Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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20 Questions with Alison Ellis: LIVE Q&A

My blog is relatively new, but I’ve been talking with floral designers on my e-mail list since October of 2015.

I invited floralpreneurs to join me for a live Q&A in March 2016 to share some of my tips to finding focus in my business (and life in general).

While I was at it, I answered about 20 questions that floral designers submitted in advance including topics like…

  • talking about budget,
  • how do you get customers to spend more than the minimum,
  • marketing,
  • finding the voice of your brand,
  • home-based businesses,
  • working without a cooler,
  • and setting standards for your work!

Click to watch my very first Live Q&A on Periscope! It’s about 90 minutes long.

Pro tip: Focusing on how we want to feel as business owners, as entrepreneurs, can be very clarifying when it comes to developing the voice of your business and setting standards.

Keep
doing
beautiful
work!
With love from me to you,
Alison​​​​​​​

See a full list of my online business courses for florists HERE including 12 E-mail Templates for Florists and Flower Math.
Want to talk one on one? Check out details on Strategy Sessions here.

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How do you keep the faith in the off-season?

One of the most challenging parts of owning a seasonal wedding business is learning to keep the faith in the slow season.

We want to stay focused on cultivating ideal clients, but when your calendar isn’t booked, it can be tempting to book “anything you can get.”

Want to know How To Stay Focused On Ideal Customers When Your Calendar Isn’t Booked? Click to watch some real tips I use to stay focused!

Faith is experiential.

The more we experience success in business, the easier it becomes to believe in our future success….even when the calendar isn’t fully booked yet.

Pro tip: Read (and re-read) your thank you notes and testimonials from happy clients to remind yourself what makes you so awesome!….and really consider what they’re saying….what do you really do? What are you really good at?

What does your business/your brand deliver?

It takes courage sometimes to acknowledge that a gig isn’t a good fit for you!

If you feel tempted to lower-your-bar or take a job against your better instincts, well, that’s where our faith is tested.

Building an integrity brand takes practice and more practice and even more practice as you continue to hone your voice.

You have your own unique voice to discover.

If this is the work you love, it’s worth the effort!

xo. -Alison

 

Profitable. Streamlined. Professional.

That’s what real flower business means to me.

That’s the intention of all of my videos, posts, and online courses for floral designers.

Check out a full list of course offerings here.  (Including my free courses!)

Learn more about Alison here.

 

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Want to take a quick tour of my studio?

I’m known for bringing floral designers behind the scenes of my business, so when I was asked to share a look at my studio this summer I headed straight out to record a quick tour.

This isn’t some “picture perfect” version of my studio space. It’s not a staged scene to show you how shiny clean and unbelievably rad my workspace happens to be.

No, that’s not how I roll….because I know YOU’RE A REAL FLORAL DESIGNER….and you’d know if I was fibbing. My studio isn’t “Instagram perfect”.

Because what I do is dirty. And I always wish I had more space.

I have stems deep in my apron pockets and corners of my workspace I never even see.

I stack about a dozen flower boxes to reuse for delivery and currently have more dirty vases on my counter than I care to admit.

I’m in awe of florists with picture perfect workshops without even a trash can or anti-fatigue mat in sight. In fact, I sometimes wonder do they actually do work here?!

I didn’t invite you to my blog to share a fake version of myself or my business.

Real flower business is what I care about. This is how I roll…

Come inside my home-studio and see where I work.

My work space is cute, and not very large, but I always make it work!

Even when I had my “big” wedding in June, I made it work.

And when I only had a tiny kitchen in my upstairs apartment, I made that work, too.

Because that’s what florists do.

I appreciate you taking a few minutes to watch.

 

IN FACEBOOK NEWS (wait, is that a thing?…)
I’ve been inviting floralpreneurs to join my Facebook group, Real Flower Business with Alison Ellis. Click HERE to ask to join.

Another Facebook group, you ask!? Why, oh why???

Truth? I was reluctant to start a group…because a group seemed like a lot to manage….but I’m trying it and so far I really, really like it. I love to interact with florists on a more intimate level about our unique business goals.

I’m always interested in what other florists are curious about. If you’re on Facebook and have a few floral designer friends in a forum you know that we share a lot of similarities.

Floral designers really are the coolest.

 

Thanks as always for reading and watching…and joining me on Facebook.

Keep
doing
beautiful
work.

With love from me to you,
Alison

Speaking of being in my studio… In the first print edition of Flirty Fleurs Magazine you see a shot of me in my studio. I hired photographer, Daria Bishop, to come out and snap a few pics while I was working on a wedding. This photo is more “staged”, but it’s still a real look at real work.

Issue #3 of Flirty Fleurs Magazine will be out soon! Check out the first two issues of the magazine here: http://flirtyfleurs.com/flirty-fleurs-magazine/

Check out a list of my course offerings here.

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A short winter’s nap

Happy Winter solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a joyous everything to you.

I’m taking some actual time off this week to prepare for a busy holiday weekend.

I hope you will take some time off, too.

It’s time for family, food and reflections on a truly wonderful year.

Thanks so much for being a part of it.

xo. -A

I’ll see you here next week with a fresh post!

 

Treat your biz before the end of the year…

Have you been waiting all year to get Flower Math? You can still Save 10% OFF HERE.

Keep more of the money you’re already making. Invest in your business today.

 

And…start the new year on the right foot…

The Art of Good Business is on sale now and registration closes Jan. 7, 2017 at 7:00pm EST.

Read all the details HERE and click HERE to enroll today!

 

You can find a full list of my course offerings here.

 

Ask to join my closed group on Facebook HERE.

Are you on Instagram? Me, too. Find me: @floralartvt HERE.

And find more free videos on YouTube HERE.

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Transform your work into art.

Dear Floralpreneur,
Last week I told you about a note on my desk that reads: “If you went out of business would people notice?“
(I want the answer to this question to be “Yes!” Without a doubt. I want people to notice.)

Another note I wrote down years ago says: “Transform your work into art”.

As a floral designer I think transforming your work into art is easy to take literally. I named my business Floral Artistry, I mean, it’s kind of obvious, right? I transform my work (ie my flowers) into art (ie my arrangements).

But what I really think drives this idea for me, transforming work into art, is how to apply this concept to the business aspects of our creative business.
I try to turn the mundane, the necessary, the client management, the thankless, into art.
I practice being artful at running the business-side of my business.

The goal to “transform your work into art” can transcend the floral aspect of your business to encompass everything about your business; e-mails, proposals, meetings, phone calls, quotes, contracts, website design, you name it…because every single thing your customers experience defines your brand.

At their core, each of my courses is designed to help embrace the business-side of our work…but I’m going to take it a few steps further…

I’m going to walk you through exactly what I’ve done over the past 15 years as a small business owner to transform my work into an ideal customer experience in my newest course, The Art of Good Business, which starts January 9th-Feb. 6th.
You’ve heard me mention it before, but you can find details on my new course here!

Now’s the perfect time to invest in your business and focus on attracting more customers who don’t need convincing…because ideal customers already love you.

Why Act Now?
Registration closes Jan. 7th and payment plans are available until tonight, Monday Dec. 19th at midnight EST.

That’s just 1 day left to take advantage of the 2-payment plan option!

As a BONUS I am also including a free one-on-one strategy session with the first 10 floralpreneurs who register for the course.

Talking with floral designers is a true pleasure for me and I look forward to connecting with 10 floralpreneurs and learning more about your businesses.

Will You Join Me Live?
Join me on Facebook Live today at noon, EST. The topic is: How to get more rave reviews from your customers.

Great customer reviews are an integral part of attracting ideal clients and building your brand.

(Speaking of which, if you’re thinking of taking one of my courses read some of my testimonials and customer reviews here: http://realflowerbusiness.com/testimonials)

Take a minute and ask to join my facebook group! It’s a great way for us to connect and it’s my new favorite way to talk with floralpreneurs! 
I’m livestreaming Monday, Dec. 19th at 12:00pm EST.

You can watch all of my livestreams on a replay any time in my Facebook group here.

 

I hope to see you LIVE in my group soon! If you’ve asked to join and have not yet been approved you may e-mail me at info@floralartvt.com to help speed things along. If it’s unclear whether you’re a floral designer it does take longer for an approval.

Thanks for tuning in and taking the time to read my e-mails. I know your time is valuable and I appreciate you making some time for me!
As always…
Keep
doing
beautiful
work. 

With love from me to you,
Alison

Check out my course offerings HERE for details on all of my courses, including 2 FREE COURSES, Flower Boss and 4 Pricing Mistakes Florists Make.

P.S. If you’re a floral designer who’s digging my content and/or my courses, please share the Floral Artistry love via e-mail, Facebook, Instagram, sky writing, what-have-you with a florist you know and love. (I truly appreciate your support in cultivating other floral pros.)

Are you watching your profit margins? Check out Flower Math, The Florist’s Guide To Pricing & Profitability. Click HERE to read all the details and save 10% Off today.
Are you ready to make 2017 your most profitable year yet?

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