Starting A Wedding Business

I am so excited to share that I’m a guest on The Flower Podcast this week! Scott and I have talked a few times before (you can find all of my past episodes HERE!) and this week we’re talking to floral designers and farmer-florists who want to add weddings into their current business model. Click below to listen or head to wherever you get your podcasts to tune into Episode 204 today!

As a home-based floral designer who specializes in weddings, I have been booking wedding clients for over 20+ years and it’s been a long journey as I’ve worked to perfect my processes, which is why I share what I’ve learned with florists around the world inside my Courses, Coaching and Community for Florists!

Learn More About Alison Here!

Find Floralpreneur® Workshop Details Here

Find A Full List of Course Offerings Here

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

National Floral Design Day

February 28th is National Floral Design Day so it feels serendipitous that I’m a guest on The Flower Podcast today! You can listen below or Click Here to find it on The Flower Podcast blog. You can also find it wherever you get your podcasts.

Scott and I talked about pricing, setting boundaries and some of the most frequent questions I’m getting lately around “educating clients” and the sales process.
I also shared one of the biggest “messaging mistakes” florists are making around pricing.

I am a huge fan of The Flower Podcast. Not only have I had the honor of being a guest a few times, but I have probably listened to almost every episode. As a true flower aficionado, Scott asks interesting questions through a flower lover’s lens that always feel enlightened, educational and inspired. The floral industry gets so much value from The Flower Podcast, that Real Flower Business is proud to be a sponsor this season to show my support.

I hope you’ll make some time to tune in today and I’d love to hear your feedback or takeaways from the episode.

How do florists celebrate National Floral Design Day?

In honor of National Floral Design Day you could…

Make something beautiful in your shop that’s slightly out of the ordinary and put it in the cooler to see if it sells. Emphasize design principles in your piece such as line, color, pattern, repetition, balance, and scale.
Ask for (or offer) a critique of a recent design. Only engage in critiques with trained florists who can offer helpful insight–not just anyone should criticize your design work.
Order a copy of Black Flora by Teresa J. Speight to celebrate these talented florists and farmers.
Share a post on social media about what you love about floral design and the work you do to acknowledge the day.
And, listen to my newest episode with Scott on The Flower Podcast, of course!

Thanks for making time to stop by my website and listen this new episode.

If you ever want to say hi or ask a question I’d love to hear from you. And if you want to check out my courses for floral designers, Click Here To Visit My Shop!

Keep doing beautiful work, Floralpreneur®!

xo. -Alison Ellis

Learn More About Alison Here!

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

How To Deal With Floral Wholesalers

Did you catch my appearance on The Flower Podcast this week?

Scott and I had such a good time talking shop that we decided to keep the good times rolling!

I invited him to join me in my Facebook group for my first Tuesday Q&A with a guest! Scott was a great guest as I knew he could shed some light on a topic that many florists struggle with: How To Deal With Wholesalers.

You can click to watch and make sure to subscribe to The Flower Podcast to follow along with the content he’ll be creating this year.

A Few Takeaways….

You may have noticed me taking notes in the video replay. Scott dropped some serious wholesaler knowledge on us and I for one appreciate his point of view and insider insight. I wrote down a few points I think should not be missed….

6 Tips For Dealing With Floral Wholesalers:

When you have to ask for a credit, think of it like a “loaf of bread”. Is the whole loaf damaged? or is it just a few slices?
Whose fault is it? Is it the grower’s fault? The delivery driver? Your own handling after receiving product?
Choose your battles. For example, on a $1,000 floral order, it’s probably not worth the time to complain about “a few slices of bread”, but if you have a problem with an entire bunch or several partial bunches your wholesaler will probably work with you on a reasonable solution.
Sometimes you have to simply blame it on the flowers! Poppies or white anemones, for example, may simply be harder to guarantee that every single stem will be viable.
If your rep doesn’t connect with you, it may be time to move on. Don’t let a wholesale rep drag your business down.
Consider proving Mood Boards to your wholesaler to show the overall palette or floral varieties that your customer is expecting. They should collaborate with you.

Remember:

Your wholesaler is there 52 weeks a year for you; even when the seasonal availability fades your wholesaler is there.

I want to give a HUGE thanks to Scott for sharing your knowledge so generously with my Floralpreneur® Community and I look forward to talking with you again soon!

And thanks to YOU for taking time to tune in and watch!

If you want to get more of my tips on the 3 Keys To Booking Great Clients click HERE to check out my Patreon Membership Site!

And to grab my Mood Board Tips click here!

xo. -Alison

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Alison Ellis on The Flower Podcast

I am so excited to be Scott Shepherd’s guest on The Flower Podcast this week!

And because I’m SO excited to be on Scott’s podcast, I’m sharing a free gift with listeners.

You’ll get a sneak peek behind-the-scenes at how I save time on mood boards when you click HERE to Scott’s website.

I’m sharing 3 Quick & Easy Mood Board Tips including:

3 Easy (& Free) Ways To Make A Mood Board,
2 real inspiration boards I made for clients,
1 real life wedding I designed based on a mood board,
Plus I share a quote I sent WITHOUT an inspiration board,
And 3 Bonus Tips To Write Proposals More Quickly.

Click here to grab my tips!

Scott Shepherd knows florists and I find that he always asks thoughtful and insightful questions of his guests. He definitely asked me a few questions that I know many florists struggle with.

For example:

We talked about pricing, prequalifying clients, design fees, what it means when a “new florist” comes to your town, and, of course, website “stuff”. I hope you’ll make some time to tune in and check it out.

You can listen & subscribe to The Flower Podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts, AND you can click here to visit Scott’s website and grab my free mood board tips.

I’ve been tuning to @TheFlowerPodcast for a while now and I’m always impressed with Scott’s pointed questions, which truly reflect his depth of knowledge in the floral industry. Since Scott and I could have talked for hours, we’re going to be live together tomorrow in my Facebook group! Click HERE to join us!

xo. -Alison