The Floral Hustle

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Hello, flower friend. This is Jen and you are listening to the Floral Hustle Podcast on this week's mini. So I wanna talk about all things a la carte. Flowers a la carte. Flowers is something that I added to my business model four years ago, and it helps provide a streamlined process for someone, maybe that's under your minimum or just wants to do business with you, but maybe just needs a simpler approach.

It. It literally gives them the option to get something from you in pre-design color palettes. And it gives you some creative freedom because it's not bloom specific, but potentially could be a lower budget choice because you are able to source the blooms that fit in that budget, that fit in that texture in your unique style.

So I added this four years ago when I raised my minimum and I listened to, um, a podcast and I saw a company called Native Poppy, which is out in California and they have this amazing a la carte flowers program. , their a la car floor program is not a cheap one. It's not something that like just jumps out at me as this is in inexpensive.

They are delivering quality work, but they, their minimum is a lot higher for the full service weddings. So this is an option for somebody who loves their style, loves their vibe, to use them. But at a lower price point, so not a lower price point per se, like that things are cheaper, is that they're able to get flowers from them, period.

And not have to be at their minimum. So the uh, a Lahar Flowers program that I have, literally I offer the key items. They are listed on my website, so I have bridal bouquets, bridesmaids, a flower, um, crown, a flower comb ERs, risk corsages, and you know, a few like kind of simple, streamlined centerpiece options.

They're all available on my website listed by item, and then I have some size options. Let's just say you want a petite bouquet. Let's say you want an average bouquet or a lush, uh, lush and large or large and lush bouquet. Those are, you know, size options inside of each option, which obviously would adjust the price then.

Then you can pick a color palette. So I have classic white and then I, because I had so many requests for this, I do white plus one or two colors. So if they want a white bouquet plus pink white bouquet plus rat, white bouquet plus blue, I literally give the autonomy for them to just pick a color. But if it is a hard, like if they want guava and there's just not guava flowers, I just have to explain to them, you know, your color choice is not something that's, um, really an easy color to attain.

So then we kind of go back, but they're literally able to place this order directly on my website. The price is right there. And what's great about this option is that you can share these prices as you're starting at prices, when you have a brochure, when you have anything that you're putting out there.

My starting app price is this because you are selling a bouquet that you get to dictate creatively and it's just gotta fit in this color choice. Um, the other color palettes that I have are, there's an autumn glow. There is a Brighton cheery, which is like a colorful, and then a dark and moody. So they get to choose one of those color palettes, which is also in a dropdown on, um, that actual individual.

Page and then, uh, they can go and add all the different items. And then I do not set up these weddings so I can offer delivery. It isn't a shortened window. I think I have within 15 miles of my zip code, and literally I'll just drop it off. But I'm not like setting anything up. I'm not setting centerpieces up.

I'm not staying there to pin, like this is literally a way to get under my minimum. And be able to have beautiful flowers from me. But I am enjoying the experience a little bit more. And what I actually really love about this program is the ability to pick all the bloom choices. I let them give me a suggestion, but I don't promise anything specific because I don't want, in case things are expensive on a certain item, I don't wanna get stuck in having to use that item.

So, Literally make sure that they understand that I have a creative autonomy to do whatever I want in that color palette. And then I. Also literally have all these in my brochure. So if somebody is wondering some pricing guidance, this is so easy for you to be able to share because when you meet with them, if they aren't wanting something that is super, you know, like in your area to design and pick and do everything, if they want to have a little bit more, You know, specifics or something that's out of this color palette, then you can say, do you know what?

Then I just need to do a custom floral uh, um, service. And then that minimum is X, whatever your minimum is. And just explain to 'em that like, this elli carte flower program is a streamlined process to help give you beautiful flowers at a, you know, a good value in these certain color pellets that are the most popular color pellets that you.

And literally you put it in their, their court that if this is something that they're interested in, I have had planners literally know that their, uh, clients are not at pretty much anybody's minimum, and they've sent them my way just for them to get like three bouquets, a bride bouquet, and then, you know, seven CORs.

And because it's easy for me, I literally can send them the link and say, here's how the program is broken down. If you wanna let me know if you're not specific that you know, you have seven corsages and six ERs right now, you can also just lock in the date by returning, um, a contract and a $500 deposit that goes towards the total.

So you know that they're going to be around this. And so you can budget from a time perspective and a booking perspective what that's going to look like. But you're giving that person, you know, a little bit of choice, that they're not feeling like, I, what if one of my bridesmaids drops out and I'm literally paying for their bridesmaid?

Okay. Or whatever it may be. So giving them those flexible kind of, you know, Hey, I'm just, I'll, I'll let you lock in the date. I make sure I let them know that like, this could be a, a sold out weekend that is also in the verbiage on my page, but literally having this flexibility of a little bit lower price point under your minimum.

Uh, I, I just, it's been such an addition. I love waking up. I've woke up in the morning and had a $2,000 flower order just sitting there. , I've never talked with them. I've never anything. I'm very clear on my instructions on that page. And you could wake up and do the same thing and have it, you know, if you wanna craft it to be like in color palettes that are like super inspiring, but super easy or you know, you can get a lot of locally grown product, which really makes you happy, or you could grow some of your own flowers for this.

It is such an amazing option and I feel for one, just having that pricing guidance is such a nice tool for a florist to be able to have some type of pricing that they can share with their clients, and this is an easy way to develop that because you're literally going through. , how much would it cost for me to make an average size bridesmaid Bouquet?

Okay. I would use X amount of flowers, so I, okay. If I used nine roses and five pieces of stock. Okay. That's what this, the flowers on this one. Okay. Let me mix that up and look at like a brightened cherry. And then you can average that. You figure out your markup, you figure out what your, um, labor would be, and then put that all together.

It and average it out, and that's what the cost is. And it doesn't have to be, you're not having to do it for cheap. You're just having to put a price out. Like you can buy this for this if that wants, if you want that to be $150 for a bridesmaid. Okay, Y that is fine. Whatever your pricing is, I would make sure that you have a really nice representation of what.

Investment, if that's a hundred twenty five, a hundred eighty five, whatever that price point is, having something that can illustrate what they get. For that. I actually did a, a mini, when I launched my a la carte, I went to the wholesaler. I went to Trader Joe's and I bought a bunch of flowers and I made a bunch of the items.

So I first made like a bunch of the bouquets and the different color palettes so that I had. Actual like rep representation of each one. And then I took my white, uh, board and literally like made little samples of what the, uh, actual flowers in that color palette would be. Cause I think soft and romantic was also one.

So I'd have like a blush rose and a peach and some white and a little. Of, uh, light blue. And so I'd have that kind of illustrated so they could also see if they didn't look at the actual photo or didn't match up that this is soft and romantic. Literally I took those flowers and then put soft and romantic right next to it to illustrate it.

But Native Poppy also does like, I mean, they do an amazing job of illustrating this. Uh, sweet Root Village also has an a la carte program. It's under a different business name. But if you Google Sweet Root Village, uh, Ahart Flowers, it's just something I think could be a game changer to get you, especially if you are just starting out and maybe you are a flower farmer and you.

Doing a full custom wedding feels really like a lot. You're in control. You're dictating what you're going to do and what things are going to look like. And if you are especially just saying even like, uh, in three color palettes that you know you're already growing, you can start this. If this seems interesting, I have a free guide that is literally helping you from like starting your floral business to launching to hopefully get your first wedding.

So if you go to the Floral Hustle, Dot com slash starter kit in there. It kind of breaks down adding an a la carte flowers program to your business and could be helpful in you launching and getting your first wedding. So thank you so much for listening today. I really think ala carte flowers have been something that I've really enjoyed adding to my business and.

Made a substantial amount of money adding it, and so this could be your next thing to get you over that a hundred thousand dollars revenue hump. 📍 Have a great day.