Special thanks to Wildcat Chronicle alumna Nancy Sanchez for her help with this article.
Imagine the sweet scent of freshly purchased flowers, the delightful aroma wafting through the air, and the visual overview of a florist skillfully arranging a beautiful bouquet. These are all common occurrences in a business owned by a teenager at WEGO: Honeymoon Bouquets.
Yatziry Fuentes, also known as Jesse, is now a senior at West Chicago Community High School. Throughout childhood, Fuentes was a dreamer, often envisioning career paths and opportunities.
This podcast episode features “Take the Next Step Instrumental”, a copyright-free song obtained from WeVideo.
“I wanted to be a teacher, a therapist, a photographer, a doctor. So, my mindset has always changed,” Jesse said.
From their desire to become a doctor to their dream of becoming a teacher, Fuentes’ journey with flowers did not begin until September of last year. Their mother owns a convenience store called Alcala in West Chicago, and Fuentes often finds themself helping in the store.
“Every Mother’s Day and every Valentine’s she buys huge amounts of flowers, and she makes flower arrangements, centerpieces, and stuff to sell to the people and she often needs a lot of help on those days since it’s flowers. And so I’ve gotten to help her and I’ve made small bouquets. But I guess I didn’t take an interest or I didn’t think about making it a job until September,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes took part in arranging and selling flowers for their mom’s customers during times when their mother needed help. It was during this time they decided to pursue flower arrangement as their job and began working in their mother’s store, and Honeymoon Bouquets was launched.
“I like being able to help her because when people pick it up they’ll obviously go pick it up at the store, and if they look around, maybe they’ll say like, ‘Oh, I want some chips for my girlfriend, and I want to get this chip,’ and so I liked that too. And she’s always helping me too, like she’ll get customers for me and she’ll drive me to go get the flowers,” Fuentes said.
From the start, their mother has played a significant role in their business, helping them get customers and supporting Jesse with their flower business. “My parents have said that they’re like really proud that I got into something that I like,” Fuentes said
Fuentes’ mother, Guadalupe Anguiano, was “excited” when the business took off.
“Estoy muy feliz de que esté haciendo todo lo posible para ayudar a que su negocio crezca,” Anguiano said. (“I’m really happy that she is doing everything she can to help her business grow,” Anguiano said.)
Fuentes has been learning how to arrange flowers and learn various other techniques with the help of TikTok and other online sources.
“I kind of did teach myself. I mean, I’d watch the videos but I wouldn’t be like, I know some people will be like okay, let me press pause and do it and then play and I didn’t do that. I just like to watch them on TikTok while I am laying in bed and then the next day I’ll try it out,” Fuentes said.
After high school, Fuentes is unsure whether they will attend college – partially because they are committed to the flower business.
“Even if I don’t continue with this business in the future. I probably wouldn’t go to college. If it’s not this, it’s bartending, but yeah, I think I’m more into work than school,” Fuentes said.
Their love for their business comes from their genuine appreciation for flowers and the people for whom the bouquets are made.
“I enjoy it and it makes me happy. Being able to make other people happy. I’ve always wanted a job like that,” Fuentes said.
Starting a business as a high school student doesn’t sound easy but with their talent, genuine love for flowers, and dedication to their customers, Funetes was able to create something that they enjoy doing now and in the future as well.
The support Fuentes has received from family and teachers is part of what drives the success of Honeymoon Bouquets.
“Intento ayudarla lo mejor que puedo, la ayudo a comprar los materiales, la ayudo a calcular los precios y trato de hacer todo lo que puedo,” Anguiano said. (I try and help her as best I can, I help her buy the materials, I help figure out the prices and just try to do as much as I can,” Anguiano said.)
Likewise, Horticulture teacher and club adviser Corrie Stieglitz saw Fuentes’ passion for bouquet artistry. She admires Fuentes’ commitment to improvement.
“I have known Jesse for more than two years already, and the first thing that I could see about them was that they are a hard worker and responsible person. You can see their work improve due to Jesse being passionate about flowers and investigating to get better after every bouquet made, and that’s something that can be seen reflected in their work,” Steiglitz said.
