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By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Floral Recipes and Flower Care Tips

Where do new florists go to ask their burning (or random) questions?

No one knows everything they need to know when they’re jus getting started. That’s why this month is dedicated to answering questions from new florists.

You can find the latest “Tip for Newbies” below! And catch up on the previous tips you may have missed on Instagram HERE!

These are the questions I answered today:

  • Hi Alison, You mention on several occasions something about recipes. Can you tell me how you make recipes, and how you use them for decorations and bouquets.
  • Hi! I would love to know better how to create that loose airy design seen in so many bouquets without an armature. Also, how do you attach greenery to staircases and fireplaces without brick clips? I’m figuring chicken wire, but how to keep it secure? Thank you!!
  • How do you prep hydrangea to ensure they last longer?
  • Exactly how to use quick dip and alum – and is alum short for something?!
  • Plus I addressed the best boutonniere storage tip I learned from Gregor Lersch.

Click to watch:


In today’s video I mentioned my online course, Flower Math, which you can find more info on here and if you want to check out that boutonniere storage tip on YouTube, click here!

April 22, 2021 — 1:37 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

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! [Read more…]

August 17, 2020 — 7:15 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

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

 

 

 

February 17, 2020 — 8:21 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Can florists write proposals without a recipe?

realflowerbusiness.com, floralpreneur, florist recipes, floral design

When should florists write recipes?

Do you figure out stem counts before a client is officially under contract?

Even with a streamlined booking process, it takes precious time and TLC to put together a wedding proposal–and I like to turn my proposals around quickly–so I don’t write recipes without a commitment from the client.

I always write recipes for my weddings…

Over the years I’ve established “starting prices” for the floral elements I make most frequently (i.e. bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, arbors, cocktail pieces, delivery & set-up, etc.)….

And my starting prices, or “minimums”, provide enough breathing room in the budget to create work I’m proud to deliver to my clients, without adding up each stem before we’ve actually established a working relationship (ie. a contract & deposit to secure the date), let alone finalized the design, color palette or specific floral choices.


Pricing a proposal takes far less time when minimums are established for each line item.

Whether you itemize an initial proposal for a client or simply offer a “lump sum total” when quoting a job, your established minimums will allow you to price as needed to turn a profit without having to write out recipes on every proposal before you get the job.

Here’s my process for booking without a recipe:

  • I send an initial proposal to a client with a minimum spend requested,
  • the clients commit to working with me (ie. a signed contract & deposit),
  • within the next fews months/year, we modify our plans as needed (adjusting colors, table counts, floral varieties, etc.),
  • and then, once final decisions are made, I’ll invest the time to create custom recipes for their event.

Click to watch, Can you price without a recipe?…

P.S. The wedding I talk about in this video, well, I’m happy to report that it worked out GREAT!…she ended up being an ideal client after all.

And if you want to learn how to price with confidence & stop over-buying so you can increase your income, I teach you everything I know about pricing in Flower Math! 

Sign up & SAVE $100!


Testimonial:

“In one wedding I felt more confident in my pricing & made my money back on the purchase of the class. This really has been a game changer for me!!  

-Susan of Wild Blume


Customers should get to “yes” easily.

It’s always easier to have a pricing conversation with a client if you’re being honest & transparent.

It can be as simple as clarifying: What are your customers willing to spend? and What can you provide at that price point?

Be confident in your pricing. Because if a client walks away after you’ve already offered your best price, then they’re just not your customer! They simply couldn’t afford you.


I used to be limited in my belief about how much I could charge…

Years ago, if someone said they had a $3,000 budget, I’d say, “OK, sure, I can make that work!” I mean, I should be able to make something beautiful for $3,000, right?!…well, that depends on what the client is requesting!

Once I get some preliminary details from a client, I can introduce a starting price based on the information I’ve collected.

The client’s requested vision may be “more than the minimum”–that’s the up-side of Pinterest….we can see immediately how elaborate and lush their dream/vision is, or get a sense of how clean, focused and simple their taste may be.


Are these flowers expensive? Yes, they are.

It’s not your job to try to replicate a $450 elevated centerpiece that your customer fell in love with (on Pinterest!) for the low, low price of $150. (I’d rather make a beautiful centerpiece for $150 that’s easy for your guests to see over, instead of feeling uneasy about the “smaller scale” of an elevated piece that was cobbled together for $300 less than the inspiration photo! That’s not your job.)

I want my customers to experience value when working with me.

Charge what you’re worth and then, BE WORTH IT.


What if you’re pricing something you’ve never made before?

For example, what if you haven’t made an elevated centerpiece?

Well, sometimes you need to do some mathematics and imagining and spacial relations-work with your ruler and a loamy dish to determine a price on something you’ll be making for the first time…

But if you set some starting prices for your work, and you know that elevated centerpieces are at least 3x the price of a low centerpiece, you’ll automatically have a starting point to work from and instead of trying to make it for “less”, you can simply present the “starting price on elevated pieces”…even though you haven’t made it yet! (and then, you can offer alternatives to the elevated designs if their vision isn’t aligning with the desired budget.)


Deliver what you promise…

If the inspiration photo is “more than you’ll provide at this price”, that must be clearly stated in all of your documents. “Your inspiration photo is $450, however, we’ll make a smaller, scaled down version for $275.”

Always deliver what you promise.

Your brand is what you deliver. Don’t promise something you can’t deliver.

Never forget the trust your clients put in you/your team.

Keep doing beautiful work, floralpreneur®!

With love from me to you,

Alison


Additional Resources:

  • Should you book more luxury weddings? (click here to find out!)
  • Get The Vault (just $13)
  • Increase your income with Flower Math (save $100 off today) 
  • If you want to join my Facebook group click here!

 

February 24, 2019 — 10:38 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Holiday Cranberry Sauce

It’s officially one week until Thanksgiving here in the U.S.A. so I have a Holiday Home Cooking Episode for ya….with one of my favorite sides.

Cranberry sauce has always been one of my favorite holiday foods. As a kid, I thought the canned cranberry sauce was so good….but as I’ve grown, so has my appreciation for “the real thing” so homemade cranberry sauce is my jam….well, not jam, it’s my sauce, but….you know what I mean!

My super easy Holiday Cranberry Sauce recipe will only take you about 20 minutes to make and about 3 hours to chill in the fridge….but you can eat it warm and it’s still really, really good!


You’ll need…

1.5 cups water

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder

3/4 cups sugar (I like to use maple sugar, but brown sugar or evaporated cane juice will work just fine)

12 ounces fresh cranberries (approximately 3 cups)


To cook…

  • Combine water and arrowroot powder in a small saucepan and stir, then bring to a boil.
  • Once boiling, add the cranberries and sugar and lower the heat to medium. The mixture should be at a steady simmer.
  • Cover, leaving the lid ajar so the steam can escape.
  • Cook for about 10 minutes; the berries should be popping and juicy.
  • Uncover and use the back of a wooden spoon to smush the cranberries and create the consistency you like (the more you smush ’em, the smoother the sauce will be).
  • Cook an additional 5 minutes with the lid off.
  • The juice should be thick and red and the berries should be mostly popped.

Let the sauce cool and then transfer to a container to refrigerate.

Cover with plastic wrap (or reusable lid!…like a mason jar!) and refrigerate for about 3 hours so it becomes a bit more “jellied”.


I love this cranberry sauce so much, I make it kinda all the time once fall comes around! Anytime I want something sweet, I hit the sauce! It’s just tart enough and just sweet enough….it’s delish.

Enjoy! And I hope your family will enjoy it, too!

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. I’ll share a few more recipes before the holiday….so stay tuned….and if you want to find out about my Black Friday Sale next week, sign up for updates here: Yes, keep me in the loop for the sale!

November 15, 2018 — 3:07 pm

Welcome, floralpreneur®.  I’m Alison Ellis, creator of Flower Math, and founder of RealFlowerBusiness.com. My online business courses, group training and private coaching is created to help floral designers increase profits, book better gigs, type fewer emails & build awesome websites.  Learn More →

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