The Floral CEO

Growing you social media accounts is an exhausting affair is sometimes. Often you are looking at likes that aren’t translating to purchases. How do we get in front of people that need you or work with people who need your services.Getting in front of the right customers can be complicated. It is hard to way a flag that says couples come here. What if you were in front of other industry service providers that are constantly in front of clients needing your services. Winner! How do you do this?? Find industry professionals that. you can follow and support on social media and then during that time they to know you. Spend time interacting with other wedding professional to build relationships with them. Then start sharing content that they will want to put in front of their audience because it is filled with value.Check out my social media guide. thefloralhustle.com/social

What to post is a serious question that most business owners struggle with.Content ideas-Create a theme for days of the week.Meet us Monday- meet the owner, why we started this business, how you work with us? Are business offerings. Tip Tuesday or Wedding Wednesday is also a good theme day strategyTheme for the week- relevant topics for audience.Examples- Should you hire your florist for tear down, 3 ways to save money on your wedding flowers, top 2023 wedding trends, Who gets personal flowers in a wedding and so on. You can do a long form video, a 60 second reel and 30 second reel all out of your topic of the week.Stories content- wholesaler trip, unpacking, bouquet flowers filled and so on.Download our free social media guide at thefloralhustle.com/social

Isn’t it a crazy thing- you built a business and it looked like you are at the top of your game and success in yours! Sometimes you Girl Boss to much because you are afraid of fear- a fear of failure and a fear of judgement. If you have success in your business you have not failed so you are likely fearing rejection or potentially even fear success! The biggest thing is you need to define what your ideal business looks like. What needs to change? How does your mindset need to change and stop holding on to that you need to let go. You are the CEO of your business and can make those decisions. Get rid of everything that feels icky in your business and have a business that things feel good. Realign and redefine what feels good for you.You also could have Girl bossed to hard but love you business but there are parts that you don’t like. Figure out strategies to get those things that are on your plate. Is it worth it to get those things gone to free you to step back in as the CEO.You can do it! If you need additional support my one on one coaching could be the firecracker to get you back to a business you love! thefloralhustle.com/coachingn

Know where you are at closing percentage, average wedding costs, etc.Create a spreadsheet of current metrics to track the progress.Do a mental reset of your business- of your life if needed! Identify what you want- how you want your business to feel- what strategies you want to put in place.Look at your social- is it supporting the looks, feel, and direction you want to take your business? Are you showing up the way you need to in your business on social?Does your current portfolio support the work you want to attract? If not- change it!Look at how you are showing up in your business on all the different levels. Is that the experience the client you want to attract would expect? Are you standing out in the crowd of florists that a couple might meet with?Check out the Florist Start Kit for a bunch of goodies. thefloralhustle.com/startkit

Do you march to the beat of your own drum? Or do you follow the masses and try to make that work to drive your business? I think that many people have similar ways of getting to similar places in business.Fundamentally- you are the CEO of your business and can make decisions that feel good to you. The only thing I would consider is - is your changes to the standard pricing out there keep you profitable. If you aren't at the level of profitability what do you need to change- where are things breaking down?Download my florist pricing guide- thefloralhustle.com/pricing

There are a million different ways I have seen florists charge for these services. The fact is you need to do a system that works for you and makes you profitable. I look at each item as a separate item/cost. For delivery I look at the number of locations to deliver to, distance, the complexity of load in, does a truck need to be rented or is there parking to be paid. How easy is load in- small freight elevator- more $$$ Room flip- transition.This also is based on variables. Time frame, number of people needed, when timing, and if there is repurposing of flowers including deconstruction and moving something.Tear Down-I base this on timing-How long is the tear-down time frame? Some venues charge you for going over time so understanding you have enough time is critical. Do you need extra team members, are you disposing of things, how much glassware to clean up, how far is it to dump water, and so on? These are a few items I look at when estimating and then I put in an extra 30 min. charge clearly on the proposal so if it goes later I adjust the proposal without question.If you want my pricing guide that talks through this- visit thefloralhustle.com/pricing

Want to start a floral business? What is holding you back? Fear? Mindset? Confidence?Fear can be overwhelming- most commonly people are afraid of failure, afraid of rejection and afraid of disappointment. But what if you couldn’t fail because you define your own success? What if you understood- rejection is a part of the process to help you the right customer that absolutely loves what you have to offer? What if you were disappointed because you gave yourself grace to grow a business on your own terms.What if you changed your mindset to from- I don’t think I can do this. This seems hard to I can succeed and I am capable. What if you had a mindset of abundance and that money flows freely to me. And the mindset that now is your time and you can make things happen!Confidence can be one of the biggest things to stand in your way! What if you had the confidence to think you are capable of anything. Confidence to show up in your business as the face of your business. What if you had the confidence to make things happen?All of those pieces start to fall in place- now what? Where do you get started.First thing- head to thefloralhustle.com/starterkit and download the Florist Start Kit Guide. This guide is backed with business fundamental information and all the steps of starting your business.Next thing is get the basics out of the way, don’t overthink it! Name, Sales tax id’s and any other formal business registration for your state and city if needed. One of the most overthought part is your logo. Make one in Canva or I love using design crowd and submitting my vision and have artists around the world submit designs for you to pick a winner from. You can buy number of submissions, ask for revisions and pick a winner. My current floral business logo had 235 submissions, not all were diamonds- some were awful and some were fascinating. Then- get your all of your social media pages.Now- to build confidence and a large part of floral confidence comes with practice. Head to your local wholesaler to investing in some flowers and practice making different pieces. You can make one piece then photograph- tear it apart and make another item. You can start with an altar vase, bride bouquet, bridesmaid, flower girl, centerpieces, bud vases, wrist corsage, boutonniere, wearable tattoo or lapel flowers. You could create- 10-12 creations with the same flowers.Then start posting on social media. Post and introduction video, introduce yourself. Then start to find industry peers to follow.Planners, Photographers, venues, other florists, DJ’s and other wedding professionals. When they follow you back- which usually 30-40% do send them a DM to say thank you for following me. Tell them you would love to hear more about their business and asked for a virtual coffee date. Its ok to play the new kid on the block card.Then lets build an easy to start out with plan. A la carte flowers can be an easy way for you to start with having templated offerings that give you flexibility in blooms and textures. With this you can cover basic items within your scope of confidence. Share your a la carte offerings on social media, with other industry professionals and on your website.Once you meet with someone ask them for feedback.

Want to hear how you become a freelancer? How do you gain exposure to other florists to do this? There is a strategic way for you to gain exposure to key florists in your market that would be looking for florists to help them. Start interacting with their posts, post in your stories that you are available for freelancing. If there is a local florist group you could post that you have some availability in that group as well. Even sending a DM or email to a local florist and tell them you are a huge fan and would love to work with them. Start building relationships with florists in your market by also going to say hi and introduce yourself at your wholesaler.I hope this episode helps propel your freelancing strategy and you are working on some amazing projects this wedding season.

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 podcastWomen of ImpactShe Means Business ShowThe Mindset MentorEarn Your HappyFlorist geared podcastsOf course -The Floral HustleBotanical BrouhahaFlower Ed.The Flower PodcastTeam Flower PodcastCountless 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/pricingIn 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 moreTear 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.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.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.They worry they are not an expert enough for people to listen to them. They worry about peers judgement.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?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!Start thinking about what a badass you are an how much knowledge that you haveYou are an expert- your deserve to be heard.Think about how you are helping the potential viewer.If this is free content you would putting out- its freeI 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 andDo you feel braver in a certain outfit, underwear, boots or even a specific.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!Practice- Practice your craft to build confidence.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=8-5My 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 guidanceMake your proposals more visualOffer price tiers of your itemsBuild 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-guideThis 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.

Want a guide to start your floral business? - head to www.thefloralhustle.com/starterkit Key points from the podcast!Having the right mindset!Having a minimum so you are not running around with low budget weddings.Providing an experience that is higher end.Doing multiple weddings- event though it is more to coordinate it is more revenue.Having a team will help you have more capability!Providing a great experience- will lead to more referrals.Delivering what you promise.Keeping the promises you make to yourselfHaving a brand that speaks to your style and not budget.Connecting with other vendorsForming partnerships

Many florists struggle with money ebbing and flowing in their business with big bursts of revenue and then a month's time goes by without revenue coming in. In this episode, I talk about 3 ways to grow reoccurring revenue in your floral business.#1. Weekly church accounts- Finding local churches that want to incorporate a beautiful floral arrangement for their congregation. This could be funded for the church by members sponsoring the week (for a birthday, anniversary, remembrance etc.), by a donation to the church or from an altar guild fun. Spend time weekly reaching out and sharing your business with area churches to help grow your weekly floral orders.#2 Annual flower orders- As a gift that will keep on coming someone buying their loved one annual flowers which shows up as a monthly flower arrangement delivered to their loved one. Every month in the first week of the month someone pre-placed the order to make sure they show their love and appreciation to their partner, Mom or a special someone in their life. This can be sold at Valentines, Mothers Day, Sweetest Day, Admin day or even Christmas. The initial gift is shared celebrating that holiday and then its shared the big news of the monthly gift they will receive.#3 Local business client orders- Many businesses that are client based businesses send flowers to clients for special events, get well soon or sympathy arrangements. You could be the go to florist for that business to help them have a go to person that can make it easy for them and make their client feel special. Dedicate 10 minutes a week to reaching out to insurance companies, financial planning offices and any other that has a client base that could benefit or already sends their customers flowers.

That classes and education will elevate you to new heights.Its ok to court/work with multiple wholesalers.A cooler is needed- but your don’t need a new one.Investing in key pieces will build revenue quickly.I didn’t need to say yes to everything and everyone.I didn’t need to be the cheapest in town.I didn’t need to do 100 weddingsRenting a truck- is not a big dealAll the expensive solutions- seriously only need waterBeing an S-Corp didn’t require me to be a big companyWant a guide to start your floral business- head to www.thefloralhustle.com/starterkit

Does you floral business give you anxiety? Or has it made your chest feel tight, have a few tears roll down your face or even to the point of running to the bathroom and tossing your cookies sounded like I great idea. I get you! We are often in high intensity situations that can increase emotions and make us feel like the world is closing is on us…but the difference is we can make our reaction to stressful situations change today!This episode is filled with tips for you to be the boss of your anxiety and say- no today old friend.The 15 min. reset. When things are feeling tough this tool calm help calm your nerves and reset your energy. Step away from your situation and find a calming area- sitting down potentially away from the area causing your stress. Start to think about- in this situation what do I have control of? #1 you can control how you react and feel about a situation and start to feel the control you have in your emotions and as the CEO of your business.Do not put all your eggs in one wholesaler basket. Having sources gives you options. Order hard to find product from two places. Also do not promise specific flowers to clients- that can add so much anxiety.Making things easy for what your are available for. Don’t like funeral work?- You are not available for it.Pulling everything ahead of time. Making sure you have everything and have everything prepped.Book the help you need. Estimate the work on one wedding and book help accordingly.

Download our free guide to a social media audit and planning. Go to www.thefloralhustle.com/social to get yours today! Everyone is so focused on growing their social media followers but today let's stop and think about what we really want to accomplish. Are you looking for followers because you want notoriety or to live the influencer life when your social media account blows up? Being an influencer is the #1 career choice for people coming out of college. But- I run a business and want to attract the right client who needs my services - with that I want to help educate them, promote my offerings, be relatable to build trust and inspire the follower. Most people want to post pretty pictures- the end. To keep and gain an engaged audience you need more than just a pretty picture. There are 4 types of posts I recommend- Educate, Promote, Relatable, and Inspire.To help educate your potential clients and make your social media easier- take a single topic every week and dissect that into various forms of content all centered around that one idea. Concept- Winter weddings. Post #1 talks all about flowers freezing and ideas around getting outdoor photos but still having nice photos of your flowers outside. Long-form video - 3-4 minutes long.Post #2 Carousel posts of the main points from your video.Post #3 30-second video of one of your points from your long-form video.Post #4 Reel featuring winter bouquets with trending music.Post #4 Carousel post with more cold weather-friendly bouquet options (evergreen, pinecones, twigs etc.).Post #5 Your favorite winter bouquet inspiration and why- Things to have on your social profileWhere you areWhat you sellWho you areLinktree- is a great resource in your social media bio to help share different points in your business that you want to route your clients to.

Is that time of year that you are freaking out for the amount of weddings you have booked?Every year this happens to even the best florists.Step #1 Verify your feeling is realty. Apply numbers to truly investigate if what you are feeling is true. Data can shed light and help provide big insight into what the year is looking like. Go in and record in a spread sheet separated by month the weddings you have. Then go in and put the estimated gross of that wedding. How does it look?Then, if that looks bad. Test your connections points on your website. Inquiry forms, chat and any other connection point on your website. Make sure all of the basic things are functioning.Now-what can you do if it a realty.Put yourself out there showing the masses you are available! Created graphics in a place like Canva. Then make similar graphics explain how people can book your, what your process looks like, and even make a screen recording video of how they can connect with you.Release the energy of feeling things are out of your control. We re action taking problem solving people. Take action!Wedding planners can be in a constant source of couples needing to book florists. Think out of the box on how to get in front of wedding planners.

For years in my business I felt like I had to give everyone a great deal and that was my path to success- but I also felt when I was working with such wonderful people that I wanted to give them a deal to give them what they really wanted but couldn't afford unless I was giving away the farm. I felt like Profit was a bad word. I started making it in my mind a hobby of creating something with joy is ok to not make a profit because the people are so great and I bet I'll get good photos after....and on and on.Changing that narrative was critical- because even though I wanted to start making some money- I now was attacking my unideal client because they wanted things as cheap as possible. I had the cheapest wins mentality forever- that was not how profitability works but I kept doing them and trying to grow a little bit more each time.Consumers often make Profit a bad word- you need to condition yourself that it is a critical part of your business and you deserve it.How can you change the narrative of profit in your business?What profit can help you accomplish?Why you need it!Looking at profits/costs in a transaction. Arrangement- shipping, freelancer, car insurance to delivery, delivery boxes etc.

My top 5 tools for your floral business. I breakdown why I love all of these amazing tools.Canva- Online and an appPhoto Shop Express- AppQuickbooksPlanoly Online and an appG-Suite Online and an appBonus- Zelle Online and an app. Works with more

Objections come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes it might not be a plain objection from you couple- it might be your objection. I want to talk about some objections I have heard from my couples, myself as my business has evolved, and what I have heard from coaching clients and fellow florists. Often reframing the objection and showing another perspectives can help lead the client. But you also need to define to yourself if this objection on their or your part come up if there is a hard line of something you are not willing to do.One of my biggest personal objection when someone says they want to use bridesmaids bouquets as centerpieces. When I hear this- It makes me scream inside my head- NO!!! But that probably wouldn't lead the conversation in a good direction so then I do my first step and ask a clarifying question to make sure I heard and understood what they said correctly. - Clarifying question- Just to make sure I understand what you are wanting to do- you are wanting to repurpose the bridesmaids bouquets and use them as centerpiece? Then they likely will save yes. I then help validate their idea to save money is a good one- so you acknowledge it was a good thought but....let me share some of the things that has happened with some of my other weddings when doing this very thing- bouquet didn't make it because bridesmaid forgot, bouquet was laid on its side and left in the sun and was brown and burnt., The flowers were out of water for 5 hours and were seriously drooping. Then suggest usage in a place that could be enhanced by the flowers but not be the only thing on it so the condition is a little less important. Offer budget centerpiece ideas, talk about the stress of worrying if they get there and talk about is $400 worth the stress, running around, making the head table not look as fabulous and potentially someone having a centerpiece with dead flowers.I want all tall centerpieces- this is often a bad idea because it is not the best look. I then pull up some photos and show them how your eye travels across the room and it travels flat with all tall. You could show them examples just using vases of how you look at it.Here are some additional questions I cover-I would like you to do the personals and Aunt Karen is going to do the centerpieces-Your bid is higher than another florist's- will you match it?Why are wedding flowers so expensive?Why are trader joe's flowers so much cheaperWill you take another event on that day?

Time to audit all the things related to your budget. First- check in with your website and technology products. What business tools do you have and are you utilizing them and are they working correctly, For each tool- expense- ROI- and am I utilizing all the tools.Then look at regular expenses. Look at your taxes, should you be starting a 401 Simple Plan. Dive into what you have forecasted so you can see what will help. Look at your expenses and what your ROI is and what things look like then make plans to be using tools that are, making your business more profitable. If you never take this time- things will never move forward.

You don't need to be a naptime warrior or work till midnight.1st off is to really identify what you are wanting from your business. Financially, how you want it to feel, and how much time you have to realistically invest. Then once you have that you need to talk to your support system and explain what you are wanting to do and the support you need. Explain your business to your kids and how things could look different.2nd- If this is a side hustle check if you have an employment agreement that prohibits another job. I ran into this struggle but luckily in my interview, I mentioned my side business. Look at how your job/motherhood will work if you have a consult request during the day or a Friday wedding. Plus if you have a local wholesaler is it close enough to do a lunchtime flower pickup?3rd- Systemize everything. Use things like QuickBooks, canva to create proposals from templates, email templates for quick responses, base floral prices so you can answer quick questions or have a brochure put together.4th Technology- a phone that can keep your email, canva proposals, and whatever else might be helpful when you are out an about.Calander reminders-When clients are booked put in calendar reminders for check-in times, when you need to order flowers and when the final payment is due. This will help keep you on track.Sunday prep- Get organized for the week. Touch base with your partner on what you need help with that week. Get pull lists ready and print anything you need for the week for production.Mom Hustle Support- you deserve to have something outside of your motherhood. Part-time childcare, working during school hours, partner support to work.Have a play area, crafts, independent games, distractions, tv- whatever can give you a little extra time to work when things are busy.Get help- So often we are afraid that getting help will make things less profitable or we wonder if you can afford it at all. You are not superwoman and events are very condensed so do not feel guilty when you hire help. Plus if you build a network of flower friends maybe at some points you can help them out so you build a support network.Give yourself Grace! Your learning and you are making big leaps.

Today you are in for a treat. We are talking about three tested tactics to grow your business in 2023. You're thinking - what do I want my business to do? How do I want my business to grow? These three ways have made an impact, of course, financially, but also just how my business feels in the culture I've created in growing my business.Reaching out to the wedding communityOne of the ways to really expand your reach is by networking with other vendors. One wedding vendor could come into contact with 30-50 couples and if you are their first thought if the couple asks about florists you want to be someone they think of. Vendors at the bottom of the booking funnel- like photographers, event decorators, venues, and most importantly wedding planners. Especially if you have a unique niche- sustainable weddings and cultural weddings. Flower friends are also a great source- they could be booked when they receive an inquiry. Referrals going around between flower friends are the best type of referrals.Previous clients- After so many years I have a large referral base from customers based on the years I have been doing this but you can start cultivating referrals. I have offered a bouquet of flowers delivered. Sent personal thank you notes and so on.A la carte floral-If you have the capacity to take on lower-budget weddings or you want a solution for referrals that are under your minimum. This has to be easy and not a lot of work with the revenue associated. Have an easy checkout process with the most popular items. I have woken up with $3000 orders which are great and this is also built-in creative freedom which is also amazing.

Start mapping out rest- Book vacations or time off to breathe. Look at your calendar and look at holidays, and birthdays and take time to have the moments that matter.Start sourcing supplies- find cylinders, tape, glue, and limited supply itemsGet ahead of the rush and potential scarcity of the items you need. When you wait you could potentially Map out your goals and back into what support you need.Set your intent in your businessBook a CEO day.Plan out what you want your business to be. Chasing something with no vision or purpose. When you put out a goal in the universe you automatically are more committed. Evaluate pricing- adjust accordinglyAdjust prices now- before the wave of people planning.You deserve to make impactful money.Making sure if this is your Mom hustle is covering the expenses of childcare is looked at.Stop overbookingPractice saying no- don't overlook yourself. It's not serving you.

Now is the time to go big and step into your role as CEO and define your 2023 business vision and do some serious goal-setting to start molding your business to bring it to the next level. That next level is one that every aspect of your business is getting 2023 plan to get that part of your business to feel good- easy- aligned and in the end and contributing to profit. If you have not had a good chance to look at your financials and what the profitability of your business looks like- now is a great time to start. Before you can really start to do the work on developing your business and how to improve it you need to feel like what you are doing is worth it and that you can pay yourself and support yourself in your passions.From there we are going to do some serious planning on how you can make your business feel amazing. If you start this process with a little reflection on how various parts of your business feel. Some questions to reflect on- Do you like the current work you are doing and putting out there? Do you like the current client you are attracting? Do you like how their interaction feel? Even the tone of their emails? You do not need to dive into a deep exercise of naming your ideal bride/couple and everything about her but having a general idea is helpful in identifying if you feel you are attracting her. Think of your last 10 couples- what would you change?Another thing I am reflecting on this year is my working environment. My studio produced a ton of work out of a limited amount of space because there is a ton of inventory in my studio. Doing an audit of everything you have used and not used and evaluating from there if you should keep that inventory will help clear the clutter in your space. My favorite life minimalist is Allie Casazza preaching what takes up your time takes up your space. Are the things in your workspace serving you? How do you feel in your space? How do you want to feel? What could optimize your space? Should a goal be to perfect your space?Next, let's look at your time- what do you want to be doing in your business next year? Do an inventory of what you are spending your time on- are those tasking propelling your business forward? Do you have the team in place to make your big dreams happen. In looking at your tasks could you find someone to take on tasks that help you work on driving the business forward.Dream big for your vision of 2023.

Seven things to stop now for a more profitable 2023 wedding season and beyond. 1. Stop guessing on costs/pricing. Do you want a less profitable wedding or a big mistake? Guessing on pricing in my experience always is 2. Stop trying to be the cheapest In town. Being the cheapest in town. The race to the bottom is only going to bring you less profit and you will keep perpetuating cheap weddings. If you want to do fewer weddings that are larger and more profitable.3. Stop comparing yourself- When you keep comparing yourself you keep holding yourself back always thinking you are not good enough.4. Stop using one wholesaler or flower source. Having options and being able to price compare helps you always get the best deal and also up your chances of securing a product.5. Stop promising specific flower choices Nothing eats profitability and your sanity like promising specific flowers to clients. Listen to episode 2 for more details about tactics to make this happen.6. Have a minimum. Looking at what makes it worth it to do a wedding or other type of job. To cover delivery costs, paying for potential childcare, employees, insurance and so much more.7. Start sourcing supplies nowThe early bird gets the worm. If you are expecting to need supplies next season- be on the lookout now. When you wait to the last month you could be paying a premium due to buying when supply is low and demand is high. Plus you also chance- not getting them at all! Follow on Instagram Follow on Facebook

Installations are often a struggle for so many florists. It is one of the more complicated floral to price and construct. The first thing to figure out is your installation is your foundation- this is needed for pricing the installation accurately. In this, you will decide based on the structure type which mechanic is best. Depending on your stance on foam or no foam you can look at the weight that your structure will hold. I often will print or screenshot and draw out the mechanics on the inspiration photo or draw a sketch of what is needed. With that figure out the supplies that would be needed.The second step is pricing. Installations can also be complicated to price- but with my simple square foot formula, you can simplify most installations to this simple formula saving time and headache. Look at your inspiration photo and then average out the number of flowers in one square foot of space- take the heaviest and the lightest area and come to what the flowers would average out to be. Take the cost of those flowers and times it by your markup percentage. Then add your design fee (20-25%) and add your supplies and markup on supplies for that square foot. If a foam cage covers 2-3 square feet you can divide the cost and markup by 1/2 or 1/3. For easy math let's say for you have $20 in flower cost in one square foot- and with your markup (3.5x) it brings you to $70 plus your supplies cost- $5 plus markup= $15 for a total of $85 plus your design fee 25% is $106.25 per square foot of installation. Then measure or figure out how wide and long it is a figure out the total square footage of the installation. Times the total number of square footage by $106.25 per square foot to figure out your installation price. I often will include the sizing dimensions on my proposals to ensure there is no misunderstanding of the size.The third step- is doing as much as possible ahead of time. This step saves so much time and headache because the majority of work is done ahead of time and therefore less headache and less chance of hiccups on wedding day. Foam free structures can be constructed ahead of time- foam cages can be prepared ahead of time as well. Preziptying will also help speed things up on wedding day.Installations are a great opportunity for your business to make impactful money and create amazing work.Follow on Instagram Follow on Facebook

Hiring freelancers can be a stressful situation. Finding help when multiple florists are filled with heavy wedding weekends. I want to share several tactics of how I am other florists who have found freelancers successfully.The first thing that I think is a game changer in an unconventional one- Find flower friends. Over the years making flower friends has brought me weddings, forged fierce friendships, and amazing opportunities. I think starting to make flower friends can be as simple as starting to say hello at the wholesaler. Start commenting with kind words on the flower friend's social media posts. Then when an opportunity comes about to potentially send a wedding inquiry they are a way when you are booked, borrow something needed or just be there for advice. Second game changer- On the weekend look at Instagram stories and posts of established florists posting previews of their weekend work. Then when there is a post tagged with the freelancers in it- take a screenshot on your phone and place it in a folder named freelancers in your phone to help keep track of it.Third idea- It is a simple one but a goodie. Post graphics in your stories that you are looking for freelancers and you can even post specific requirements you may have. I would include your location- by City so people know your location to help entertain the drive to you etc.Fourth- Find florists that you like their work and send them an introduction DM and explain what you are looking for. Ask if they would be open to freelancing.Fifth idea- Start a resource to help support your local flower community. I started a FB Group and website called MN Floral Collective. It is exclusive to MN florists and allows them to post wedding dates they need help with, sell items, and find/borrow hard-to-find things. Threw this flower friends have had so many great interactions and found freelancers and freelancers have done posts and had success finding work as well. This was a pretty easy endeavor- I started the group and shared it on Instagram. Many florists shared it on social and it grew.I hope you found these tactics helpful and start early to make sure you are setting your wedding season up for success early.When you find great people- cultivate an environment of growth and support. I let freelancers choose their job based on wanting them to grow. New learning opportunities also help build confidence in a freelancer and want to come back because working for you is find and they get to learn new things and grow their skillset. I do not have assembly monkeys in my studio that are just told this is what you are doing - with super detailed instructions leaving no room for creativity or innovation. Make working in your studio different- it will help freelancers come back and create an amazing vibe in your business.Follow on Instagram Follow on Facebook

Today we are going to talk about something I often see flower friends stressed out at the wholesalers about. Promising flowers that are difficult or hard to get or are finicky flowers to deal with can often cause stress during the consultation process, the planning process, pickup day and delivery day. Often that stress can suck the life out of your wedding floral journey. The first thing we will discuss is why we shouldn't promise specific flowers. There are so many things out of a florist's control when it comes to procuring specific flower choices. Limited availability, weather, transportation issues, bugs, customs issues, pricing fluctuations and so much more can really throw off a wedding if things do not come in as planned especially when a couple is expecting something. I very plainly explain to my couples that I do not guarantee specific bloom and I explain to them why. But I do not dwell on what could be proceed as a negative rule- I flip this in a positive manner to the couple. There can be so much benefit to having the autonomy to pick the best flowers for their wedding, everyday flowers or whatever flower event you are working on. I will tell my couples about unicorn flowers that without the ability to look for the best flowers possible often would leave limited availability, limited seasonality or potential amazing finds from flower farmers or farms that normally are not often available. In proposals I put example blooms but label them like that with a notation that things are based on availability and have verbiage surrounding flower choices in my contract. Another thing I touch on with my couples with difficult color palettes that substitutes can be difficult and that neutrals may need to be brought into the color palette.Then when you are going to try for your customer or yourself to source difficult blooms. A couple tips to help try and source hard to find blooms, unicorn flowers are getter pricing in general. My first tip is to not put all your eggs in one wholesaler basket. Many wholesalers have different suppliers, farms and even local farms so different wholesalers have access to different sources. With hard to find options I will often order from two wholesalers to up my chances of getting the product. I will order 1/2 from one wholesaler and the other 1/2 from another wholesaler. Or if your wholesaler has an online marketplace like Holex- you can order some from the wholesaler and some from the marketplace. Auction sites are also a great source for competitive pricing and larger scale viability since many farms feed into the auction site which are often farms that deal in high volume so they offer competitive pricing. Another strategy I use on almost any wedding week is ordering my rose products direct from rose farms in Equador. Purchasing as low as 100 roses in possible with some farms. They are shipt directly to my studio via UPS or FedEx. The roses are usually fresher in quality as the time from farm to vase is left. Also some harder to get varieties are easier to source direct from the farms as their direct sales are more financially beneficial to a farm. My last tips is to make friends with a flower farmer. Locally grown flowers are often more beautiful, have more hard to find items since many flowers do not ship well and have longer lasting product since the time from farm to vase is cut drastically.Follow on Instagram Follow on Facebook

In this episode, I will walk you through one of the best tools to help stop ghosting after providing a quote and to stop price shoppers before the consult saving you time and a kick in the confidence department. A brochure is a great way to help provide pricing guidance to a prospective couple and set the stage for the experience of working with you.Components of an effective brochure.1. An introduction page.2. About you3. What makes you different- why me?4. Reviews 5. Examples of your work- Show off a bit!6. Service offering breakdown (Full service/a la carte)7. Breakdown of the process of working with you. If you have two offerings.8. FAQ's. Beyond the website- common questions asked in consultations.9. The booking process- how to move forward.Follow on Instagram Follow on Facebook

We currently live in anti hustle society. What is anti-hustle culture? Anti-hustle culture is a rejection of the notion that business owners should hustle. The grind, the working all hours, the constant activity that is glamorized in certain entrepreneurial circles and by some prominent entrepreneurs. How many people do you know who are successful that did not hustle a bit to get where they are. On top of that our world is a single day with a perishable product- the hustle is real that day.