For 10 years, Ocoee resident Michelle Finley owned and operated Kids Virtual Yoga LLC, a platform she used to extend the benefits of yoga to children. It was a way for her to use a passion to make the world a better place.<\/p>\n
Now, she is using that same desire to connect with her community as franchise owner of WOW Windowboxes Orlando West.<\/p>\n
Finley and her family had been searching since 2018 for the perfect business opportunity. They found it in WOW Windowboxes and launched the business in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very particular,\u201d Finley said of her search for a franchise. \u201cMy values are very important to me, and I really cared about what the widget was. It was important to me that we would have a business that AI couldn\u2019t replace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moreover, Finley said she found a connection between WOW Windowboxes and her health-focused background.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that yoga has taught me is that one small, intentional change, done consistently, can have profound effects on life, on how you feel, your environment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
WOW Windowboxes began in 2007 in Cincinnati. The business builds and maintains custom windowboxes and planters for homes and businesses.<\/p>\n
Finley and her team customize each windowbox specifically to a client\u2019s specifications. They build and paint each box by hand, and then plant four times a year using plants from local growers. Each installation includes irrigation, too, making the boxes completely maintenance-free for the customer. They\u2019re also installed directly into the concrete or cement block using Tapcon screws, ensuring they will stay in place even during a hurricane.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call it a green-glove service, where you really just get to have this little piece of happiness,\u201d Finley said. \u201cYou come home after a hard day of work, and you pull up to your house, and you have beautiful flowers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd for businesses, there is nothing more welcoming than when you have beautiful flowers out front,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople\u2019s eyes are attracted to beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to yoga, Finley and her family also share a passion for gardening, which comes in handy with their new business. Originally from Wisconsin, the Finleys moved to Florida 13 years ago and, ultimately, to West Orange in 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a 1-acre food forest, which doesn\u2019t look pretty right now,\u201d she says. \u201cBut most of our stuff will come back. My husband and I, on the weekend, we\u2019re out in our area. We\u2019re planting flowers. We\u2019re planting fruit trees. (It\u2019s) just what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a shop based in Apopka, WOW Windowboxes Orlando West can serve clients throughout Central Florida \u2014 as far east as the Space Coast and down south to Kissimmee. And even though the product \u2014 a beautifying windowbox \u2014 is a luxury item, Finley said it can have a larger effect on a customer\u2019s quality of life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a way of giving joy, seeing beauty every day,\u201d she said. \u201cThose moments to just pause and see a butterfly land on a flower. To me, as a yoga teacher \u2026 those are just the little moments that just make life beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
For busy families in West Orange, WOW Windowboxes is a great way to add character to their homes without spending every weekend maintaining the yard.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of homes around here, they\u2019re all beautiful, but they kind of all look the same,\u201d Finley said. \u201cSo it\u2019s a really great way to make your house look a little bit different. It\u2019s living art. It\u2019s just adding art to your home.\u201d<\/p>\n
And for those living in homeowners association-governed communities, windowboxes typically are considered a fixture. Finley said she has not had any HOA issues so far.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Finley and her team want to leave each client wowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur motto is, \u2018We always leave it better than we found it,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cSo we\u2019re going to blow off the front porch. We\u2019re going to clean the window that we\u2019re putting the windowbox on. We\u2019re going to make sure everything looks really, really beautiful.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it really is our goal of every customer that when they walk out or when they see it for the first time, they say, \u2018Wow,\u2019\u201d Finley said. \u201cAnd we don\u2019t leave a property until it\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
MOTHER\u2019S DAY<\/p>\n
Instead of getting her flowers that will wither and die, why not consider a windowbox for your next Mother\u2019s Day gift?<\/p>\n
And if you get your estimate done before April, WOW Windowboxes Orlando West is guaranteeing installation before Mother\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n