Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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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.

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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.

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Because You’re a Maker

It doesn’t matter if your favorite blog is closing because you are a maker.

And you will make more. You will keep on making until you’re done. Because that’s what makers do.

We design because we love this work.

We take classes and seek out inspiration from other florists we admire because we love to do this work really well.

Click to watch “What does it mean for your business now that Style Me Pretty is closing?”:

It cannot be the end of your marketing plan if your favorite blog closes its doors.

It’s OK to miss it….a lot of people who’ve been devoted fans for many years may miss it.

But you are a maker. You’re the one who makes the content that beautiful blogs want to share. You’ll make more. And more….and more.

Remember: The only thing you own online is your own website!

It’s the only thing you truly control. Instagram, Facebook, just like your favorite blog, can disappear, too, so what’s your plan for when that happens? Where will your best stuff be then?

On your own website, floralpreneurs. That’s where you want to shine.

What to do now: Instead of simply moving those ad-dollars to another online platform, re-invest back into your own business!

 

Put that ad budget into a website upgrade, take an online course….or attend a workshop….or take the funds and give yourself a raise.

You are your own best representative for your business. You have the power to get that SEO all on your own. The power is in your hands (and inside your computer….aka on your website!).

Keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison

Click for more:

 

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5 Tips for Dealing with Stamina and Burnout

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

Short answer: The struggle is real!

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.

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

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

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.

The 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 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 lifer.

Profitable, successful, happy, loving my business…those are my goals. If your business is making you miserable, something’s gotta 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!

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.

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

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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

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