Haslam College of Business - Allyson Varner: Cultivating Entrepreneurship

Senior business analytics major Allyson Varner is making an entrepreneurial impact in her hometown. The Spring City, Tennessee, native founded Ally’s Flowers, a small business specializing in creating floral arrangements, pre-made bouquets and build-your-own bouquet experiences for local events to meet a need in her hometown. Varner credits community and family support and her time at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business as motivation for creating and continuing her eponymous business.

An Idea Blooms

In January 2024, Varner and her mother were planning a baby shower for her sister-in-law. Inspired by the event’s “baby in bloom” theme, they decided to set up a flower bar where guests could create their own bouquets as thank-you gifts. The concept was a hit, and Varner’s mother encouraged her to turn it into a business — Ally’s Flowers.

With this vision, Varner planted flowers in a fenced-off corner of her family’s field, a space her parents set aside for her near their grazing cows, where she now grows most of the flowers she sells. She then established Facebook and Instagram pages for Ally’s Flowers, finding enthusiastic local customers ready to buy her blossoms, excited to have a local option.

“Walmart is 20 minutes from our town,” she explains. “There’s really nowhere you can even get grocery store flowers.”

Growth and Community Collaborations

From her mother’s simple suggestion, Varner has nurtured Ally’s Flowers into a growing enterprise. She recently created flower arrangements for a local pageant and sold pre-made bouquets to the audience. She also collaborated with a local coffee truck for a Valentine’s Day pop-up, completely selling out of flowers within two hours.

Ally’s Flowers is also a fixture at local baby and wedding showers, offering build-your-own bunches, pre-made bouquets and flower arrangements. Varner’s next venture is partnering with a local hair salon for a “Botox and Bubbles” event, selling her flowers alongside other vendors, such as a trucker hat bar and permanent jewelry station vendors.

To grow her business, Varner has drawn motivation from fellow business owners while also pursuing collaboration opportunities with them.

“The Spring City business world is a really a community in itself,” she says. “The business owners reach out to each other with opportunities for collaboration and ways to work together.”

The Future of Ally’s Flowers

Just as she embraced the challenge of entrepreneurship, Varner is eager to take on the challenge of balancing a full-time job with her business, as she plans to pursue a career in business analytics after graduation. With the support of her family and factoring in the seasonal nature of floral events, she has structured Ally’s Flowers to operate alongside a full-time job.

As she prepares for graduation, Varner reflects on how her business education has shaped her entrepreneurial journey. From marketing strategies to financial management, she has applied her coursework to real-world challenges, strengthening her ability to navigate the business landscape.

Looking ahead, Varner dreams of expanding Ally’s Flowers while staying connected with UT and Haslam as an alum. She hopes to give back through mentorship and networking, paying forward the university’s support for her.

CONTACT

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Leah McAmis, senior editor, leah@utk.edu