Real Flower Business

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By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Do Florists Have To Go To Floristry School?

If you want to be a florist, do you have to go to Floristry School? It’s a question I see a lot and I know there can be some strong opinions on the subject. Click to see my answer to the question and let me know what you think!

The truth is, there isn’t just 1 right way to become a florist!

There are so many things to learn that you can’t learn “everything you need to know in just one place”. Whether you go to floristry school, or take an accredited floral design certification program, or you teach yourself through trial and error, there will always be something more for you to learn.

For example, I’ve heard from floristry students in Australia and England who enrolled in my Flower Math course and say that they got a much more thorough and clear explanation from my online course than they did in school! Even longtime florists have told me that they understand the design aspect of their work, but they’ve been kept mostly in the dark on the business-stuff.

And still, some floral designers manage to build a “busy” floral design business, but they struggle with attracting higher paying clients or creating systems to close sales (without a dozen meetings that drain their time and energy).

Let’s face it, there’s so much more to know as a florist than “just flowers”!

The secret to success in the floral industry is to keep learning and growing. Just going to floristry school isn’t enough.

And just learning from YouTube videos isn’t enough.

And letting 20 years pass between your last in-person learning experience isn’t enough either.

Never stop learning in your business and your life–and keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison


Ready to learn proven strategies to streamline your workflow and create more freedom in your floral business?

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April 8, 2022 — 8:38 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

What Do Florists Bring To a Wedding?

How do florists set up a wedding?

When I was first starting my home-studio floral business almost 20 years ago, I often felt like I was pulling a rabbit out of my hat on the day-of a wedding. I was passionate about weddings and flowers and running my own business, but I was still “new enough” that I was making a lot of it up as I went along. Sometimes, I didn’t know if I’d even finish setting up on time. Luckily I always did, but the pressure is real when you’re a wedding pro because there are no do-overs (and we are expected to make magic)!

As I gained experience, I developed systems to streamline my wedding-day set-up, as well as my entire week-of-the-wedding prep, and I know that whether you’ve been a wedding florist for 1 year or 20 years, you’re always learning something new! For example, over the last several years I’ve been working to cut out floral foam in my weddings and that’s changed my day-of and week-of prep!

FYI I’ll be sharing my recent #foamfree wedding mechanics and week-of tips inside my Patreon Creator Page this month. Patreon members get access to my best tips for booking weddings and you can ask me anything so if you have questions, I’ll answer them here! I’ll be taking members inside my week-of prep for an $11,000 wedding including the foam free mechanics I used (and then reused the next weekend, too!). Click here to access my Patreon page!


Today, I want to share this behind-the-scenes look at my “bag of tricks” so you can see what I bring with me to every wedding day set-up. It’s so important to have the right tools for the job–click to see what’s in my bag!

Remember: I’m continuing to answer the question: “how do you actually do a wedding” for the florists on my Patreon Creator Page, and you’re invited to join me there! Access starts at just $3 and you’ll unlock a ton of tips and lessons on how to book better clients, build a strong brand, and design beautiful weddings! Click to join me.

Patreon is a place where artists and teachers create content for their Patrons. There is no obligation–you can cancel your subscription any time. Hop in to grab the tips you need, hop out any time.

Do you have questions for me? I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. You can learn more about me here.

xo. -Alison


Additional Resources for Florists:

  • Find more tips on Wedding Day Prep HERE.

August 8, 2021 — 7:17 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Wedding Day Prep

What do florists do on the morning-of a wedding?

A florist asked me recently, “How do you actually do a wedding?” She knows how to price it. She knows how to book it. But how do you actually “do the wedding”?

After 19 years of designing weddings in my home-studio, I shared my Morning-of Wedding Prep with my Patreon membership* and you can see a small sample of how I get started below.

*Patreon members can ask me anything and get access to a ton of tips and training videos to help you book clients consistently, build a solid brand and create high quality work year after year. Membership starts at just $3, but you can unlock more “stuff” with each membership tier.

Click to watch this short 2 minute clip:


In the full video on Patreon you’ll see:

  • How I tie and box bouquets
  • How I present bouquets to clients
  • How I pack centerpieces for delivery
  • How I prep a #foamfree arbor
  • Pictures of my work and the full ceremony set-up

Now, I know that no one wants another “membership”, but if you want to book clients with more ease and ask me anything about how I run my business and execute events, Patreon is the perfect place for you! (click here to join me!) There’s no commitment and you can cancel anytime.

What else would you like to know more about?

Ask me and I’ll turn it into a video lesson you can access any time as a Patreon supporter.

Thanks for making time to watch today’s clip of my wedding day prep.

Keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison

July 30, 2021 — 12:51 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Successful Floral Business Tips

How do you define success in your business?

This is not a trick question! And there isn’t one correct answer, but it can still feel tricky to answer for yourself!

Every florist must determine their own version of success, but what does that really mean in your business? Let’s talk about it!

Click to watch a replay of this livestream from my Facebook group that I hope will help you define your own version of success!

FYI you’ll find the infographic I mention in this video below! And you can click HERE to read the full post on Running A Successful Floral Business!



Looking for More?

  • Grab my Business Plan Jumpstart HERE for just $20.
  • Join me on Patreon HERE for as little as $3.
  • Learn more about Alison HERE.

July 11, 2021 — 11:35 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

How Long Do Flowers Last?

Even talented floral designers can sometimes miss the fundamentals of floristry.

Whether you learned in a traditional flower shop, graduated from floristry school or you’re learning on your own as you go, every florist has more to learn. That’s why I’m spending the month of April answering questions from new florists (aka “newbies”). Today’s question is on flower longevity: How long do flowers last?

A florist wrote to say: “Thanks for the doing the newbie Q&A’s. I have a question. Google seems to give me all sorts of answers. How long can flowers and greenery stay in the cooler before they are not good anymore and I need to throw them away? Thank you!”

There are a few things to consider, of course, so click to watch my answer below! (And click HERE to submit a “newbie question” for me to answer this month!)

A few things I mention you should consider around longevity:

  • Season. Is this flower in season right now?
  • What’s its nature? Is this flower more delicate or fragile (ie spring blooms like tulips, daffodils and lilacs)? Or is it more hardy (like Italian ruscus, or a tropical orchid or anthurium)?
  • How old is the product when it got to you?
  • How did you care for the flowers once you received them?
  • Certain flowers and greens can be stored for longer periods of time if they are dry packed (ie not in water).
  • Ethylene gas causes flowers to mature more quickly AND fruits and flowers both share the same chemical makeup.
  • I also mentioned apical dominance, which you can see in action in my video, 2 Gladiola Tips on my YouTube channel HERE!

Thanks so much for tuning into my newbie tips this month.

It’s fun to answer your questions and share what I’ve learned over nearly 3 decades in the floral industry. I’ll see you all week long on Instagram with more Tips for Newbies!

To learn more about me, click here to reach my bio and click here to download my FREE eBook, Everything I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business!

xo. -Alison


P.S. A few people I mentioned in today’s chat include:

  • Watch a tour of Ben Cross in his sustainable alstroemeria nursery HERE.
  • Mountain Flower Farm grows and ships beautiful peonies HERE.
  • Follow Francoise Weeks for inspiration on using unique botanical materials.
  • My tee shirt, No Rain, No Flowers, is available on Botanical Brouhaha HERE. (I really love this tee shirt!)

April 12, 2021 — 12:42 pm

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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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FOR WEDDING FLORISTS:

Read my book: Falling Into Flowers

Templates for Florists

Flower Math Formulas

3 Keys To Booking Great Clients

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Free ebook: Everything I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business

5 Actions To Take When Biz Is Uncertain

10 Things I Did To Grow My Biz

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