The Floral Hustle

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Hello flower friends. This is Jen and we are going to talk all things styled shoots today. I actually had a styled shoot today that. I came up with the inspiration, the idea, and I took it from the beginning to the end, but that is not always how you can become involved in a styled shoot. So I wanted to walk through some different scenarios because some of the girls in the floral CEO Mastermind have been approached about styled shoots recently.

And have been considering or have participated, and some of them have been published. And so it's, it's really exciting to, do something new and really expand yourself. But let's talk about the different ways that you can become involved in a style shoot. So the first thing is like, you come up with the creative direction, the idea, the kind of the concept behind it.

And then you take it and run with it. That is definitely what I do normally at this point in my career, because I want to have that creative control. I want to really take an idea. I don't want another creative head kind of budding against me and. I am often doing that because I, I want to design weddings as well.

I want to take it to a level that, I'm influencing the linens and 'cause with nice linens, usually have a nicer budget, usually have a nicer result and usually nicer pictures for your portfolio. So I try to intercede myself in the design conversation because I know that. It inevitably will help me attract higher end clients.

So that is one way you get people on board, you put a mood board together, you formulate all the details. so with this particular solid shoot, uh, to come up with ideas is sometimes tricky. Because you're just like, where do I even start? And I often am a total Instagram whore with saving concepts of things that I just really like or really drawn to.

Just I'm really in love with. And with that I am saving them. I'm screenshotting them. A lot of times I'll like screenshot it and then, you know, of course take the Instagram like rim off of it and then save it in a folder for inspiration. I then. We'll, you know, have this kind of bank of those type of photos that whenever even I'm meeting with a client, sometimes I'll just go through my Instagram or my photo inspiration.

'cause I also save photos out of Facebook. I don't spend a lot of time in Facebook because it is such a negative environment that I try to just mitigate that. But I'll go in and I'll look for ideas. I'll look for fun. I'll look for. Things that are inspiring and I saved them. Have that folder. Then next step is really figuring out the concept behind what is the real end goal of what you want this to do.

And today, the, I came up with the idea of doing an artfully wired kind of passion flu fellow, our sue inspired. But with a twist. I wanted to have something that we could submit to Minnesota Bride. The submission date is coming up soon, and so I wanted to get something done soon, and I. I wanted to have something that would be really fun different, didn't look, looked more editorial.

So like the word than it was in my head was editorial and very high end. I actually, when I was networking, I found a, you know, I went to a it was like a vendor dinner a while back, and. When I went there, like I had known this photographer, I'd actually worked with this photographer before, but like I just, I've been seeing her more on Instagram and she'd been posting more personal contact content and I just felt a little bit more connected with her because she looked like she was really working on goals, her fitness, her health her motherhood, just all these things were attracting.

So I literally reached out to her 'cause we. Had an impromptu photo shoot in her studio that got published. It was a cake photo shoot that a local cake artist, um, was participating in a Minnesota bride event. And I was doing the flowers for the event and afterwards, like I had all these flowers and she was like, you know what?

The day after the event would you wanna do a photo shoot? I have this concept. And I'm like, sure. And so that's how I met her. So I knew what her studio looks like and I was like, that would be a great, you know, with the lighting in there and everything to have an editorial esque type shoot. And it already got published once.

So like her photography is good and. The concept I thought was good. So then I wanted to develop the colors and I went on local linen sites. So we have three linen companies that rent chargers and glassware, and the flatware and the linen and chairs if you need it and everything. So I went in and I started just scoping out like colors.

And looked at the couple different, one is a little bit closer to me, a little bit easier to pick up and has more variety. And then I randomly was in Trader Joe's and I saw these orchids. And these orchids were these like speckled orchids. They're opsis orchids. They were green with a speckle on them.

Absolutely stunning. I love them. And so I went and was like, yep, I like, that's it. I just came up with the concept then, and I was like, that's it. I love it. So I bought one, took a photo of it, shared it with her. I was like, this is the inspo, like I wanna design it around here. Went on their site, found a linen that totally matched the vibe.

And then started just developing more of a concept. So I had a previous model from a workshop. I reached out to her and I was like, would you be interested in doing this kind of editorial? She looks like a Disney princess. Just beautiful. I was like, I would love to have you involved because I just think you have a look that would be, and this would be really good for your portfolio as a model.

And she was like, game on. Awesome. And then from there. I went over to the linen company and I wanted to scope out a linen that I liked in person, and I wanted to see what flat were mapped with it, what plates and everything, and that is an investment. Not all rental companies will donate to style chs, but some of them will.

So I, you always should ask. If you are planning something like this, if you're, you have a planner involved, which the planner route I will explain next, and that is the easiest route because they have connections often with a rental company. So I went in there, I scoped it out, I took pictures. I always take pictures and I take pictures of the names so that I can place my final order and I have all the correct names.

Then from there, I. Put a mood board together. Uh, I put a mood board together of the concepts that I wanted, and then I came up with the idea of like, I really wanted some hanging chandeliers that were really kind of funky and fun, and art had the wire component to them, but were different. Weren't like a regular pendant, like more of a living, flower kind of coated, um, pendant hanging from the ceiling. And so then I started thinking through that process like, how am I gonna figure that out? I went and looked at plant covers. I was thinking that there might be some type of chicken wire plant cover that you pop over to stop rabbits or deer or whatever from eating it.

And I thought maybe I could mold it or bend it or something. But I found a really beautiful shaped. Set a five and I only wanted two of them 'cause I wanted to have them, you know, d suspended at different heights to create visual interest. And then I just developed it from there. I, you know, bought more of the orchids.

I developed the whole concept completely, and then looped in a cake person and I said, I wanna do an artfully wired armature on a cake. Would you be interested? And went back and forth and like that came together. And so I brought one of my little pedestals for her to put a cake on, and I made a wire armature so.

I put all these details together and kind of mapped out with the photographer what I wanted. I went and picked up the linen. So because this was like from the ground up, I mean, she didn't even have a table. And if you guys haven't heard, I, we are in the process of buying a farm and I knew I was gonna need a round table anyways because I'm planning in our historic dairy barn.

To have events. And so I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna buy a table. And I ordered the table on Amazon of all things. It was the most interesting Amazon delivery that I think I've ever received. And I then I had to pick up the linens. She didn't have chairs, so I picked out some crossback chairs. I think that whole.

You know, endeavor was about $250 for all the rentals, for the table settings and the chairs and the linen and all of those items. And then I invested obviously in the flowers because I came up with the concept and I came up with the whole wanting to do it. I asked the photographer to participate in the rentals.

But I covered everything else because this was something I wanted to do. I always buy everybody who's involved a little gift as well, just to say thank you for supporting me, supporting my vision, supporting my work. And so I went to Bed, bath and Beyond and bought some cute little gift packs. And so I kept it pretty simple and pretty low key.

It turned out beautiful and I'm super excited for the photos and super exci excited to get it submitted to Minnesota Bride, but that's one way you like being the creative director. So I'm going to say in the, caption or the credit that I design, floral and design was done by me. So that was one way to do a style shoot.

The next one is. Having someone, a vendor friend, ask you to do a shoot. And so depending on where you're at in your career, is the the level of question I would really take into participating. First thing I've done a styled shoot that in retrospect, I didn't like the photographer's style. I wanted to support it because it was when, minnesota first legalized gay marriage. It was A-L-G-B-T-Q AI shoot, and I was totally into that. I totally support that and I wanted to be on board, but like I've rarely posted the photos from that because they are a dark and moody photographer. C Pia kind of filters on there and that is not my jam. I love light and eerie photography and I should have thought a little bit harder on that because it is.

It's just not my favorite. It's not my favorite. And you live and learn, I guess, but I. I think that, shoot, I had them participate in the flower costs. So people who participate in that shoot, somebody reached out to me, said, Hey, we're doing this shoot, would you wanna participate? I said, yes. I am more than willing to donate my time, but I would love, because the flowers do have hard costs to them.

I would love to have some participation in the flower costs. And so often you'll get a photographer, a wedding planner, people involved in the shoe to chip in a amount towards those flowers. That is, because I have done this for a while, I often see newer florists, and I get this, I. Go and, you know, buy all the flowers.

And that sometimes is worth it because getting the photos and making your portfolio look better is going to attract you higher end weddings. Uh, we have a local florist that literally have done, has done like 25 in a year. Like it, it's crazy. I'm like, how are you affording that because. Inevitably, she's probably, she's like, I have a budget for it.

And I'm like, oh my God, you are making your end of year net profit pittance because it's like you're eating up a ton of capital doing style shoots if you are, doing it to really gain momentum, which it definitely has given that florist momentum. Like you can do it in moderation. Moderation still works.

If you do have a vendor friend, that's one of the first questions I ask. Is there a potentially a budget for Laurel because there is such a high cost to, it's a perishable product. I have done three styled shoots with silk flowers, which that's great because I already have them, and that's amazing then.

But that is not always the case, so I. Ask right away upfront, do you have a budget for floral? And if they're like, yeah, I don't know, we're looking for donations. I'm more than happy to donate my time. But there's a significant hard cost that to a perishable product. And flowers really set the stage for the style shoot.

And so. I'd be more than happy to participate if there is a, a floral budget that we could discuss. And if they're like, what would that be? Well, if you guys even wanna chip in like $400, $500, something like that if they're looking for some really elaborate shit, you need to tell them that they need to have a higher premium floral budget for this.

I always go into it clearly laying out what I will participate in. I got blindsided by a new venue. All of a sudden, you know, I got looped in from a planner and here we go. We are making three different color tablescapes apes. Ugh. And I'm like. So I'm buying three different color sets of flowers and I, I'm like, this is not financially awesome by a any means.

And I'm just like I don't understand. And I didn't clearly lay out in the beginning though, that this is what I will do. And so I did ask them to adjust their floral budget because we are adding complication, adding. So much that it just was ridiculous. So from there, you know, I, I learned you just need to lay out, okay, I'll do a bridal bouquet, a boutine cake, floral, uh, centerpiece, or a long table ceremony.

You know, whatever it is, like, lay that out from the get go because you do not wanna be surprised. Surprises. Are not super fun. And so if you don't need to be surprised, don't avoid surprise. So lay out the parameters. If it is not something that you are inspired by, do not do it. You will be for one, like creatively going backwards because I think that.

Shoots or things that you do that don't speak to you, suck the life outta you a little bit. So I only will do something, a wedding or anything if there's some part of fun. If there is some part of fun that I feel like I can have, I will entertain it if it is not. No thank you. I don't want to, I just like, it's, it's not you know, it's not worth the energy expenditure for me to make shitty things, and that might sound crass, but I have a finite amount of time, resources, and, and energy, and I don't wanna make things that aren't inspiring to me.

It just doesn't sound like a good. Time, if that makes sense. So like, I'm not gonna do it simple as that. And like I just lay that out. Like I would love to see the mood board. So if I'm getting asked along with the budget question, I need to see a mood board. Do you have a mood board you can share with me so I can understand the creative direction?

And if they're like, oh, we don't have one our are you looking for input on creative direction? Because that's something I am interested in. If I can help creatively drive a shoe to make it better game on. Love that idea. If you need help with that, I'm your gal. I've had people like, we can loop in this person, and it's no, we don't need to loop.

We don't, there's no looping needed. Like I am confident that I can design an event. I at this point have designed eight workshops. I have designed three styled shoots. I'm like, I mean, those are just separate style shoots. Like I've had styled shoots within my workshops that I've creatively designed that.

So like I feel confident in executing that, and I just need to get up to bat for it. To show people that I can do this and I am, I think one thing that helps with that is that I try to be an idea factory. I try to come up with just saving ideas. Um, my friend Nora and I who have an amazing workshop coming up, if you have not checked it out, it is a cultural wedding rockstar.

If you wanna add serious impact, i, one year I re-looked 'cause I was like, how much have I made from cultural weddings? It was like $185,000 one year. One year. That is impactful. And so this workshop is two days that we were teaching you all of this. But one reason nor and I work is like we have the same brain in so many ways.

We will send each other photos, videos from Instagram. Basically creating a creative bank of ideas for both of us. And we also start processing those ideas. And we're gonna talk about this in the workshop. We're gonna talk about designing a event and coming up with a backdrop, coming up with a ceremony feature for a, a Hindu wedding that.

Impactful and how to pull all those designs to execution, including structures. So it is April 15th and 16th. If you head to the floral hustle.com/rockstar, you can check that workshop out. It is going to be amazing. We are gonna talk about foam free design and traditional foam design. So whatever you are needing to do, it'll be in that workshop and you're gonna learn about cultures.

That is, was probably one of the biggest learning curves. Understanding what a mendy, a ght a a barat like all of these names, like I was so clueless and I learned so much from no. And it's that all of that knowledge from Nora is going to be shared at this workshop. So check it out. It's going to be epic and.

For the cost of that workshop. I have seen in my day two other workshops that were culturally focused and there were three times the price. So it is a great value as well, but. That works between her and I because often she'll be like, oh my God, I saved this and I was going to send it to you. And so that idea Bank, I'll be able to talk to her and say, do you remember on Instagram when I sent you this?

And I'll explain the picture. And she's yes, I remember that exact thing. So starting to save those ideas. Not only helps you in a styled shoot situation, it can help you just come up with concepts that are next level for your clients. And then that's when you start being able to make serious money because you're coming up with next level designs, next level, like another florist isn't serving up ideas like this.

I am an idea center. I have, especially with the venue I work with all the time. We were just talking about she's like, oh, I was thinking we should do something for Valentine's Day for open, open doors. They do an open house every month. It's like a little one. And then we do our big one, which is going to be our installation, rockstar intensive.

Um, which that's a whole nother thing. Make an open house after your style shoot as a preferred vendor. Like I do that every single month, you guys, every month with my preferred venue here in Minneapolis. I have booked so many clients at this venue, but do a style shoot. Say, Hey, why don't you turn this style, shoot into an open house that evening so you can showcase all these beautiful flowers and get people in that can get inspired.

Another great way I often do open houses after style shoots because it's just the perfect storm of. You being able to get out there and then the venue getting more bang for their buck for participating because they're able to show off these amazing flowers and designs and linens and all these things.

But they just came up with a little idea like, Hey, we wanna do something for Valentine's. I was like, I was like, okay, great. I have the exact idea. I went into my little creative bank and I remembered a photo. It was. Like regular limelight and vintage kind of, um, hydrangeas that were like, it was on a mantle and then it had these beautiful bows that were, and bows are hot right now.

Satin bows lining the bottom of it. I said like I found the picture and I said to her, I said, what if we did this on a sweetheart table? But we switched it to really dark velvety reds. And then we did a really fun backdrop that had some bows on it. 'cause we have a backdrop friend. And then I'll have bows tied on like roses and bud vases.

So I also kept it affordable because we're using bud vases with satin ro bows on roses. I just, because I kept that idea, that Idea Bank is full, then I was able to come up with, and then they had an amazing open house that evening and had I think I had like two inquiries afterwards. So it's plus great photos, great video.

I am really trying hard to capture video 'cause a lot of times I'm just like, I'm so tired. I just wanna get outta here to, but like I've been really meticulous about creating opportunity for short form video because that seems to do really well and show off my work well. So you can use this opportunity of a style shoot to get that short form content to do.

I took probably 55 to eight second videos today. And I'm gonna go through and edit them and look through them. And then I put them in a short form video little folder in my phone. And so anytime I find a trending song, I can just use that really easily. And so that's another, if you're not getting weddings, this is a great idea for you to get content.

You can go in and take. Five to seven second videos of every single thing that you make for this style. Shoot. If you do cake, flowers, if you do a bouquet, if you do a boutonniere, if you do whatever you do, and you can do it in different spots at the venue, you can do it with the model, with you holding it like different scenarios.

So it's a great way for you to get additional content filling your content bake Then from there. Really understanding what your expectations are going in. So I've gone in, I've asked creative direction. Is that figured out? I need to see a mood board. If it is, I also need to understand floral budget.

And then I need to understand like the commitment, am I gonna be there the whole day? Am I setting up? If I'm doing the creative direction and I'm driving the shoot and I know that I want special shots, I'm gonna be there the whole day. If it's turning into an open house, if you know I need to stay around or if I can come back the next day to tear down, like those different details, I'm kind of working out.

Then I wanna know what other vendors are on, on board. I obviously, the photographer is important. Like I mentioned before, I did a whole shoot, did all out like rainbow tables, rainbow backdrop for the ceremony. Rainbow, epic cake. Meadow. It was amazing. I don't post any of those photos because I don't like the photography style.

Then from there, I wanna know is like what cake person is involved? What makeup artist, because I'm also using this as a networking opportunity. I want to get in front of people who want to work with me or I want to work with and support them. And so I go into that conversation, you know, really, being cognizant that there could be opportunity there.

If I have a photographer that I have a really good relationship with that says that she's looped in a planner that I would love to work with, I sure as shit am gonna be more apt to be like, yes, I will absolutely do this. I want to show that planner what I can do. And you wanna show planners, makeup artists, anybody that you are the go-to floral person.

You are the right choice. And when you do that, like you are just solidifying deeper and deeper that you are that right choice. So then there are other ways to. That's kind of laying out being asked and I've laid out you asking or you driving. The third one is kind of a hybrid. You come up with a concept, but you go get a planner on board to help you.

And I often like to have a planner on board if it is a bigger style shoot because they are going to worry about the details more. At the next Installation Rockstar Workshop. Which is next week. I literally am doing a oval table, like the big serpentine with the hole in the middle, and I have no idea how to rape that, how to cover that with a linen.

No clue. And honestly don't wanna fucking figure that out. That is not on my to do list. A lot of other things are, that is not one of them. So I go in and I'm like, Hey, would you be interested? Here is our, I'm giving her the mood board because I've already designed it. Here's the mood board. I would love to have you on board.

This is one of the things that I would need your help with. And then I'm also like, I also need your help with. Picking up the linens, picking up the table 'cause they don't have a serpentine table at this venue. I need help with, you know, setting all that crap up and I need help with returning them. So like I will help drive a lot of the shoot, but I need your help with this.

Or Hey, I would love to have you involved in this if you're interested. And if you could, they could help you find other vendors 'cause they know lots of other vendors. Potentially help you develop a concept or ha just ask them, like if there's something that's inspiring, I always ask someone involved in a shoot, is there something you've been dying to do or that would seem really fun for you?

Who is not gonna want to do a shoot with somebody that's asking them to have fun? I do that with my cake, especially with cake. People with photographers, like I ask them like, what would be something that would make this really fun for you? And my cake person for my next week workshop said a hanging cake.

And I'm like, shit. But guess what, ladies and gentlemen, if you're some gentleman out there. I figured out how to do a hanging cake. I found a hanging cake stand, and it is going to be epic. So excited, and it's gonna have a orange slice installation behind it, so it's gonna be super fun. But. Try to make this fun for others because that's gonna make people want to come back and work with you.

And you want people who are just like so excited, like the energy, like you guys listen to this because I am passionate. I am, I have energy, I have drive, I have so much I freaking love what I do. That energy comes out. You want to have that energy coming into a style shoot that shows everybody game on bitches.

I'm the person you wanna work with. I am the right choice for your referrals. And you're getting a great portfolio out of it. You're getting an experience, you're getting opportunity. And if you can turn it into a next level opportunity by making it an open house, even better. So if you are struggling with this seems crazy and are looking for support in driving your business forward.

Like I have been so in love. I'm always in love with the floral CEO Mastermind girls, but I've just been more in love with them. We have a couple new girls in there and they just are sassy as hell. I just love the chatter that is in our, our Voxer chat group with people just sharing their wins, sharing their victories, sharing like so many things, and I would just, I'm inviting you in.

It is the floral CEO Mastermind. You go to the floral hustle.com/mastermind to check it out or comment Mastermind on anything of mine on Instagram to get more details. It is I mean, it's weird to be able to say, but it, I've changed people's lives in this group. It has changed. People's confidence, it has given them so many skills.

I'm in your back pocket. Just last night, somebody's like, how do you do this cake? And it was like this cake that was surrounded by flowers. And I literally had this video tool that I took that cake inspiration picture, and I walked out exactly how I would do it in a video at like 1130 at night. I sent it to them for them to check it out and like, I've wet hair, but I just mapped out.

This is exactly how I would price this out. So like. I'm helping you figure out your recipes. I'm figuring, helping you with your proposals, like, and I'm making it a learning experience for everybody because if I just do it for you, it's not helpful. I want everybody to learn from each other's experiences.

That's what enriches everybody in this group, and these ladies are so amazing. There's a bunch here from Minnesota, but we, we have California, Connecticut, like Alabama. It. Wherever you're at, there is a place for you. And I would love to send me a DM in Instagram if you're just like, I don't know if this is right for me.

And I'm happy to hop on a 15 minute discovery call with you to see if you're a right fit. But if you love flowers and you wanna learn. You wanna make more money, this is the place for you. So thank you so much for listening, flower Friend. I am so excited for you to venture out and step into your floral CEO 📍 self in doing a styled shoot.

Have a great day.