Growing Your Business

Are you growing or maintaining your business?

To kick off the new year, I was live on YouTube to share some thoughts on growing your business and maintaining what you’ve built! You can watch it now!

This is the first topic for the year because not every year is a growing year in your business and it’s important to have a plan on what to do when growth isn’t the goal so you can maintain what you’ve built.

If you need some help reigniting your brand this month, I’m teaching every Tuesday in January, starting Jan. 7th, when you join me inside The Art of Good Business, 4-week training. (You can find details here & enroll today!)

Learn More & Enroll Here!

And if you’re already enrolled in The Art of Good Business, I can’t wait to get started next week!

Welcome to a new year, floralpreneur®. Keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison Ellis

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CEO Mindset In Your Business

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By Alison Ellis

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

By Alison Ellis

Engagement Season Tips for Florists

Do you want to book some more events for 2025? Well, are you ready for engagement season?

Today, I have 3 Tips To Help You Prepare for Engagement Season–or whatever season your business may be entering–so that you can attract more of the right customers to your business! Click to watch now:

Join the Marketing Workshop!

A Few Notes To Recap

#1. Keep your ideal customers in mind–always!

Identify who you seek to serve so you can focus on what they want to hear from you!

That means, if your ideal customer really loves flowers and tends to have a reasonable budget, you don’t have to create content about how hard you work behind the scenes to clean wax out of votive candles or scrub buckets on a Monday morning.

Because your ideal customer would rather see the beautiful work you created this week and hear a little bit about why you love the look of the design!

#2. Revisit your existing marketing efforts.

What are you actually doing right now to attract the best customers to your business?
Are you putting all of your eggs in the social media algorithm basket?
What does your website express when I land on your homepage?
Are you speaking to the hearts of your ideal clients?
Where else can you reach them?

#3. Add more intention to your marketing strategy!

Level-up your marketing and branding strategy with a more magnetic message to attract the best clients!

Your “brand” is what your customers experience. So it’s more than just an image you project–it’s what people say about your company when you’re not in the room.

A better marketing strategy gives you leverage. In short, it makes it easier to book clients and gain trust if your brand credibility is already established in their minds.

After 22 years in business, I think it’s a wise practice to revisit your marketing and branding efforts on a regular bases (at least once per year!). That’s why I’m hosting my upcoming Marketing Workshop on December 3, 4 & 5th! You can learn about that and sign up here if you want to join me! I’d be honored to have you join me.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

xo. -Alison Ellis

By Alison Ellis

Simple Social Media Tips for Florists

How can you be more consistent with blogging and social media so that you attract the best customers, but also follow a strategy that’s practical and simple?

I got this question from a member of my Patreon Community the other day, which was actually more like 8 or 9 questions, so I answered them live so I could really dig into details and answer in depth!

If you have questions after you watch, let me know!

Click to watch now:

In this livestream I answered questions on:

Content ideas for blogging and social media
Discipline ideas
Goals of how often to post
How do you measure its success
Post structure
How do I keep it simple
How do I post our values, beliefs and key brand points

If you need some help crafting your brand message and sharing your voice, you can get access to Monthly Blog & Social Media Prompts by becoming a Marketing Maven inside my Patreon Community here: www.patreon.com/realflowerbusiness

I know that as a business owner, it can be challenging to be consistent and authentic because there’s often a bit of a trade off between consistent and authentic.

Wash, rinse, repeat = consistent

But it often takes a little bit of contemplation to find what you have to share with the world that’s actually authentic!

I hope the tips I shared today will inspire you to simplify your social media strategy and share your voice with more intention.

And if you’d like to check out this month’s Social Media Prompts on Patreon, I’d be honored to have you join me there!

xo. -Alison

By Alison Ellis

Toxic Positivity In Business

Hey Floralpreneur®, I have to be really honest about something that’s been bugging me lately. I keep seeing a lot of influencers and educators who are pushing toxic positivity & basically gaslighting us–”us” being floral designers and small business owners– so I want to lay out some things that I will NEVER do:

I will NOT tell you that a slow sales year in your business is an AMAZING opportunity and you should look on the bright side–

Because while there CAN be opportunities in the slower times to refocus your efforts on activities that actually help increase your sales, I know it feels like a gut punch when you have bills to pay, mouths to feed, and employees who are counting on you!

What your business actually needs is a plan to generate more sales, not just a positive attitude to embrace the slump (as you organize your ribbon rack and try to manifest more customers).

Another thing I will NOT tell you is that just spending more time on social media doing Reels is the answer to all of your problems!

If you’re already overwhelmed by the amount of time & attention that social media demands from you NOW, is spending more time on these platforms really the right move?

(Even though Instagram Reels are what Instagram WANTS you to do to keep their platform relevant, that doesn’t guarantee you new paying customers this week, this month, or even this year!)

These “tips” may sound “optimistic and on-trend”, but oftentimes they end up making you feel worse because neither of the above are an actual strategy to increase your sales ASAP.

So if you happen to be questioning yourself lately in the face of these sorts of “positively unhelpful pleasantries”, that’s because they’re lightweight fluff at best and manipulative at worst.

Before you question yourself, question the source of the advice!

Remember that I’m a REAL florist just like you!

I’ve been doing wedding flowers since 2002 and frankly, my sales projections are down this year, too. And while I’ve learned to keep my chin up and I’m hopeful to book a few more great weddings this year, it’s still genuinely frustrating to see this dip in my sales and income!

Since I didn’t come here to just rant, here’s what I WILL promise you:

You can count on me for proven, honest business strategies based on over 30 years of working as a florist and over 20 years of owning my own home-studio design business.

That’s it. Just the facts.

Because puffing you up to say, “You’ve got this” isn’t enough to make a meaningful difference in your business and your life–and what I teach is meant to help change your mindset, your strategy and your income for the better!

I don’t just sell templates on auto-pilot.

I didn’t create realflowerbusiness.com to be a “passive income stream”.

I am VERY sincerely & actively here to provide support, answer your questions or even meet privately for 1:1 coaching if you need it.

Anytime you have a question about your business or what your next steps should be in your business, please feel free to get in touch.

Thanks for making time to read my mini-rant today. I’m rooting for you and your business–especially if it feels like an off year.

Keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison Ellis

P.S. Did you catch my live chat on “What Do You Offer?” In 25 minutes or less you can get some clarity around what you are offering JUST IN TIME to get some more sales for Valentine’s Day! Click to watch now!