Léa CARON

At the age of 22, she opens her own flower shop in the Ain department

Léa Caron has always worked in retail. After her A levels in this field, she joined a cheese shop and then a bakery. She enjoys the contact with customers. One day, she came across an advert for a florist who was looking for an apprentice, so she decided to take the plunge. She discovered a business she liked and took the diploma to make it her profession. A few months later, the shop closed as the florist moved to another sector. It was at this point that her path crossed the one of another florist who wanted to sell her shop in Nantua. Léa decided to take over the shop, supported by an uncle who also worked in the trade. She had always wanted to set up her own business, and when she told her friends and family that she wanted to take over a shop, they all supported and encouraged her.

It was the bank that directed Léa to France Active Ain. Franklin Witham, the network’s adviser, clearly explained the steps she needed to take to set up her project. ‘Léa Caron is very young, just 22. But despite her age, I felt she was dynamic, mature and determined. I showed her where to start, what a business plan was and how to put it together, who to talk to about the next steps… She had a real desire to do things right. Thanks to France Active, she received a bank guarantee to enable her to take out a loan without having to provide a personal guarantee, as well as grants to help finance some of the work involved in refitting the shop and some of the initial stock.

With the opening approaching, Léa was apprehensive: she was worried that in the middle of July she wouldn’t have enough customers. But the opposite happened: ‘I had a much better opening than I’d hoped for. That enabled me to put some cash aside. I wasn’t expecting such a huge response over the summer period and I’ve had a lot of compliments about the flowers and the reorganisation of the sales area.

Léa’s next step is to recruit an apprentice to help her on a day-to-day basis.

Any advice for entrepreneurs who want to get started?

‘Knowing how to surround yourself with the right people to move forward with confidence and serenity, being patient and knowing how to protect yourself are the 3 pieces of advice that I would give to an entrepreneur who wants to get started’, she confides.