Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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Can florists write proposals without a recipe?

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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.).

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.

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.)

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

If you want to join my Facebook group click here!

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.

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.

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, floralpreneurs!

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. Check out my February Flash Sale HERE and SAVE $20 OFF 2 of my most popular Wedding Templates, “How To Write Proposals That Sell” and “Contracts For Florists” OR SAVE $40 off a 5-course Bundle! (offer ends 2/28 @10pm EST. click here for details.)

 

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Growing Your Business And Giving Back

Happy Friday to ya, Floralpreneurs! I’m really proud to sponsor the most recent episode of the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast and if you haven’t checked it out yet, I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO LISTEN TO THIS TODAY!

It’s always inspiring and interesting to hear from florists who’ve “made it” in their biz…..whether they’re recognized in nationwide publications or featured on your favorite blog or globetrotting to distant lands for luxury events, but this particular episode with Teresa Fung of Mimosa Boston is about so much more than “making it in business”…..

Hitomi Gilliam often talks about the concept of “flowers with purpose” and if you’re someone who prioritizes giving back in your business (and life) or if you’ve been longing to find a “higher purpose” for your floral design work, then, prepare to be inspired. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!

Teresa has turned her talent for floral design into a tremendous gift of mentoring and career building skills….there’s so much purpose in this designer’s mission.

If this one doesn’t make your heart swell, check your pulse. xo. -A

I believe in building giving into my growth strategy.

For example, I donate meals to the Vermont Foodbank for every wedding I book, and in November I donated 10% of my profits from my courses and templates to American Red Cross California Wildfires, Charity Water and Rainforest Alliance), but Teresa’s commitment to using floral design for a higher purpose is about giving more than money….it’s about sharing knowledge and teaching valuable skills to at-risk girls who deserve a chance to level-up.

I think she’s a wonderful example of how we can always aim higher in our businesses and we can always “do better”.

I’m truly honored to be able to sponsor this particular episode and I hope you’ll make some time to give it a listen, and then make sure you “like” and share it…please don’t forget to tell Amy of Botanical Brouhaha how much you’re enjoying the podcast, too! (As a small business owner, you know the best way to show how much you dig great content is to like, share and comment!) 

And make sure you check out the BB Garden Style Initiative here. You can even make a donation while you’re there!

 

 

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Live Training In January For Floralpreneurs

Is 2019 going to be your best year in business?

I’m sending out one last invitation before the end of the year to floralpreneurs to join me in my training, The Art of Good Business, before we start the next live session on Jan. 3rd….

If you’re a talented floral designer, but you also…

  • Write your own website copy & social media posts
  • Manage your marketing & branding strategy
  • Struggle with “selling yourself” sometimes
  • Still spend too much time with clients who aren’t a good fit
  • Wonder if you even have a brand yet…

Then this course is made for you!

You’ll learn how to focus your marketing efforts and take your website from beautiful to functional by honing the voice of your brand so that you can prequalify leads and attract more clients that love you. It’s easy to get started…

 CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

You can do this course work at your own pace, but I’ll be LIVE in our private Facebook group every Thursday in January to walk you through the course content and answer your questions in real time!

I want to see you succeed…and I know that every small step leads to the next…so I’m here to support you so that you get results. 

CLICK TO ENROLL BEFORE JAN. 2!

If you’re ready to get super focused on:

your business goals,

updating your branding and messaging,

and create a more engaging website (so it represents how awesome as you are and attracts more ideal clients!),

I’d be honored to have you on board!

(read on for details…)

The Art of Good Business includes:

  • 6 pdfs (over 125 pages of lessons + 8 pages of worksheets) that you can download right to your computer; you can even print out the entire course if you’d like.
  • Over 4 hours of videos to supplement the written content.
  • Plus monthly livestreams in our private Facebook group to help keep you motivated and moving through the course all year long! I want you to see results and make positive changes in your business! In our private group we can interact with one another and I can address your specific questions.
  • You can also e-mail me directly with any questions you hay have (before, during or after the course).
  • REMEMBER: I’ll be walking through the course with you LIVE every Thursday in January!

Plus You’ll Get The 5-Day Business Plan Bonus:

  • Day 1: Planning ahead: Set your future-thinking business goals
  • Day 2: SWOTs (Identify 1 opportunity that you can act on this week!)
  • Day 3: Improving Sales Copy With “Benefits & Results”
  • Day 4: Bare Bones Business Plan (You can have a current and future plan for your biz this week!)
  • Day 5: Updating and Implementing (Because action is essential!)*

NOTE: THIS IS IMPORTANT WORK TO DO IF YOU’VE NEVER WRITTEN A PLAN.

Click here to sign up.

Testimonial:

“I just booked my biggest gig yet, by $3k…

I just have to say this course, Alison’s content works!…my ideal client is more clearly defined, I’ve mostly reworked my web copy, have been better about blogging, and more intentional about how I talk to my followers on social media posts.” -Jessica Ormond

how to start a floral design business, how to become a florist, floristry

How do you transform your business into a brand?

  • Step 1. Uncover Your Unique Branding Strengths.

  • Step 2. Design A Website To Attract Customers That Love You.

  • Step 3. Become A Choreographer Of Customer Service.

  • Step 4. Eliminate The Competition; Be The Clear Choice.

  • Step 5. Implement Changes To Get Results.

CLICK HERE TO ENROLL!

The total investment in this training is $1,000 and I have a 1 year payment plan option available at no interest and when you sign up by Jan. 2nd, you’ll be able to tune into all 5 livestreams in Jan (and replays will be available if you can’t tune in live).

Click here to take advantage of the payment plan: https://courses.realflowerbusiness.com/product/12-month-plan/

I’ll teach you how to level-up with actionable steps & stellar tips so that you can perfect your brand’s messaging in The Art of Good Business!

If you have any questions or hesitations about signing up, feel free to shoot me a quick e-mail and get in touch! floralartvt@gmail.com

I hope your 2018 is wrapping up on a good note and I wish you tons of success in the upcoming year.
With love from me to you,
Alison

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4 Actions To Grow Your Business

You’re officially approaching the end of the business year and while the year may be over, this work on your path to a profitable business must continue.

So to support you on that path, I thought it would be helpful for me to lay out the focused steps I teach florists to grow a profitable floral design business.

Because the truth is, the biggest problem for most entrepreneurs is they simply don’t know exactly what action steps to focus on to grow their cash flow and scale their business with less effort.

Real Flower Business Courses For Florists

Growing a sustainable business really comes down to 4 focused action steps:

Step #1 – Price For Profit

This is the process of following industry standard markups, applying a design fee, charging for delivery & set-up, and generally just feeling good about your profit margins.

Once you’re at a place where you don’t need to worry about how much money you’re making on each sale, you start shifting to “how you can make more money with less effort.”

No matter where you are at in business, whether working from a home-studio or a brick & mortar shop, I always suggest you follow the Flower Math formulas for pricing to ensure profitability…(in fact, you can learn more about my Flower Math technique right here!).

Step #2 – Establish Your Value

Following Flower Math formulas will help you increase your income, however you must also think about the long term sustainability of the business.

That’s where building a reputable brand comes into play. The value you provide to your clients is what your brand is all about. Trustworthy and reliable is what an integrity brand is all about….(This is the real reason people choose you over other florists in your area!)

Step #3 – Monetize Your Brand

Then, once you’ve built a trustworthy brand, it’s time to tap into it to generate some more cash flow by charging premium prices for the level of service and overall experience you provide.

And truthfully, this is as simple as consistently creating beautiful floral designs and providing outstanding customer service experiences so that you develop a sought-after business!

You rinse and repeat these 3 steps over and over again until you have your cash flow where you want it to be…where it is more consistent & reliable.

Step #4 – Scale Your Business

This step is focused on the 3 key areas that allow for you to expand your income without expanding your workload. This is the stage when you MUST ditch the hustle-mentality and start thinking and working SMARTER.

These 3 key areas are: Clear Offers, Authenticity Marketing, and Streamlined Systems.

With these 3 things in place, you will be able to welcome in qualified new clients…and eliminate price shoppers….because clients already understand what you do and trust your brand so that all you need to do is lead them through the process.

These truly are 4 CRITICAL focused action steps you need to grow and scale your business. Work smarter, not harder as you grow.

Hopefully that makes your next steps clear and if you have any questions, please let me know…

To ask me a question or drop me a line e-mail:  info@floralartvt.com

xo. -Alison

P.S. The Flower Math course I mentioned in Step #1 is an easy to follow technique that is making me and my students a lot of money on every order…simply by applying the Flower Math formulas…and there’s no technology required….other than your computer and a calculator.

By following Flower Math…

  • I make a consistent 70% profit margin (or more!) on the cost of flowers & supplies.
  • My clients tell me they make more money on every order they place.
  • Susan made back the purchase of the course in just 1 wedding and said, “I can make a career out of this (and not only be a hobby florist!)”.
  • My client in England said, “I’m not a natural with maths and found it very helpful and easy to understand. I spent £2,000 on a recognised floristry course and am annoyed that they did not cover this amount of detail!!”
  • Canadian designer, Larissa, told me she was happy that she “had to pay taxes for the first time” because she turned a profit in her business after taking Flower Math!
  • Heather signed up in mid-November and she said, “I actually felt the light bulb come on in my head.”

In fact, on average the floralpreneurs who follow the techniques I teach are making more money and feeling more confident on the very first order they quote.

So, if you want to get in the loop on exactly how they work, then click here to learn more and SAVE $100 Off Flower Math Today!

With love from me to you,

Alison

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Are You Ready To Rise Above The Competition?

Hey Floralpreneur®,

How much do you worry about your competition?

  • Do you follow your competitors on social media and cringe when you see how “great” they’re doing?
  • Are you eager to know “who got that wedding”–the one that didn’t book with you?
  • Does jealousy or comparison creep in and undermine your confidence?

What would it look like if you could eliminate your competition?

Now, hold on…..I’m not talking about putting other local florists out of business!

Your goal should be to “stand out amongst the competition” and the surest way to do that is by being the truest, most authentic version of yourself in your business and your brand so that the right clients choose you!

online education for florists, real flower business

Oftentimes, business owners think they need to hire a branding or marketing “expert” to help attract the right clients, but that can cost tens of thousands of dollars!….really.

A “flower famous” friend of mine was quoted over $30k for a marketing expert to help her with her floral business….now, what florist has that kind of money lying around? Not many, that’s for sure.

So if you’re working on a limited budget, what are your options? How do you gain brand recognition and attract the right clients?

The answer?….there are many ways to develop your brand and improve your marketing efforts and you can do it yourself if you’re willing to dig deep and do the work.

You don’t have to be a marketing expert to have a good brand and stand out amongst your competition….but you do need to do some “brand exploration” to get to the heart of what makes your brand special so that the right customers continue to choose you over someone else!

This is the work we do in my course, The Art of Good Business! And for students who are enrolled in The Art of Good Business before Oct. 22nd you’re getting a bonus!

I’m hosting a BONUS 4th Quarter Biz Planning Jam Session to help jumpstart you end-of-year plans and THEN I’m going to walk through the entire course with you, LIVE IN JANUARY in our private Facebook group.

This biz jam session is happening Oct. 22-26th and if you want in, you can apply for a free scholarship HERE ($1,000 value) or click HERE to sign up for the course today!

If you’re a floral designer who….

  • Writes your own website copy & social media posts
  • Manages your marketing & branding strategy
  • Struggles with “selling yourself” sometimes
  • Still spends too much time with clients who aren’t a good fit
  • Wonders if you even have a brand yet…

Then The Art of Good Business was made for you!

So if you’re ready to zero-in on your ideal clients and move your marketing efforts to the next level, keep reading for more info or click here to sign up!

real flower business

In The Art of Good Business you’ll learn how to focus your marketing efforts and take your website from beautiful to functional by honing the voice of your brand so that you can prequalify leads and attract more clients that love you.

Who’ll benefit the most from The Art of Good Business?

Business owners at any level will gain tremendous insight from the course,

however, if you’ve been in business for 5 years or more and want to refine a clearer branding message to attract better clients, you’ll have the most to gain from the lessons inside the course.

For people who are enrolled in the course, I’ll be leading a power planning session in October(to put some foundational plans in motion!)…and then I’m going to jump in with more live coaching for the entire month of January in our private group–like a bootcamp for boot strapping biz owners….it’s gonna be good.

Once you sign up, you’re invested in me, so I want to make sure you know that I’m invested right back….because I am totally invested in your success! (You can read real florists’ reviews of my course here!)

This course is not:

  • a memoir,
  • it’s not a “quick fix”,
  • it’s not about budgeting or numbers,
  • it’s not a mash-up of my “all my other courses”,
  • and it’s definitely not for everyone.

Don’t sign up if you’re not willing to get out of your comfort zone and “do work”.
You’ll have to take action to get results.

I’ll be there to help push you over the finish line, but you have to take the first step to get started (read more)!

“I just booked my biggest gig yet, by $3k…

I just have to say this course, Alison’s content works!…my ideal client is more clearly defined, I’ve mostly reworked my web copy, have been better about blogging, and more intentional about how I talk to my followers on social media posts.” -Jessica Ormond

 

More from Alison:

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in business for 3 years, 3 minutes or 3 decades…nothing defines your brand more than the experience you create for your customers.

The most important thing I’ve done for my floral design business over the past 15 years is work towards perfecting a customer service experience that reflects the values of my brand and speaks directly to the heart of my ideal clients.

I’m not a traditional “branding expert”, but I have studied and practiced (and practiced) my own approach to branding since I started my business in 2001.  It’s said to take 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” to achieve mastery in a field. I’ve easily exceeded that quota as I’ve worked on mastering my brand.

I began my career in the floral industry over 24 years ago, and I’ve been practicing and developing the voice of my brand in order to lead with integrity and attract my ideal clients ever since. (And I’m practicing still….)

Join me on a brand building journey to help you hone your voice.

Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have: info@floralartvt.com

With love from me to you,

Alison

floral design business courses, floristry, floral design, Alison Ellis

Definition of Eliminate: (Verb)

a: to put an end to or get rid of : REMOVE; eliminate errors in your marketing efforts

b: to remove from consideration; eliminate worries about your competition

You can get a sample preview of the course HERE.

“Making money is art…

and working is art…

and good business is the best art.”

-Andy Warhol