40 UNDER FORTY Abbey Shelton Owner, Rose Garden Florist, Rose Garden Florist Wickliffe, Paducah Nutrition Hobbies/Hidden Talents: Spending time outdoors - especially the lake, volunteering in the community, reading Professional, community, and civic organizations: • Merryman House Board Member • Leadership Paducah Alumni • BNI Impact Chapter Member • Hendron-Lone Oak PTO Treasurer Biggest challenge in your professional career: Starting out as a young manager/ owner, it was hard to gain the trust and respect of employees and business partners that had been in the business much longer than I had. I did my best to show that I was there to learn everyday and be a valuable member of the team. I spent years learning and listening to those people to earn their trust and respect. Career achievement you are most proud of: I am most proud of the fact that I have been able to get my businesses to a place where I am able to consistently give back to the community with my time and in monetary ways. It is important to me to be a helping hand whenever it is needed and I’m thankful that I am in a position that I get to do that frequently. It took years to get to that point and I feel it is a huge accomplishment and thankful for that. Best piece of business advice: Give it to God and go to sleep has to be the best advice I’ve ever been given. There are so many things in small business ownership that can cause anxiety and stress on a daily basis and I had to learn to just pray about it and give it to God knowing that he would never let me down. That small bit of advice has helped me through so many situations, especially COVID-19. Andrew Carloss Owner, Midtown Market Education: BA at University of Kentucky Hobbies/Hidden Talents: Outdoors, family, friends Professional, community, and civic organizations: • Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce Member • Business Networking International Member • Rotary Club of Paducah Member Biggest challenge in your professional career: Working and managing all employees with so many different personality types. I try to hire staff that share a lot of the same values so if we have a bad day or week, we can refocus on our business core values and better communicate with each other. Career achievement you are most proud of: Being open in 2020-2021! COVID-19 affected us greatly, from distribution on certain products to quarantined staffed members. With the great team we have, we were able to stay open and serve our customers. During this time, we implemented an online ordering platform on our website for our drive-thru window. Customers could order groceries or meals online and pick them up from their car. Unlike big box stores or delivery services, we were able to accommodate most orders between 15 minutes and an hour! Best piece of business advice: Invest in culture. Creating an environment is critical for team members and customer experiences. Brandi Rose Bone Owner, Soirees Events Education: MBA Professional, community, and civic organizations: While I am not a necessarily active member of a community organization, I give back by donating my services/ rentals/time to several local charities such as Kiwanis, United Way, Hope Unlimited, Charity League, River City Mission, Paducah Cooperative Ministry, etc. I offer discounts on all of my services for any non-profit organization to help our community. Biggest challenge in your professional career: My biggest challenge has been learning to let go. I think this is any small business owner’s biggest issue. When the company grows exponentially, you have to learn to delegate and let go. Trust your very capable team members to see your vision and carry out your dream. Career achievement you are most proud of: I started this business by doing specialty cakes. Since then, I have gotten an event center, added catering, all kinds of rentals, floral design, and coordinating. We have basically become a one-stop shop for all things events and our customers love that. I believe that my level of caring about everyone’s individual event and paying attention to details has gotten me here. Oh, and we survived COVID-19 as an event business. Best piece of business advice: Always the golden rule. Every single time. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and think of the treatment and the responses that you give them. 8 SEPTEMBER 2022 | PROMOTING EVENTS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE | INTHEVUE.COM
