How Compeer Home Helped One Local Business Bloom
Flowers aren’t like many other crops — they don’t have nutritional or material value. Instead, their primary purpose is simply to put a smile on someone’s face. And Molly Fritz wouldn’t have it any other way.
Fritz’s business, Little Roots Flower Farm, may have started as a creative outlet for her family at their home just outside Mankato, Minnesota. But today, with the help of Compeer Home, Little Roots Flower Farm has grown into a thriving business meant to brighten the day of everyone who pays a visit.
A vibrant part of the local rural economy, it’s the kind of business Compeer Home invests in every day.
Finding the Right Lender
Fritz began Little Roots Flower Farm in 2021, and as the business began to grow, it was clear she needed more space.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect when a neighboring property went up for sale. Fritz just needed a lender. Thankfully, a friend referred Fritz to Compeer Home, which specializes in rural lending.
And through Compeer Home, Fritz met her lending officer, Lindsey Anderson.
The sale was a smooth process for the Compeer Home team, Anderson said. While other lenders might shy away from a property like the one Fritz had her sights set on, Compeer Home can lend on a range of recreational properties — even if they are income-producing.
“A lot of lenders don't have options when land is income-producing. With this kind of property, other lenders might have to step away from it,” Anderson said.
Compeer Home also handled the appraisal of the land with its in-house team of appraisers. The local team, well-versed in properties like the Fritz’s, ensured a fast, accurate process.
“Because we can control the appraisal, the process is a lot easier. Our in-house appraisers are really experts in the land. It’s what they're doing all day, every day,” Anderson said.
A Space for Community
Today, Little Roots Flower Farm offers more than 30 varieties of flowers perfect to bring color to any occasion — Valentines Day, birthdays, anniversaries or simply just because.
By building relationships with the community she serves, Fritz has made Little Roots Flower Farm into a place where others can discover the joy she and her family have found in flowers.
Little Roots Flower Farm invites community members onto the farm for “U-Pick” events to pick out their own flowers. And, with the help of partnerships with other local businesses, the farm offers a variety of classes where participants can learn the art of bouquet design for themselves.
Seeing Little Roots Flower Farm grow and bring people together makes Anderson proud to have served the farm and other businesses like it, she said.
“It makes me proud of where I work, and it makes me proud to have the products and services to help these people do things to not only help their own businesses, but also help our community,” Anderson said.
Of course, running a business comes with its challenges, Fritz said. But it’s the people that make it all worth it at the end of the day.
“Owning a business has its ups and downs,” Fritz said. “Sometimes you’re challenged and things don’t work out. Then you meet someone who is just amazed by the farm or hear a customer’s story. It makes you step back and realize how far you’ve come and what you’ve built.”
