Entrepreneurial
SPIRIT
It is not unusual for Linda Vuong’s floral company to do six weddings in one month.
LINDA VUONG
Flower Power
32
Linda Vuong launched her company as a student. During her college career, it was not unusual for her to begin Fridays at 3 a.m. walking by stall after stall of vendors at the Flower Mart in downtown Los Angeles. A full-time wedding florist and event coordinator as well as Collins College student, Vuong visited the flower market twice a week to pick up flowers and supplies. She devoted the rest of her day to classes, evenings to client consultations and event prep, and virtually every weekend to weddings. During the busy season, from March to November, she handled about six weddings a month. Business, however, does not follow such a neat schedule. The 40-plus hours she devoted to her 6-year-old company did not include the time she spent thinking about work: “every waking minute.” “Going to school and working full time was so hard. There were days when I wanted to quit,” she said. The support from her family, friends and academic advisors at The Collins College, as well as the positive reviews and compliments from her clients, kept her going, Vuong said. Also, she knows the hospitality management foundation will be vital in a few years, when she expands her business from floral design and event coordination to owning and operating a wedding ceremony and reception venue. The hands-on experience at the Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch, where she worked as a teaching assistant, provided her with a foundation in restaurant operations, finance, inventory and food. “The hospitality management program and my business go hand-in-hand,” she said. “I had to learn a lot for my business through trial and error, and I also learned them first-hand in my classes.”