Using flowers from Trader Joe’s and vases from Dollar Tree, the junior entrepreneur and innovation student Ally Okonski has created a profitable floral arrangement business.

During Okonski’s first year of college, she and her classmate, a first-year strategic communications major Alley Keen, were assigned a task in their entrepreneurial class: to start their own business.

Okonski and Keen got to work building and starting The A’s Bouquets. They created The A’s Bouquets in hopes of sending “a message of love, joy, and comfort” to students on TCU’s campus. 

The A’s Bouquets not only offered floral arrangements but also presented a bouquet subscription with delivery services. 

Okonski and Keen found success marketing their project on the TCU parents’ Facebook page, making up many of their first customers. Parents liked a convenient way to send their students flowers while supporting other TCU students. 

75 people purchased subscriptions in the first semester of The A’s Bouquets.

After the class was over, Okonski saw their business’s potential on campus and continued. 

During the summer before her sophomore year, Okonski developed a website and social media pages that allowed customers to order flowers or purchase a flower subscription. 

Entering her sophomore year, Okonski continued The A’s Bouquet’s services, crafting the floral arrangements in her sorority house’s fourth-floor study room.

“Ally always puts a personal touch on each bouquet she creates, and she always goes the extra mile to make sure they are special,” said Callie Frank, a junior fashion merchandising student and customer. 

The business offers a flower bouquet subscription that costs $160 and includes four bouquets per semester hand-delivered to wherever the customer wants with personalized notes.

Recently, Okonski expanded her services by adding a Bloom Bar. 

The Bloom Bar serves as an activity for various events like baby showers, birthdays, and philanthropic events. The bar has flowers and wrapping materials, allowing people to create their bouquets.

Pricing for the bar starts at $300 and is customizable to customers’ wants. Okonski sets up the Bloom Bars and stays to help assist.

What’s next?

Okonski intends to graduate from TCU in the Fall of 2025. She wants to use her entrepreneurial experience and degree to expand The A’s Bouquets and help others start their own businesses. 

“I really love doing my own thing and having my own business,” Okonski said. 

She has found her passion as an entrepreneur and wants to expand The A’s Bouquets to other college campuses and work to make the Bloom Bar more interactive.