Ideal Customers - Real Flower Business

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.

By Alison Ellis

How do you handle rejection?

Florists must deal with rejection from time to time as creative business people.

Yet, one of the toughest things every floralpreneur® must face is rejection.

It’s simply a fact of life. You take the good, you take the bad, you take ’em both and there you have…wait, where was I? Oh yeah, rejection.

I bet every floral designer can relate to today’s video. I hope it provides some perspective the next time you get re-jected.

Thanks for taking a few minutes to watch!

Oh, and make sure you scroll down to grab a free e-mail template below!

Click to watch:

Save $30 Off Wedding Templates Here

Sometimes it’s good to get rejected.

If losing a wedding or not booking a client leaves you feeling blue, remember that sometimes rejection is actually a GOOD thing! Yes, I mean it.

Pro tip: If you don’t book a job, don’t sweat it. However, don’t sit back and “do nothing” either. If you REALLY want to know why someone didn’t choose to work with you, Ask them why they did not book you!

FREE BONUS: Grab my FREE E-mail Template HERE to see “how I ask clients why they did not pick me!”

We can gain valuable insights as to why clients“didn’t get to a yes“, if we’re brave enough to ask. 

Testimonial:

“Alison, Your email templates came at just the right time! I have referenced them 3 times and have already booked a new event!

I have never taken a client from initial consult to contract/payment received so fast!! Thanks!”

-Jessie

Templates=Time

I bring you behind the scenes of my business in my downloadable templates for florists.

In Proposals That Sell I teach florists how I spend less time typing proposals, so that I’m not giving away too much information and the turnaround time on bookings is faster.
In E-mail Templates for Florists I show you how I choreograph the customer service experience & handle difficult conversations with 2 sets of templates.

Save $30 Off Wedding Templates Here

If you’re ready to spend less time typing and worrying what to say, I’ve got you covered.

Thanks for your questions & feedback.

Please feel free to be in touch if you ever have any questions for me. info@floralartvt.com

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. I received a request for this video in my Facebook group. Click HERE to join my FREE group!

Find a full list of course offerings HERE.

By Alison Ellis

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?

If so, click here to start today!

By Alison Ellis

If you went out of business, would people notice?

I jotted down a note on a piece of scrap paper that hangs around my desk. I come across it from time to time. It reads:

“If you went out of business, would people notice?”

I can’t remember what prompted me to write it down, but every time I see it I think “Ooh, that’s good.”

I want the answer to this question to be “Yes!”

Yes, without a doubt.

If I go out of business I want people to notice.

As I complete my 15th year in business and look ahead towards 2017 with a wedding calendar that’s booked more quickly than ever before, well, I’m feeling lucky…and grateful…and like I’ve worked really hard to get here.

As a solo-business owner, or floralpreneur as I like to say, I struggled for years to find a mission, a purpose, a meaningful impact that I could make in the world.

I started my business with a mission statement, as all good companies do, and then I refined that mission over the years, but it always felt hollow or somehow fell flat. It wasn’t as purposeful as Ben & Jerry’s mission statement or other cool companies who use their profitability to make a positive difference.

I wanted to “do more”, but with a business as small as mine any donations or attempts to “make giving part of my growth strategy” (one of my favorite, inspired quotes from Danielle LaPorte) seemed insignificant….a drop in the ocean. And in truth, my customers didn’t even seem to care.

I always had core values, but I wasn’t communicating them to my clients.

I can tell you without a doubt the better I became at communicating my values to my clients, the more my ideal clients started responding.

Click to read my Core Values here.

I’m going to walk you through exactly what I did to determine these values and attract more of my ideal clients in my course, The Art of Good Business, Find details here!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Growing a business is a journey. It’s not a sprint, not a straight line, and every year is a learning year.

Communicating your Core Values can be an integral part of attracting ideal clients and building a reputable brand.

Join the #VowToGive Challenge!

If you want to make a bigger impact with your small business, join me in #VowToGive.

Here’s how I define my giving: For every wedding I book I donate 165 meals to the Vermont Foodbank. I commit $55 from every wedding sale to the foodbank and in 2015 I provided 4,800 meals through the Vermont Foodbank.

#VowToGive is easy to do and it feels good, too.

Perhaps you already have a charity or social mission for your business, but if not, now is the perfect time to start!

It’s easy. Just follow 3 steps:

First, choose a local charity or global charity that moves you and fits the core values of your business.
Second, define a dollar amount per wedding or amount of time you volunteer or sponsorship you’ll support.
Third, follow through! Send the check, show up, volunteer, sponsor and tell your customers about it.

You can pick a dollar amount per wedding, per month, or per year to donate to your charity of choice. It’s tax deductible and it’s good for business.

1, 2, 3…choose, define and follow through.

Take a minute and ask to join my Facebook group here! It’s a great way for us to connect and it’s my new favorite way to talk with floralpreneurs!

As always…

Keep

doing

beautiful

work.

With love from me to you,

Alison

What does great customer service feel like?

The most important thing I’ve done for my floral design business 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.

Want to find better clients?

Create a better customer experience.

What does great customer service feel like?

Do you remember the best customer service experience you ever had? A time when YOU were the customer and something stellar happened that made you feel great?

Maybe it was an unexpected refund you didn’t even have to ask for, or a hotel staff member who went above and beyond for you….maybe it was the super comfy leather chair in a waiting room that made your wait time a little more enjoyable…or the free refills…or the personal touch…a time when you experienced a better-than-average “result”.

How can you make you customers feel special?

1. Think of a real life customer service experience where you were wowed. [Even better, think of a brand that continually wows you with their service.]

2. Write down all the details….what did you expect to happen? How was this experience with this company or brand different/better?

3. Now consider how YOU can translate what was special about your experience into a customer experience for your ideal clients?

Tapping into what makes you one-of-a-kind propels your business.

Now…to expand on that…

Tapping into what your customers need is another meaningful way to speak to your ideal customers.

My downloadable pdf, Wedding Workflow, gives you a behind-the-scenes look at my 16 Steps to Client Management from the initial e-mail inquiry to a post-wedding followup.

Create a better customer service experience.

You can read the details on this downloadable course here including the table of contents with a list of all 16 steps!

It’s priced at just $19 and you can CLICK HERE TO GET IT.

DOES YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER READ YOUR BLOG?

I challenged floralpreneurs to blog every week in November…HOW’D YOU DO?

I hope you’ll consider taking this challenge and show your blog some love with 4 fresh posts!

If this is the first time you’re hearing of the challenge, can you blog 4 times over the next 4 weeks, then?…

WHY DO YOU NEED TO BLOG?

Your website is where you really want to talk to your ideal customers.

Your website is the only thing you own.

JOIN ME LIVE ON FACEBOOK!

I’ve been livestreaming on Facebook.

Real Flower Business is the name of the group and it’s a great group of floral pros.

Join us in the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RealFlowersBusiness

Thanks to everyone who’s already joined me!

As always…

Keep doing beautiful work.”

With love from me to you,

Alison

Find a list of my course offerings HERE.

P.S. If you’re a floral designer who’s digging my content and/or my courses, please share the real flower business 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.)

P.P.S. Are you still on the fence about Flower Math? Buy it today for 10% off HERE. (Get it before the end of the year and it’s a business expense for 2016.) Keep more of the money you’re already making in 2017!