The Floral Hustle

Jeni: Hello Flower friend.

This is Jen and you are listening
to the Floral Hustle Podcast.

Today we're gonna talk about seven
things for you to stop immediately.

Stop now for a more profitable
2023 wedding season and beyond.

Right now is the time of
year We are in planning mode.

This is the time for you to
regroup and really strategize.

How can I make next year better?

What do I even want for next year?

What do I have booked?

What do I want to have booked?

You know, in the big grand
scheme, I want X wedding or I

want just general goal planning.

This is goal planning.

The new year is coming
New Year's resolution.

By time this airs, the
new year will be here.

But this is your opportunity to craft the
business that you love, the business you

adore and ditch all the overwhelm that.

Making your business business feel
heavy, making it feel like not

aligned, making it feel just heavy.

So here are some things
to really just stop doing.

Really think about how you can implement
these as strategies going into next year.

So first thing to stop doing is stop
guessing on cost pricing when you guess.

You are literally asking for either a less
profitable wedding or a big old mistake

because you did not do the legwork.

And if you listen to my easy
installations, especially that

episode, you can learn my easy formula
of figuring out a cost per square.

So that you're not investing a ton of time
in this, but if you are just guessing, you

are asking for issues, you are asking to
be less profitable because you are gonna

go into that going, I just threw a number
out there and now I have to make it happen

for that number, and you deserve better.

And if your client does not
understand that, I cannot manifest.

Like the cost on this because
it is a complicated thing.

I cannot just spitball because
it is a complicated thing.

Take that and just say, you know what?

I really wanna make sure that I
am achieving the look and feel

of your inspiration photos.

and I wanna make sure that I'm
properly getting the foundation, um,

of everything to accomplish that.

And so it just takes me a little bit
of time to do the research to make sure

that I am really making sure that I'm.

Have you just love your installation
and, um, that I have enough flowers

for it and all of those things,
so I'd be happy to just put that

together in the pro uh, proposal.

But if you have a rough
idea, like that is a range.

You know, most of my installations start
at acts and I've done installations up to.

because at that point, when you tell
somebody a range, they're usually gonna

tell you your their budget for something.

And if they don't, just say, you
know what, let me just estimate it.

I know my range is a pretty broad one
because installations are so customized

to each wedding that I really wanna do
my due diligence to make sure that I'm

achieving everything that you want.

And I'm making sure from a
foundation standpoint that I

have all my ducks in a row.

Leave it at that.

So, stop.

It's not helping you.

It's only hurting you.

Stop trying to be the cheapest in town.

This was me.

I was trying to be like race to the
bottom because I felt volume and doing a

million weddings was the key to success.

I actually, I did a, I think
it was 137 weddings one year.

One weekend I had nine weddings, and then
somebody reached out to me for a funeral

and I thought that was a brilliant idea
for me to do nine weddings and a funeral.

I, I pulled it off, but this is while
I was working full-time, running a

sales organization, having employees.

I didn't have children, thank God,
because then I probably would've

just like been in the Looney bin.

, but it was crazy.

So I, that happened to me because
I was the cheapest in town.

I was literally undervaluing myself.

I was sometimes losing money because
I wasn't estimating enough, um, for

fluctuations and pricing in the market.

I just wanted more, more, more, more
is gonna make me more successful.

More, more, more is only gonna
bring you more headache and less.

, you have profitability built into
that equation and being the cheapest

in town is not one of those ways.

If you are attracting all of those,
like wanting the cheapest options,

the cheapest everything you need
to implement some processes.

For one, I would implement having a
brochure for all your inquiries that has

pricing guidance in it, and so you can.

right away at dealing with price
shoppers that are looking for like

the lowest price bouquet cuz they
think that they should be able to get

bridesmaids for $45 or whatever it be.

You give them that brochure.

I would love to talk to you more
if, um, the pricing in my brochure

is aligned with where your budget
is and if they don't reach out.

I send one reply email if I don't hear
from them in a week because I use Gmail

and it nudges me when I don't get a reply.

So I go in when I get nudged and
I reply back and just say, Hey,

I wanna make sure that you got my
brochure and see if you had any

questions that I could ha help answer.

Um, if not, it was.

Thank you so much for considering me.

End of discussion then.

You're not wasting your time with price
shoppers by doing a full estimate.

and spending that time on an
hour consult if somebody's

looking for the chiefest in town.

Third thing, stop comparing yourself.

This is something, again,
I used to do a lot.

I can't charge that because
I am not this florist.

My work doesn't look like this
florist, so I can't charge like that.

BS you are your own.

Dictator of your prices.

You are the own dictator of the work.

You want to perform the work that you
want to be proud of, and often cheap

budgets are not going to accomplish
that If you do have a situation that

you have a couple that's reached out
and it looks super duper fun, but.

they have a little bit lower budget.

If there's one item in there that
absolutely is like on your floral

bucket list or on something that you
have really wanted to put in your

portfolio, I would price everything
accordingly to what you normally price.

But that one item, and I would position
that item to them, is, I've priced out

your wedding, but the one thing that
is really inspiring, Me about your

wedding, and I want to use this as part
of my portfolio is this installation.

I have given you a discount.

This is if you really wanna
do it, and they're absolutely

not budging on your budget.

I, of course you can.

Try them on.

But if you just know, and I usually
just know after meeting with somebody

what things look like, literally
go in there and just say, I'm doing

this at a discount, um, because
it is a portfolio building piece.

That way if they refer someone for
that exact same thing, , you don't need

your portfolio built anymore, and it is
the regular price and you can explain.

I use that as a portfolio building
piece and it is actually not something

that I can do at that price again,
because that was not something that

will sustain my business to keep doing.

End of discussion.

Easy peasy.

So when you keep comparing
yourself to other Floris, for

one, you are brainwashing yourself
that you are not as good as.

Everybody has their strengths.

Everybody has something
that shines about them.

That's something that sticks
out that they are great at.

And if there are things that you keep
comparing yourself and falling short,

then you need to invest in yourself.

Taking courses, doing things like
practicing, going to Trader Joe's.

We have Trader Joe's like a grocery
store that like their flowers are

unbelievably cheap because they're
buying in such volume that sometimes

it's cheaper than the wholesaler.

When in my earlier days, I would go
there and I would buy like $40 of

flowers, $35 of flowers, and I would just
make different things, tear it apart,

take pictures, and keep doing that to
build my confidence, but also build my

portfolio because you also need to have
work that you can put out there that

speaks to the work you want to be doing.

and when you've done something,
you also feel more confident.

You can understand recipes
a little bit better.

You can understand maybe like the
spiral bouquet is something you're

struggling with or making corsages
is something you struggle with.

You know, you could just practice and
then that comparison, when you build

confidence just starts to to dwindle.

And if you are continuously comparing
yourself to people, especially

on Instagram, unfollow them.

You will not be missing out if they
do a wedding somewhere that is not for

one, your ideal venue, your ideal type
of wedding, like just unfollow them.

It's good for your brain to just
not even be exposed in my opinion.

Next thing, stop using one
wholesaler or one flower source.

. By putting your eggs in all in one
basket or one wholesaler, you can be

disappointed and be subject to their
pricing or their price fluctuations on

items because they have limited sources.

I personally have three wholesalers.

I have a flower co-op that is a co-op
of a local growers, and I have two

flower farmers that I buy direct
from, and I grow my own flowers.

I will often on hard to find
flowers, order from two locations

to help up my chances, but I
also check prices accordingly.

Hey, how much are your
toffee roses right now?

Are you even able to get them?

How much are your Ines right now?

Are you able to get them in the summer?

Are you able to get white,
ridiculous peach, reinos, whatever?

How are you finding, you know,
whatever flower that you need

for this wedding in three weeks?

, ask them, get a ballpark price, and then
you can place your order accordingly.

I have one wholesaler that I
only have delivered to me cuz

they're a little bit farther away.

I invest my time going to my main
wholesaler, looking at everything

and knowing how everything is gonna
come together from a color palette,

I go to the flower farmers in
person because I wanna be specific.

Even if you're ordering by variety,
that variety can be a little bit

different, or they could have
picked it at different times.

So super important.

But on top of that, my next item,
stop promising individual flowers.

I'm, I, actually, I did
a whole episode on this.

This is literally backing you into a
corner of not being profitable, because

if that item for some reason becomes
a scarcity, you are paying a premium

for it, and you might not have built
that into your wedding flower budget.

So, I just stopped doing it several years
ago, and it feels so much freer, but

it also helps make me more profitable
because I am not backed into a corner

of having to have a specific bloom.

So just stop.

It's easy.

Explain.

If you listen to that episode, I
explain how you can make it a benefit

to that couple, then have a minimum.

And I know so many people are
like, I just need to do weddings.

I need experience.

Great.

Have ala carte flowers.

Um, which is a great way for people
to get, for one pricing guidance of

what things cost for two great flowers
without a lot of work on your, your.

Part.

And plus you get a lot of creative
freedom because you are dictating

everything that goes into the, from a
flower choice, from a design choice.

Uh, you know, I just say they're
always in my classic garden style.

Um, look.

But I get to pick all the
blooms, um, based on what the

best options at that time.

The best options could be
something that's on sale.

It could be something that I found
a deal on, one of the auctions

on, then having a minimum.

, you can actually back into that to,
from a profitability standpoint, if you

wanna do two weddings in one weekend
and you wanna make X amount, okay, if

I wanna make X amount and I'm running
at like a 40 or 50% profit margin, or

whatever your percentage might be from
last year, or if you're looking at

changing that, then you could of course
adjust that into this ac um, equation.

Then I'm going to meet,
need to be charging x.

. By having that minimum, you make sure
that you're covering your business

expenses, you're making sure that if
you are taking on limited weddings, that

that investment in your time is worth it.

And so I see having a minimum as a
critical part of your business, if

you are not going to be taking on
all these low budget, high volume

type weddings because you are setting
the stage that I'm not gonna do O.

I am going to have weddings that I want
to do, I enjoy doing that are something

creatively fulfilling to me, and that
also fit into my profit equation.

Then the last thing, start
sourcing supplies Now.

And I know sometimes you might not have
the budget for it before your bride has,

you know, POed up everything, um, or your
couple has paid, uh, you know, whatever.

I, I do a $500 deposit that
goes towards their total.

And then I don't take any money until
like 30 days out because I don't need

the cash influx into my business.

I would rather we finalize everything,
we get final payment than I'm paying

for the flowers and so on and so forth.

But I do source supplies now.

I literally, when I see something
available that I know I'm going to need

and it is at a normal market rate, is not
like elevated, I stop and I'm like, okay.

I, I could buy some tubes of glue.

I could buy some cylinder
bases for this year.

I could buy some floating candles.

Sometimes you can even strategically work
with your wholesalers to make sure you're

getting a good deal by pre sourcing.

Like they have pre-book on items.

They have pre-book on candles,
pre-book on, you know, cylinder

bases are common use items.

Look at pre-book and see,
because that's going to be.

your recipe of profitability.

If you have these things and you aren't
all of a sudden paying a premium because

you're like having to order on Amazon
or having to order it online somewhere

because your wholesaler doesn't have it,
so plan ahead and you definitely will

build in just a ti more profitability
because you're not paying a premium.

Then also with those supplies, build
in things that are profitable for you.

I introduce new collections periodically
of items that, for one, make it

easier for me to meet with brides
because I can show them something

that fits together aesthetically.

I have these new rib candles, uh,
taper candle holders and uh, like

ribbed beautiful glass bud vs.

That.

They go together and they're
stunning and like it's really easy.

But that was an investment.

I bought them before I even sold
them, but I knew I would sell.

and I have sold them, I think
like seven times already.

So they more than paid for, um, themself.

But now is a time to source things like
that, that you can integrate, that you

can make some money on because they
are on trend right now or whatever.

And then have fun with that.

Like it is fun for me to introduce new
things and I'm always on the lookout,

like I actually just got delivered,
uh, a accent decor puzzle arch.

I looked at it and I was like,
I can sell that to my brides.

And it was 500 bucks, so it was an
investment, but it's like getting

down to the end of the year.

So I don't mind the tax seduction, and
I know next year I'm going to be able to

rent that for a premium and I will recoup
my money in just a couple weddings, and

then I will have this beautiful thing
to just rent out and make it profitable.

So look at those decisions.

because then you can book them
to your brides couples this

year and really set yourself up.

If you rent that arch out three times,
four times, you know if you've paid

for it, and then you've made another
500, then you've made another seven

50 or a thousand, and so you can
really capitalize on your investments

that you've made into your inventory.

Those are your seven things.

Start now on implementing these
strategies and stop doing.

All the thing.

Stop guessing.

Stop being the cheapest.

Just start thinking you deserve
to be profitable because you do.

You work hard, you want to have
your business be successful and

sometimes you just gotta gotta rip
the bandaid off and make big changes.

And so let's make big
changes and let's make 2023.

Amazing.

Thank you so much, flower friend.

I hope you have a great flower.

Bye-bye.