The Floral CEO

 

Have you gotten the illustrious email that is making you, or trying to make you feel like you are the most special florist in the world? Because this venue, this planner, this photographer, is inviting you to collaborate and be a part of a styled shoot. I have gotten so many of these emails, I've gotten the requests at, you know, networking events.

I mean, this is like a thing, but here's the other thing. We hands down have the highest cost factor in doing a style shoot. And when you do a style shoot, there are pluses and minuses and so I wanna talk about. Pluses and minuses, but I wanna talk about how to reframe and try to get some of that investment, if not all of that investment covered by people participating in the shoot.

And I know it is very common and for them to just ask and for you basically to be stuck with. This, this big bill, and then they have this huge request list that is absolutely ginormous and that is just not feasible. And with us being the vendor that has the most cost, we need to make sure that we are not basically eroding at any possible profitability in our business by.

Engaging in a bunch of things that cost a bunch of money, and they're basically asking you to do a mini wedding for free or a wedding for free. And there is a time and a place for participating in a style shoot, and those times are when this style shoot is so creatively inspiring. I often will not participate in a style shoot that I didn't come up with the concept for, because I want to be so flippant, excited about this style shoot and what this is going to, you know, turn out like, um, that I am so inspired and so this is my outlet for creativity and I often.

Will not participate in these unless I'm getting some type of participation from the other vendors. Um, so the, the first thing that I'm doing when I'm going in and I'm getting a request for a style shoot, uh, and if they're sending me a mood board or something like that, I'm looking at it and I'm at this point pretty picky.

'cause if I look at something and I'm like, what in the hell is this? Like, this is just not. My jam at all. Uh, I look at it and I, if for some reason, you know, the. You wanna do it because you wanna build the relationships, but you're not really super inspired by the mood board or the concept and or the venue.

Like, I mean, there's the photographer. There can be, I, I actually would not do. A styled shoot that I wasn't excited about the photographer. Um, I need to make sure that a photographer is gonna deliver images that I can actually use. And if it's some sepia, moody shit, I can't use that and I don't wanna use that.

And so I just won't do a styled shoot with them. But let's just say that you, you know, love the photographer, but like something about it seems off. F but you think the experience would be good, you wanna put yourself out there? Um, I just, I wouldn't agree to doing it unless the expenses are covered. So I would send an email that would reply back or a DM and say, you know what?

I am. So, you know, I am so excited that you asked me. I'm so honored that you asked me to collaborate on this. I've always wanted to work with you. I've always wanted to be at X venue. I've always wanted to work with X photographer. Uh, I have at this point, um, allocated my marketing slash style shoot budget for the year.

So I would be happy to donate my time, all of my rentals that I have, but I would need participation in the floral hard costs. So you're just throwing it out there. You're not saying no, but you're saying I would need financial participation in the floral costs. Uh, and for me to get an estimate of that, I would need to know exactly what items that you are looking for, or if you're looking for suggestions, um, you know, I'm happy to make suggestions.

So that's how like, I would respond if I wasn't excited. If I really wanted to do the style shoot, um, I'm always going to ask for a monetary participation that's just par for the course. So I would go in and ask, um, you know, I'm, I'm super excited about this concept. I'm wondering, you know, are you guys really.

Kind of centered in, or have you really selected the images and the vibe and the pieces? Um, I'd be happy to participate, but I would love a little creative freedom so that this is something that's really fun for me to create and I'm not recreating something that I've done in the past and I'd love to get it a really unique spin.

Um, I'm then asking, what are we doing this styled shoot for? Why are we doing it? If we're just doing it to do a styled shoot, that is not a good enough reason. Uh, are we doing it to submit for publication? If so, who is submitting it and where are they submitting it? Because I wanna know. And then if it's like Minnesota Bride here, I wanna know if there are multiple Ven ven, uh, you know, vendors involved or.

People that are involved in the shoot that are Minnesota bribe members, because here in Minnesota, that like helps stack your opportunity because they of course want to publish people who are members before, people who are not. And so asking questions like that. So I really wanna identify when. You know what, when images like how long are we're gonna hold them for?

Um, I, I wanna know like, how are any other items being, you know, figured out as somebody designing this? Um, I will not do a style shoot unless we have floor length linens, so I wanna make sure that all of the details are planned out. I'm asking if they have a model dress. Um, maybe even just asking for a list of vendors, but I feel like we're often so excited and we're of course, are honored that they reached out to our business and that they're considering wanting to work with us.

But I just want you to put the break on a little bit because that break helps you get clarity if this is something that is really going to help drive your business forward. Or something that is a really nice shiny object at this point, and you need some validation potentially, uh, that you are the real deal.

Like look at the work I'm producing, um, if this is something that would really help your portfolio, and this is an immaculately designed shoot. Okay. Then I would consider it just to get images because I do feel like images are critical for you growing your business. You need images of the work. People aren't just gonna trust you that you know how to do beautiful flowers.

People need to see your work, and you can always try to control costs by saying, I'm happy to, you know, make this item. And then maybe you brought some extra flowers so you can change how it looks. And then you're repurposing it from a fireplace to a in front of a sweetheart table or in front of a head table, like.

You are using your pieces in several ways, so you're really maximizing the potential images that you get. Or you could try and combine that. Yeah, I'd be happy to participate and maybe you want to do your a la carte flowers photo shoot at the same time. Like if it's something that would fit that bill, why not make it double duty and utilize.

Those images on your website for your potentially your a la carte program. Then I also would make sure that you understand and have a list of the deliverables. I need to know how many items that they're wanting, especially if it's something that I have been, you know, committed to participating in the flower costs at a hundred percent.

I need to know every single thing that they're expecting. I had one situation where all of a sudden, like three days before, they were like, okay, well we need this tablescape, this tablescape, and this tablescape, and then we need this ceremony backdrop, and then we need the, I was like, are you freaking kidding me?

But they just told me they needed a tablescape singular. Uh, they meant tablescapes, plural. So I think getting a list of those deliverables from the venue is so critical, or from whoever is facilitating the shoot is so critical that you. I feel going into it. Like then I know, and then I also can plan my work and I can plan my ordering, I can plan all of these things and it's just so much more beneficial to really be on that same page.

Then my kind of my secret sauce that I try to do with with style shoots is following that with an open house. If I can get the venue to have an open house at night. Not only is my work gonna be seen in these photos, but people coming to the venue are going to see these photos as, or these flowers as well.

I participate almost every month in an open house. And sometimes a styled shoot if it's something like really simple and I just were using my soak flowers, I'm not gonna probably put a styled shoot together. I did one, but I'm not gonna make a big deal if I'm just using something that I have that I'm just trying to fill space.

'cause they do a monthly open house. But like tomorrow I'm participating in a Italian kind of tomato themed style shoot and I'm super excited about it. It's gonna be super fun. Uh, but I am doing it because they're also having the open house afterwards. I'm a preferred vendor. I have done the most weddings out of any florist in my market at that venue.

And part of it is because brides come, couples come to look at the venue when it's all gussied up for a wedding. That was very Minnesotan of me to say gussied up. Uh. And they're seeing my work and they leave my marketing material. I have postcards there, I have business cards there, and they're basically pimping me as the preferred florist for this venue because look at what I can do.

And so if I can accompany a style shoot to an open house, that is like the best case scenario for any staude. Because you are getting the opportunity to be in front of couples. Then making sure once you're moving forward and you have timelines and all those things, really understanding like the social taking.

Social taking is probably the crappiest part of a style tube because if you have like 12 different vendors, it just sucks going in and finding each one. So I like to just have like. A, you know, cut and paste of all of those. So I love when a planner or myself or whatever they're sending out just a vendor participation list with everybody's social tagging, because then we have it, and then there's also not an excuse that people can suck and not take other vendors.

Like that's the easiest way to piss another vendor off. Is not take them for something that they donated their time, resources, or potentially product to. So those are some of the tips on style shoots. I think the best thing is really making sure this is something you wholeheartedly wanna do. Then always try.

It. Doesn't matter if you are so fricking excited to do a styled shoot at this venue. Always, always try. To get somebody to participate in flower costs. This should not be just your burden. You are donating your time, you are donating your, you know, rentals and all those things. It is not crazy to ask for some participation in flower costs cross.

Thank you so much for listening, flower Friend, and you have an amazing flower filled week.