THE FLUFF OF BLOOMS AND REALITY

Most ladies love flowers. And most I’ve delivered flowers to express their envy and declare how fortunate I am to work with beautiful flowers day in and day out. And I do feel fortunate. I love every single flower and always marvel at the wonder of how nature created something so beautiful for us to admire. I’m also a realist, and I believe there’s positive and negative balance to everything before us. So I have a little chuckle when I see other floral designers portray floral design as a magical wonderland in a room full of fluffy roses and expensive orchids as far as the eye can see. Because I think of their chipped nails and dried hands after touching so many hundreds of blooms. And how after hours upon hours of creating the same style of arrangement on mass really does start to feel like work rather than fun… especially if it takes longer than you think to create and you dream of flowers when your head finally hits the pillow at night. If you love your flowers as much as I do, creating events like these week after week after week can really wear on you and you’ll need a plan to not become complacent and avoid burnout - it’s achievable with many hands helping you and everyone pulling in the same direction, because at the same time you’ll be contacted for new client wedding consults, need to order in your fortnightly flowers and need to clear your inbox. It can become very busy very quickly, with overwhelm the side effect. These three things will help you to organise a bigger than you week:

1. Plan your run sheet for the workload and delivery of all flowers at least two weeks ahead of time and allow for bonus hours just in case
2. Nourish and rest, be sure to keep you body healthy and mind focused for assertive problem solving on any unexpected issues
3. Get help! Find the right people to assist your goal for the week and understand the quality end result of your reputable work

WHAT SKILLS DO YOU NEED TO START YOUR WEDDING FLOWER BUSINESS? 

The truth is that you don’t need any skills to start a wedding flower business - the barrier to entry is extremely low. Though it seems to me that starting completely behind the 8 ball is a pressure you needn't put on yourself. It’s actually really important to know if you enjoy working with flowers, if you have a knack for design placement and a care for learning about the cut flower industry because this will be the foundation your business sits upon. So it is extremely valuable to have either had on the floor experience in a florist shop or completed a form of certification training for flower arranging. Both of these instill your visceral skill-set and provide an understanding of floral basic care. Unfortunately they only scratch the surface of running a wedding flower business, even though it’s the most lucrative way to work in the floral industry. If you are looking to make an income from your creative designs rather than have your skills available only for friends and family to appreciate, there are 5 key things to think about before getting started:
1 Do you have time in your day or week capable of giving towards starting a business? (considering startup businesses likely don’t make money for 6-12months to replace your current work)
2 What is it about wedding flowers that you are passionate about?
3 Do you have a particular floral style that you love to create?
4 What messy space do you have for a workbench to create your arrangements then store them prior to delivery?
5 Where do you find the valuable knowledge to put your business on the fast track?
While most of these points are uniquely personal to you and worth taking a brainstorming moment to gather your answers, I can be of help with the last one. Not that long ago, I was using up all of my annual leave to take Fridays off my desk job so I could allow the time to complete my inconsistent Saturday wedding work. It took some time to take the leap from the security of full time work to working on my own business, and I can’t say I wasn’t terrified. It felt I was hitting every roadblock in front of me and saying yes to all work small and tiny just to gather some momentum. Had I known what I do now, I would have found the freedom of time and money that self-employment aspires much sooner. I have always wanted to give back in my business, from the aged care repurposed flowers to finding other less damaging eco operations within my business. Now I’m so excited to teach the valuable lessons of growing a wedding flower business directly to you, when you most need it to really create a successful business you are proud of. For more resources, check out my current courses.

WHAT CAN BE DONE DURING COVID?

Spring is a time for the new wedding season to kick off, as the weather starts warming up and the blossom buds bloom… but not this year. This year we are still facing social restrictions on events and getting together in large numbers just isn’t likely for a number of months. So why look at starting a business in wedding flowers now? I mean the timing isn't great, right? Wrong! So many couples are holding onto a glimmer of hope and wanting to plan a happy celebration to say goodbye to this endlessness. It is shaping up to be a huge 2021/2022 wedding season!
So how will you position yourself to take advantage of the wedding boom? It’s a great time to work on your portfolio and use your imagery to start building your brand. Decide on a look and feel for your new business and start building a catalogue of images that convey what you are selling - which is not wedding flowers mind you… you are selling happy memories, a moment in time, a major milestone, intrinsic beauty and yourself. So even though you may not be in the position to go and buy all the flowers to make a bouquet to photograph now, there is alternative messaging you can post on social media to start raising awareness of your new business.
While you are building your image catalogue, you can work on your voice too. Start with writing what you are passionate about, who you can help and what you want to be known for- this may not be what you use for your website copy but it will help to portray your voice through your client email communications and social media. Your ideas will evolve as you work with different clients and grow as your business does.
There is a heap to learn in taking your love for floral creation and making it into a business. YouTube can be a go to for help with gaps in your flower arranging knowledge and add to your know-how but it’s one thing to make beautiful arrangements, and another thing to make a living from them. Thankfully, there is help available! I have compiled several resources to aid in shifting your mentality from hobby to business growth and behind the scenes processes to get you started and on the road to become your own boss, in control of your path ahead. So, as you have the time right now, and you are sick of groundhog day - stop by the course page to start moving forward.