Foam Free Wedding Arbor

Foam free floral arbors are fun and easy to do!

I just did my first wedding of 2020 yesterday and shared my #foamfreefloral mechanics on Instagram. Click through the pics below to see the before, during and after on this foam free wedding arbor including 2 time lapse videos showing you the greening and the flowering!

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#foamfreefloristry before, during and after look at today’s arbor using the #hollychapplepillow

A post shared by Alison Ellis (@realflowerbusiness) on Aug 16, 2020 at 3:14pm PDT

These are super easy foam free mechanics that are affordable and help you make a bigger impact with less product!

What about a water source? I’ve received some questions about a water source and YES, I used about 20 water tubes on the more tender blooms (like hydrangea) and if you live in a warmer climate you can tube every bloom if you need to.

And if you want to see a full breakdown of the recipe on this arbor PLUS the total cost and profit margin on the design, I just shared this with my Patreon subscribers at the $9 Tier and up!….there are a WHOLE LOTTA lessons when you join me on Patreon, of course, but this arbor breakdown is just one good reason to give it a try! There’s no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.

I hope you’ll enjoy this little peek behind the scenes.

xo. -Alison

P.S. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram if you don’t already!….

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Alison Ellis on Botanical Brouhaha Podcast

I’m a guest this week on Episode 3 of the BB+ Podcast.

BB+ are bite-sized episodes of the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast and I am so happy to share this short and sweet Q&A with you today!

In this Pricing Q&A for Florists we talk about:

How much should you charge for rentals?
How do you set a starting price/minimum on flowers?
Should you list your prices on your website?

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or click here to check it out: botanicalbrouhaha.com/bb-episode-3-alison-ellis-on-rental-pricing-floral-markups

It’s only 27 minutes long and I hope you’ll enjoy it!

BotanicalBrouhaha.com is a tremendous resource and inspiration for florists around the world; the floral industry is so lucky to have Amy McGee in our corner. Make sure you subscribe to the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast with Amy & Maria.

This was my first time on the BB Podcast, but I’ve been featured on BotanicalBrouhaha.com before!…

Click to watch a video from the BB Blog below and find my Master Your Pricing series featured on Amy’s blog HERE.

On a personal note

It was an honor to be Amy McGee’s guest on Episode 3 of the BB+ Podcast. I’ve known Amy for several years now and I can honestly say she is simply one of the best people. Period.

Not just one of the best floral design advocates.

Not just one of the best industry resources.

One of the best people on this planet.

And I’m proud to call her a friend.

And I’m ridiculously proud to be invited to serve as a resource for the Botanical Brouhaha podcast listeners in this episode.

Thanks for all you do for the industry, Amy, and thank you for your constant support of the work I do. In both small and big ways Amy always lets me know that what I do in the floral world actually matters…and there’s no way to express my heartfelt gratitude for that continued support!

Make sure to subscribe to the BB Podcast wherever you get your podcasts to show your support of this incredible resource and catch up with any episodes you may have missed.

xo. -Alison

Additional Resources For Florists:

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Alison Ellis on Mornings with Mayesh

As a floral educator, it’s always an honor to be invited to speak with floral industry professionals.

My appearances with Yvonne on Mornings With Mayesh are a few of my favorite live Q&A’s and you’ll find all 3 of my guest appearances in this post!

I’ve had some great opportunities to appear as a guest on other people’s podcasts, blogs and web shows that are worth highlighting over the next few weeks PLUS I’ll be on 2 stages in March and April where you can connect with me live (see below).

Appearance highlights:

Last week I was the featured guest on The Flower Podcast and then, Scott was a guest in my Facebook group (click here to check out our live chat).

Next up, I’ll be teaching live and in person in March in Minneapolis at Koehler & Dramm. Click here for details and to sign up today!

Then, I’ll be in Portland, Maine, April 4-5th teaching at The Floral Collaborative. Click here for details and contact Katey to sign up!

Now, onto the Mornings With Mayesh Mashup….

A few notes and questions covered in our most recent chat include:

If a customer “must have it”, then they must be willing to pay for it.
Industry standards have variation built into them. Once you know the standards you can customize your pricing model to work for your business.
How much should you charge for your markup and design fee?
Selling a wedding Pre-Pinterest vs. Post-Pinterest.
Should you itemize a wedding quote?

Click to watch here:

Grab my free eBook: Everything I Wish I Knew Before I Started My Business HERE.

Click below to watch my April 2019 chat where we address:

Should you set a minimum on weddings?
Do you price anything different with a hand tied vs a vase arrangement?
How to make sure you’re not undercharging your clients
How to charge clients appropriately
Do you mark up high-end flowers like peonies the same as you do a carnation to keep your margins? If you do, how do you use peonies and ranunculus in everyday arrangements? Sparingly?
Should you charge a different markup on rentals, vases, and labor?

Find a full transcript and additional show notes on the Mayesh website here: https://blog.mayesh.com/mwm-alison-ellis-talks-pricing

And in my very first appearance in April 2018 we talked about:

Writing prompt proposals.
Why should florists have a minimum?
Should florists do free mock-ups?
Why I took my minimum off my website.
What equipment do you need to start your floral business?

Find a full list of my courses for florists HERE!

Thanks so much for taking the time to tune in and watch!

Feel free to shoot me a message any time if you have questions for me. I may answer the live in one of my Tuesday Q&A’s on Facebook.

xo. -Alison

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Floral Business Seminar Live

Have you ever wanted to learn with me LIVE and in person?

I have 3 words for you: March In Minneapolis.

Want to meet me there, Floralpreneur®?

I’ll be speaking live and in person in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Koehler & Dramm Wedding Show and I would LOVE to see you there!

Click HERE for details and to join us at the show!

Dates are March 20-22 and I’ll be presenting at 5 different times that you can choose from!

MEET ME IN MINNEAPOLIS

I’m teaching 2 different seminars on Attracting Great Clients and Closing The Sale and Pricing Strategies For Profitability.

Tom Bowling, AIFD will be presenting as well and you can mix and match your seminars so that you can see both of our presentations over the course of the weekend!

MEET ME IN MINNEAPOLIS

If you’ve ever wanted to learn with me live and in person THIS is the perfect time to join me!

xo. -Alison

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Alison Ellis on The Flower Podcast

I am so excited to be Scott Shepherd’s guest on The Flower Podcast this week!

And because I’m SO excited to be on Scott’s podcast, I’m sharing a free gift with listeners.

You’ll get a sneak peek behind-the-scenes at how I save time on mood boards when you click HERE to Scott’s website.

I’m sharing 3 Quick & Easy Mood Board Tips including:

3 Easy (& Free) Ways To Make A Mood Board,
2 real inspiration boards I made for clients,
1 real life wedding I designed based on a mood board,
Plus I share a quote I sent WITHOUT an inspiration board,
And 3 Bonus Tips To Write Proposals More Quickly.

Click here to grab my tips!

Scott Shepherd knows florists and I find that he always asks thoughtful and insightful questions of his guests. He definitely asked me a few questions that I know many florists struggle with.

For example:

We talked about pricing, prequalifying clients, design fees, what it means when a “new florist” comes to your town, and, of course, website “stuff”. I hope you’ll make some time to tune in and check it out.

You can listen & subscribe to The Flower Podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts, AND you can click here to visit Scott’s website and grab my free mood board tips.

I’ve been tuning to @TheFlowerPodcast for a while now and I’m always impressed with Scott’s pointed questions, which truly reflect his depth of knowledge in the floral industry. Since Scott and I could have talked for hours, we’re going to be live together tomorrow in my Facebook group! Click HERE to join us!

xo. -Alison