Floral Designer Q&A

What questions are florists asking lately?

I received some great questions from florists in my Facebook group this month, and I’m going to address them in a LIVE Q&A Session on Wednesday, May 31st, at 11am Eastern/ 8am Pacific and I would LOVE to see you there!

Click here for a link to join the live conversation!

From how I leveraged local restaurant accounts and built my business on bud vases, to tips for pricing something you’ve never made before, to those the renewed requests for lily of the valley bouquets–I have a few questions on my list already–but I will address your questions live as well so make sure to tune in and ask me anything!

We’ll be talking about what’s on your mind right now! Don’t forget to click that link above to join the conversation and I’ll see you there.

With love from me to you,

Alison Ellis

Find A Full Course List Here

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Floralpreneur® Workshop for Florists and Farmers

Have you ever taught a floral design workshop?

In April, I hosted my first live workshop for floral designers and farmer florists along with my friends, Françoise Weeks and Phebe Robinson Higgins, and I have to tell you it was a fantastic collaboration of creativity and business minds! From business strategies to botanical jewelry and foam free floral design techniques, attendees walked away ready to implement new tips and techniques to propel their businesses forward.

It was an excellent floral design workshop! See what florists said at the bottom of this post! In fact, it was so much fun that we’re already planning the next one for April 2024! Get on the notification list!

I never hosted a workshop before, but when Françoise Weeks asked me if I’d like to teach a workshop with her my immediate reply was, “Yes!…I know the perfect venue, and I know who should invite to teach with us!”

Within a few days, we had our teaching team in place and the BEST venue to host the first Floralpreneur® Workshop at The Round Barn in Waitsfield, Vermont.

Isora Lithgow Creations helped document Day 2 and she captured this beautiful group of flower loving humans so perfectly it is an honor to get to share them with you.

Here’s a recap from the Floralpreneur® Workshop:

Alison Ellis of Real Flower Business (that’s me!), Phebe Robinson-Higgins of Popped with Phebe, and world renowned designer, Françoise Weeks, taught a 2-Day Hands-On Workshop for Floral Designers and Farmer-Florists on Foam Free Woodland Designs, Pricing and Booking Strategies, and How To Run A Successful Pop-Up Shop.

Floral designers joined us from Canada, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, & Virginia and we had such a wonderful time. I can’t say enough about the floral designers who decided to join us–they were a beautiful bunch of humans. (You can see a group shot at the end of this post!)

Françoise taught foam free woodland designs as well as botanical jewelry. My favorite thing about doing a workshop with Françoise is that no two designs are alike. Every student’s work is unique! You can see some of the beautiful wearables that Robin of Wild Thing Flower Farm created (as well as her lovely smiling face!) below.

Phebe shared her insights on running a successful Pop-Up Shop and how to parlay that into a larger marketing opportunity. She shared so many nuggets of wisdom and even set up a sample display featuring roses courtesy of Rosaprima Roses so florists could walk through the entire customer experience.

As a business coach, my focus is always on profitability and practical business strategies, and I took this opportunity to teach Flower Math Formulas and 5 Steps To Book A Wedding to show exactly how I lead customers through a sale. It was so much fun to teach live and get to answer all the questions in real time!

There was so much to love as I flipped through these photos and remembered our time together and all of these smiles are at the top of my list! Talking business really can be a good time!

Everyone gathered around to see some of the tech Phebe uses to send out quotes. She did not hold back on the tips! Next year, Phebe will share even more marketing ideas and techy touches florists can use in their business.

Isora got a group photo before the end of the day–I told you we were a beautiful bunch! It was such a great time, we’re doing it again next year! Details will be coming very soon! Click here to get on the notification list.

Special thanks again to Isora Lithgow Creations, Nick from 802 Events, Sheryl of Thistle and Bone Floral for all the invaluable help, Walt at Mountain Flower Farm for the pussy willow branches, Rosaprima Roses and our incredible venue, The Round Barn.

This was an experience I will never forget. I’ll have to do a part 2 post with more images of the students’ work…so stay tuned.

xo. -Alison Ellis

What did florists say about the workshop?…

“This workshop breathed life into my business practices, creativity, and proposals. The instructors were motivating, generous, and organized. A total success!”

“Amazing instructors, Alison created an unforgettable experience!”

“…wonderful food, venue, detailed planning involved and learned far more than what I thought I would!”

“I loved how welcoming every student and educator was, how everyone was not only willing but eager to share with each other and how very supportive the environment was. I was slightly intimidated signing up (because compared to the others I am very new to the field) but from my initial call with Alison through to the final dinner, I felt included and supported but all (sounds like a Hallmark card) but honestly it was a great experience.”

“Rejuvenating energy and creativity!”

“Everything is taken care of! You just have to show up and everything is provided. It was nice not to have to think about what we were doing next, eating, etc. It was just all there.”

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How Do You Sell More Flowers?

When florists want to sell more flowers for Mother’s Day–or any occasion–the most important step is to reach out to your past customers to make sure they know what you’re offering.

That means if you have NOT directly pitched your offers to the customers who purchased from you last year, it’s time to take action now!

I know it’s tempting to throw out a few posts on social media and feel like you’ve “done your job” to get the word out about your business and what you’re selling, but posting and praying is not enough!

If you REALLY want to sell more flowers, you have to reach out to the real live customers who’ve bought from you before and invite them to place an order today!

If this sounds like a lot of work, guess what–it could be! You may not be organized with your customer list at your finger tips, perhaps.

But it’s actually pretty easy to write an email to your client list and create a short script to make phone calls to your best customers who haven’t ordered yet, so you can tell them exactly what you’re offering and make it easy for them to buy.

A few things to include in your pitch:

Introduction–what you’re offering (and why they need it!)
Clear price points on 1-2 options
Call To Action–with a link to buy or phone number to call
Sense of Urgency–why do they want to do this today?

Some customers will say no, but some will say yes! And then, you’ll be that much closer to your sales goal.

The moral of the story is this: Ask for the sale. Don’t sit back and wait for customers to come to you.

Keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison Ellis

Find out more about Alison HERE and see a full course list for florists HERE.

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Celebrate Your Success In Business

What are you doing well right now, Floralpreneur®?

As a business owner, it’s easy to look at your to-do list and think, “Gah, I’m so behind!” or “…yet another week’s gone by and I still haven’t had time to [fill in the blank with that important project here]”, and believe me, I get it!

In fact, I had a realization about 2 weeks ago–something that I didn’t actually think was true–but the realization was this: I’m hard on myself.

And there’s a good chance that you are, too. So today, instead of focusing on what you “haven’t accomplished yet”, it’s time to take a moment to recognize yourself for what you’re doing well right now.

Here’s what I want you to do:

Take 3-5 minutes to acknowledge yourself for the things you’re doing right! And I really mean it. Write them down! List 5 Things You’re Great At!

Give yourself credit for the brave, bold actions you’ve taken in your business so far and you know what? You may start seeing the things on your “didn’t do it yet” list a little bit differently.

Maybe you even start to feel GOOD about where you are right now–despite the things that are “undone”.

And you can use that positive energy to fuel your next action steps because you’re not bogged down in the negative self-talk that might be telling you you’re not doing enough!

There will always be more to do and more to learn in order to achieve higher levels of success throughout the life of your business.

(Which means you can easily choose to never run out of reasons to aim higher and reach for more.)

That’s why it’s important to keep perspective.

Look at where you are now so you can appreciate yourself for all you’ve done to get here. Then, you can take your next step with confidence because you know that you’ve got what it takes to keep moving forward.

Business ownership means you’ve got to be your own hype-person! It’s up to you to recognize your greatness. And if you need a hype-woman, I’m here for you!

Keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison Ellis

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Françoise Weeks and Alison Ellis on Resilience and Innovation in Floristry

How Do You Push Through Fear To Take Your Business To The Next Level?

I invited my friend, Françoise Weeks, to join me for a livestream back in 2020 to talk about how she learned to become such a confident, world-renowned floral educator–despite being an introvert–and how she continues to innovate in new create ways as a designer.

She talked about the very first speaking gig she ever got, why she shares her techniques so freely and her approach to teaching floral designers to use natural materials in unique and different ways.

I’ve been looking high and low for this replay and I finally located it today–right on my Facebook page where I left it! I want to truly thank Françoise for making the time for this conversation and for continuing to inspire me!

I hope you’ll take some time to tune in to listen to her inspiring story!

And if you want to see Françoise teach LIVE and in person along with me, we’re teaching a live workshop on April 17-18th, along with the Queen of Pop-Up Shops, Popped with Phebe, so if you’re a floral designer or flower-farmer who wants to level-up your creativity and your career, why don’t you join us today!

Get Workshop Details

Doors are closing soon–we need a headcount ASAP so consider this your last call for enrollment–there are only a few rooms left at the Inn last time I checked.

xo. -Alison Ellis

Want to know more about the Workshop in April?

I’ll be teaching alongside Françoise Weeks & Phebe Robinson-Higgins for 2 Days of Hands-On Training, April 17 & 18th at The Inn at The Round Barn in Waitsfield, Vermont.

We’ll cover topics including:

Foam Free Woodland Techniques & Floral Jewelry with Françoise Weeks
How To Sell A Wedding More Quickly & Price For Profit with Alison Ellis
Everything You Need To Run A Successful Pop-Up Shop with Pop-Up Expert, Popped With Phebe

These are resources that will level-up your floral design creativity & career!

Would you like to join us? The time to sign up is now!

(There Are Only 3 Rooms Left At The Inn.)

You can sign up today for the workshop and get the details on how to book your stay here: https://learn.realflowerbusiness.com/april-workshop