[0:09] Hey there Andrew Mullin here the Mayor of Wayzata.

This show is designed to lift up members of our

[0:13] community whether that be our businesses

our churches our schools our nonprofits

[0:18] and most importantly our people. Today I'm here

at Candlelight Floral and today's show features

[0:25] an interview with the owner Lesa of Candlelight

Floral. We'll be talking to Becky from the Wayzata

[0:30] Chamber and we'll be also speaking to Dr Brost

from the Brost Clinic. So let's get to it! Hey I'm

[0:37] here in Wayzata today at Candlelight Floral. Been

here for over 60 years I'm here with Lesa Fenwick

[0:42] the owner and resident of Wayzata of Candlelight

Floral. Can you tell us a little bit about your

[0:48] business? Candlelight Floral was started in 1963

by another couple that lived here in town and

[0:57] my husband and I are the third generation owners

and we moved to town 8 years ago. So can you tell

[1:03] me a little bit more about what it's like to

be a chamber member a resident and a business

[1:08] owner because you're in a kind of an elite club

here. Yeah it's really one of the coolest things

[1:13] about being able to live in the community that

you serve is um it's so rewarding because when

[1:20] we're not at work I'm eating at the restaurants

I'm shopping at the stores I'm volunteering at

[1:26] Chamber events. We've been Chamber members now for

almost 50 years I think and my husband is now on

[1:33] the Chamber board and has been for a couple years

now. We are both my husband and I both are really

[1:37] into volunteerism and charity and being able

to serve the community that we live and work

[1:43] in is just like that's awesome. So cool. What's

your favorite thing about uh being a florist I

[1:49] mean it's got to be neat to be involved in all the

special parts of people's lives. It is yeah we're

[1:53] here for the good times the sad times um for me

I actually enjoy funeral work the most it's the

[2:00] most rewarding um I have the deepest connections

with my clients um I get the most I get so many

[2:06] hugs you know and thank you notes. Every day is a

different day. So while we may be doing the same

[2:13] things it's a different reason different instance

Um every day is kind of a surprise. What's it

[2:20] like being a a woman-owned business I mean here

in Wayzata and just in general? Well Wayzata is

[2:27] a very supportive community and that is one thing

that has like kept us here as long as we have been

[2:32] here and that's because the people the community

want to shop local. They want to support the small

[2:38] business. They want you know anything that they

can buy here in town and not have to go to the

[2:43] surrounding communities like they're going to do

it. I started here when I was 20 years old bought

[2:48] the store at 25 And so um while my husband and I

have owned it now for 10 years I've been here for

[2:54] 15 years and being able to grow up in this like

I'm not from here but being able to grow up as

[3:01] an adult in this town um has been really rewarding

and people are so supportive. Amazing So Lesa you

[3:07] know your business is so involved in the community

and you have a very special event that you do one

[3:11] time a year that I actually participated a

few times. Can you talk a little bit about

[3:15] that? Yeah we call it Petal it Forward and it

is an event where florists all over the nation

[3:21] um in all 50 states and actually internationally

hit their main street and petal it forward with

[3:27] free bouquets of flowers. We give two away One for

you to keep and one for you to Petal it Forward

[3:33] and brighten someone's day. We've doing it here in

Wayzata for nine years and this last year we gave

[3:39] away 2,000 bouquets to the community. So it just

helps spread the word about the fact that flowers

[3:45] and plants make people's days a little brighter

and um it is one of my absolute favorite days of

[3:51] the year. Well me too I've participated in them

more than a couple times and they're sometimes

[3:56] people are like "What are you doing?" But then

when they realize you're actually just giving

[3:58] them a bouquet of flowers who doesn't want that to

brighten their day. Exactly. Studies show that uh

[4:04] more people get more joy out of giving flowers

than receiving flowers. Oh really Interesting.

[4:09] Well you can count me in on one of those as well

I love it what a great thing to be doing for our

[4:13] community. Anything else you'd like to share about

being a resident a business owner here in Wayzata?

[4:18] Yeah so um I just want to plug the store a little

bit because we are here for all all occasions and

[4:25] we have a delivery pool of 20 drivers that work on

behalf of 60 flower shops in the Twin Cities. So

[4:31] we're able to coordinate deliveries for birthdays

anniversaries funerals new homes new babies all

[4:37] over the entire metro area. Yeah so when you build

your relationship with your florist um we can help

[4:43] you for all occasions and we can also help you

know throughout town and nationwide. Amazing

[4:48] which is really cool. Great well thanks for coming

on the show today. Yeah thanks for having me. I'm

[4:53] here today with uh Barbaro Brost Wayzata resident

owns a business here I know her as Dr Brost she's

[5:00] been putting me back together like Humpty Dumpty

for years uh at the chiropractic clinic But

[5:04] uh welcome to About town today and thanks for

coming on the show Uh first tell me a little bit

[5:08] about your business so our clinic was opened 1986.

So a long long time ago. So I am originally from

[5:17] Sweden and practiced six years in Sweden before

we moved to Wayzata and set up the practice at

[5:23] the building where we are now in a much smaller

space and then over the years we've grown and and

[5:30] uh currently we're one of the largest chiropractic

and natural healthcare clinics in the Midwest

[5:35] Wayzata has been a fabulous community to work

in because I think on the average people here

[5:41] are much more health consscious than in a lot of

places So um yeah it's it's been it's been a great

[5:48] great community for us to Yeah And you're in a

sort of a unique club here where you're a resident

[5:54] a business owner and also a chamber member Can

you tell me a little bit what it's like to own

[5:58] and operate a business in the community that you

live Yeah it's great I have a three minute commute

[6:05] That's good Which is awesome And yeah Wayzata

is just an unbelievably fabulous city to work

[6:11] and live in I mean it doesn't get much better

than Wayzata especially in the summertime with

[6:16] with the lake and Yeah exactly And speaking about

family so my daughter and my son-in-law who are

[6:25] both chiropractors are currently um taking over

ownership of the clinic which is really cool So

[6:31] so we'll go into the next generation and then we

have just have to make sure one of the grandkids

[6:36] end up there eventually Oh that's awesome Yes it's

fun Um what what do you like most about being a

[6:41] chiropractor and and owning a chiropractic or a

wellnessoriented business Uhhuh most people that

[6:47] come into a chiropractic clinic come in with some

sort of pain right Like back pain or neck pain or

[6:52] headaches or whatever But then we gradually I mean

we help them with that and then we gradually teach

[6:58] them um natural ways of taking better care of

their health like um you know eating better and

[7:07] exercising and getting your sleep and all such

good stuff Wellness is great You know health is

[7:14] wealth right Yeah Exactly It's the most important

wealth And and you know it's kind of interesting

[7:18] because I've seen working in this community So

many examples of people that had worked really

[7:23] hard and accumulated plenty of money and and then

they didn't take care of their health And how fun

[7:29] is that when you get to retirement and you can't

enjoy it right So you got to you got to just as

[7:35] you plan for your your financial um security when

you when you get older you have to plan for your

[7:42] your physical security too and mobility so you can

do all the fun things you want to do Well I know

[7:48] you're also a longtime member of the chamber been

been part of leadership on the chamber over the

[7:53] years Talk a little bit about what that's like and

what our chamber does for for businesses and for

[7:58] our community So we've been members now for many

many years and and been really um a lot part of of

[8:04] of the community part of the events you know James

J Hill days and the art fair and so on and and um

[8:12] it's the chamber is great I mean this is a great

chamber I was on board the chamber board for about

[8:17] six years and and um it it's just a very very

well functioning chamber you know they actually

[8:25] get stuff done and um very supportive of everybody

that works in Wayzata. And you you've been a women

[8:34] owned business since 1986 Yes That's I'm sure been

an interesting journey over the years You have any

[8:40] um you know comments about what that's been like

for you Well it's not been any issue in any way

[8:48] It's like Yeah I think and now what's funny is

is that my daughter is taking over Yeah You have

[8:55] a second generation female leader Yes Exactly

That's amazing Well good Yeah Well thank you for

[9:00] all that you do in our community and do you want

to talk a little bit more about your business You

[9:05] know where you are when you're open things like

that So we're um right up on um Wayzata Boulevard

[9:11] right the first building off the freeway or off

Highway 12 when you come off this is super easy

[9:18] for people to find and um you know we have a lot

of patients that live obviously in the community

[9:24] and the surrounding areas but we also have

patients that drive for an hour to get to us Wow

[9:30] I just had a patient this morning that was that is

lives in Wisconsin Oh my goodness So um you know

[9:36] some people drive quite far to get to us and it's

and you know it's easy to get to from wherever you

[9:42] come from So so that's that's a good thing Um our

our clinic you know we have six chiropractors on

[9:49] staff a couple of massage therapists and a really

good support staff and and we do chiropractic care

[9:57] um acupuncture disc decompression therapy In

fact we were the first clinic in in Minnesota

[10:03] to do non-surgical de disc decompression therapy

So we can help about 85% of people with disc

[10:10] herniations without surgery which is fabulous

We we also have really good cooperation with

[10:16] um some of the um local surgical places too In

fact we they come over and and find out what we

[10:24] do and we you know we know what they do and so so

we can't do it all so they send people to us and

[10:30] we send people to them and it's great cooperation

And of course if people you know we have X-ray on

[10:36] site but if somebody needs an MRI or a CT scan or

something we we can get them in the next day most

[10:42] of the time So we have really good cooperation

with with the medical community here too Great Uh

[10:49] thanks for being such a great community member and

and a good doc too Well thank you Hey I'm pleased

[10:53] to welcome to the show today Becky Pierson the

president of the Wayzata West Metro Chamber and

[10:59] uh longtime uh community member and been the head

of the chamber for some time It's so great to

[11:04] have you Thank you Can you tell us a little bit

about what the chamber's up to these days Maybe

[11:07] for those who don't know about it maybe start with

a little background and then talk about you know

[11:11] kind of your areas of focus and what you're

focused on right now Yeah absolutely That's a

[11:15] that's a lot So if I if I don't hit all those come

back and ask me again But um but yeah I think it

[11:20] is sometimes hard for people to understand what

the chamber does what we do Um I think sometimes

[11:25] there's confusion between the chamber and the

city too So um anyway I would say between the

[11:30] two we partner together Um but we are separate

organizations Um but the chamber we've been in

[11:35] Wayzata actually for almost 80 years Um so we have

been doing this um in town for a long time So it's

[11:42] really been a a great love for the chamber Um

so back back when a number of businesses leaders

[11:47] got together and thought we would really like an

opportunity to work together and figure out how

[11:51] we can do some things um make connections that

type of thing So we've been doing that um since

[11:56] then So I mean our mission and values are really

to um make sure that business and community thrive

[12:03] together I mean it's an important balance that is

is um something that we all work at every day and

[12:09] particularly in a community like Wayzata where we

do so much um as a community It's important. So um

[12:15] so we uh enjoy what we're doing We really focus in

on connecting promoting and supporting our members

[12:21] um and do the best we can to do that and allow

them to do those same things with each other So

[12:27] we're um about 400 plus members Um so it's a good

size organization and that just um provides an

[12:34] opportunity for even more people We've got members

that are inside um in Wayzata We've 50% of our

[12:39] members probably are within Wayzata and then the

others are outside So it's a it's a great wide net

[12:45] of people that people can um work with and meet up

A lot of people know the events that chamber puts

[12:51] on the Chili Open the art experience right Things

like that But there's so much more that you do Can

[12:56] you talk a little bit about some of the other of

programming that you do and networking and some

[13:01] of the great ways uh that you're engaging uh the

business community Yeah absolutely And I'm glad

[13:06] you asked that because festivals are sometimes the

thing that people see often because of the size Um

[13:11] and we've been doing those for probably 50 plus

years too So um but we I mean per chambers have

[13:18] different personalities and different focuses

Ours has a really great balance of festivals

[13:22] and membership activities So we do a lot of member

programming for our members Um what we try to do

[13:28] again just provide opportunities We're really

a platform for people to connect Um and we try

[13:34] to make it with a lot of variety So we try to do

different days different times of days different

[13:38] seasons Um and then we try to have varying

sizes you know whether it's one-on-one scheduled

[13:45] connection that we orchestrate on a monthly basis

up to people being able to connect with thousands

[13:50] on Lake Street during festivals So um we've

got a real range of those um type of networking

[13:55] opportunities that has really helped people grow

and um along with the festivals kind of a an added

[14:01] bonus in terms of connections is the volunteering

People really do um love to volunteer It's just a

[14:07] great way to connect with people in in a different

format You know it's not when they're business to

[14:12] business and that type of thing or it's a way for

um members that have their customers coming to

[14:18] festivals to be able to just engage in different

ways So um so providing that network networking

[14:23] and volunteering are are great opportunities that

we can do with our program programming It's not

[14:28] lost on me today that uh all three of my guests

are female leaders I noticed that you launched a

[14:34] new networking series you know targeting women

business leaders and also I think you've uh

[14:40] started a sort of a business council Can you tell

me about those two initiatives Yeah absolutely

[14:45] Last year we started um it's called the Women

Empower Network and most of the programming that

[14:51] we do um we try to really listen to what members

needs are what their goals are and if they've got

[14:57] ideas on what they would like to see and we had

just a great group of female members that were

[15:02] getting together in different ways and talking

more and more about an interest to formalize

[15:07] that and really set up a schedule for that group

to get together So we launched that So now we've

[15:12] got four of those events every year We're that

was last year was our first year and we're going

[15:16] to continue that again It was so successful and

um and last year we also started um a Minnetonka

[15:23] business council We've got um members that are

as I said in these neighboring communities and

[15:27] Minnetonka was really interested as a city

to have additional connections with their

[15:31] businesses So we launched this in conjunction

with them and I'm really happy and excited to

[15:36] say that we're launching that in Wayzata this year

Great Um in the past Wayzata we have we've done

[15:42] um opportunities and had mixers with businesses

and had the city doing updates and that kind of

[15:47] a thing but I think it's probably leaned a little

bit more into social and um what we found with

[15:53] the Minnotonka Business Council there a little

bit more structured So it's really all about the

[15:58] programming Whatever the topics of interest are

for businesses the city officials come in and

[16:02] um it's an opportunity for the businesses to hear

about it and then do a lot of Q&A So that's what

[16:07] we'll be doing in Wayzata So we're excited about

that Um and um and that's coming up on March 20th

[16:12] is the first one We're going to be over at Red

Cow and um so that will really be just hearing

[16:18] from the business from the city and um and asking

some questions So we're looking forward to that

[16:23] as well Tell me a little bit more about um how to

become a member of the chamber I've been a member

[16:27] since the early 90s and when I first started

I didn't own a business in town I do now but

[16:32] I joined as a community member So you don't

necessarily have to be a business member to

[16:35] be a member of the chamber Absolutely Tell us a

little bit about that and how does one become a

[16:38] member of the chamber Well I mean business members

certainly um you can if you are a lot of time it's

[16:44] word of mouth or people will Google that kind

of a thing So um if anybody's ever interested

[16:49] they can walk in the depot door they can give us

a call um go on to our website we'd be happy to

[16:54] connect with them send information you can see

it on our website Um so you guys have a physical

[16:58] presence in town Where are you located Oh sorry

um yes we are in the Wayzata Depot So we share

[17:03] the depot with the Wayzata or the Lake Minnetonka

Historical Society So that is we field a lot of

[17:09] questions when visitors come into town and send

them off to the florist that they're looking for

[17:13] or if they're looking to get a little check with

their back all those things So um so we do a lot

[17:18] of promoting right from our office but um but yeah

so businesses we've got businesses from anywhere

[17:23] from you know small sole proprietor up to larger

businesses I would say that our niche with um most

[17:29] of our businesses are small businesses So probably

sole proprietor two to five employees is is um the

[17:35] large percentage of ours But we do have community

members So large I think um I mean it's people

[17:40] that are either moving new into town and they

want to be able to get some regular communication

[17:45] or figure out how to engage Maybe they want to

volunteer So they will become a community member

[17:50] Um oftentimes we see kind of a transition as

people are a chamber member as a business and

[17:56] then they retire or they're traveling more and

so they just feel like they still want to have

[18:02] again that engagement They've they've built those

connections and so they will just transition to a

[18:07] a community member So we've got a lot of those

I mean but yeah it's it's great and they they

[18:12] still come around and um I think one of the one of

the things we hear most from our members is that

[18:17] um it isn't just about networking and kind of

transactional and quick get a business card

[18:22] and make a connection and move on to the next I

mean people really value the the relationships

[18:27] that they build Um which I I feel the same way

I mean I love building these relationships with

[18:32] the community I grew up in the community so it's

been my community for a long time Um but um but

[18:37] I think it's those kind of relationship that

people just don't want to walk away from They

[18:41] they really enjoy being part of it You know uh

some of us may note that you guys maybe had a new

[18:46] identity or change a big sort of rebranding that

happened this year Can you talk us a little bit

[18:50] about the change of the name and kind of what's

behind it and and and how you guys reached that

[18:56] conclusion that that was something that you wanted

to do at this time Yeah great question Um we have

[19:01] just at the end of the year we did go through a

a brand refresh Um we had been for years we've

[19:07] been the Greater Wayzata Area Chamber of Commerce

for like 50 years 50 of our 80 we have been that

[19:12] So I feel like yes it is a big change It's a name

change to Wayzata West Metro Chamber but it isn't

[19:18] necessarily a big change in reality because we

have had businesses members that are part of

[19:23] Wayzata and outside in our surrounding communities

So the the area that we serve is no different What

[19:29] we have just found is with some other changes in

the industry um there were some other businesses

[19:34] and and communities that just didn't necessarily

think of Weisetta or the greater Wisetta area

[19:39] chamber of commerce as their chamber right Um and

because so many have been successfully connecting

[19:46] with businesses in and out of Wayzata it just

made sense for us to try to come up with a way to

[19:50] help people understand that we are the rather than

Wisetta Greater Wayzata Area Chamber we're now the

[19:55] Wayzata West Metro So excellent Well that is still

where we were founded Um it's a it's a strong base

[20:01] for us It's where we have festivals Um so it it's

been a good change and we didn't we didn't get a

[20:06] lot of questions push back So I think sometimes

that means it's a it's a good thing Absolutely Um

[20:12] I would say the larger change that we made was

we changed our system So we have a much better

[20:16] um system for um the our member experience which

what which we're chicled about So that's great

[20:21] Yeah that's been good Um you know one of the

things that a lot of residents don't know and

[20:25] and some businesses don't know that the commercial

district here in Wayzata the commercial buildings

[20:30] and all their tenants and the business community

represent us about 30% of all of our tax base here

[20:36] in town in terms said differently they pay 30%

of every bill right Um it's so great to have the

[20:41] chamber be a partner of the city and and be able

to support that part of our stakeholders and I'm

[20:46] just thrilled um that we have so many Wayzata

businesses that are actually live in town and

[20:50] own a business in town I being one of them and

the two other guests today But can you talk a

[20:55] little bit about um your partnership with the city

and and how important that business community is

[21:00] to the tax base here and and to having a vibrant

successful Wayzata Yeah we well I mean the term

[21:06] the um that we we um punch above our weight

is something that I think we have all used

[21:11] in different ways and I think we all do that But

um the the fact many people when they hear that

[21:16] that we've got a chamber of our size or that there

are 4,500 residents in Wayzata they're just amazed

[21:22] because we we grow with the fabulous business and

commercial district that we have So um it is it

[21:29] is important when I started this conversation

saying that balance is important That's exactly

[21:33] why because without a thriving business community

the residents wouldn't have the experience that

[21:38] they have and our business community is here to

serve residents and more I mean obviously these

[21:45] kind of businesses that we have um can't just live

on for without them They they pay a significant

[21:51] amount of our taxes too which is helpful So

residents don't have to carry all that right

[21:56] So they help bring the the fees down the taxes

down for residents So it's a it's an important

[22:01] mix and and so our partnership with the city is

very important Um I would say communications and

[22:06] just being in the room or being in the rooms is

really important as a chamber with the city so we

[22:11] can hear conversations We can try to communicate

accurate information We can try to just keep

[22:17] things accurate because you know when things are

happening um you there's just a lot of a lot of

[22:22] chatter and you know we try to keep things on the

straight and narrow So particularly when there

[22:25] are impactful things going on bush away pan away

redevelopment all those things Um it's important

[22:33] for everybody to be together and and I appreciate

being on um um committees with the city the was

[22:40] that a crime prevention or the panway district

committee where it's a mixture of business and

[22:44] residents to hear each other's perspective and

and try to do the best thing moving forward So

[22:50] you guys have a great tagline Do you mind sharing

what that is is I think it just represents a lot

[22:54] about Wayzata Oh it does And and just how we feel

serving our our member and communities but it's

[23:00] big enough to make a difference and small enough

to care I love it Yeah it's great Thank you for

[23:04] being on Yeah Well I love being around town so

it's good to see you Great to have you Yeah Yeah

[23:10] And that's a wrap for our first show Remember

to support local and strengthen Wayzata [Music]