Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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A short winter’s nap

Happy Winter solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a joyous everything to you.

I’m taking some actual time off this week to prepare for a busy holiday weekend.

I hope you will take some time off, too.

It’s time for family, food and reflections on a truly wonderful year.

Thanks so much for being a part of it.

xo. -A

I’ll see you here next week with a fresh post!

 

Treat your biz before the end of the year…

Have you been waiting all year to get Flower Math? You can still Save 10% OFF HERE.

Keep more of the money you’re already making. Invest in your business today.

 

And…start the new year on the right foot…

The Art of Good Business is on sale now and registration closes Jan. 7, 2017 at 7:00pm EST.

Read all the details HERE and click HERE to enroll today!

 

You can find a full list of my course offerings here.

 

Ask to join my closed group on Facebook HERE.

Are you on Instagram? Me, too. Find me: @floralartvt HERE.

And find more free videos on YouTube HERE.

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Transform your work into art.

Dear Floralpreneur,
Last week I told you about a note on my desk that reads: “If you went out of business would people notice?“
(I want the answer to this question to be “Yes!” Without a doubt. I want people to notice.)

Another note I wrote down years ago says: “Transform your work into art”.

As a floral designer I think transforming your work into art is easy to take literally. I named my business Floral Artistry, I mean, it’s kind of obvious, right? I transform my work (ie my flowers) into art (ie my arrangements).

But what I really think drives this idea for me, transforming work into art, is how to apply this concept to the business aspects of our creative business.
I try to turn the mundane, the necessary, the client management, the thankless, into art.
I practice being artful at running the business-side of my business.

The goal to “transform your work into art” can transcend the floral aspect of your business to encompass everything about your business; e-mails, proposals, meetings, phone calls, quotes, contracts, website design, you name it…because every single thing your customers experience defines your brand.

At their core, each of my courses is designed to help embrace the business-side of our work…but I’m going to take it a few steps further…

I’m going to walk you through exactly what I’ve done over the past 15 years as a small business owner to transform my work into an ideal customer experience in my newest course, The Art of Good Business, which starts January 9th-Feb. 6th.
You’ve heard me mention it before, but you can find details on my new course here!

Now’s the perfect time to invest in your business and focus on attracting more customers who don’t need convincing…because ideal customers already love you.

Why Act Now?
Registration closes Jan. 7th and payment plans are available until tonight, Monday Dec. 19th at midnight EST.

That’s just 1 day left to take advantage of the 2-payment plan option!

As a BONUS I am also including a free one-on-one strategy session with the first 10 floralpreneurs who register for the course.

Talking with floral designers is a true pleasure for me and I look forward to connecting with 10 floralpreneurs and learning more about your businesses.

Will You Join Me Live?
Join me on Facebook Live today at noon, EST. The topic is: How to get more rave reviews from your customers.

Great customer reviews are an integral part of attracting ideal clients and building your brand.

(Speaking of which, if you’re thinking of taking one of my courses read some of my testimonials and customer reviews here: http://realflowerbusiness.com/testimonials)

Take a minute and ask to join my facebook group! It’s a great way for us to connect and it’s my new favorite way to talk with floralpreneurs! 
I’m livestreaming Monday, Dec. 19th at 12:00pm EST.

You can watch all of my livestreams on a replay any time in my Facebook group here.

 

I hope to see you LIVE in my group soon! If you’ve asked to join and have not yet been approved you may e-mail me at info@floralartvt.com to help speed things along. If it’s unclear whether you’re a floral designer it does take longer for an approval.

Thanks for tuning in and taking the time to read my e-mails. I know your time is valuable and I appreciate you making some time for me!
As always…
Keep
doing
beautiful
work. 

With love from me to you,
Alison

Check out my course offerings HERE for details on all of my courses, including 2 FREE COURSES, Flower Boss and 4 Pricing Mistakes Florists Make.

P.S. If you’re a floral designer who’s digging my content and/or my courses, please share the Floral Artistry love via e-mail, Facebook, Instagram, sky writing, what-have-you with a florist you know and love. (I truly appreciate your support in cultivating other floral pros.)

Are you watching your profit margins? Check out Flower Math, The Florist’s Guide To Pricing & Profitability. Click HERE to read all the details and save 10% Off today.
Are you ready to make 2017 your most profitable year yet?

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If you went out of business, would people notice?

I jotted down a note on a piece of scrap paper that hangs around my desk. I come across it from time to time. It reads:

“If you went out of business, would people notice?”

 I can’t remember what prompted me to write it down, but every time I see it I think “Ooh, that’s good.”

I want the answer to this question to be “Yes!”
Yes, without a doubt.
If I go out of business I want people to notice.

As I complete my 15th year in business and look ahead towards 2017 with a wedding calendar that’s booked more quickly than ever before, well, I’m feeling lucky…and grateful…and like I’ve worked really hard to get here.

As a solo-business owner, or floralpreneur as I like to say, I struggled for years to find a mission, a purpose, a meaningful impact that I could make in the world.

I started my business with a mission statement, as all good companies do, and then I refined that mission over the years, but it always felt hollow or somehow fell flat. It wasn’t as purposeful as Ben & Jerry’s mission statement or other cool companies who use their profitability to make a positive difference.

I wanted to “do more”, but with a business as small as mine any donations or attempts to “make giving part of my growth strategy” (one of my favorite, inspired quotes from Danielle LaPorte) seemed insignificant….a drop in the ocean. And in truth, my customers didn’t even seem to care.

I always had core values, but I wasn’t communicating them to my clients.

I can tell you without a doubt the better I became at communicating my values to my clients, the more my ideal clients started responding.

Click to read my Core Values here.

I’m going to walk you through exactly what I did to determine these values and attract more of my ideal clients in my course, The Art of Good Business, Find details here!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Growing a business is a journey. It’s not a sprint, not a straight line, and every year is a learning year.

Communicating your Core Values can be an integral part of attracting ideal clients and building a reputable brand.
 

Join the #VowToGive Challenge!

If you want to make a bigger impact with your small business, join me in #VowToGive.

Here’s how I define my giving: For every wedding I book I donate 165 meals to the Vermont Foodbank. I commit $55 from every wedding sale to the foodbank and in 2015 I provided 4,800 meals through the Vermont Foodbank.

#VowToGive is easy to do and it feels good, too.

Perhaps you already have a charity or social mission for your business, but if not, now is the perfect time to start!

It’s easy. Just follow 3 steps:

  1. First, choose a local charity or global charity that moves you and fits the core values of your business.
  2. Second, define a dollar amount per wedding or amount of time you volunteer or sponsorship you’ll support.
  3. Third, follow through! Send the check, show up, volunteer, sponsor and tell your customers about it.

You can pick a dollar amount per wedding, per month, or per year to donate to your charity of choice. It’s tax deductible and it’s good for business.
1, 2, 3…choose, define and follow through.

Take a minute and ask to join my Facebook group here! It’s a great way for us to connect and it’s my new favorite way to talk with floralpreneurs!

As always…
Keep
doing
beautiful
work. 

With love from me to you,

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What does great customer service feel like?

The most important thing I’ve done for my floral design business is work towards perfecting a customer service experience that reflects the values of my brand and speaks directly to the heart of my ideal clients.

Want to find better clients?

Create a better customer experience.

What does great customer service feel like?

Do you remember the best customer service experience you ever had? A time when YOU were the customer and something stellar happened that made you feel great?

Maybe it was an unexpected refund you didn’t even have to ask for, or a hotel staff member who went above and beyond for you….maybe it was the super comfy leather chair in a waiting room that made your wait time a little more enjoyable…or the free refills…or the personal touch…a time when you experienced a better-than-average “result”.

How can you make you customers feel special?

1. Think of a real life customer service experience where you were wowed. [Even better, think of a brand that continually wows you with their service.]

2. Write down all the details….what did you expect to happen? How was this experience with this company or brand different/better?

3. Now consider how YOU can translate what was special about your experience into a customer experience for your ideal clients?

Tapping into what makes you one-of-a-kind propels your business.

Now…to expand on that…

Tapping into what your customers need is another meaningful way to speak to your ideal customers.

My downloadable pdf, Wedding Workflow, gives you a behind-the-scenes look at my 16 Steps to Client Management from the initial e-mail inquiry to a post-wedding followup.

Create a better customer service experience.

You can read the details on this downloadable course here including the table of contents with a list of all 16 steps!

It’s priced at just $19 and you can CLICK HERE TO GET IT.

DOES YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER READ YOUR BLOG?

I challenged floralpreneurs to blog every week in November…HOW’D YOU DO?

I hope you’ll consider taking this challenge and show your blog some love with 4 fresh posts!

If this is the first time you’re hearing of the challenge, can you blog 4 times over the next 4 weeks, then?…

WHY DO YOU NEED TO BLOG?

Your website is where you really want to talk to your ideal customers.

Your website is the only thing you own.

JOIN ME LIVE ON FACEBOOK!

I’ve been livestreaming on Facebook.

Real Flower Business is the name of the group and it’s a great group of floral pros.

Join us in the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RealFlowersBusiness

Thanks to everyone who’s already joined me!

As always…

Keep doing beautiful work.”

With love from me to you,

Alison

Find a list of my course offerings HERE.

P.S. If you’re a floral designer who’s digging my content and/or my courses, please share the real flower business love via e-mail, Facebook, Instagram, sky writing, what-have-you with a florist you know and love. (I truly appreciate your support in cultivating other floral pros.)

P.P.S. Are you still on the fence about Flower Math? Buy it today for 10% off HERE. (Get it before the end of the year and it’s a business expense for 2016.) Keep more of the money you’re already making in 2017!

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Who is your Ideal Customer?

What is an Ideal Customer?

I see people referring to “ideal customers” or “ideal clients” all the time, yet I rarely see it the term clearly defined.

 

Before updating your website or rebranding your biz, the #1 question to answer is “Who is your ideal customer?”

But how can you find your ideal customers if you don’t know what you’re looking for?

Here’s one way to think of it:

Your ideal customers don’t need convincing…

they love what you do,

appreciate your work/artistry, and

all they need are a few details on how to officially book with you.

If you’re ever unsure about who your ideal customer really is, take a look at the customers that already love you–ideally, the ones that you love right back!–and try to identify the important qualities they have in common.

Click below to watch my video: Who is your ideal customer?

Qualities of an Ideal Customer:

  • Ideal customers are more interested in finding out what it takes to book with you than how much you charge for a centerpiece.
  • Ideal customers are quick to accept your proposal & sign a contract because they want what you’re selling!
  • Ideal customers feel like you’re the right choice for them; they trust you!

Every floralpreneur has her/his own ideal customer depending on where you are in your business. The ideal client for a home-based florist who’s just starting out is different from the ideal client for an established florist with a full-time staff and 25 years of experience. It’s only natural that your ideal clients might change as your business matures.

Click for more: How do you prequalify customers?

More from Alison:

When I started my business, Floral Artistry, in 2002 I’d never heard the term “ideal customer”.  As I often recount, “it was a simpler time“… back in the early 2000’s, without the power of Google and social media to help you hone your branding and reach your ideal customers (aka the clients who LOVE what you do).

You can gain a lot of clarity when you focus on the people you really want to work with; you’re not looking for just “anyone”.

The Takeaway

It’s not always easy to define who your ideal customers are and it can be particularly tricky when you have a wedding business where cultivating repeat business isn’t always in the cards.

Though the working relationship with a wedding client has a finite end, I strive to exceed expectations and choreograph a customer service experience that thrills and delights. Excellent service provides value and eliminates your competition.

Before you’ve built your brand to the point of attracting ideal clients, the concept of “customers that love you” may seem like a pie in the sky dream…just keep this in mind:

As you build an integrity brand with a website that represents who you are as a company/brand/designer you’ll find that ideal clients start finding you! (And they’re so happy that they found you.)

Identifying your ideal customers is a critical piece of your branding puzzle.

xo. -Alison

To find a full list of my course offerings click here. 

 

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