Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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Show Up For Your Business

How do you show up for your business?

When things are going well, it can be easy to show up with enthusiasm and focus because you know what you need to work on today to get your orders out the door!

When business is slower, or when sales are lower than you projected and uncertainty looms heavy, it’s important to keep showing up for your business.

I say this to you from the bottom of my heart because I know it can be hard to run your business when you’re feeling down and you don’t have enough money coming in.

This can be doubly true for established floral designers, since there’s no rule that your business will always grow or maintain itself year after year. There are in fact, down years in any business sometimes.

And that’s just one of the reasons why running a business isn’t easy (and no one every promised that it would be).

So when you contemplate your next moves, just know that the most important step is to continue to show up!

Showing up will look a little bit different for everybody.

In my floral design business in Vermont, it means I’m bending some boundaries and taking on work I find interesting–even if the orders are a bit smaller.

I just booked a great new client for a wedding in about 6 weeks–that’s not the usual timeline for me, but flowers are a huge priority for the customer and I’m excited for the gig!

I also took a graduation party order this week that’s much smaller than a usual wedding, of course, but then I got a few special prom orders from friends and a former bride from 18 years ago whose son is now in need of a corsage! And that’s a sweet set of sales I hadn’t planned on.

Then today, I got another order for tomorrow and since I’m getting flowers anyway, it’s an easy yes!

The reason I share this is because small sales stack up and so does the good energy you put out there when you keep tending to your work.

So what can you do to show up from here?

When sales are down, how do you keep your energy up? What steps can you take to keep yourself moving forward instead of feeling stuck?

And when business is booming and you’re barely keeping up with the work, how do you stay focused on what matters most so you’re working smarter, not harder?

There’s a lot of self-talk and self-management in business ownership. And yes, you can do this!

If there’s anything specific you’re working on or struggling with in your business, feel free to reach out to get in touch. We can book a call to talk about a good strategy for you! (And if you prefer to work alone, I’ll list a few more options on where to start to show up for your business as additional resources below!)

Just remember that giving up isn’t going to get you closer to your goals, so you might as well show up for your business instead.

xo. -Alison Ellis

Additional Resources:

Update your business plan: Get my Business Plan Jumpstart

Read: Actions to Take When Things Seem Uncertain

Join my Patreon Community for monthly inspiration

Get my Website Bootcamp to improve your first impression with clients

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Business Plan for Florists

As we are about to close out the 1st quarter of the year, it’s a good time to take a look at what’s happening in your business so far and look ahead to what’s coming up! So I want to invite you to join me for a quick business plan check-in. Set aside 1 hour and watch now!

Whether you updated your business plan in the last 3 months or you’ve never really had a “plan” at all, this is for you–because you cannot improve what you do not measure. Let’s check in and regroup together.

You can download this short Floralpreneur® Self Assessment here!

And if you need some additional business resources specifically for floral designers, check out the following:

 

 

 

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4 Words for Difficult Customers

How do you deal with difficult customers?

A florist asked the other day, “How do you “break up” with a customer?” In other words, what should you say when you can tell that a client isn’t going to be a good fit?

In this case, the customer did not sign a contract or send a deposit yet, so it’s really more like parting ways than breaking up.

And while it’s not always easy to do, telling a client that you won’t be working with them doesn’t have to be complicated.

The fact is there are 4 little words you can use to handle a difficult customer: “I’m no longer available.”

That’s it!

  • No need to say you’ve booked another event if that’s untrue!
  • Don’t over explain your reason for deciding  they’re “not a good fit”.
  • And you certainly shouldn’t pretend that you “appreciate their interest in working with you” if you’re about to give them the boot!

“I’m/we’re no longer available” is all you need, followed by a referral to another florist if possible.

You don’t want to say the wrong thing and insult a customer while trying to let them down easy.

But do you know what might be worse? Sticking with a customer who isn’t a good fit because you simply didn’t know how to bow out gracefully!

The reason I share this is because difficult customer conversations need to happen from time to time, but it shouldn’t be a mystery to you or your employees on how to deal with them swiftly and professionally.

And I’ve been making these tough conversations easier for the past decade with Email Templates for Florists.

Get my Emails HERE!

These templates save you time! And florists often tell me they use my e-mail templates the same day they buy them! Copy, paste, rinse, repeat! (You can see a list of the topics included in the templates below!).

You can also upgrade to add all of my Wedding Templates so you have everything you need at your fingertips to take the lead on client communication.

 

Get templates HERE

 

Here’s what you get in 10 Difficult Conversations:

How to…

  1. Tell someone you can no longer “hold their date”.
  2. Present a proposal that’s over budget.
  3. Ask someone why they did NOT book with you.
  4. Tell someone you’re not a good fit for their event.
  5. Reply to a complaint.
  6. Bill for damaged or missing rental items after an event.
  7. Explain you won’t order flowers until full payment is received.
  8. Tell someone that their most recent changes/additions will result in a price increase.
  9. Tell someone you will not update their proposal (again) or meet (again) without a deposit.
  10. Respond when a wedding is cancelled.

*Plus a bonus template: How to Ask For A Testimonial.

And here’s what’s included in 12 Frequent Conversations:

How to…

  1. Say, Hello in an introduction e-mail.
  2. Present a minimum.
  3. Present a proposal, contract and invoice.
  4. Tell someone you’re unavailable for their date.
  5. Tell someone you will not lower your price.
  6. Follow up if you don’t hear back from a prospect.
  7. Tell someone you cannot hold their date without deposit.
  8. Confirm receipt of contract & deposit.
  9. Confirm receipt of contract, but missing deposit.
  10. Confirm receipt of deposit, but missing contract.
  11. Request final changes and final payment.
  12. Confirm receipt of final payment before event.

*Plus I’ve added a bonus with 5 e-mail etiquette tips.

You can check out the EXACT way I address the most common and sometimes difficult customer conversations and take advantage of templates that are proven to work.

Just $58 HERE

On the other hand, you can ask ChatGPT (powered by Artificial Intelligence) to help you out with your customer service & communication, but I wouldn’t suggest it! Difficult conversations deserve a human touch. (And based on my real life experience, AI always says a little bit too much and that opens the door to customer pushback! And nobody’s looking for that.)

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CEO Mindset In Your Floral Business

How important is it to have a CEO mindset in your floral business?

Today, I have a few tips on how getting into a CEO mindset will help you to EASE into the new year–without adding anything to your to-do list!

Because when you run a business and you do “all the things”, it can be hard to zoom out to see the big picture and set next-level goals.

It takes intentional strategy and practice to get yourself into a CEO mindset that can chart your course and steer the ship (instead of just rowing the boat)!

Whether you work alone (like me!) or you lead a team, the most important thing is that you know where you want to go and what you need to let go of! Take a few moments to watch.

Things to consider now…

Do you work ON your business as much as you work IN your business?

Are your customer service systems seamless and effective?

Is your brand mission and message clear?

What are you paying attention to?

Are you spending your time wisely?

What is your next best step to get closer to your own unique goals?

How are you investing in your future growth?…

If you know it’s time to enter your CEO era, consider joining me in January for my 4-Week Training with Live Support, The Art of Good Business!

Learn More & Enroll Here!

And if you missed the Marketing Workshop for Florists, you can catch the limited time replay for just $37!

Get The Replay Now!

I’m rooting for you and your business as you move through this season and into the next! If I can be of any help to you in reaching your goals, please get in touch!

You can also find a full list of courses for florists HERE!

Keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison Ellis

 

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3 Top Tips for New Florists

Last week, I had the privilege of talking to a couple of florists in some 1:1 coaching calls and one new florist asked: What are your top 3 pieces of advice that you’d offer to a new florist?

There’s more than 1 way to answer this question, but I want to share with you what I shared with her! (And if you’ve been in business for a little while–or a long while!–these tips are for you, too!) Since we’re entering the 4th Quarter of the year, it’s the perfect time to share these 3 Tips with you, too! Listen below.

 

Top 3 Tips For Florists

1. Define what you want your business to provide.  How much income you’re looking to make in your business and what sort of lifestyle you’re trying to create?

(Note: Your sales goal will be higher than your income goal because all of your expenses come out of the total sales.)

 

2. Define all of the offers that you’re selling that will bring money into your business.

You can think of these like “buckets” or categories. For example, funerals, daily orders, walk-ins, weekly subscriptions, events.

Then, determine how much you need to sell in each category to meet the sales goal so that you can reach your income goal. (For example, $3,000 in funerals per month, $6,000 in daily orders and walk-ins, $2,000 in business accounts, $5,000 in weddings & events…)

 

3. Define who your customers are (and this may be a different customer for each of your buckets or categories) and get really obsessed with serving them well.

  • What do they need/want?
  • What would they love to buy from you?
  • What would they be excited to tell their friends about?

If you can answer these questions, you’re doing good work! And if you need to think about them a little bit, that’s good work, too!

 

FYI on Monday, Oct. 7th at 12pm ET I’m hosting an Opportunity Hour with Patreon members in the Marketing Mavens Tier as well as the new students in my Flower Math course!

This Opportunity Hour is a small group coaching session and any questions, struggles, or random things you want to bounce off of another florist are welcome!

I’ll send a Zoom invitation to Marketing Mavens along with the monthly blog posts for October.

Keep doing beautiful work and let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of help to you from here!

xo. -Alison Ellis

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