Nayelli Valdemar is a one-woman shop for now, a young mother who has aligned her personal values with a passion to run “a business I know inside out.”

Only 25, with the energy of a budding entrepreneur, Valdemar embodies her motto, uno solo puede.

“One can do it” is a general translation and is reflective of the work ethic demonstrated recently at her Funky Flower Shop in Mercedes, just a minute or two from Expressway 83. Valdemar describes it as being “too good to be true to find this location.” It allows rapid access to the expressway and the free deliveries she makes in the La Feria-to-Weslaco stretch of the Mid-Valley.

Building a Presence

Valdemar is a new generation entrepreneur in using social media skillfully to build presence and boost revenues whenever possible. She has a considerable following on TikTok. Valdemar utilized that platform to her advantage recently when a TikTok follower in Nebraska contacted her to do a floral arrangement for her mother, a Winter Texan residing in the Rio Grande Valley.

She spends about an hour a day on social media, including insights on do-it-yourself floral projects followers can do at home. Direct sales may not come from those presentations. Valdemar figures people will share those videos, building awareness of her business and eventually some sales.

When it comes to revenues, she said, “If I get five percent produced from it, I’m OK with it.”

When there is an online search for “flower shops near me,” Valdemar wants her business to be among the top of the list. 

“Once they come to me, I’m confident they’ll be back,” she said.

Work/Life Balance

Valdemar’s primary motivation to start her own business last September arose from a need to spend more time with her young son.

She was building a career at H-E-B in being a retail manager in floral departments at RGV stores. Her most recent job with the large supermarket chain was running the floral department of an H-E-B store in Mission. Valdemar enjoyed the work and the job. It did keep her away from home for long stretches of time, including the traffic-heavy commutes going and coming from her Mercedes home.

“I needed to be a more present figure in my son’s life,” she said of the possibility of owning her own business. “I’ve always had aspirations but more than anything I needed to spend more time with my son.”

Being her own boss means Valdemar can have her son at the Mercedes flower shop while she works on orders from customers. Having such flexibility comes into play when a busy season – like Valentine’s Day – arrives. Valdemar will work from 6 a.m. to midnight, crafting floral arrangements, greeting walk-in customers and making her daily deliveries.

Birthdays and sympathy centerpieces make up the majority of her business, with “just because” coming in third when a husband or boyfriend surprises a wife or girlfriend with flowers. Valentines covers that broad category of  “just because” but on a higher level. Mother’s Day beats them all for floral sales, she says, with those busy days ahead in May.

Artistic Edge

A floral arrangement from Funky Flower Shop means getting a product made by a florist with a trained artistic eye.

Valdemar is a graduate of the South Texas ISD Science Academy, a regional magnet school district based in Mercedes. Its schools have a reputation for teaching mathematics and sciences at a high level. She said attending a South Texas ISD school was “a great awakening.” She excelled in math. Valdemar didn’t find a passion for it, so in attending UTRGV she majored in fine arts and graphic design.

Those elements are evident in her arrangements as is Valdemar’s flexibility to craft something specific to a customer’s wishes. Individualized orders are something most large florists will not do in that their products are of generalized styles and ready to buy in a rush. Valdemar works to fill that gap between the purchase of flower on a whim and customers who want more of a specific arrangement geared to a loved one.

Moving ahead, she hopes to expand her business in adding staff, improve her website and continue to offer customers the added benefit of free Mid-Valley delivery. 

Uno solo puede.

Nayelli Valdemar is determined to get there.