Should I invest in myself with training/coaching or YouTube it?
Investing in yourself can be scary and overwhelming not knowing if what you will learn has value and if you will see a return on your investment. The question of should I take this course and spend $x or should I Youtube it and wing it.
I used to be the florist who felt I had been a florist forever so what would I really learn from something. I also was scared to invest in myself because the money wasn’t there. At this point I didn’t think I was worth investing in and I treated my business the same way. That all changed when a friend talked me into going to Flowerstock on Holly Chapple's farm. This was my first immersion into education, surrounding myself with elevated floral minds and being exposed to amazing floral educators. My mind was blown by the artistic out of the box designs of Sue McCleary, Gabriela Salazar of La Musa de las Flores, creative business like coach Julie Tobi and of course Holly Chapple. When I left that farm my mind was blown and my life was forever changed. That may sound dramatic but that trip inspired me to start my urban flower farm and take the Floret Farms workshop. It made me dig deep into defining what I truly want my business to look like in a creative business mastermind with Julie Tobi and enrolling in Sue McCleary’s virtual studio. This was just the tip of the iceberg because I started to notice the more design and business knowledge growth I had the more my average wedding increased. I then started consuming all sorts of personal development media- podcasts, books and our pal YouTube. But my investment didn’t stop there- I did design days with two local florists that I admired. I did coaching with a florist I admired that looked like she unapologetically did weddings she wanted to do and was paid accordingly to her amazing talents with grand and beautifully curated weddings filling her calendar.
After my large initial investment I continue to try to learn and soak up knowledge from anyone I feel can add value to my business or even me as a person. Every year I have invested my business has grown in revenue and shrank in the volume of weddings I did.
So the initial question is- should I invest in myself or Youtube it and I am on team invest in yourself. Part of the reason I am a coach is because I know that coaching/training can change someones life. The foundation of what education or coaching can give you is confidence. Confidence in your design work, confidence in your pricing, confidence in your proposals and during your consultations. Confidence drives a business forward in so many ways. People often take for granted how experience in making something again or working at a venue can close the couple you are meeting with.
Sometimes learning something is not only or even a financial investment it is an investment of time. Sometimes that is the biggest investment of them all as an entrepreneur.
Ways to invest in yourself without spending a dime: Podcasts- not just floral geared podcasts.
- Goaldigger podcast
- Women of Impact
- She Means Business Show
- The Mindset Mentor
- Earn Your Happy
Florist geared podcasts
- Of course -The Floral Hustle
- Botanical Brouhaha
- Flower Ed.
- The Flower Podcast
- Team Flower Podcast
Countless opportunities to invest in design courses- online and in person. If you are looking to invest in yourself in a way that is unlike most courses or in person coaching I would love to work with you one on one to elevate your business, your mindset and the overall direction in your business. I have one spot available as of this recording so please send me a DM on Instagram or reach out on my website and so we can connect and see if coaching is right for you.