Real Flower Business

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June 20, 2018 By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Are you ready to start a floral design business?

How’d you get started in the floral design business? I’ve been asked that question from time to time and the answer is really simple: I got my first job at a flower cart when I was sixteen years old and I’ve been working as a florist ever since.

See, simple.

But I find it interesting how other floral artists & business owners happen to “fall into flowers”; whether it’s a second career or it started as a side-hustle or it wasn’t something you always dreamed about doing, but somehow discovered you were really, really good at!….there are so many ways that floral designers find their way into floristry.

There isn’t only 1 right way to become a florist.


So what does it really take to start a floral design business?

Join me LIVE in my Facebook group this August (click here to join) for tips all month long on what you really need to start a floral business. I’ll share some of my best tips, tricks and free downloads with a behind-the-scenes look at how I run my business and what I’ve learned over the past 16 years as a floralpreneur.

You can get my tips sent directly to your inbox when you sign up for Real Flower Business e-mail updates HERE. (You can unsubscribe at any time.)

The entire month of August will be devoted to sharing my experience and real life tips on how I started my home-studio floral design business AND I’m going to invite you to a live chat where I’ll tell you the single best move I’ve made in my business…it doesn’t cost a single penny, but it might take practice!

Whether you work from a home-studio like I do, or are considering opening a brand new shop, or want to take over an existing shop, or you’ve been in business for years and years, there will be something in this training for everyone!

I hope you’ll sign up HERE for updates or HERE to get my 10 Free Tips for Home-Studio Florists to make sure you’re on the e-mail list for this summer’s training and behind-the-scenes tips.


Thanks for reading and subscribing, Floralpreneurs!

I’ll see you this summer!

With love from me to you,

Alison


Do you know about The Vault?

This is the biggest collection of my very best “real flower business stuff” all in one place! And it’s just $13.

Plus once you unlock The Vault you’ll continue to get bonus content as I add more “stuff” to this course for you.


definition of vault:

to arrive at or achieve something as if by a spring or leap: to vault to prominence. to cause to leap over or surpass others.

Click here to unlock The Vault for just $13 today.

Filed Under: Building A Brand, Floral Design, Floral Industry, Flower Blog, Flower Business, Flower Math, Home-Studio Florists, Online Business Education for Florists
Tagged With: branding, floraculture, floral business, floral design, floral industry, floralpreneur, floristry, florists, Flower Blog, Home-Based Florists, real flower business, The Art Of Good Business

June 10, 2018 By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

How to open a Poppy

Today I have a quick tip for you, floralpreneurs! How to open a poppy!

Ideally, when I order poppies they won’t be “fully opened”….they don’t last terribly long, so we want them when they’re still protected by their fuzzy little sepals, but it can be challenging to force the poppies to open sometimes.

In today’s quick 1 minute tip I show you how I peel back the sepals to help the petals flourish!

I hope you enjoy the tip….and I hope you’ll use it this poppy season. If you’re not already subscribed to my YouTube channel, go on an sign up today to get more free, quick tips for your real flower business!

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. If you enjoyed this quick tutorial, you may also like my super quick Flower Crown Tutorial. You can get my free floral crown tutorial HERE.

Filed Under: Floral Design, Floral Industry, Flower Blog, Flower Business, Home-Studio Florists, Online Business Education for Florists
Tagged With: design tips, floraculture, floral business, floral design, floral industry, floralpreneur, floristry, florists, Flower Blog, Home-Based Florists, real flower business

April 19, 2018 By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Floralpreneurs Go Greener

OK, floralpreneurs…..can I get real for a minute?

I LOVE being a floral designer. Love it. It was my first job, it’s been my only real job for 24 years!….but the reality of the environmental impacts of floristry are pretty ugly.

From the pesticides that growers and florists are exposed to, to the monocultures that produce them, to the plastic packaging, to the transportation and distribution, to the preservatives added to the water to extend longevity, to the floral foam, to the “waste”….well, this is all “less than pretty”.

So what can we do to be more eco-friendly in our business?

Let’s pledge to do more this year with a Go Greener Challenge!…You in?


Even if you’re not 100% green, what can you do to get 1 or 2 or 3 steps closer to green-er?

I came up with 8 super easy steps to get us started…..

1. Eliminate or reduce the amount of floral foam you’ll use this year.

#nofloralfoam has support on Instagram….it’s not just good for the environment to be eco-friendly, it’s also very fashionable.

You can sell your “no foam” approach as a positive.

“I cannot make that design as I would in foam, but here’s what we can do instead to create something beautiful without the green stuff.”

Ariella Chezar is all for the no floral foam approach. Chickenwire, waterproof florist tape and armatures are used in its stead. I attended a workshop with Ariella recently where she was using my friend, Holly Chapple’s, new plastic “egg” or “pillow” which are both now available from Syndicate Sales. It’s an amazing alternative to foam and it’s incredibly versatile. Give it a try; you’ll dig it.


2. Buy locally grown flowers.

If you buy locally grown flowers (particularly organically grown!) you’re supporting a local source and voting for the environment with your dollars.

Check out Debra Prizing’s Slow Flowers movement!


3. Shop local.

Shopping local is a huge priority for my business. I will pay more for something from a business that’s owned and operated in my state because source matters to me. Whether it’s organic or a purchase from my wholesaler, location matters.

Maybe you can get it shipped directly for less….or maybe it’s worth supporting your local supplier!


4. Don’t waste water.

Turn off the sink instead of letting the water run when you’re washing or filling buckets, fix that leaky faucet, reuse water from buckets instead of “just dumping it” once a bucket is empty if it’s only a day old, take any small step toward conservation.


5. Compost.

I know this is required in some regions and that’s the way it should be! Compost your organic waste. I have a compost pile that’s just for my “business waste”; this pile will not be used on the garden as I’m not exactly sure what pesticides the flowers may have been treated with when they were grown. So I’ll compost them, but I won’t spread it around the yard.


6. Drop a product.

Is there a preservative you use to process your flowers that you can do without? Is there 1 chemical you can drop? Even a more earth-friendly cleaning product for your shop is a step in the right direction.


7. Don’t do “not eco-friendly stuff” just because the client wants it!

Just think about the environmental impact when people release balloons or light those paper lanterns that were popular until people started seeing the impact on wildlife…if you’re working on a gig make sure it meets an ethical environmental standard that aligns with your vision.


8. Repurpose leftovers instead of tossing them at the end of the week/event.

It’s going to take work and time….and time is money….but if you can reduce your loss and turn the flowers you pick up from an event or consider your “loss or overage” for the week into a giveaway/windfall in your local community, that’s its own form of being more mindful and repurposing what you have. (Small steps count….think The Lonely Bouquet, for example.)


It’s not easy being a green florist…

I know that it’s hard to consider yourself “environmentally friendly” if you work in the floristry trade…unless you’re an organic grower and you don’t use any chemicals or pesticides, in which case you’re making huge strides as an eco-friendly florist!…..but for those of us who are “more traditional florists” when it comes to sourcing and methods, we can still take steps to lower our impact once the flowers reach our doorstep. That is always my goal, but I realize I can do even better and try even harder to be more eco-friendly. Maybe you can find ways to take steps to be greener, too.

Leave a comment below (scroll down!) if you want to take the Go Greener Challenge with me! 

Let’s see what we can do. Today, tomorrow, all year long.

Oh, and Happy Earth Day, y’all.

With love from me to you,

Alison


Have you tried a free course?

Click here for a full list of free course offerings!

Filed Under: Floral Design, Floral Industry, Flower Blog, Flower Business
Tagged With: Eco-friendly, floralpreneur, floristry, florists, Flower Blog, Marketing, real flower business

March 27, 2018 By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

5 Tips for Dealing with Stamina and Burnout

A floralpreneur wrote to say, “My business is growing, but I feel like I’m drowning….”

Sound familiar? Yeah, I hear ya. But if you LOVE working with flowers and creating wedding designs and making dreams come true…..well, stress comes with the territory.

Today’s video is in response to a burning question I received: How do you handle stamina and burnout?

Short answer: The struggle is real!

real flower business, floral designers, online courses for florists, floral industry

Every florist who puts their heart and soul into their work MUST confront the stressful-side of this business.

Do you struggle with burnout and stress in your business?

Ever wonder, “how long can I keep up this pace?“

Busy is great, but too busy is NOT always great.

 


Click to watch a replay of my live chat from my Facebook group:

Note: About 28 minutes into this live chat I share some details about my $15,000 weekend…..was it worth it?

The pressure can be scary and you’re not imagining the extreme pressure involved in being a florist.

Your stress level often relates to your resources.

You may not have enough work space, or enough help, or enough work!…..

We must be willing to adapt. It takes a special kind of person to handle the responsibility of making floral dreams come true every weekend and some people are not cut out for the stress.

BUT if you’re willing to “do what it takes” you can succeed. You set the goals for your biz.

I started my floral design business out of necessity. I lost my job and knew I had to find my own work from that point on.

This may be “one of your professions” or it may be your only profession, like me!….I’m a florist for life.

Profitable, successful, happy, loving my business…those are my goals.

If your business is making you miserable, something’s got to change!


5 Tips to combat stress and burnout:

  1. Stop comparing. Don’t get jealous.
  2. Plan better. What are the steps you need to take.
  3. Set expectations for the client so it’s clear what the relation ship; when have you delivered what you promised?
  4. Follow through. Meet expectations. That’s your job. Stamina is related to the follow though. You’ve gotta love it enough to always follow through. Making enough money helps to justify the stress level by the way! You’re getting paid for everything leading up to the wedding day, too, not just the flowers!
  5. Have faith. “Faith is experiential.” The more experience, the easier it is to wade through the stress and burnout of uncertainty.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by stress, especially when you’re newer to the biz….

But stress and overwhelm isn’t reserved for “newbies”….even experienced florists feel the weight.


When the calendar’s not booked, it’s stressful!

If you can draw upon experience, you can maintain faith–

not blind faith–faith with a plan.

How can you make space for more stamina?

I don’t want to burnout.

I’m in this for life!

So I work on making space….

 


There’s an ebb and flow in business and in life.

Sometimes we need to schedule and plan for some slower time.

The rush and adrenaline and thrill of delivering a bridal bouquet and putting it in the hands of a happy client, that’s what it’s all about!

Happy clients make for happy florists….and vice versa. Don’t let burnout get in your way. Make space so you can enjoy your business & your life.

Thanks for reading and taking some time to watch!

xo. -Alison

P.S. My templates and courses are all designed to help you reduce your stress and uncertainty.


A post shared by Alison Ellis (@floralartvt) on Jul 25, 2017 at 6:03am PDT

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Filed Under: Building A Brand, Floral Design, Floral Industry, Flower Blog, Flower Business, Online Business Education for Florists
Tagged With: branding, Customer Service, floral business, floral design, floral industry, floralpreneur, floristry, florists, Flower Blog, Home-Based Florists

March 9, 2018 By Alison Ellis 2 Comments

How To Wire a Succulent for a Bouquet

Hey, floralpreneurs!

Have you ever wired a succulent for a bouquet? There are multiple ways to do this, I’m sure, but this is how I do it.

how to wire a succulent tutorial by Alison Ellis

If you’ve never tried it before, I have a quick photo tutorial for you.

First, I insert one of those green, wooden florist picks into the base of the succulent. You will most likely have to remove a few of the bottom leaves from the succulent in order to grasp the super short stem. After I insert the pick, I add a wire, just as you would to a boutonniere, to secure the succulent to the pick.

how to wire a succulent

Then, tape it up, just like a boutonniere or a corsage.

how to wire a succulent, florist education, realflowerbusiness.com

Next, in order to add length to the succulent, I tape it to another stem. I usually use a discarded rose stem or in this case the stem of a mum. Tip: Always make sure the stem is facing the right way before you start to tape. You don’t want upside down rose stems in your bouquet….keep it fresh & profesh. Stems should be oriented in the right direction.

real flower business, business advice for florists, how to wire a succulent tutorial for florists

Here’s one of the best “taping tips” I ever learned: when you have something (like a succulent) that’s hard to grasp because it lacks a proper stem length, you can start the tape a little lower on the stem, and first wrap your tape up the stem, then tape back down again to secure the stem and cover the wire. This is particularly useful when taping foliage by the way such as seeded eucalyptus or anything you add a hairpin wire to for a bout or corsage. By first taping up, you can cover that little bit of wire that you may not have covered the first time around.

how to wire a succulent for a bridal bouquet, floral tutorial by Alison Ellis

Here is the final result. The stem allows me to disguise the mechanics of the wire and also counterbalances the weight of the succulent. (You also won’t have to trim wires in the middle of the bouquet when it comes time to finish it! The wires are already dealt with in this step.)

how to wire a succulent for a bouquet, real flower business

Here’s what it looks like in the bouquet…

I hope you enjoyed this quick tip! Keep doing beautiful work, floralpreneurs!

With love from me to you,

Alison


Have you tried one of my free courses?

Check out a full list of free offerings here!

Filed Under: Floral Design, Floral Industry, Flower Blog, Flower Business, Online Business Education for Florists
Tagged With: design tips, floraculture, floral business, floral design, floral industry, floralpreneur, floristry, florists, Flower Blog, Home-Based Florists, real flower business

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Welcome, floralpreneur®. I’m Alison Ellis. I teach floral designers how to increase profits, book better gigs, type fewer emails & build awesome websites. I’m a featured business contributor in Florists’ Review Magazine, Flirty Fleurs, Mornings With Mayesh, and Botanical Brouhaha. Learn more about me here! Learn More →

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