Before I was ever involved in the flower business, I jumped from job to job, trying to figure out where I belonged. I grew up in South Queens, New York, where the role models on my block were police officers and firemen who showed up when others needed them most. Naturally, I thought I’d follow that path and become a cop.
That dream shifted into social work, a field that fed my heart but not my wallet. To make ends meet, I took on whatever work I could, flipping houses, tending bar, you name it. Through it all, I never forgot what my dad, a painting contractor, used to tell me: “If you’re old enough to walk, you’re old enough to work.”
On paper, none of this looked like the résumé of someone who would build a company still thriving 50 years later. But every odd job and hard-earned lesson taught me the secret to longevity: the relationships you build along the way.
Plant the seed in a flower shop
In 1976, I bought my first flower shop on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and poured all I had into the little business. It soon became clear to me that we were not just selling bouquets but also becoming part of people’s lives. While customers came in to buy flowers, they also sought restaurant advice and shared stories of love and loss, among many other things. Before long, the shop had become a neighborhood hub.
As I opened more locations—first one, then another, until there were about 40—the lesson became even clearer: Success didn’t come from the number of shops, it came from the trust and connection inside them.
But physical store growth could only take us so far. That’s when opportunity knocked in the form of a failing company that owned the 800 number that spelled the word “FLOWERS.” Everyone told me I was crazy to buy it. After all, they said, who would order flowers over the phone?
Turns out, a lot of people do! Before long, thousands were calling every day, sending flowers across town or across the country, and discovering a new way to stay connected with the people they loved no matter the distance.
Stay the course in a changing world
A few years later, my younger brother Chris convinced me the internet was going to change everything. He was right. We became one of the first e-commerce retailers, making it even more convenient for people to show up for each other.
Of course, none of this was a straight line. We tried dozens of technologies and abandoned most of them. But failure never discouraged us; it reminded us that learning and evolving were part of our DNA.
Sometimes, luck and relationships create a breakthrough. In 1988, for instance, I met Ted Turner, who gave me a shot to run ads on CNN. When the Gulf War broke out a couple of years later and advertisers pulled their spots, Ted asked me to leave ours on. Suddenly, 1-800-Flowers was everywhere. “The war, brought to you by 1-800-Flowers,” people joked.
Such exposure transformed our brand overnight. But it never would have happened if Ted hadn’t taken an interest, if I hadn’t been willing to take a risk, or if we hadn’t forged a relationship.
Over the ensuing years, we embraced social media, mobile shopping, and conversational commerce. We were one of the first retailers on Facebook. When COVID hit, we paused traditional marketing and started writing directly to our community. That Sunday newsletter, Celebrations Pulse, has grown to more than 14 million subscribers. It isn’t about selling flowers but rather speaks about resilience, rituals, and the relationships that matter most.
Enter the latest wave
Today, AI is the latest wave. I know it sparks both excitement and concern, but to me it’s simply the next tool to help us serve people better. Imagine sitting down to write a note to your mom on Mother’s Day and not knowing how to put your feelings into words. Our AI tools, properly positioned, can help you express yourself in a way that feels authentic. Or think about a campaign designed around your needs, not ours. It’s technology that serves humanity, not the other way around.
If there’s one lesson from five decades of building 1-800-Flowers, it’s this: Longevity comes from evolving with every new wave while staying rooted in your values. You have to listen, learn, adapt, and keep experimenting. But at the heart of it all, you have to remember why: More meaningful relationships are not only good for business, they also make life better for everyone.
Jim McCann is founder of 1-800-Flowers.com.