There have been days when Julie Upchurch has stood in the middle of her Gambrills flower shop and asked, “Why am I doing this?”
Five years ago, she never would have dreamed of posing such a question. She left her stable job as a corporate recruiter for a major transportation company and bought the Little House of Flowers, determined to make it as a small-business owner.
Business started fine, as she delighted in putting together fresh bouquets of locally-grown flowers and delivering them to moms, grandparents and lucky spouses.
Then the Great Recession hit, and business withered like an unwatered daisy. It has yet to rebound.