Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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Frequently Asked Questions from Floral Designers

FAQ’s

Florists have a lot in common….but no 2 florists are exactly alike!…

Which is why when a floralpreneur® asks: Which course should I take first?

The answer really depends on your own personal business goals and struggles…

Here are a few frequent Q’s and A’s to help you choose the courses that are right for you:

Question: How do I charge for my flowers and design work?…

Answer: Flower Math! The #1 thing florists struggle with is pricing and as a business owner I believe the most important thing for you to understand is how to price your work! Turning a profit is essential to staying in business. If your pricing and profitability foundation could use some reenforcement check out Flower Math first!

If you already have your pricing on lock (you’re making 70% profit on the cost of your flowers and supplies), then what’s your current burning question?…

Question: Do you want to spend less time on clients who aren’t a good fit?…

Answer….try these courses:

Question: How do you attract excellent clients who value your work?…

Answer…Check out these courses to level-up in your biz:

 Question: Need to define the terms for your customers so they follow your rules?…

Answer….Build authority and trust with help from these courses:

Question:  How often should I update my website? My design work is awesome, but my website is a little disconnected…

Answer…These courses help you flex your website muscles:

Question: How can you talk with Alison one-on-one?

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February Flash Sale for Floralpreneurs

flash sale realflowerbusiness.com

To close out February, I’m having a flash sale on 2 of my most popular Wedding Templates designed to help you book clients quickly and confidently! I’m offering $20 OFF BOTH TEMPLATES til 10pm Eastern Time Wednesday 2/28! CLICK BELOW TO SAVE:

In these templates I show you how I spend less time typing proposals AND walk you through the clauses in my wedding contract (plus a few additional clauses you might want to add)… 

If you want to:

  • Feel CONFIDENT when presenting an initial proposal,
  • Forget FEARS about explaining your terms,
  • Gain AUTHORITY and build trust with clients,
  • Increase the INCOME you’ll be able to generate when you state your minimums clearly so clients say YES to your next proposal, no questions asked…

… then my templates are made for you! Here’s how I know:

*Allison Schrade wrote to say, “I just have to say that I have been hating proposals for five years now because I put so much work and detail into them. Your templates have inspired me to just simplify and I love it!…I tried a bridal software program last week and it ended up being more work for a result that I was unhappy with….I have just spent my morning enjoying your tutorials and loving your course templates…”

*Chantelle shared in the Facebook group, “Just a quick THANK YOU to Alison as your videos and templates have helped me immensely in streamlining my client workflow – this client only contacted me a few days ago and we met yesterday – I had her proposal to her in a couple of hours (used to take me 2-3 weeks!)…”

*Melissa said, “Just downloaded the 12 E-mail Templates, Wedding Workflow, and How To Write Proposals That Sell…..ALISON! You are the flower fairy god mother we all needed! Information overload! Do it guys ;)”

Point Blank: Templates Save You Time & Stress.

And during this Feb Flash Sale they’ll save you money, too!

To discover how to increase your authority, grow trust with your clients, and streamline your proposals…check out my Feb Flash Sale —>CLICK BELOW TO SAVE: 

Each course I create is made with love from me to you!

Feel free to be in touch with any questions for me! And enjoy the Flash Sale Savings!

xo. -Alison

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Why Florists Cannot Compete On Price

realflowerbusiness.com, floral design, floristry, business of flowers

Have you ever been pressured to lower your prices in order to book a job?

Today, a floralpreneur® in my Facebook group shared that a client slashed her prices in half and re-sent the new pricing back to the florist!…..needless to say, the comments on that one made for some good reading!

As a business owner and floral artist, it’s important to recognize that you don’t want every customer. You want the customers that want YOU…and are willing to pay your for your work!

Business guru and genius marketer, Seth Godin, talks about Competing On Price as a “race to the bottom”. As Mr. Godin puts it, what do you do when you win?…ie. when you’ve succeeded and you’re “at the bottom”!

The idea of “winning” based on undercutting, is a misconception. You cannot “win” if the only reason someone picked you is because you’re cheap-er.

The real reason you don’t want to compete on price….

A florist cannot lower prices and exceed expectations at the same time!….not unless you’re giving up your profit margin.

And if you’re going to sustain your business, you must respect your profit margin.

I don’t want to win at the game of “cheapness”.

I want to win at the game of quality work and amazing customer service.

Click to watch this quick video, “Why you cannot compete on price”:

 

 

What is your goal?…

Do you want to be the cheapest?

Or do you want to be better than the cheapest?

I hope you’ll choose option #2 above!

Don’t compete on price!…so you can keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. In today’s video I mention my Flower Math course, which is designed to help florists price with confidence and maximize profit margins! (click here for details on the course!)

More FREE Tips from the Blog:

You down with O.P.P? (Other People’s Proposals) Click HERE to read.

How much should florists charge for rentals? Click HERE to read.

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Live Training In January For Floralpreneurs

Is 2019 going to be your best year in business?

I’m sending out one last invitation before the end of the year to floralpreneurs to join me in my training, The Art of Good Business, before we start the next live session on Jan. 3rd….

If you’re a talented floral designer, but you also…

  • Write your own website copy & social media posts
  • Manage your marketing & branding strategy
  • Struggle with “selling yourself” sometimes
  • Still spend too much time with clients who aren’t a good fit
  • Wonder if you even have a brand yet…

Then this course is made for you!

You’ll learn how to focus your marketing efforts and take your website from beautiful to functional by honing the voice of your brand so that you can prequalify leads and attract more clients that love you. It’s easy to get started…

 CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

You can do this course work at your own pace, but I’ll be LIVE in our private Facebook group every Thursday in January to walk you through the course content and answer your questions in real time!

I want to see you succeed…and I know that every small step leads to the next…so I’m here to support you so that you get results. 

CLICK TO ENROLL BEFORE JAN. 2!

If you’re ready to get super focused on:

your business goals,

updating your branding and messaging,

and create a more engaging website (so it represents how awesome as you are and attracts more ideal clients!),

I’d be honored to have you on board!

(read on for details…)

The Art of Good Business includes:

  • 6 pdfs (over 125 pages of lessons + 8 pages of worksheets) that you can download right to your computer; you can even print out the entire course if you’d like.
  • Over 4 hours of videos to supplement the written content.
  • Plus monthly livestreams in our private Facebook group to help keep you motivated and moving through the course all year long! I want you to see results and make positive changes in your business! In our private group we can interact with one another and I can address your specific questions.
  • You can also e-mail me directly with any questions you hay have (before, during or after the course).
  • REMEMBER: I’ll be walking through the course with you LIVE every Thursday in January!

Plus You’ll Get The 5-Day Business Plan Bonus:

  • Day 1: Planning ahead: Set your future-thinking business goals
  • Day 2: SWOTs (Identify 1 opportunity that you can act on this week!)
  • Day 3: Improving Sales Copy With “Benefits & Results”
  • Day 4: Bare Bones Business Plan (You can have a current and future plan for your biz this week!)
  • Day 5: Updating and Implementing (Because action is essential!)*

NOTE: THIS IS IMPORTANT WORK TO DO IF YOU’VE NEVER WRITTEN A PLAN.

Click here to sign up.

Testimonial:

“I just booked my biggest gig yet, by $3k…

I just have to say this course, Alison’s content works!…my ideal client is more clearly defined, I’ve mostly reworked my web copy, have been better about blogging, and more intentional about how I talk to my followers on social media posts.” -Jessica Ormond

how to start a floral design business, how to become a florist, floristry

How do you transform your business into a brand?

  • Step 1. Uncover Your Unique Branding Strengths.

  • Step 2. Design A Website To Attract Customers That Love You.

  • Step 3. Become A Choreographer Of Customer Service.

  • Step 4. Eliminate The Competition; Be The Clear Choice.

  • Step 5. Implement Changes To Get Results.

CLICK HERE TO ENROLL!

The total investment in this training is $1,000 and I have a 1 year payment plan option available at no interest and when you sign up by Jan. 2nd, you’ll be able to tune into all 5 livestreams in Jan (and replays will be available if you can’t tune in live).

Click here to take advantage of the payment plan: https://courses.realflowerbusiness.com/product/12-month-plan/

I’ll teach you how to level-up with actionable steps & stellar tips so that you can perfect your brand’s messaging in The Art of Good Business!

If you have any questions or hesitations about signing up, feel free to shoot me a quick e-mail and get in touch! floralartvt@gmail.com

I hope your 2018 is wrapping up on a good note and I wish you tons of success in the upcoming year.
With love from me to you,
Alison

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Giving Tuesday

More than 5,000 floralpreneurs have enrolled in my Real Flower Business Courses over the past 3 years…

and I’m truly grateful for every florist who’s taken a leap to invest in my courses!

So today, in honor #GivingTuesday and all the Floralpreneurs who’ve helped to make 2018 a GREAT year of learning, sharing and growing small businesses around the world, I’m donating 10% of this month’s profits to charitable causes to express my gratitude!
After another successful year in biz, it’s a joy to be able to give back! (Seriously, I’ve been kinda giddy after making each donation!)

I’m paying it forward with 3 Charitable Causes today:
1. American Red Cross California Wildfires (https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html)
2. Charity Water (https://my.charitywater.org/donate)
3. Rainforest Alliance (https://www.rainforest-alliance.org)

If you’ve been planning to add some sort of “giving back” into your business plans, MAKE TODAY THE DAY! It doesn’t have to be thousands of dollars….or even hundreds of dollars…just give what you can!

(Giving Tuesday has many sponsors who are matching donations so a $400 donation, for example, turns into an $800 donation once it’s matched!….your small donation can turn into a big one!)

How will you make giving part of your growth strategy in 2019?

With love from me to you,

Alison