Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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By Alison Ellis

5 Biggest Expenses In My Business

 

I was teaching a VIP Coaching Session yesterday and we debriefed a bit on Valentine’s Day sales, which brought up a very important topic that I want to share with you today–the difference between what the numbers actually say vs what you’re feeling about the numbers!

Click to listen below where I share more about the REAL story your numbers are telling you AND get a breakdown the 5 Things I Spent The Most Money On In My Floral Business last year! (I wonder if you’ll be surprised about where my money went or if your numbers tell a similar story.)

 

Real Flower Business · 5 Biggest Expenses In My Business Last Year


The moral of the story is…

Every floral business is going to have different numbers when it comes to sales, salaries, and other expenses, and it’s up to you to understand the story those numbers are really telling.

Remember: If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know your business!

 

 

>>Join Me for 3 Numbers Florists Need To Know! This free, live Pricing Chat for Florists takes places on Tues, March 12th, at 12pm ET.

 

>>And if you want to learn more about The Floralpreneur® Workshop here in Vermont, April 14-16th, click here and get your seat today!

 

As always, if you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’m here to help.

Very best,

Alison Ellis

 

February 21, 2024 — 4:09 pm

By Alison Ellis

2024 Floralpreneur® Workshop

As a floral designer, I know there are a lot of options out there when it comes to workshops!

I’ve invested in more than a handful of professional workshops myself, so I want to share with you what sets The Floralpreneur® Workshop apart!

Click to watch below for a few reasons I think THIS IS THE BEST WORKSHOP FOR FLORISTS!

And sign up NOW if you want to ensure you get a seat. 

It’s time to jump in and join us for this amazing workshop opportunity here in Vermont!

Get all the details here and sign up!

Remember: All Meals are Included, you get a 1:1 Coaching Call with Alison before the workshop, and you’ll walk away feeling confident that you can make ANY DESIGN foam free, yet secure!

I’d be honored to have you join us.

xo. -Alison Ellis

 

February 16, 2024 — 3:17 pm

By Alison Ellis

How To Stop Losing Weddings

Everyone has to start somewhere in their business, but what do you do when you’re really ready to level-up your brand and attract better clients?

My business started organically and it was ALL DIY!–from business cards I printed on my home computer to the “flyers” and occasional print ads I ran in the local papers.

I only booked 1 wedding my first year in business–it was ALL sunflowers–and I felt lucky to book the work! The next year I grew my bookings to 5 weddings (thanks to some friends, and friends of friends, getting married, of course!) and then, I slowly began to build from there….10 weddings, 25 weddings, 34 weddings!….but my business still wasn’t growing the way I wanted it to.

 

You see, even after 7 or 8 years in business, I kept losing the “better events” to another florist. (Like the same florist every time.)

Was this other florist more established than me? YES.

Did they have a team that did 20+ weddings per month? YES.

Was I capable of designing flowers as beautiful as their team? YES!

So why was I losing out over and over again?

 

Simple. They Had Better Brand Position.

 

I had to face the fact that even though I’d been in business for a little while and I had a lot to be proud of already, my business simply didn’t have the appearance on the outside that reflected how professional and capable I was in real life (on the inside)! Choosing me wasn’t a “no brainer”…yet!

 

And frankly, this was really maddening! Because time and time again I’d get the same basic reply, “We really enjoyed talking to you and we’re sure you’d do a wonderful job, but we went with another florist.”

So I decided I had to take action to figure out how to level-up to become the CLEAR choice from now on.

 

The action I took was to invest in a higher-level marketing and branding course (it was about $3,000 at the time, which was 20x more than I’d ever invested before!) and I committed to following the program and completing the course assignments.

 

It took me about 6 weeks of training (oh, and I had a tiny little newborn baby to contend with as well!), but I slowly started to put the pieces of my own marketing and branding puzzle together and you know what?….I started to feel a little differently about my business.

 

Now I won’t lie and tell you that I saw an immediate turnaround in my booking rate or my brand position–building a better brand doesn’t happen overnight! 

 

BUT what I did begin to understand right away was how much OPPORTUNITY I had to actually reach those “better clients” (my ideal clients) with some strategic messaging and a more functional website!

 

And that opportunity began to give me a lot of useful information (as well as a little bit of optimism) that I had the power to turn this thing around!

 

So I continued the work and continued to get OBSESSED with my ideal clients and to find out who they really were and what they really needed to hear from me to get to a YES!

 

Now, when clients inquire with me, they are interested in working with ME, not just any florist.

Now, when clients go to my website they tell me how much they LOVE it.

Now, when I send a proposal, they book me quickly, instead of shopping around.

Now, when clients DON’T book with me, I am not worried that it’s because I didn’t put my best foot forward!

And now, that “other florist” still has a good brand position, but clients choose ME OVER THEM lots of times!

 

And after years and years of doing this work to attract the right clients and build an integrity brand, it’s a genuine passion of mine to help florists do the same thing by tapping into your own unique branding potential!

 

The floral designers and flower farmers who’ve already enrolled in my program, The Art of Good Business, know that you have to leverage your own inner potential so you can make a great first impression that looks as awesome on the outside as you KNOW you are on the inside!

You can CLICK HERE for all the details on this January Training and Enroll today if it’s a good fit for you!

 

If any of my business journey sounds relatable and you want to unlock your earning potential by attracting more clients who can afford to pay you to create work that also lights you up and fills your creative bucket, I would be delighted to have you join me in January for The Art of Good Business.

 

You can get started for only $129!

 

More income, more creativity, more freedom…it all starts to fall into place more easily with a better brand position!

 

I won’t just throw a bunch of strategies at you and teach you how to build a business exactly like my own. This course will walk you step-by-step towards creating your own, unique, special, floral business.

 

I don’t teach florists how to “be like me” in order to succeed. The goal of this course is to get to the heart of what makes your business special. My hope is that by signing up for this course, you can position yourself better in your local market, that you can find the courage to try new things in your business, and that you can be happier in business and in life.

In short in this 4 Week Course we’re going to:

*Get to the heart of who your ideal clients are so you can create a magnetic marketing message that attracts more of the best customers to you

*Improve your website so it converts to more sales with qualified customers

*Lead clients through your sales process to help them get to a YES more quickly

*Establish your own unique brand strategy that stands out above the competition without posting on social media every day

 

I see each of my students as individuals with their own hopes, dreams, and talents, so I put my personal time into teaching this course…

 

* I answer all questions personally and promptly.

* I teach the course live every January so you can continue to get support year after year.

* If you have questions after the live sessions, you can still reach out–you’re not alone.

 

I want you to know that you will get special attention when you enroll in this course, and you will be supported in building a business that is perfect for you.

I am happy to answer questions about my program prior to enrolling if you have them! Registration Closes Jan. 4th.

If you don’t want to be in the same place you were last year, I would love to help you level-up in 2024.

-Alison

 

December 10, 2023 — 7:16 pm

By Alison Ellis

5 Steps To Book More Weddings

How Can Florists Book Weddings In Less Time With Less Stress?

I taught a live training last week on the 5 Steps To Book Weddings More Quickly to help wedding florists streamline their current sales process so you can save yourself time (and sanity) when you’re investing energy in writing a proposal for a client!

I got some great feedback on the training and I want to share a few really important takeaways with you today!

Click below to watch a few of the tips I want to highlight for you.

Want To Get Access To All 5 Steps To Booking In The Replay?

Click To Learn More!


The first step to booking a wedding starts here! Click to watch this 1 minute clip now!


Learn 2 of the biggest mistakes florists make BEFORE even booking a client when you click to watch below!


Click below to watch the MOST important step to stop clients from ghosting!

One important thing to know is that none of what I teach is fluff or theory.

Everything I share with you is tested and proven–it’s not a magic trick to book great clients, but after 22 seasons of booking weddings, there is a clear sales process to follow to make sure you’re leading clients from initial inquiry all the way through to deposit! And if you need practical tips that work, I’m here to help!


Want to get the full 90-minute training plus the Q&A? Grab it now!

Yes, I want the 5 Steps!

 

October 29, 2023 — 2:26 pm

By Alison Ellis

Floral Designer Q&A

I received some great questions from florists in my Facebook group this month, and I’m going to address them in a LIVE Q&A Session on Wednesday, May 31st, at 11am Eastern/ 8am Pacific and I would LOVE to see you there!

Click here for a link to a replay of the live Floralpreneur® Q&A!

From how I leveraged local restaurant accounts and built my business on bud vases, to tips for pricing something you’ve never made before, to those the renewed requests for lily of the valley bouquets–I have a few questions on my list–but florists who join live can ask me anything!

We’re talking about what’s on your mind right now!

I hope you’re having a great day wherever you may be in the world and I’ll see you in the replay!

With love from me to you,

Alison Ellis


Find A Full Course List Here

May 26, 2023 — 3:00 pm

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Welcome, Floralpreneur®.  I’m Alison Ellis, creator of Flower Math, published author, and founder of Real Flower Business. My online business courses and private coaching help floral designers increase profits, book great clients & build a better brand.  Learn More →

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