My Small Business & Me

#012 - Floral designer and writer Shane Connolly shares his small business journey, setting up his company Shane Connolly & Co, arranging flowers for royal weddings, recently guest curating a Constance Spry exhibition, together with his thoughts on sustainability.

Shane first started his floristry journey back in the 1980s working at an event floristry business. He then went on to work for Pulbrook & Gould, before leaving to set up his own small business. He arranged flowers for photoshoots for magazine publishers in London. And at one of the photoshoots with Country Living magazine he met David Austin.  Shane's first book came about following a conversation with David. 

Working with a caterer led Shane to creating the wedding flowers for the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. A few years later, he was invited to create the floral designs for the wedding of the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey. He discusses his thought process behind the trees lining the aisle and the story behind the Duchess of Cambridge's bridal bouquet.

Shane then discusses his work as a guest curator for the upcoming Constance Spry exhibition at the Garden Museum in London. He shares what you can expect to see, hear and experience when you visit the exhibition including photographs, letters, containers, furniture, paintings and tapestries. 

Towards the end of the interview, he explains his thoughts on sustainability, seasonal and British flowers

Listening to this episode, you'll hear how passionate Shane is about the floristry industry. Plus you'll discover some of his fondest memories during his time working as a floral designer. At the end of the podcast, you'll discover his practical tips, which I'm sure you'll be inspired by too!

Show notes and more are available on the My Small Business & Me website: https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode12

#011 - Small business owner Rachel Bull shares her journey from working in publishing to changing career and setting up her floristry business, House of Dandelions, from home. 

After studying a degree in languages, Rachel began working at Country Living magazine in London, where a big focus of the magazine was featuring kitchen table businesses. She later moved to business journalism and then on to Events magazine, where she became interested in floristry after seeing the incredible floral designs at a showcase event at the Natural History Museum.

As part of her role at the magazine, she interviewed florists and started to consider whether floristry might be her next career. So much so that she started to attend some floristry courses. And when she became pregnant with her first child, she felt it might be the right time to start her own small business.  

She then did a Business of Flowers course at the Judith Blacklock Flower School, where she was approached to consider applying for an Editor vacancy at The Flower Arranger magazine. She got the job and worked for the magazine for 2 years, continuing to build her floristry knowledge. 

After having her second child, she realised that she wanted to be doing what she was writing about. So, she had a garden shed built in the garden, set up her business website and House of Dandelions was born. Rachel shares the impact of the pandemic on her business and how she adapted and created a new floral product offering of dried flower kits and designs. 

She shares how she juggles running a small business from home with two small children, and how she prioritises self-care. Having completed my Instagram for Florists online course, she has transformed her Instagram account, increased her follower number and gained confidence. 

Listening to this episode, you'll hear how passionate Rachel is about balancing her entrepreneurial drive together with the needs of her family and friends, but also taking care of herself.  At the end of the podcast, you'll discover her practical tips, which I'm sure you'll be inspired by too!

Show notes and more are available on the My Small Business & Me website: https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode11

Instagram for Florists Online Course : 
Registration available until Friday, 7th May 
https://learn.flowerona.com/instagram-for-florists

#010 - Small business owner Jessica Naish shares her journey from setting up her floristry business to then becoming a flower grower and founding Lolly & The Hare. 

Having always loved gardening with her family, Jess's brother's engagement to his girlfriend prompted her to offer to create the wedding flowers for their big day. So she signed up for a City & Guilds floristry course at a local college. 

In 2008, an opportunity to re-open an old flower shop in her local town and she leapt at the chance. Meeting her husband Adam and expecting their first baby led to her closing the shop and create wedding flower design from her kitchen table. 

After having their second child, in 2013 the family moved to a house with a garden studio, enabling Jess to take on more weddings. And then in 2015, she moved to a bigger studio, not only offering wedding flower designs, but also Valentine's and Mother's Day arrangements. 

In the meantime, having met Vic Vaught whilst freelancing, they set up the Girl Flower Podcast and Jess's passion for growing flowers was reignited when she interviewed flower growers for the show. So, when the pandemic struck and she was no longer able to work on weddings, she set up her flower growing business at a local farm. 

Jess shares how she set up her new business, the thought process behind her company name, her marketing and taking part in my Instagram for Florists online course earlier this year. She also talks about all the different varieties of flowers and foliage that she's planted, everything she would like to use to create wedding flower designs. 

Listening to this episode, you can't fail to pick up on Jess's excitement about her new flower growing venture. The pandemic has given her the opportunity to pivot and a business which she's hugely passionate about. And I'm so pleased for her. At the end of the podcast, you'll discover her practical tips, which I'm sure you'll be inspired by too!

Show notes and more are available on the My Small Business & Me website: https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode10

Instagram for Florists Online Course : 
Registration available until Friday, 7th May 
https://learn.flowerona.com/instagram-for-florists

#009 - Small business owner Emma Soulsby shares her journey from working in finance in the corporate world to becoming a wedding florist. She also recounts her pivot due to the 2020 pandemic, when she founded a fruit and vegetable delivery company with her partner Leigh. 

Emma's initial finance background saw her at positions at All Saints and then The Metro in London. However, her 30th birthday was the trigger for her re-thinking her working life. She decided to offer her services to a local florist on a voluntary basis to help out on a Saturday. 

Setting up a Ladybird Flowers Facebook page and Instagram account led to her getting enquiries to create wedding flowers. She decided to ask to go part-time in her corporate role to enable her to work on her floristry business. Then, once the business had grown, she took the brave leap of leaving her finance job to concentrate fully on Ladybird. 

She later rebranded as Emma Soulsby Flowers and focused predominantly on weddings, plus occasional events, employing freelance staff when required. All was going swimmingly well. In 2019, she won a prestigious wedding award. And then the pandemic happened. 

Seeing a gap in the market, Emma and he partner decided to set up a fresh fruit and vegetable delivery business. Called Magnificent Marrow, they originally began delivering in London.  Now they not only have a bricks and mortar shop, but also deliver nationwide. 

Listening to this episode, you're sure to be blown away by Emma's incredible 'get up & go' attitude, her incredible work ethic and her unrelenting determination to own and run not one but two profitable businesses. At the end of the podcast, you'll discover her practical tips, which I'm sure you'll be inspired by too!

Show notes and more are available on the My Small Business & Me website : https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode9

#008 - Photographer Vicki Knights shares valuable personal branding photography tips. 

At the beginning of the interview, Vicki shares her career change story. In her 20s, she worked in the advertising and marketing industry in London. She always thought that one day she would like to run her own business. And she'd always loved photographing people. But she didn't think she would be able to make a business out of it. 

After having her first child, she decided to bite the bullet, left her job in the City and started photographing families, not in a photography studio but in her clients' homes and outside. She later began to take headshots for business owners, who needed a profile photo for the About page on their website. 

Then, because of an increase in demand due in part to the growth in the popularity of Instagram as a social media marketing tool, she set up the personal branding photography side of her business. 

Listening to this episode, you'll gain so much advice on the benefits of personal branding photography, what to expect from a personal branding shoot, the importance of creating a mood board in advance, considering the stories which you'd like to portray with your photos, how to relax in front of the camera and much, much more. 

I'm sure you'll love Vicki's enthusiasm for this growing genre of photography. And I hope all her advice inspires you to consider booking a personal branding shoot to promote your small business and elevate your brand. At the end of the podcast, you'll discover her practical tips, which I'm sure you'll find very useful too!

Show notes and more are available on the My Small Business & Me website : https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode8

#007 - Florist Rachel Husband from The Rose Shed shares helpful advice on how to show up online to promote your small business. 

At the start of the interview, you'll hear how she started her flower journey at the age of 13 as a Saturday girl in her local florist shop. You'll discover how, after working for several florists, Rachel decided to set up her own floristry business, specialising in wedding flowers. 

She shares her experiences during the pandemic. And how she dealt with the challenges of having her main income reduced due to the postponement of weddings. You'll find out how she pivoted and introduced new revenue streams into her business. 

You'll also learn how she has totally embraced online platforms to promote The Rose Shed. By regularly showing up on Instagram, speaking direct to camera and also from behind the camera, Rachel has built a wonderfully supportive client base. She also consistently writes blog posts to boost her website SEO on Google.

I'm sure you'll really enjoy hearing Rachel's story and be bowled over by her enthusiasm for the floristry industry. At the end of the podcast, you'll discover her practical tips, which I'm sure you'll find very useful!

Show notes and more are available on the My Small Business & Me website: https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode7

#006 - Florist and (new!) Flower Farmer Florence Kennedy of Petalon shares her small business journey, with masses of helpful advice in this week's episode. 

You'll discover the various roles she had before starting her flower delivery business, and the resulting impact and important part they've played in assisting her in setting up and running her company. 

Florence recounts the different stages of Petalon's growth, starting on her own with one bicycle and very early starts at the flower market in London. She explains the reasons behind her concept of offering two weekly bouquet designs. Plus her decision-making process behind her selection of the floral ingredients. 

Instagram and how she uses it to promote her business and show the character behind her brand is also a topic of conversation. Plus she reveals the reasons behind her and the business's move from London to Cornwall, together with details about her new sub-brand Field Flowers. 

It's such an inspiration episode! And I very much appreciate Florence's honesty and transparency about the ups and downs she's experienced in running her small business. At the end of the podcast, you'll discover Florence's practical tips, which I'm sure you'll find incredibly useful!

Show notes and more are available on the My Small Business & Me website: https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode6

#005 - Freelance Content Creator Duncan McCabe shares so many valuable hints and tips on how to creating compelling content for your floristry business in this week's episode.

He starts with telling us his personal floral journey, which began in Birmingham, followed by Manchester and then on to London. In the capital city, he worked initially for Jane Packer as a florist and later as a teacher in Jane's Flower School.

His next move was to McQueens as a floristry tutor, before becoming their dedicated Social Media Manager. There he grew their social media following to hundreds and thousands, not just on Instagram but also on YouTube. 

Duncan is passionate about ‘Stories taking precedence over Sales’ and shares an incredible amount of advice about content creation, together with his 3 practical tips.

Show notes and more are available on the My Small Business & Me website: https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode5

#004 - Complementary Health Therapist Helen Jarvis shares her wealth of holistic health advice. 

After explaining her career journey, where she changed career to train in complementary therapy, we discuss the many benefits of meditation and how to get started. 

We then touch on mindfulness, before moving on to how to use aromatherapy oils to help your well-being. And then we discuss the benefits of reflexology. 

Helen also discusses the impact of the pandemic on her small business, before sharing her 3 practical complementary therapy tips. 

Show notes coming and more can be found on the My Small Business & Me website: https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode4

#003 - If you're thinking of starting a small business or writing a book, then I'm sure you'll really enjoy my interview with Claire Bowen from Honeysuckle & Hilda. 

Claire is a florist, a teacher and a writer. But she's also now the author of a beautiful new book, The Healing Power of Flowers. And we'll be talking about it, plus her small business journey, in this podcast.

Show notes and more can be found on the My Small Business & Me website:
https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode3