Twitter has a consistent flow of tweets leading to an Instagram page about the Detroit Flower Company, with followers dropping hints to people to purchase a bouquet for them.

Detroit Flower’s Instagram followers — 6,460 people and growing — wait for the company’s founder, Ja’Nye Hampton, 21, to post images of flowers each day. If she misses a day, she says, she receives several messages from people asking why.

"It’s overwhelming," said Hampton. "Detroit is literally amazing. They only want to see you win. So many people that I’ve never met in my entire life go so hard for me.I just can’t believe it."

Hampton, 21, started the business two years ago, but she originally had dreams of becoming a fitness trainer. Now, she knows that flowers have been her calling this whole time.

Customers send messages to order colorful sunflowers and roses in various arrangements around the clock. But no flower arrangement is the same, Hampton said.

"I just love waking up and doing flowers," said Hampton. "I’ve worked jobs and I’ve managed jobs, but there’s nothing like having your own (company). I really put my all into it and I literally live to please my customers. It goes far beyond the flowers, whether it’s giving them their favorite candy, doing last-minute accommodations and adding flowers for free."

Hampton said that people want to support her because she is a young, Black entrepreneur. She has a goal to have conversations with her customer and be as personable as possible.

In the future, Hampton hopes to open a flower truck or store with a full team. But the journey to get to this moment has been full of life-changing events. A medical scare could have derailed her

Hampton started a summer job in 10th grade at a Thrifty Florist location near her home. She was hired, but in just two weeks, she had become sick with sepsis. The life-threatening condition happens when an infection is already present, but it travels through the body, damaging tissue, and potentially causing organ failure and even death.

"I just remember calling the lady who was managing the place," said Hampton. "My mom was telling her that I wouldn’t be able to come back and I would probably have to be in the hospital for two to three weeks, which I was. But she ended up letting me keep my job."

Hampton’s job gave her two weeks to recover. After she learned all of the Thrifty Florist techniques, soon, customers began looking for her to do their flower arrangements.

She eventually left her job and went to college at Ferris State University. But when she returned home to the metro Detroit, she realized she had to find a new job. So Hampton moved on to working as a fitness and yoga coach, which she is certified in.

It wasn’t until 2018 when Detroit Flower Company started. Her first customer would buy flower arrangements every week. Hampton would also receive a lot of orders on Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. But in 2020, things changed again. […]