Meet Lucy Shimazu | Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lucy Shimazu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lucy, how do you think about risk?
I bought Point Loma Village Florist off of my cousin in May 2024 since she was a mother of two babies and no longer could balance the life of being a mom and a business owner. The property manager knew she was in the process of selling the business and let her know that whoever takes over would have a rent increase. We decided it did not make sense to maintain that location. Therefore, I purchased the phone number and website only off of her and we shut down the store front. The flower shop then merged with my other business in Hillcrest called Rainbow Flowers. Now, for the next 9 months Point Loma Village Florist was being run out of Hillcrest and essentially became an online business. As customers called over the months to see where we went, we notified them of the change and overtime lost many customers since Point Loma is very loyal to their local businesses and Hillcrest was just far enough that it was not worth it for them to make it out there. Although there was lots of comfort with two businesses being run under the same roof and as a result lower overhead costs all around, I had this burning desire to reestablish our presence in the Point Loma area. So, I was on the hunt and within a week I found a property that was so close to my heart off Voltaire street just below the Point Loma High School and next to the famous Christy’s donuts where the Giant New York Style Pizza used to be located for 30 years prior. I immediately reached out to the property manager, let him know I had an established floral business and was looking to reestablish our presence in the community. He was very excited about the flower shop business and we scheduled to meet next week. An agreement was reached, and by February 7th, 2025, I had the keys to the property. Just one week before Valentine’s Day so I worked 14 hours a day and took a third of the inventory from the Hillcrest location with the goal to have it up and running by Valentine’s Day and get it on Google Maps. After all the blood, sweat and tears, google ended up denying the location change since I did not have a physical store name displayed on the store front and after all the back breaking work, we had 4 customers walk in for the busiest holiday of the year. It was quite the let down. And on top of that, I went from having a nice flexible schedule working 2-3 days a week to working 6 days a week since I was so focused on just getting the shop open in time, that I had no plan for what would happen after Valentines Day. This risk also led to a decline in my personal life. I made this decision just 3 months after getting married and instead of enjoying being a newlywed, I increased my stress level, decreased my time spent with my husband and all the while everyone around me was telling me to just shut down the business, and go back to the way it was since everything ran so smoothly before I made this decision. But I chose to not listen to everyone and keep pushing to see it through. I knew there was still redemption with Mother’s Day around the corner and it gave me far more time to really plan and recollect myself. Fast forward, Mother’s Day turned out to go very smoothly and we had significantly more walk ins than anticipated. Now, we wait to see how the rest of the year goes to decide if this month to month lease will turn into a year contract. Only time will tell but the way I think about risk is that you will never know how much you can achieve and how much you can push yourself until you are actually in it. I have always been a doer and not a thinker. When I see an opportunity present itself, I rather jump on it and deal with any repercussions later rather than regret not taking the risk and missing out on an opportunity that may never present itself again in the future.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have never seen myself as an artist throughout my life. Growing up we are so hardwired to sit in our seats, listen to our teachers for hours on end and then take endless tests and quizzes for 20 years including college. Very rarely in my schooling career was I able to explore working with my hands or doing any real hands-on activities besides boring science projects. It wasn’t until I finally decided to put away the computers, get up and out of the chairs and completely throw myself into the foreign territory of creativity. I became an artist and actually started getting paid for it! But it was not easy. I learned very quickly that every person has a different style. I learned it was not fair to myself to compare my creativity with others, especially those with several years of experience ahead of me. I learned patience with myself. Not to strive for perfection but rather slow and steady growth. It was a very challenging time in my life because for once I had no idea what I was doing or what I was getting myself into. I had to reestablish my identity from wanting and working towards becoming some special agent to a Florist. Starting from the bottom of knowing absolutely nothing about florals to getting to where I am today provided me with understanding and patience for the many other employees I ended up hiring over the years. What sets us apart from others is that my employees have the ability to have full creativity with their work. They get to come to a happy and positive environment where they can explore their passions and not be behind a computer screen for hours with back aching work and micro-managing bosses. What I am most proud and excited for is being able to provide these opportunities where my employees have God’s beauty surrounding them and can create meaningful relationships with customers as well. But of course it was not easy to get to where I am today nor do I believe the road of difficulty ends here. I overcame many challenges with God leading me and guiding me as well as the most incredible support system always there to lend a helping hand. There are so many lessons that were learned and still many to learn. Overall, I have been humbled, stripped of my pride, several reality checks and regardless kept moving forward. The world can know that at the time I was just a young 27 year old girl who decided that an entire career change was necessary and had no idea what I was getting myself into but knew change needed to happen, decided to take that risk, kept pushing forward and even when things seemed impossible, I simply never gave up. And now my 30 year old self does not regret a thing! It humbled me to know that if you put your mind to something, anything is possible and although change is scary, if not now, then when?

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When friends visit I love taking them to the Paradise Point Public Beach. This is a hidden little gem of a beach in San Diego where tourist do not know about unless staying at the resort. They have fire pits on the public beach where its also dog friendly. Anyone can walk through the resort as well and find a little koi fish pond, many beautiful birds, can feed the ducks, and walk up a tower for beautiful views of San Diego. I would also take them to the classic La Jolla cove since many people not local to SD get to experience the beauty of pelicans and then of course watching the seals, snorkeling and kayaking are always fun activities to do. Another favorite is sunset cliffs where I would take them cliff jumping!! When it comes to food I would definitely take them to get Mexican food and then also I personally love Sushi and love the ambiance of Cannonball in Mission Beach where we can enjoy food/drinks on the rooftop, walk the boardwalk, and go on some rides in Belmont park!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shoutout to my aunt, Marie Thomas who began this entrepreneurship journey for me in the first place. I went to school as a Criminal Justice major and after graduation obtain positions as a Paralegal and Substance Abuse Specialist. These career choices were great in the beginning but overtime they weighed me down as I experienced tough and heartbreaking situations that I would bring home. After 4 years in the field, I realized I was burning out and needed a complete career change. Within that same year, my dad told me that my aunt was going to retire from ownership of Rainbow Flowers after 30 years and asked him if I would be interested in taking it over. I was over the moon! The timing couldn’t have been better. Although I only knew the name of a couple flowers and never designed anything in my life, I was willing to challenge myself and do anything to get out of the field I was currently in. So, she took me under her wing and after a year of training me from the bottom up, I signed a 5 year lease and took over ownership of the legendary Rainbow Flowers in Hillcrest. I would not be where I am today if it was not for her. I would also like to give a shout out to my husband who has been along for the ride since day one. I would have never had the confidence or support to keep pushing myself and growing if it was not for him by my side through it all.

Website: https://pointlomaflorist.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pointlomavillageflorist

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/point-loma-village-florist-san-diego