Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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Can you be professional without a storefront?

It’s not always easy to work from home.

But it’s not unprofessional to “not have a shop”.

A shop doesn’t make you “more professional”. Your talent-level isn’t related to your workspace.

If you create beautiful work and provide excellent customer service….from home, a small studio, or your basement or garage….don’t feel inferior due to a lack of storefront.

Click to watch, Can you be professional without a storefront:

A few questions for you:

How many people do you allow in a consultation?

Do you prescreen clients with a phone consultation?

Consultations are an investment of time and I like to start with a phone consultation.

We can arrange an in-person meeting if we both feel we’re a good fit.

I can put together a quick proposal and quote after a consultation to get the ball rolling, make sure we’re on the same page; it’s essential to have a meeting of the minds.

Have you signed up for my FREE e-mail course, How To Book More Weddings More Quickly?

Check it out my FREE course HERE to get some of my best tips for booking more clients in less time.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out some of my Real Flower Business “stuff” today!

Keep doing beautiful work, floralpreneur.

With love from me to you,

Alison

Find a full list of my course offerings HERE.

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Should Florists Charge Less If They Work From Home?

realflowerbusiness.com, courses for florists, florist pricing tips

The floral industry encompasses not only brick and mortar shops, but a growing number of home-based business owners as well, and while it may have been “out of the norm” to work from a home-studio back when I started my business in 2002, the “shop-less floral designers” have carved our own path in the flower biz.

As a home-studio florist who trained in 5 different flower shops before branching out on my own over 16 years ago, (ie opening a business from the kitchen of my 2nd story apartment!), I’ve come to realize that I was pretty lucky in my training.

As I’ve connected with super talented floral designers around the world, I’ve learned that even super talented florists sometimes struggle with pricing; including home-studio, boutique or appointment only designers, as well as brick & mortar flower shop owners!

The reason I say I was “lucky” in my training is because I was trained by different experienced florists, all with varying styles, income goals, overhead costs, employee retention rates and creativity & quality standards, etc…

BUT THE ONE THING THAT EVERY FLOWER SHOP HAD IN COMMON WAS THEIR PRICING.

No matter which shop I went to, I was taught the same pricing structure each and every time. (We even had cheat sheets at our design benches to ensure that everyone used the same guidelines.)

So by ‘lucky” I mean, I’m lucky to have never questioned my pricing model or my value because I knew without a doubt that I was following the flower shop model.

If you work from home and you’re wondering if you should charge less because you “don’t have a shop”, click to watch! This video was made for you.

And if you need more details on pricing like a flower shop, check out my FREE pricing course, Flower Boss 2: Industry Standards on Pricing,& Markups CLICK HERE to get it.

Thanks for tuning in!

Keep doing beautiful work.

xo. -Alison

P.S. Are you a Home-Studio designer? 

Get 10 Tips for Home-Studio Florists HERE.

P.P.S. Want to watch my first live chat on Periscope? Click below to watch!

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The most important thing you can do in your business today.

Do you know the most important thing you have to do in your business today?

Sometimes as business owners it can be tempting to push things off….

And sometimes you have a good reason. You’re busy, you’re “not ready”, or you” just don’t have time to get into that right now”.

But if you don’t implement, you don’t get results.

You may make a misstep or misfire, but if you wait until you’re “ready” or something’s “perfect”, you’ve probably waited, too long.

Don’t be afraid that it won’t be perfect….

because it probably won’t be perfect…

not at first.

Don’t wait for perfect.

You have to start somewhere.

Start before you’re ready.

Keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison

Click for more Real Flower Business Resources:

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What are you grateful for in your business?

What are you grateful for in your biz, your life, your day, your week?

Write it down! Say it out-loud.

Give someone you know and love a shout-out.

 

A post shared by Alison Ellis (@floralartvt) on


When you own a small business there’s a ton of responsibility that goes along with it; sometimes the sheer amount of work we’re expected to accomplish each week can be overwhelming! But, if we can look beyond the things that bog us down and focus our attention on what lights us up, what makes us “uniquely us” and what we’re SO LUCKY to do, we’ll be able to persevere when the busy days feel loooong or the job feels “too big”….because we remember to count our business blessings.

My goal is always to “get more of what I want” from my business; whether that’s more money, or more clients that love me for me, or more time to grow veggies in my garden next summer…..my business exists to get me more of what I want. It’s a never-ending process of hard work, planning and yes, gratitude!

Thanks for reading, floralpreneurs! I’m grateful you took the time to stop by my blog today.

xo. -A

P.S. While you’re here, why not check out one of my FREE courses? They’re made exclusively for florists from the bottom of my heart. Try ’em, you’ll like ’em.

Click here to see a list of free courses.

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January Blog Challenge

best business courses for florists

Hey Floralpreneurs! You’re invited to join me in January for a FREE blog challenge.
I’m SO FOCUSED on “doing work” that I make it a point to share my best work on my blog.
Instagram can change its algorithm, Facebook can change it’s policies, but my website, well I OWN that which means my blog is the only thing that’s actually *mine* online.
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Blogging is a tried and true way to build a solid business, but it does take practice.
If you’ve been hesitant to start a blog or you’re struggling with what to write or perhaps you simply fell away from your existing blog because you got busy with “other stuff” (like Instagram!), click here to join me in January in my Pop-Up Group on facebook.
It’s free, it will be fun!, and I expect it will help you tune into the voice of your business and your brand in the upcoming year. (Even if you’re still not quite ready to commit to blogging yet!)

Here’s the lineup:
Monday, Jan. 8th: Why a Blog still matters + What to blog about
Wednesday, Jan. 17th: 6 Tips to get you started
Thursday, Jan. 25th: Gaining Traction with SEO
Tuesday, Jan. 30th: Build a better blog

Time: 12-12:30pm EST each week.

This challenge is FREE.
And you don’t have to have a blog (yet) to join!

Can’t join me live?….No problem. Catch a replay in our Pop-Up group after the livestreams.
I’ve been planning ahead even more than usual for 2018 and I hope you are gearing up for what’s to come in the new year as well….
But I also hope you’ll hang your business owner hat by the door and just enjoy some time OFF this holiday season. 
You’ve earned it.
What’s the point of working so hard if we don’t make the space to enjoy ourselves outside of work!? Unplug. Tune into loved ones. Be merry.
In January, we’ll start off fresh! Blog challenge begins Monday, January 8th.
With love from me to you,
Alison
P.S. If you haven’t grabbed my FREE Website Tips for Florists, click HERE to get ’em.

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