Lori Poliski has always grown flowers in her backyard garden. Although she never charged for her services, over the years, she created beautiful wedding flower arrangements for friends and family. In this episode, she shares how she jumped at the opportunity for her first paying gig when her life was finally in the right place to pursue this dream.
Although she briefly worked as a florist when she was young, Lori spent most of her early career working in journalism and high-tech marketing. She stepped away to focus on building a family, but planned a career pivot towards teaching.
That plan was never realized when she became immersed in the complicated medical journeys of her children, both of whom were born prematurely. Her oldest child was born with a cleft lip and palate, while the youngest developed hydrocephalus within his first month of life. Fifteen years and fifteen major surgeries later, Lori is one resilient mama.
Today, she has two thriving teenagers. She has also raised $1.5M for the Hydrocephalus Association and, along with her husband, is a Co-Founder of the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network. She runs her new business Flori as a gardener/florist and is looking ahead to offering studio workshops, as well as finding a way to weave sustainable business practices and social justice causes into her industry.
Taking the Leap from Backyard Gardener to Florist
