key! Most brides have never planned a wedding and have so much information being thrown at them that. Taking the time to talk them through everything step by step is very helpful and comforting.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Being only 45 minutes from Waco and Austin there’s so many things to do! We’d go to my favorite hole in the wall places, visit Zilker Park, maybe go to a concert, and more!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family, friends, Texas A&M University, SAIFD and many more who have supported me deserve a shoutout for shaping me into who I am today and helping me succeed in life. It’s scary going to college and not knowing what you want to do and not having it figured out. Throughout college I switched majors trying to find my passion and I discovered Horticulture at Texas A&M. I took a floral design class with Mr. McKinley one summer and completely fell in love with it. I knew I had discovered my path in life. I joined the floral club which led me to SAIFD which stands for Student American Institute of Floral Design. That gave me the opportunity to attend an AIFD Symposium with our club. We individually competed with designers from all over the world, watched programs from amazing designers and met so many people from all over. It truly was an amazing experience I’ll never forget! There’s my teachers Mrs. Terry, Mrs. Saunders, Mrs. Davis, and many more who I’m still friends with that have been nothing but supportive. The vendors I’ve met and worked, Jennifer with Wildly Cultivated, Kathy with The Grove on Brushy Creek, Dixie with To Have and To Hold, and so many more I’ve worked with since starting Cone Flower Designs deserved a shoutout. Even though I’m the owner, it took many people to make Cone Flower Designs what it is today.

Website: www.coneflowerdesigns.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coneflowerdesigns/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConeFlowerDesigns/

Image Credits
Mylah Renae Photography Becca Paige Photography Jaime Burrow Photography Kalyn Shae Photography Rooted Trumpet Photography Jade & Kyle Photography Britni Jean Photography

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.