Keila Garcia
Keila Garcia is a dedicated business owner, floral designer, and operations leader who has spent nearly two decades building a reputation for creativity, customer service, and excellence in the floral industry. As co-owner and manager of Blue Iris Florist in Houston, Texas, she oversees every aspect of the family-run business, from customer relations and inventory management to floral design and delivery logistics. Growing up surrounded by flowers in her family’s shop, Keila developed both a passion for design and a deep understanding of what it takes to successfully operate a small business. Today, she combines artistic vision with operational expertise to create memorable floral experiences for weddings, corporate events, celebrations, and meaningful life moments.
Before fully stepping into leadership at Blue Iris Florist, Keila built valuable professional experience in project management and the oil and gas industry, working for more than a decade with Cor-Pro Systems. Her background in project coordination and operations strengthened her organizational and leadership skills, which she now applies daily while managing the fast-paced demands of the floral business. Known as a hands-on leader, she handles everything from customer calls and supplier ordering to creating custom arrangements and training staff, ensuring every client receives exceptional service and beautifully crafted designs. Her floral work has been featured at high-profile events and for notable clients, including arrangements for the Houston Rockets, Houston Astros, and the funeral service of Barbara Bush.
Keila’s philosophy centers on hard work, integrity, and treating every customer interaction with care and professionalism. Under her leadership, Blue Iris Florist was nominated “Best in Houston” for 2025, a recognition driven by outstanding customer reviews and community support. She is passionate about mentoring employees and creating opportunities for others to develop transferable skills that extend beyond the floral industry. Whether designing elegant event florals, managing day-to-day operations, or helping customers celebrate life’s important milestones, Keila remains committed to creating beauty, building relationships, and continuing the legacy of her family’s business with heart and dedication.
• World Design Classes
• Project Management Classes
• Lone Star College
• Nominated Best in Houston 2025 by Westin Houston
What do you attribute your success to?
I grew up around florals, as this is a family-owned business. I've been immersed in this world my entire life, learning from my mom and gaining hands-on experience from a very young age. Most of all, I really just learned in the field - there's no substitute for that kind of practical, day-to-day experience. When my mom started retiring, I was ready to take over because I had spent my whole life preparing for it, even if I didn't always know that's where I'd end up. Working in the oil field for a while gave me different perspectives, but ultimately coming back to the family business and co-owning the shop with my mom has been the foundation of everything I've achieved.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is that, especially with owning your own business, you are going to have your good days and your bad days. As long as you work hard and remember your goal in mind is just to keep going, then you'll get through the bad days and you can celebrate the good days. It's about persistence and not losing sight of what you're working toward, even when things get tough.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It is a lot of hard work as far as labor-wise, but it is very rewarding. I think a lot of people don't know that - they don't realize just how rewarding it can be. You do get to be on the other side where flowers are a gesture and can be used to celebrate any occasion or provide comfort at any occasion. Beyond that, I would like to teach young women the values of hard work and integrity and customer service, and just being there for the customer, so they can take those skills anywhere they go. Even if they eventually outgrow the floral industry or want to venture out onto their own career path, these are skills and values that will serve them well in any field.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges right now have been figuring out your profit margin in regards to all of the additional tariffs that have been going on lately. It has been really hard because there is only so much that you can pass on to the customer, so it's difficult to find a way to still be profitable without cutting so much of your cost. To overcome this, I try to get to know the customer and still create something beautiful that they want, but using flowers that are grown here in the U.S. and don't have to be imported, to try to avoid a lot of those costs. I'm cautious about selecting products that I know I can get easier while still trying to bring their vision to life and exceed their expectations, all while keeping costs down. As far as opportunities go, I've had the chance to do a lot of fun events, meet new people and new businesses, and I've even created floral designs for celebrities like the Houston Rockets and Astros teams. I also had the opportunity to do florals for Barbara Bush's funeral, which was a different kind of arrangement but still a meaningful experience to create something for the family.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Professionally, as a business owner and manager, I value the opportunity to hire people and train them in a way that they can take these skills into any job setting. A lot of times, I get younger girls who have studied floral industry in high school and are super excited about coming into the field, and I know that once they outgrow this or want to venture out into another career path or onto their own path, I want to make sure I've taught them the values of hard work and integrity and customer service, and just being there for the customer, so they can take that anywhere they go. It's important to me to deliver quality work in a timely manner and ensure that the drivers have their routes and deliveries are made on time. Personally, I spend a lot of my free time with family, which is incredibly important to me since this is a family-owned business and my mom and I work together.