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Maybe the key to keeping a business running throughout three generations lies with who you go along the journey with.
Many would shut down the idea of working with, let alone going into business with, their significant other. But when your life partner is also your best friend, there is nothing you’d rather be doing.
Maybe the key is learning the ins and outs of the family business from the previous generation.
There are always different paths to success, and different keys to unlock them. McKean’s Flowers is a 3rd generation family-owned business that has found their own keys to success. Since 1950, the McKean’s have maintained a successful business despite necessary pivots they’ve had to take throughout the years. They’ve dedicated themselves to learning from the previous generation, offering one-of-a-kind service, and continuing to evolve and pivot.
The business started with Marian and Willis McKean. When they opened McKean’s Greenhouses in 1950, their business was growing, producing a range of flowers and vegetables to supply grocers and flower shops. Long before wind energy was prominent, Willis had built his own windmill for the farm, setting the precedent for innovation for generations to come.
While McKean’s Flowers looks quite different today, the values set out by Marian and Willis have withstood the years. Each generation of the McKean family have brought their own innovations to the business, making it their own while carrying forward those core values that continue to contribute to their success as a small business in Pictou County.
When environmental issues began threatening Willis and Marian’s livelihood, the decision to shift their business was unavoidable. They had to steer McKean’s Flowers away from growing.
“They had to pivot,” said their granddaughter Suzanne, who currently owns the shop with her husband, Tom Makin. “So, my father encouraged his parents to become retailers.”
During this change in the 1960’s, Don and Judy McKean purchased the business, making them the second husband and wife team of the McKean family to operate McKean’s Flowers, carrying on the legacy.
Now at the helm, how to move forward was up to Don and Judy. The pair ended up buying out two florists in New Glasgow, becoming town florists themselves. They had continued building Marian and Willis’ upstanding reputation as growers and were tasked with making a name for McKean’s Flowers as retailers. Since then, McKean’s Flowers has become a household, trusted name around Pictou County. They have been a part of major celebrations for multiple generations within families, continuing to hold the trust of a community.
“I grew up knowing I wanted to do this,” said Suzanne.
Suzanne and her sisters were around the business throughout their childhood. From an early age, she knew that someday, she wanted to take it on.
What Suzanne didn’t anticipate was meeting Tom, who would come to share her passions. “To find someone who wanted to come here and do this with me…it’s amazing,” she said.
The pair met at university while working their ways towards becoming teachers. While Tom didn’t grow up dreaming of owning a flower shop, he was interested in the idea of owning a small business. Doing it with his best friend, seeing her dreams come true, made it that much sweeter.
“It really does have to be your best friend,” said Suzanne. “To make it as far as we have, it’s a great accomplishment,” said Tom.
Tom joined the family business, working at the shop after graduation in 1995. He learned McKean’s Flowers from the inside out, while Suzanne taught for a number of years.
In 2003, the pair was ready to make the business their own, becoming the third McKean couple at the helm of McKean’s Flowers. “The opportunity to create the ecosystem was there,” said Tom. “And the timing was dead on,” said Suzanne. “That’s a big part of the success of three generations … the success of any multi-generational business.”
“There’s always been that cohesiveness for where the building block comes from,” she said. Working closely with the previous generation has worked for the McKean family, now having served Pictou County with kindness and gratitude for over 70 years.
As the previous generations, Suzanne and Tom brought their own ideas and innovations to McKean’s Flowers. They began sourcing all their product solely from ethical growers. They also continued sourcing as much product as they could from within Canada.
“We didn’t like that some of our flowers might come from farms that weren’t operating ethically,” said Suzanne. “We wouldn’t accept those practices or standards in our own community, so how could we be ok with it happening in other growing regions?”
During the early 2000’s, McKean’s Flowers was the only shop east of Montreal making fair flowers (ethical sourcing) a part of their business procedures. Now, it’s standard practice. “There was no financial benefit for us,” said Tom. “But it was the right thing to do.”
The pair would also navigate the evolution of technology within their business practices. When McKean’s Flowers first began, orders were taken with pen and paper. Thanks to technological advancements, the time saving, and business broadening creation of online ordering was now available to be utilized. “The internet has changed everything,” said Tom. “Once again, it was a pivot.”
Over the years, they would develop their website, and later, their social media. With any business, success is largely dependent on adaptability. New aspects of the business have allowed McKean’s Flowers to keep up with the ever-changing business landscape, and times of uncertainty, like COVID-19.
They’ve remained active members of the community, showing up whenever they can for the people who continue to show up for them. When non-essential business had to shut down during the pandemic, McKean’s Flowers had to close for three weeks. Their team worked together to wrap up their remaining stock into small bundles, delivering them to the hospital staff, a gesture they hoped would show frontline workers they had a whole community behind them.
“I’ve always felt support from the community,” said Tom. “We continue to work very hard to be in the community where we can,” said Suzanne.
Their successful partnership in life has helped their success in business. “But we couldn’t do this without our team,” said Suzanne. Charlie, their delivery driver, has worked with every generation of McKean’s, and many of their employees have been a part of the team for many years
When thinking of McKean’s Flowers, it’s hard to remember that while that is their main focus, they now offer more. Suzanne and Tom have added many products to their show room, items that pair wonderfully with flowers.
“We sell service with flowers attached,” said Suzanne. “If you genuinely treat your customers like they’re important, because they are, it comes back to you.”
Flowers are scientifically proven to make people happy. What makes two people who are surrounded by them everyday happy?
“I walk downstairs, and I feel comforted … like its home. I feel the history of the business and building,” said Suzanne.
“I get to do this with my best friend,” said Tom. “There’s a lot of pride in the business, and the legacy it has.”
It’s easy to let ourselves get bogged down and discouraged that good thing don’t happen to good people as much as they should. But with hard work, passion, and a supportive partnership, they can, and they do. The McKean family are proof of that. The McKeans have been entertaining, inspiring, and celebrating this community for over 70 years. Now, it’s our turn to celebrate them.
Published March 2024