DES MOINES, Iowa — Millions of dollars have been awarded to small businesses across the country to try and keep the businesses afloat.
One of those is a boutique flower shop on Ingersoll Ave called Wildflower.
Former event planner Maya Boettcher decided to open her brick-and-mortar flower shop just two years ago. When she originally opened, she planned on creating a place to sell leftover flowers from weddings.
But that plan soon had to change.
Once March 2020 came around, the pandemic forced Wildflower to close its doors.
"I guess I thought 'Oh this is over for us'," Boettcher said.
Without knowing if Des Moines was a market for high-end floral on a regular basis, Boettcher made a last-ditch call out to her network.
"And they listened and made a lot of orders, Boettcher said. "I was so surprised and thankful and also in kind of a pickle because we furloughed our staff."
So instead, her and her 13-year-old child got to work delivering single bouquets across the city.
"It was no replacement, but it was nice to keep the doors open even if the doors were shut. We were paying the bill.
She had also applied for Small Business Relief Grant, but after not hearing back for months, she worried that Wildflower was not going to be selected.
But on May 26, the Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded Wildflower a $25,000 grant.
Boettcher says this time has allowed to her the time to rethink some business ideas and refresh things in the store.
If you would like to learn more about Wildflower, click here.