Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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Floral Designer Q&A

What questions are florists asking lately?

I received some great questions from florists in my Facebook group this month, and I’m going to address them in a LIVE Q&A Session on Wednesday, May 31st, at 11am Eastern/ 8am Pacific and I would LOVE to see you there!

Click here for a link to join the live conversation!

From how I leveraged local restaurant accounts and built my business on bud vases, to tips for pricing something you’ve never made before, to those the renewed requests for lily of the valley bouquets–I have a few questions on my list already–but I will address your questions live as well so make sure to tune in and ask me anything!

We’ll be talking about what’s on your mind right now! Don’t forget to click that link above to join the conversation and I’ll see you there.

With love from me to you,

Alison Ellis

Find A Full Course List Here

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How Do You Sell More Flowers?

When florists want to sell more flowers for Mother’s Day–or any occasion–the most important step is to reach out to your past customers to make sure they know what you’re offering.

That means if you have NOT directly pitched your offers to the customers who purchased from you last year, it’s time to take action now!

I know it’s tempting to throw out a few posts on social media and feel like you’ve “done your job” to get the word out about your business and what you’re selling, but posting and praying is not enough!

If you REALLY want to sell more flowers, you have to reach out to the real live customers who’ve bought from you before and invite them to place an order today!

If this sounds like a lot of work, guess what–it could be! You may not be organized with your customer list at your finger tips, perhaps.

But it’s actually pretty easy to write an email to your client list and create a short script to make phone calls to your best customers who haven’t ordered yet, so you can tell them exactly what you’re offering and make it easy for them to buy.

A few things to include in your pitch:

  • Introduction–what you’re offering (and why they need it!)
  • Clear price points on 1-2 options
  • Call To Action–with a link to buy or phone number to call
  • Sense of Urgency–why do they want to do this today?

 

Some customers will say no, but some will say yes! And then, you’ll be that much closer to your sales goal.

The moral of the story is this: Ask for the sale. Don’t sit back and wait for customers to come to you.

Keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison Ellis

Find out more about Alison HERE and see a full course list for florists HERE.

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Celebrate Your Success In Business

What are you doing well right now, Floralpreneur®?

As a business owner, it’s easy to look at your to-do list and think, “Gah, I’m so behind!” or “…yet another week’s gone by and I still haven’t had time to [fill in the blank with that important project here]”, and believe me, I get it!

In fact, I had a realization about 2 weeks ago–something that I didn’t actually think was true–but the realization was this: I’m hard on myself.

And there’s a good chance that you are, too. So today, instead of focusing on what you “haven’t accomplished yet”, it’s time to take a moment to recognize yourself for what you’re doing well right now.

Here’s what I want you to do:

Take 3-5 minutes to acknowledge yourself for the things you’re doing right! And I really mean it. Write them down! List 5 Things You’re Great At!

Give yourself credit for the brave, bold actions you’ve taken in your business so far and you know what? You may start seeing the things on your “didn’t do it yet” list a little bit differently.

Maybe you even start to feel GOOD about where you are right now–despite the things that are “undone”.

And you can use that positive energy to fuel your next action steps because you’re not bogged down in the negative self-talk that might be telling you you’re not doing enough!

There will always be more to do and more to learn in order to achieve higher levels of success throughout the life of your business.

(Which means you can easily choose to never run out of reasons to aim higher and reach for more.)

That’s why it’s important to keep perspective.

Look at where you are now so you can appreciate yourself for all you’ve done to get here. Then, you can take your next step with confidence because you know that you’ve got what it takes to keep moving forward.

Business ownership means you’ve got to be your own hype-person! It’s up to you to recognize your greatness. And if you need a hype-woman, I’m here for you!

Keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison Ellis

More From Alison

See A Course List

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Françoise Weeks and Alison Ellis on Resilience and Innovation in Floristry

How Do You Push Through Fear To Take Your Business To The Next Level?

I invited my friend, Françoise Weeks, to join me for a livestream back in 2020 to talk about how she learned to become such a confident, world-renowned floral educator–despite being an introvert–and how she continues to innovate in new create ways as a designer.

She talked about the very first speaking gig she ever got, why she shares her techniques so freely and her approach to teaching floral designers to use natural materials in unique and different ways.

I’ve been looking high and low for this replay and I finally located it today–right on my Facebook page where I left it! I want to truly thank Françoise for making the time for this conversation and for continuing to inspire me!

I hope you’ll take some time to tune in to listen to her inspiring story!

And if you want to see Françoise teach LIVE and in person along with me, we’re teaching a live workshop on April 17-18th, along with the Queen of Pop-Up Shops, Popped with Phebe, so if you’re a floral designer or flower-farmer who wants to level-up your creativity and your career, why don’t you join us today!

Get Workshop Details

Doors are closing soon–we need a headcount ASAP so consider this your last call for enrollment–there are only a few rooms left at the Inn last time I checked.

xo. -Alison Ellis

Want to know more about the Workshop in April?

I’ll be teaching alongside Françoise Weeks & Phebe Robinson-Higgins for 2 Days of Hands-On Training, April 17 & 18th at The Inn at The Round Barn in Waitsfield, Vermont.

We’ll cover topics including: 

  • Foam Free Woodland Techniques & Floral Jewelry with Françoise Weeks 
  • How To Sell A Wedding More Quickly & Price For Profit with Alison Ellis
  • Everything You Need To Run A Successful Pop-Up Shop with Pop-Up Expert, Popped With Phebe

 

These are resources that will level-up your floral design creativity & career!

Would you like to join us? The time to sign up is now!

(There Are Only 3 Rooms Left At The Inn.)

You can sign up today for the workshop and get the details on how to book your stay here: https://learn.realflowerbusiness.com/april-workshop

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Pricing Questions Answered Bonus 2

Today’s the final day of the Flower Math Spring Sale and to close it out, I did another Bonus Q&A to answer pricing questions that florists submitted. Click below to watch AND if you’re ready to start pricing with more confidence, enroll in Flower Math Today!

Flower Math Sale Details!

 

 

Did You Miss the First Bonus Q&A Session?

**YOU CAN WATCH PART 1 OF THE BONUS Q&A SESSIONS HERE.

Thanks for making time to watch! And a HUGE thanks to everyone who’s signed up for Flower Math during the Spring Sale!

xo. -Alison Ellis

 

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