The Floral Hustle

Hello, flower friends. This is Jen. And you are listening to the floral hustle podcast on this week's episode. We're going to talk about you stopping running your business out of desperation. The energy you are bringing into your business that like, I need to book this wedding. I need more clients. I need this more.

I need all of these things. I need to this client. I need that. Like, that energy. You can spot that from a million miles away and if your pricing reflects desperation or how you're handling your pricing or inquiries is out of this place or energy of desperation, you are going to be in a year from now going, why did I not make this, the money that I wanted to?

Why am I not getting the clients that I wanted to? And honestly, this was exactly what happened to me. I ran my business out of desperation and desperation can be a several things. Desperation could be a financial desperation. So you need money bad. And so you're willing to do anything to make this happen financially.

so like, I call that a scarcity mindset. So you're operating your business from this place of scarcity that money is not abundant. Like I'm going to run out of money. I need to get more money. I need to like, do all these things to not make very much money, but at least a little bit of money is not, is worth, you know, better than not making any money.

And then there is a desperation for other reasons. And that was me. Um, I financially had a really good job and I was making good money and, but I had this long seated, almost like lack of belief that I was good enough for many reasons. I largely, I mean, how I grew up when I was little, I didn't feel like I was good enough for my mom.

I didn't feel like I was good enough for the relationships or the men that I was dating. I was. You know, continuously, like, chasing men that, that were not good choices mainly based on they had a cool motorcycle or a motorcycle period they had lots of tattoos they were handsome, attractive, like, and I just was like, I wanted to be validated as somebody, obviously most women want to be validated that, like, you're attractive, you're sexy, you're whatever.

That can turn into a problem quickly and that's what it happened. I, I went having a full time job doing 125 weddings that year and not making hardly any money because I was doing this asinine pricing model of selling flowers at wholesale pricing and then them just paying labor. And I was cheap and I was getting all this experience.

I was getting attention. People were making me feel valued. I would look at the successful business that I'm running 125 weddings. Holy shit. I started breaking into the Indian wedding market. I, had needed more space. I, I needed to buy more supplies. Like I started to look like, Hey mom, I'm running this successful business.

You know, I know you've never believed that I was worth a shit, but look at this, like, am I worth a shit? And you know, you, you, your baggage of when you grew up or when your mindset just in general can like follow you. Not only into your life, but into if you're starting a business, that's like a cornerstone foundation that could potentially just be broken and mine was so one year I did 125 weddings.

The next year I did 110. I did 90 the year after, so not only did I do this for a extended amount of time I did this for an extended amount of time and I have seen other florists do this exact same thing. So I know that this is not like something like that is unique to me because I, even in my own market, there is a florist that is kind of the bane of everyone's existence because they're doing this and I know in my heart of heart that They are going to come to the same, you know, culmination or same thing that I went through.

I just think it's going to take a little while for them to, to really see what's happening. And if your worth is validated by busyness, that could be another, like I'm busy. So busy means successful. Busy means that I'm important. Busy means that I'm wanted. Busy means that. You know, I'm getting the job and somebody else isn't.

So that means that I won. I fucking win every day, but not in that way. How I win, and how I hope that you can think about winning, is I win because I get to do things that I enjoy doing. I get to make money doing it. I get to help teach and cultivate and have florists learn and freelance for me in my studio.

So I get to provide income for people, employment for people. I win because I get to go to CrossFit during the day. I win because I've just booked like doing pottery class on Thursdays. I win because I booked my therapy session or I booked my, we have a autism parenting coach that we meet with periodically.

So like next week that is booked. Like those things make me feel like I'm winning me winning a 15, 000 wedding. When I sent over, I had this really great consultation, then I sent over this beautiful proposal that they were just like over the moon for that. They were like, fuck. Yes. I want you to be our florist to them sending and been mowing me the deposit within 24 hours of me sending a proposal like that makes me feel like.

I was winning because I know that I did a good job. I know that I have value to that person. I know that that person wants to work with me. Another situation this week, somebody all of a sudden had their florist and decorator canceled for a Sunday wedding. So in nine days, and I quoted out a price to my, my decorator friend, and they were like, that's too much because I'm guessing the person that they did hire for one probably felt like they, what they want is not like a super easy thing, probably in over their head or figured out I am going to lose money or not make any money on this by doing it this way for this price.

So they bailed. So I quoted out and I feel like my quote was very, very fair, beyond fair, actually. And they told my decorator friend that it was too much and that they were going to go and shop with three floors. I don't want that client. Like, I physically do not want to do their wedding now. If they came back, I feel like, I was the lowest bid and that's why they chose me.

Not because I am hands down the most experienced cultural florist in the Twin Cities market. Not because my work is exceptional. Like I don't want that wedding. So I told my decorator friend, if they don't let us know by Monday night and I'm going to the wholesaler on Tuesdays to start sourcing, I can't take the wedding on.

I can figure out anything last minute if it feels good. Like, they no longer made doing their wedding feel good. And I don't want that energy because that energy Have you ever seen, like, when you dip a rose, like, it has raindrops come on it or, like, wetness got it in the cooler? And you can see the petal starting to rot.

That energy starts to make your energy rot, like those little speckles, those little spot water spots that start molding, just like molding the shit out of your mojo. And I know that's a weird analogy, but I actually think that that is true. When you start to soak up, cause I also see this, like I actually.

Um, it's not right in front of me because I put it in the bin to be entered. I in the last week had five bookings slash orders. And I really think that that's because of energy. And because I've also positioned myself and networked and done all the things. So several, a couple of them were with wedding planners, but like that energy actually six because I booked a last minute birthday party thing for this Friday.

That energy. Create a momentum that energy show that I am not desperate. I am a fucking boss. Like people should want to work with me because for one, I care so much about their event or wedding or whatever. Even like my coaching clients, like it, it's weird to say, like I get so invested in that person's like success and like.

I think about their business at like 11 o'clock at night sometimes going, I wonder about this, or I'll see something on Instagram and I'm like, huh, I wonder if this is why this, or they'll say something and I'll be all of a sudden thinking, I'm like, I wonder if this is what's really going on with them.

I'm like, I wonder if we did this and this and like putting together these pieces because I care so much. Like my heart is completely all in on this. Yeah. Yeah. And, like, last week, honestly, was really it was hard. It was a lot of work. This week is one of the biggest weeks of the, of the year, and it is, it's going to be hard.

Like, I'm just straight up know that it's going to be hard. I'm going to have a bunch of freelancers here. I am going to have a, just a lot going on in the studio. On I have tomorrow morning, I, I have CrossFit because I'm moving my CrossFit 1 on 1 day. In the morning to Tuesdays so that I can do pottery on Thursdays on Wednesday.

I have to go get all my locally grown flowers. Everybody in the mastermind and coaching clients, for some reason, always pick the last day or last week of the month to do their 1 on 1s. So I got a shit ton of those as well. And I have 30, some thousand dollars in weddings. I think 30, 35, uh, I would say 36, 000 dollars of weddings.

Bodie and Bella have assessment day and meet their teacher day on Thursday. All of these things are happening. And so I know it's going to be hard, but because I love what I do so much, like that is going to make it feel so much easier because everything is figureoutable and the energy that I bring in is not desperation because I have this.

And I've seen florists that have a big week. That are in complete desperation mode because they didn't account for the resources that they needed because they didn't think that they could afford them. So they're going into this whole wedding with this energy of desperation and this energy of scarcity, this energy of lack of resources, this energy of just like, not enough and I'm just not going to roll like that.

I have a bunch of freelancers. It's going to be awesome. The stuff that we're putting together is going to be epic and I deserve that abundance. I deserve a 36, 000 weekend. I deserve to pre book next year. I think in the last 2 weeks, I've booked 25, 000 hours of events for next year already just in the last.

I mean, it's. The money is out there. You just need to have the energy of abundance, the energy of I got this, the energy that I'm a total floral boss and the floral CEO of my business. And if you're like, I don't even know how to do this, I don't know how to have this energy. I don't know how to make a shift.

We can do a power hour session on zoom. So it's on video. I can see like, I can like dissect what's going on just by the things that you say. And because I'm a certified life and mindset coach, like, I am great about getting to the meat and potatoes of why your business maybe is potentially failing. And that could be a million different reasons.

And I don't want that for you. I want the energy of abundance. I want you to like, never feel desperate. And it's interesting when I started going through people's process, I didn't how they meet with clients and like, what's their vetting process. And if somebody is offering consultations to anybody, that is a energy of desperation.

If somebody is like not having a minimum, I think that that puts out desperate energy. That might be, you're just like, I'm open to anything. But being open to anything creates no space for you to have time to strategize for bigger and better things. If you are stuck in this system that isn't working, like, that is the energy of staying where you're at, but wanting different results.

So, like, it might not be desperate, but we can't expect something bigger and better and more badass to change. And, uh, So, if we want change, change is uncomfortable. Change is pushing yourself. Did I totally, like, it sucked today going to CrossFit when it was 94 degrees here in Minnesota where I forgot because I ran to the storage unit.

I forgot to put my workout tennis, so I was wearing Keens. But when I got there, I'm like, I'm doing this, I'm just going to adapt this so that instead of running, I'm just going to ride a bike because I can ride a bike in Keens. But I did 15 rounds of 10. So I did 150 wall balls. If you don't know what that is, it's a big medicine ball looking thing that's weighted that I'm throwing up at this target.

I'm catching it, doing a squat. I did 150 of those in Keens today. I did 250. So I did 3, 750 meters on my bike. Like, that it sucked, but you know what, like, I'm going to feel better tonight when I'm going to bed. I'm going to feel better tomorrow when I'm putting my clothes on because I am stronger. I am this, this more elevated version of myself than I've ever been because I'm doing the hard things and because I'm doing the hard things, like I know good things are going to happen to me.

I know that I'm going to start, I, I am attracting. So much goodness and so much like positivity in my business and that I am completely fucking okay with repelling people that are just looking for a really good deal and want to shop out around in a million places and people that want me to do things that are undervalued people who are wanting things for free people who are wanting things for something that doesn't make sense financially for me to do.

As the CEO in your business, you need to have capacity and if you were running around in desperate energy, grabbing at anything, it's hard to have any space for bigger picture thinking to actually execute bigger picture things. And so, like, even today, I was talking with a coaching client and they're like, I just got to figure out a plan on how I'm going to get time and space to do all these things.

And it's just like, well, do we want to actually do that? Because for one, we, we need to want things to be better. And if you're okay with them just being where they're at, then efforts to be like, I'm going to be this elevated bigger, I'm going to grow this to everything is going to be harder to accomplish.

But if you are like, I totally am ready for this. I am wanting bigger things. I am wanting to like start attracting and you know, even like setting ground rule metrics. So you just know, like right now I know that my average wedding is 5, 500 this year. And this is averaging it out with a la cartes. So I have a bunch of 10 and 15, 000, 20, 000, but I have some that are a thousand dollars that I just woke up in the morning and that were sitting in my, my inbox.

So I know that I have a goal of next year. I want to be at 7, 500. So how am I going to do that? Like, I need to start putting things in place now because I can't just go into next year and just be like, I manifested all this shit happening and it's epic. Well, like, it needs strategy, needs a plan. It needs me to be in front of people.

Who I know are people that are going to be able to help my dreams and maybe I can help them. Like, I talk to people all the time about business strategy, even when they're not in the wedding industry, because I, I feel like for one, most people have a life problem, not just a business problem. And as a life and mindset coach, like, I feel like I could probably help them.

And for two, like I have ran a 6. 5 million dollar company. For any extended amount of time, I've ran a team of 12 people. I've been in sales. I've been in service. I've done all of these things. I understand marketing. I have grown a business out of my garage based studio to 325, which we are beating that this year.

We are projected to be, I'm guessing, end up around 350. And that's with me growing the coaching business. Like, everything is possible. Everything is figureoutable. You just really got to believe and go into it with the energy that you deserve so much more. So much of business is mindset. And that's why I got, got my certification because I know that when my mindset changed, financial things started changing, happiness started changing.

My relationships started changing. I don't have some of the relationships I used to have because they were not serving. this new version of myself. They were the older, let's be around negative energy, bitching all the time. The world is out to get us energy. Like, and I just can't do that. And it doesn't mean I don't love them.

I do, but it doesn't mean that I want to invite that energy in because I am tired of little drops of rain molding my roses. And you should be too. Thank you so much for listening flower friends and you have an amazing flower filled day.