The Floral CEO

Investing in yourself can be scary and overwhelming not knowing if what you will learn has value and if you will see a return on your investment. The question of should I take this course and spend $x or should I Youtube it and wing it.

I used to be the florist who felt I had been a florist forever so what would I really learn from something. I also was scared to invest in myself because the money wasn’t there. At this point I didn’t think I was worth investing in and I treated my business the same way. That all changed when a friend talked me into going to Flowerstock on Holly Chapple's farm. This was my first immersion into education, surrounding myself with elevated floral minds and being exposed to amazing floral educators. My mind was blown by the artistic out of the box designs of Sue McCleary, Gabriela Salazar of La Musa de las Flores, creative business like coach Julie Tobi and of course Holly Chapple. When I left that farm my mind was blown and my life was forever changed. That may sound dramatic but that trip inspired me to start my urban flower farm and take the Floret Farms workshop. It made me dig deep into defining what I truly want my business to look like in a creative business mastermind with Julie Tobi and enrolling in Sue McCleary’s virtual studio. This was just the tip of the iceberg because I started to notice the more design and business knowledge growth I had the more my average wedding increased. I then started consuming all sorts of personal development media- podcasts, books and our pal YouTube. But my investment didn’t stop there- I did design days with two local florists that I admired. I did coaching with a florist I admired that looked like she unapologetically did weddings she wanted to do and was paid accordingly to her amazing talents with grand and beautifully curated weddings filling her calendar.

After my large initial investment I continue to try to learn and soak up knowledge from anyone I feel can add value to my business or even me as a person. Every year I have invested my business has grown in revenue and shrank in the volume of weddings I did.

So the initial question is- should I invest in myself or Youtube it and I am on team invest in yourself. Part of the reason I am a coach is because I know that coaching/training can change someones life. The foundation of what education or coaching can give you is confidence. Confidence in your design work, confidence in your pricing, confidence in your proposals and during your consultations. Confidence drives a business forward in so many ways. People often take for granted how experience in making something again or working at a venue can close the couple you are meeting with.

Sometimes learning something is not only or even a financial investment it is an investment of time. Sometimes that is the biggest investment of them all as an entrepreneur.

Ways to invest in yourself without spending a dime: Podcasts- not just floral geared podcasts.

• Goaldigger podcast
• Women of Impact
• She Means Business Show
• The Mindset Mentor
• Earn Your Happy

Florist geared podcasts

• Of course -The Floral Hustle
• Botanical Brouhaha
• Flower Ed.
• The Flower Podcast
• Team Flower Podcast

Countless opportunities to invest in design courses- online and in person. If you are looking to invest in yourself in a way that is unlike most courses or in person coaching I would love to work with you one on one to elevate your business, your mindset and the overall direction in your business. I have one spot available as of this recording so please send me a DM on Instagram or reach out on my website and so we can connect and see if coaching is right for you.

Do you want your social media to be simpler? Do you feel like you are always working on creating content, pushing content out and you are on the hamster wheel of content creation?

Let me introduce you to a process called batching. Batching helps you take a focused amount of time and producing your content for the week/month or whatever time frame you choose. Because you are focused on creating in an efficient manner of focused time you will get so much done compared to broken amounts of time that literally has your brain changing focus every other second.

But really to simplify your strategy of developing content, you need a plan. One plan is to pic one main source of content- your queen content. That content is the foundation for information to be trickled out to various sources because you will take that content and then take bits and pieces for that and make multiple types of content. For example- Blog on three ways to save money on your wedding flowers. The blog has your three main points. Then you take those three points and make a video of your 2-3 minutes talking about that content- This is a post for Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok. Then you take 1 of those points that you are excited about and you make a 30-60 second video for a reel on that point- this could also be repurposed to Pinterest and Tik Tok. Then you could make a carousel post talking about your points of the week and various Pinterest graphics to drive traffic to your blog. All of this off of one piece of content.

Want even more help with your social media? Head to thefloralhustle.com/social for a free guide that walks you through a successful social media account.

Want an easy way to dive into pricing correctly head to thefloralhustle.com/pricing

In the Facebook groups I am in- pricing is the most asked questions. A florist will post a picture then ask what would you charge. While I get some projects it is hard to know where to start with pricing a unique design concept, what other florists might charge for something could be drastically different from what you should/could be charging for that piece. When you step back from that statement you might ask yourself how would our pricing be different if we have the same inspiration picture? There are several ways that pricing could be different- #1 flower wholesale price could vary by region or even wholesaler. #2 The interpretation of the flowers used could be different from one florist to another. #3 The fullness of the completed piece could be different and with more flowers likely more cost is incurred. #4 Different markup thresholds- one florist could have a 3x markup on wholesale and another have a 4x markup. A florists labor cost could also be different- 20% with one and 25% with another.

• Normal pricing rule of thumb is-
• Wholesale cost of product x mark-up (3-4x)
• Plus Hard Goods Cost x markup (often 2x)
• Add design/labor fee 20-30%.

Then on the whole wedding- Some florists charge a percentage of the total for setup/delivery/flip/tear down.

I personally do not charge a flat fee and prefer the pay per item model. Then the couple is paying for the services they use and your not getting short changed by charging a flat rate and things are piled on you that weren’t originally agreed on.
Setup/Delivery- On this cost I look at several factors. *Number of stops *Complexity of the stops *Is a delivery truck rental needed *How easy is it to load in. *Load in complexity- is it on the 15th floor of a huge building and you are loading into a tiny loading dock with a ridiculously small elevator. *Will I need a team of people to setup. *Is there a ton of work to get water if needed. *Is there a ton of onsite design work? This fee could be $250 up to several thousands of dollars or more if a luxury wedding.

Room flip/repurposing- For this charge I look at complexity of the flip, time allotted for the flip, if things are being moved how complex is moving it and do I need additional team members. This could range $150- $500 or more

Tear Down- This fee for me depends a ton on the timing. If the tear down is at 10pm, Midnight, 1am or next day I charge according to the time agreed and how long we have to have tear down complete. Timing I usually add an additional $50 for every half hour. Next day tear down which is my preferred I will position as half the price of late night tear down so they are incentivized to try and get the venue to allow next day. I also look at the complexity of the tear down and if there is a ton of water to dump or a ton of items to dispose of. This could range from $200-$750 and up depending on variables and more if it is a luxury wedding.

But here is one thing that is the most important factor of them all- you are the CEO of your business and you determine your pricing. The only person who can truly dictate your pricing is you. I also think being the cheapest in town will leave you frustrated and feeling burnt out- you are running a business and need to make money.

Want an easy way to dive into pricing correctly head to thefloralhustle.com/pricing

There are so many reasons to consider sourcing from local flower farms and with wedding season forecasted to be a big year now is the time to schedule in some research time to be able to incorporate locally sourced into the upcoming season.

Adding this into your wedding flower business is going to really change so many things in your business. When I started incorporating locally grown flowers I felt like my portfolio instantly was more elevated. It brought unique blooms and the range of textures made things really pop.

The freshness factor was really impacted when I started incorporating locally grown blooms. They are normally freshly cut by a flower flower, not packed in plastic and are in your hand to design with as much as a week sooner.

My number on way I have found flower farmers is on Instagram. Other florists tagging using their product. You can also search slowflowers.com and the https://www.ascfg.org/

Another huge factor that is I notice is the labor save of not having to unbox and unpackage a million things out of plastic. The waste of course is a total bummer but the time that it takes to get everything unpacked and out of the wrappers is a serious time investment. This is totally saved with buying local.

Social media seems like a scary and complicated place for most people to show up in any way shape or form but to show your face- is terrifying. When I ask most florists what is scary there are so many different answers.

1. Even thinking about it gets me worried. I get anxious that I won’t know what to say. I’m worried what people will think. I don’t know what to talk about. I’m worried of what people will think.
2. Another thing people are worried about is how they look. They potentially don’t like how they look or maybe they have a zit or something showing up that makes them feel less confident.
3. They worry they are not an expert enough for people to listen to them. They worry about peers judgement.
4. Thoughts of being made fun of or ridiculed.

With all these worries and stories in your head that would be a big block to hit record or pull photos out of your photo phone folders wouldn’t it! How can we turn this around?

1. Start changing the way you talk to yourself. If you have a-I am not good at statements in your head or that you are speaking into the universe. We need to start talking to ourselves better today!
2. Start thinking about what a badass you are an how much knowledge that you have
3. You are an expert- your deserve to be heard.
4. Think about how you are helping the potential viewer.
5. If this is free content you would putting out- its free
6. I Am affirmations.- Start training your brain. I am magnetic, I am good on camera, I am an expert in my field, people can learn from me and
7. Do you feel braver in a certain outfit, underwear, boots or even a specific.
8. Do you feel braver in a certain room or even with a filter on. If a filter help you how up- who cares - use it!
9. Practice- Practice your craft to build confidence.
10. Think about who will be watching your video- the majority are people you likely are more of a subject matter expert on what you are talking about. If another florist is watching if they can’t be kind or supportive they are not someone you want following your page anyways.

The bottom line is- you are a badass and deserve success and to share your gift- now act according to that!

Want more social media guidance- head on over to download our free social media guide. This guide is packed full of valuable content for you to elevate your social media. thefloralhustle.com/social

Growing flowers has been such an inspiring addition to my floral business in recent years. About 4 years ago I went to Flowerstock on Holly Chapple's farm and was so inspired by growing flowers and using them in your designs. This changed the direction of my business and made me start focusing on locally grown flowers. With that, I started my own growing journey and have learned so much along the way. 

If you want to start your growing journey the first thing I would start with is education. Learning all about growing flowers and the different steps was so helpful foundationally to help me have an amazing amount of blooms my first year. I started my education process by signing up for the Floret Farms workshop and which was an intensive course that gave me so much knowledge and ways to shorten the learning curve. Then I went and signed up for team flower membership and took the gardening portion of their course as well. That was great educational content because it focused on a smaller-scale grower that does most of the gardening herself.

I then started deciding what I wanted to grow and picked blooms like Zinnias, scabiosa, strawflowers, rudbeckia, dahlias, silene lanterns, celosia, and lisianthus. 

I then sorted my seeds by the time it listed on each packet to plant. 8 weeks, 6-8 weeks, 4-6 weeks, and direct seed. At each time frame, I purchased a bunch of 4-tier greenhouses off of Amazon, grow lights, and seed starting mats. I then went and took my seed cells and filled them with Promix soil which I have found to be a great seed-starting soil. Then either covered the tray with a plastic tray it came with or saran wrap with a rubber band around it. I placed the tray on the seed mat in the greenhouse with a grow light directly overhead. The grow light is positioned above the actual tray but not very far above it that the plants are reaching for the light source. From there I watched and waited till the plant emerges then removed it from the seed mat and uncovered the plants. Then I watered and waited for them to grow and monitored the distance of the light so the plants would not become leggy from reaching for the light. When it is getting close to planting time I would harden off the plant by it having bits of exposure to the outdoors.

When it was close to planting time I prepared my beds and prepared weed block fabric if I was using it which is plant-dependent. I prepared the beds with compost, garden soil, and peat moss, tilling all the soils into the existing ground. Then planted according to the plant spacing suggestions on the seed packet.

For the dahlias I now wake up the dahlia tubers by removing them from the cold storage area and letting them wake up with their sprouts in the container/medium they were stored in. I then plant based on the tuber sprouting. I have found about 20% of purchased and reused do not sprout due to not having an eye or damage on the tuber.

I hope you love this minisode- growing your own flowers can help elevate your designs, keep you creatively inspired and create a new love with being a florist.

Greenhouses I used:
https://www.amazon.com/Worth-Mini-Greenhouse-Collapsible-Propagation/dp/B06XBGC61D/ref=sr_1_5?crid=363XJJFE1LURV&keywords=mini+greenhouse&qid=1676356067&sprefix=mini+green%2Caps%2C665&sr=8-5

My favorite seeds:
https://shop.floretflowers.com/collections/seeds

Do not let social media anxiety get the best of you!

3 ways to stop posting anxiety.

#1 Have a plan! Build a concrete day or a theme for a week for you to post on that topic that day or multiple times in the week. Developing a strategy is critical for you to make social media happen consistently.

#2 Do not post and ghost! To get interactions you need to spend time interacting with other accounts. I spend 15 min. a day to strategically interact with other people posts. I interact with florists and other wedding vendors to help build relationships. Being a better human is going to make and foster better human behavior.

#3. Schedule it! Use a scheduling took such as Planoly, Tailwind or one of the social medias native tools. Remove the instability and batch your content.

Have you downloaded the social media guide which walks through and audit and then it is filled with ideas to make social media less stressful! Download yours at thefloralhustle.com/social

A la carte flowers is an amazing way to add a lower budget option to your business without all the headache that comes with a full service wedding sometimes this is the is a great place to get started or add on smaller orders that are less work.

I added a la carte flowers to my business 4 years. I was super inspired by Native Poppy in California. My a la carte flowers gives you the options to choose and be inspired by blooms you choose in the couples color palette. A customer can shop and buy it right on your website. I also give the option that they can do a contract/deposit to reserve the date if total numbers aren’t know yet. I give size options- small/petite Average/medium and large and lush for the custom to choose on bouquets. Then I made simple color palettes- autumn glow, simply white, bright and cherry, dark and moody and white with one or two accent colors. I made mockup using the color palettes to launch this and photographed everything for my website. I will deliver this if it is within 15 miles of my zip code for a fee. But I will not setup- then anyone can really drop off- easy.

This is also a great way to have starting at pricing for your brochures, your communication and so on. It helps stop price shoppers because you are being transparent about your pricing.

I hope you entertain adding this because it can be fun and great side revenue.

 Want a guide to starting your floral business? - head to www.thefloralhustle.com/starterkit 

Wouldn’t you want to close more weddings? With these 5 ways to increase your bookings, you can go into this engagement season with a high closing ratio on the horizon.

Prequalify with pricing guidance

Make your proposals more visual

Offer price tiers of your items

Build repore during the consult and in email.

Put an end date to your pricing. I often mention I will hold the date for one week and then that same thing is in the proposals.

Frankly social media can feel overwhelming. The trick to minimizing anxiety is to have less stressing about when and what you are posting and build a strategy behind the content you are producing and batch that content- LIKE A FLOWER BOSS! Batching is the practice of creating tons of content in a concentrated amount of time and then posting that content via a scheduling app so you are not actively having to post that content yourself.

Let us start with the strategy behind posting- Let’s make a plan. That plan should not to be just posting pretty pictures. A plan that will help educate couples and wedding vendors to your page for informational content to help them on their wedding planning journey or vendor friends eager to share helpful content to their audience. You also could build in a strategy of introducing yourself and your business and have a strategy to help attract certain venues you love. Whatever it is you can create them days around those items- Meet us Monday- Tip Tuesday- Wedding Wednesday - Friday Fun- Friday flowers and on and on. Meet us Monday could have an intro post, then the next week a meet the team, an introduction to your service offerings and event a how can they work with your post. These could be done in a static, carousel or Video/Reel.

You also could pick a theme of the week from an education standpoint. The best way to stretch your wedding flower budget- then several times a week you could do a video/reel, static post or carousel post giving various ideas. Then next week you pick a different topic and then it just evolves every week with fresh content.

You can plan out a calander in advance but you will so much less anxiety knowing you have a plan of what to post.

Now making and scheduling. I am a huge fan of Canva and when you have Canva pro it lets you resize to various social media posts sizing. You then could use a scheduling app like Planoly, Tailwind or the native scheduling apps. This is huge- schedule in a batch and then log on and verify your post is live when you are checking your feed.

If you are looking for a little extra help on your planning adventure with social media head to https://www.thefloralhustle.com/social-media-guide

This free guide helps you audit your account to make sure foundationally it looks good. Then walks through strategy of the audited items. Plus there is a social media planning weekly schedule and a results tracking page so you can track your growth.