Stop Worrying About The Competition

My one wish for my community of floralpreneurs this year is that you STOP worrying about the competition.

Click to watch today’s quick tips on “eliminating the competition”:

Inside The Art of Good Business is where I share the tools to help you…

Attract ideal customers,
Engage customers on your website and
Lead customers through the sales process so they get to “yes” easily.

Consider joining me. We start on Friday LIVE (click for details)!

What does “worrying” about the competition look like?

Comparing how many “likes” you have? Checking up on events you didn’t book?

Comparison is the thief of joy.

However, when you think so much about what you’re doing in your business that you can’t worry about your competition, that’s when you’re focused on the right steps this year.

Eliminate the competition by focusing SO MUCH on what you do well and putting that in front of your customers in a way that feels authentic and genuine and true.

(If you do that, you don’t have time to worry about how many likes or views the “other guy” got…focus on what you’re building and what the competition is doing doesn’t even matter.)

Zero in and get laser focused on what you need to do for you and your staff.

You are special. Your competition can’t tough that.

Learn more about the course HERE.

NOW is the time to join!

xo. -Alison

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

How Do Ideal Customers Find You?

Do you know what your ideal customers are looking for?

I shared this video yesterday about tuning into who your ideal customers are and what you deliver to them.

Today, I want to talk about the next step: getting found by your ideal customers.

Once you’ve identified the “who you serve” and “what they care about”, your next big feat is attracting customers to your website with sales copy that speaks to their hearts.

Click to watch a short video: How Do Ideal Customers Find You?

As I mention in the video, in Week 2 of The Art of Good Business I walk florists through 12 Tips to Build a Better Website so that you “get more clicks” and continue to attract great clients year after year. Learn more about this fun, easy to implement group coaching program HERE.

I’ll show you how to leave a trail of breadcrumbs so customers get to the right places…

show them around…

and create a branding strategy that increases client engagement!

In The Art of Good Business, you’ll learn how to easily organize your website so customers go where you want them to go!

The work we do together in this course is the compass I follow that helps me set the foundation of what I say “yes” and “no” to in my business.

Now’s the time to check your own compass and make sure your foundation is strong as you embark on a new year in your business.

I do this work every year and I am happy to do it with you in The Art of Good Business (click here to join me!).

xo. -Alison

P.S. Not sure if The Art of Good Business is right for you? Click here to hop on a call with me!

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Who Is Your Ideal Customer?

How do you define an Ideal Customer?

People talk about finding “ideal clients”, but it’s rarely defined.

The simplest definition of an ideal customer is: someone you want to work with over and over and over again.

You may have more than 1 ideal customer (multiple income streams sometimes have multiple customer avatars).

Click to watch this super short video on Why you want to get to know YOUR Ideal Clients!

We dive into this very topic in Week 1 of The Art of Good Business, which starts LIVE Jan. 8th.

You don’t have to join me live, but I will be here every Friday in January to walk you through the course.

Learn More HERE!

Ideal customers choose your brand easily.

They are willing to pay what you charge.

They love your website.

They love you/your personality and/or your sales staff.

They get to yes, easily.

In short…

In order to make your social media attract the right customers, you need a clear idea of who you’re actually taking to!

Ideal customers say, “this is for me…she’s saying what I’m thinking!”

You want your ideal customers to read your sales copy and think “yes, this is for me”.

Does your website and social media reach your clients like this?

If not, I can help!

Click here to learn more about The Art of Good Business!

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog and watch my tips.

Keep doing beautiful work, Floralpreneur®.

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. If you have any questions for me about the course or whether it’s a good fit for you, request a free 20-minute call here! I’m happy to hop on a call if you have questions for me.

This is truly one of the most valuable and in-depth courses I teach and I would be honored to have you join me if it sounds like a good fit!

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Instagram Is Not Your Long Game

Is your Instagram engagement down?

I read this article last week, Why your Instagram Engagement Kinda Sucks Right Now, and I thought some of the floralpreneurs I know and love would find it interesting. I’ve heard complaints about a lack of engagement over the last several months and this certainly helps to explain why!

Now, while it’s frustrating to think that Mark Zuckerberg seems to control the fate of your business marketing, in truth, he does not!

YOU control your branding and marketing strategy…

So while Instagram may be of help to some businesses in the short term, you should always focus on the LONG GAME when you are planning for your business.

It’s easy to get distracted by “likes” (and endless scrolling), but successful entrepreneurs don’t get distracted. They get laser focused.

What are you doing to get laser focused on your brand strategy (for the long run)?

I’ve been running my business for 18 years and I don’t focus on Instagram followers so much as I focus on creating valuable content and connections that benefit my ideal customers.

If you want to learn more about what I mean, click here for details on the program I teach every January, The Art of Good Business. I’ll break down the most important steps you want to focus on to build a brand (and a branding strategy) that sets your business up for the long run.

You can check out this quick intro from inside the course:

Learn More HERE!

Remember: There’s no such thing as a “finish line” when it comes to building a solid brand. Once you have a great brand, you have to keep it up! Maintain the high standards that earned you that reputation. And keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. The Art of Good Business is a self-paced online course that you can do anytime on your own, BUT I walk you through it every January–because I don’t want you to just sign up for the course, I want to see you get results! So I am here to walk you through the steps and answer your questions this month and every month. Click here to learn more.

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

A Conversation with Koehler and Dramm

I was invited to to sit down with Emily and Mary-Catherine at Koehler and Dramm to talk about my new book, Falling Into Flowers, and share a bit about who it’s for, what you can expect to get out of the book, and why I wrote it in the first place!

We talked about weddings, dreaming bigger in your business, checklists and production schedules, rediscovering a love for the customer and impacts of Covid moving forward.

Click to watch (or listen while you’re making holiday wreaths)!

Order a Book HERE!

Why am I willing to share what I’ve learned?

Emily asked me to share WHY I am so willing to share what I’ve learned with other florists (see that below!):

Be the Visionary in your Business!

During our chat, Mary-Catherine zeroed in on the need to focus in on what you actually want in your business, and Emily added that it’s the perfect time for strategic planning…here’s where I share a bit about being the visionary in your company instead of the “worker bee” (see that below!):

What’s the #1 Thing Florists Should Take Away?

Falling Into Flowers is for all floral designers who want to run a successful business, but here’s what I hope you’ll get out of it (see that below!):

Order from Publisher

Order on Amazon

If you have ever thought about becoming a wedding florist, this book is for you. Beautifully written, Alison provides a clear and through understanding of the business side of being wedding florist. From an overall plan to selling a wedding to working hard and making a profit, she genuinely shares her many years of experience. I think my favorite part is the wedding production schedule, this clearly lays out the weekly process and the amount of effort required to produce a successful wedding. Overall, “Falling into Flowers” is an authentic and candid view of owning and operating a real wedding floral business. -Nancee (review from Amazon)

Thanks for taking the time to watch my interview with Koehler and Dramm! If you have questions for me, get in touch!

And if you’d like to “dream a little” in your business, check out this intro from the Build Your Dream Into A Business Plan Live Session I hosted for Patreon subscribers:

Get the Full Session on Patreon

You’ll find a full list of my online courses for florists HERE!

To learn more about Alison click here!