The Floral Hustle

  📍 Hello Flower friends. This is Jen and you were listening to the Floral Hustle podcast. Today I wanna talk about something that I'm guessing a lot of you are facing, and that is, Like having a mom hustle or a side hustle. Um, my mom hustles, I call, you have kids, you don't have childcare all the time, and you're running a business side hustle.

You're working another job. You're, you know, doing, you have a career, whatever it may be, and you're trying to grow your floral business on the side. And I have done both. And so I have really, uh, and I've done this to a pretty grand scale. When I was working full-time, when, uh, my children were very small when Covid hit, when we were homeschooling.

So I, I have a pretty good grasp on how things can feel good and how things can be financially successful and how they can be mentally successful. Because you don't wanna be doing something that you're literally just going to feel. Like, everything feels like so much. You're overwhelmed. You don't know how you're gonna do all of this.

And when I've talked to some of my coaching clients and as well as in all the Facebook groups that I am uh, in, that are supporting Flores, this is a common theme. People like, don't know how they're going to do both. They don't know how they're going to manage, um, being a good mom and being a present mom, or, you know, making sure that you're still performing on your job.

So a lot of things just feel heavy. And so I wanna talk about some of the things that I did. Uh, I actually was, uh, I've mentioned it in previous podcasts. I worked as the director of sales for an automotive advertising agency. But before that I worked at a car dealership. I, um, was a new car manager and.

Sold cars. Um, so a variety of different jobs, different hour requirements, um, different schedules, uh, rotating schedules. So I've, I've done both of those, but then I've done the mom hustle thing. So right now that's what I'm living in. I have about 12 hours of childcare per week, and in the summer I get around 20, but with those 20 hours a week, I ran my business and we have another business, and just in the one business we hit like a quarter of a million dollars with, uh, the floral business.

So it, it was a lot. Plus I have a little urban flower farm that I'm growing, taking care of my house, taking care of my family. I have a daughter with autism, which just comes with its own complications. So it's just things, uh, I've definitely perfected the mom hustle, but. You might not have. So let me just give you and share some tips that, uh, I have put in place that, um, feel good to me and really make me feel like I'm ahead of the game instead of behind.

The first thing I will preface, if you were starting a side hustle or you are in a side hustle and you have a full-time job, this actually was something I ran into. You might even not have known that you have this, but, uh, I, I definitely was a thorn in my side. So when I started at, um, it was a Monday through Friday job in automotive advertising, I.

Went to my interview and was talking to them about how I just wanna make these changes in my life. I wanna leave, um, car dealerships and I really want to, um, you know, start growing my floral business. Um, but I love cars and I love the car industry, and. , you know, so in this interview I talked all about like how I have this big dream about my floral business and they seemed like super supportive and you know, gave great feedback in the interview when I was talking, they were asking questions and then I signed an employment agreement and I.

You know, obviously I think I was, how old was I? I was in my mid twenties, if not early twenties. And so, uh, I, I think more mid twenties. Yeah, mid twenties. I, I didn't really read it very well, and in there it said I could not have another job or I could not, um, work anywhere else, um, or own a business or any of that, and I didn't pay attention to that.

But when my business started growing, I think that they noticed. And I was strategically, um, working my day so that I was coming in a little bit earlier so I could take a little bit longer lunch so I could run and get my flowers. Um, you know, I was sometimes doing a consult on my phone in, um, the, uh, you know, parking lot while I was just on my lunch break.

So I was using my time off to help grow my business. , but it, it, it was, it came into a thing and I literally had to just kind of put my foot down that I'm not stopping my floral business. This is something I very adamantly talked about in my interview. So if you do have a full-time job and you signed an employment agreement, go look at it.

I just, I don't want this to be something that when you grow it and when your business is amazing and you're just like feeling so good about it. Somebody pees in your weedies and says that you're not able to do this. Uh, I just, I don't want that to happen to you. It didn't feel good. And luckily the people that I had those interviews with were still employed there and could attest to that.

These were things that I did talk about. Um, and so that kind of, it saved the day in the end, but it literally, it literally was, um, a big headache for quite some time. in going into that, you've, you've checked, is this like something that's even possible and, and if it is something that you have signed an agreement on, I hope a lot of companies don't have practices like that anymore.

But 10 years ago, actually, 13 years ago they did. Uh, but hopefully not now. I want you to first start out with, let's identify as your side hustle, as your mom hustle. What do you want out of this business? Because so many people are just like, I'm just gonna throw something against the wall and see if it sticks.

And a lot of time in that process, you can feel disappointed. You can feel, um, like you're letting yourself down, that you're letting other people down that, uh, you know, this isn't successful because you haven't defined what success is. So take a time. Just even like an hour and define like, what do you want this to look like?

And then once you've really realistically like figured out, this is what would feel good, this is what success looks like for me, this is what would make me happy. This would, um, really, uh, be the growth that I'm looking for. Then talk to your support system. Explain what you. and how they can support you or you need support during that time.

Because if you don't have everybody that is in your bubble on your team of making this successful, you're going to have a very hard time because you have someone basically. , like making you feel guilty, um, that you are going on Saturday and delivering a wedding, or making you feel guilty when you're doing a quote after the children go to bed.

Whatever it is, if you have a team and you feel supported, you're gonna feel so much better in your business and have them even be a part. of your thought process behind what success looks like. You know, like, this is what success looks like for me. What do you like, does that feel like what you think it should be?

Or, um, did you have any thoughts on it? Because I'd love to hear it because it, we're a team and I'd love to get your, your feedback on this because it's really important to me. And if you can get your kids on board too. Explain what you want to do, show your children. What a boss you are and that you, you know, are, are starting something, you are being, um, you know, tenacious.

You're getting outta your bubble, you're getting uncomfortable, you'll, you're taking uncomfortable action to make your goals and dreams happen. Children soak up what they see. I mean, I have my daughter who is eight, like literally telling everybody that she wants to be a florist because she. Sees how much I love it.

She sees how much joy she sees, that it helps us financially. She sees, you know, that it has, um, fulfillment she sees. It's helping give people, um, additional income that are working for me. Like all of those things, like they are witnessing and soaking up and so you have the opportunity to teach them. And so why not talk to them, have them involved, get their, you know, feedback, their, you know what?

Tell them that you want to even show them like what an entrepreneur is and just have 'em be a part of it. It, it's so impactful to get your, your family, your team, your support system, even your mom, your, your, you know, like your best friend, whoever it is. Because if, if somebody isn't on board, it's gonna be a thorn in your side and you just don't want that.

So the next thing I wanna talk about, . If you are going to have your brain split, you're gonna have your day job or your kids and you're gonna have this business that you're trying to grow, you need to systemize the crap out of everything. I literally, for a long time, was doing like word docs. I was.

Manually figuring out all the financials. I was rewriting every email. When I got an inquiry, I was, uh, literally figuring out prices for every single person. So I have systemized this, so I am using QuickBooks. I have all my accounting in there. I can go in, I have. If you've never used QuickBooks, you can put rules in place that expenses from certain areas automatically get funneled into this bucket so you can streamline that process.

It is not my favorite process, but it is critical if you want to know financially where your business is at. . I currently create all my proposals in Canva, and part of that is I love them to look pretty and I think that they look beautiful and I can use a lot of, um, visual images to help, you know, really, uh, sell what I'm proposing because.

People want to feel and like be able to just look at something and go, oh, I want that for my wedding. And so that's really important to me, but it's also important to me. I can be at the wholesaler and I can pull kava up on my phone and I can pull their proposal up on my phone if they call me or if they have a question or if I get an email and I just wanna shoot something quick, um, back to them.

So, Having it just with me on my phone, which I'm actually gonna do an episode of how you can use your phone to systemize your business and make it more successful and more streamlined. Uh, but it, it's just helpful to have, have that with you. It's not on my computer at home. It's literally an app on my phone that I can access and look at, and all of them are in there and I can just search by their name.

Super. Having email templates for quick responses is also important. You want to be able to just, when you get an inquiry, you know you're available for the date. This is the what comes back included in that, you know, I am asking them additional questions. If they didn't provide some of the information in my form, I'm re-asking for that information.

I'm attaching my brochure and it's. Super easy, super quick. And then I also have a template for when someone is, I'm not available for that date, uh, if I'm not interested in their wedding after, you know, looking at their inquiry, you know, just having those systemized things, even like your quote emails, having a template.

It was so great meeting with you. I really, uh, would love the opportunity to be your florist and be a part of your special day. Uh, I love what we came up with. I, and maybe talk a little bit. Some detail or whatever. And that part only is customized cuz you can say you've enjoyed meeting with them cuz hopefully you did, otherwise you probably wouldn't wanna be their florist and have it just quick response.

Have these in a Word document, have them in drafts in your, um, you know, Gmail or whatever system that you're using. Uh, that's another thing that I think is, is important, is using. An app or having your, uh, email system on your phone, I like to check my email three times a day. I don't like to try to check it more than that because I think that just gets overwhelming.

You're always hitting the refresh button, which is not great. So I like having that on my phone. I have it through G Suite, but then I also have, you know, like the spreadsheets for my inventory. Uh, then I have my Word documents or whatever they call, I think they call 'em Google Docs. Um, so that I can literally pull up, uh, if.

I'm taking notes during a meeting before I actually do their proposal. I can pull the proposal notes up. easily in Google Drive. So having that on the go with me, because if you have a, let's just say you're running to the, um, a coffee shop for a lunchtime appointment, or you're taking a quick call with a bride over lunch or a couple over the lunch, you know, being able to just in jot those notes down right into Google Drive so you're not searching for that piece of paper is so important.

Searching for pieces of paper. Bite you in the button and you will lose one . So it is, is not great, um, to just be like taking notepads with you all the time because you can lose those notepads. So having systems created is so helpful. Also, creating base floral prices and FAQs that you can put in your brochure or you can put, you know, somewhere else that is really, you know, a.

Presentation of the information, obviously because we are a visual type service, uh, but also like, help save you time because you're not refiguring like what a greenery center piece is every time. You can just have that in your brochure and if somebody is interested in that, you know, Hey, I, I'm setting a brochure to every client that inquires because I want them to.

that basic information and we're not going back and forth them asking me, how much is a bridesmaid? Okay, how much is a booter? All of it is just in the brochure. I'm being upfront, I'm being transparent because then I'm saving my time if they can't afford my services or they are being unrealistic about their budget or um, what they think things should cost.

Maybe they're considering like D E I Y, but thought they would check with the florist. That's just saving time Then, . The fourth thing I wanna talk about is technology. Calendar reminders are my friend, so I use, like I mentioned before, I use um, G-Suite, which is the Google kind of ecosystem. I do believe it's $6 a month that gives me, um, G-Suite for my business.

I actually, My Jenny Green Goddess Floral email address through that and um, if you have any other emails, you can actually, they recently released that you can have, it's like an auto forward system, so if I wanna have support at Green Goddess or Hello at Green Goddess Floral, all of those can just point.

To my Jenny at Green Goddess Floral, but I can have them still come from that Hello App. So that is also a, a newer part of Google Drive. I put all of my weddings in my Google Calendar. Part of the reason why I do that is because I, I do have a paper calendar, but I want, if someone calls me and I am out and about, I want to be able to look at my Google calendar and know if I'm booked or not, or if, you know, I can almost, with some of the details that I put into that, I can tell if I have the space or the capacity to take on another wedding.

So with that, I am going. and putting all that information right in my calendar.

So in that calendar reminder, I am putting all of the information that comes. I have a contract and then I have a bride basic information sheet or a couple information sheet. So it's telling me like their address, their phone number, um, the groom's phone number. Uh, it's telling me email addresses. So I take all of that data and I enter it into my Google calendar cuz I also.

If for some reason I'm somewhere and I see something, or I have a question, even the during the wedding week, uh, that I want to verify cuz maybe something wasn't available And I know that they were really excited about it. So I wanna talk to them about, um, substitute substitutions to make sure they're completely happy.

That doesn't happen a lot, but just in case, I just want all of that data in, in my phone with me at all times. So using those calendar reminder. for one, it's gonna help you when you're, uh, out and about, you know, you're, you're at work, you're trying to think, you get an inquiry, you're handling it on your lunch break, and you're like, okay, uh, I can't take that wedding on.

I can't. So that's a, a good layer of information, but you also can use your calendar to hit key dates. For ordering product, for deposits, for, you know, payments along the way, depending on your payment set up, you know, you can help hit those points easily by just putting a calendar reminder and going through.

And being like, okay, we are three weeks out. I need to have a quick review meeting with them. So go right when you book that wedding, go put that appointment in, and then you're not worrying about it. And if you are super busy, you can easily hire. Somebody to help you with this. I right now have someone that enters all of my brides, um, or couples into my calendar.

And all of the reminders, everything are just, they're just done. And I'm paying that person as an hourly person cuz they help with organization and they help, you know, pull things, uh, for weddings. And this is something that they're, you know, they like to do. They like organization, they like, um, you know, These kind of things, and I don't really, so I am putting someone in their zone of genius because this is something they like to do, and I'm putting myself in my zone of genius doing things that are going to be financially impactful to the business, especially when you have a limited amount of time.

You wanna maximize that time so that you are spending your time on things that are going to be income producing or driving the business forward. Building relationships with people and the admin stuff. If you can get that off your plate, you're probably going to feel lighter, unless that's something that you really like to do.

Uh, so I would really recommend that Then. When I am also kind of looking at my calendars, I actually do Sunday prep. I go in and every Sunday I'm getting organized for my week. Um, I'm touching base with my partner, um, what I need help with for the week, what they might need help with. I'm getting my pull list.

I'm printing my weddings for the week. Uh, I'm looking at the production schedule. I'm looking at who's gonna be here. Obviously, I've looked at who's going to be here beforehand.

Then I'm also, uh, if I have time or capacity, I'm going out and just like. Looking at inventory to make sure that I have everything, uh, and if I need to do any, um, you know, ordering of something if I think I have it. And, but maybe it's like close that I might not have enough floating candles or might not have enough of whatever it is, I'm just double, double checking and you know, potentially just picking it up.

Or I'll, even if I go out and I do check and I see that we're low on, so. I potentially just go and order it right then, uh, send an email to my wholesaler and so that I am not having to worry about it. I just know on Tuesday when I go to pick flowers up that it's there. . Then I'm also looking at, I, if I have foam for the week that I'm using, uh, if you're foam free or not totally get it, that's a choice.

But if I'm using foam or if I have, um, a lot of buckets I'm meeting, I'm just making sure that like all of those things are in place because I can prefill buckets of water. I could, um, pre-soak even. Usually, like on Monday, I'll maybe step out, but I'll go fill the tub. with the foam bricks that I'm using, or if I have, um, you know, even like a chicken wire burrito that I'm making, you know, maybe I would go and look and just make sure that I, I have that ready.

Usually I've had it prepped. Make sure that, um, the moss is still looking good in it if I have made it ahead of time, which normally it is made ahead of time and just checking, uh, all my prepped vessels. Cause I've tried to prep those ahead of time. Uh, and. Really just feeling like I have checked everything and I mentally just feel better going into the week.

Then let's talk a little bit about mom hustle support and there there is so much, almost like weird shame about moms working and it's okay for dads to work, but like when you're talking about that you're running a business, well, how do you do that with kids? , you deserve to have something outside of your motherhood.

And I, I think that that is something that's really hard for a lot of women to grasp because they feel like their identity is being a mother. And I think personally that I am a better mother. because of that time, that space for me to be creative, for me to be, um, excited about something other than, you know, I'm excited about this drawing that you made.

I'm excited about like what you just did and how funny you're being, how cute you're being, and how cuddly you're being and all of those things. So I feel like I am, am just so much of a better human being when I have that outside interaction. With that, you also need to put support in place for you to be able to do these things.

You know, having that support from your partner. But it might be, I need part-time childcare. Uh, you might be working during school hours or you might have your partner once that you know, they get home from work, they maybe need to take over with the kids so you have time to go work on growing your business and.

I will fullheartedly say that you deserve that. You deserve space to do something and grow something that you are excited about out of being a mom. And I know that so many moms are just like, they've just placed this big, huge identity trap around there. But when your kids start going to school, like then you feel a little bit lost.

I've seen a lot of moms, they just like, they get to this point that they feel lost and. . That's why I feel like during, even when they're younger, even though you don't wanna miss a lot of those things, and that's part of the reason why I left my, um, career of 10 years and a good paying, um, job is I didn't wanna miss the things that I missed with my daughter Bella.

And I still got to do all of those things and grew this business to where it is now. So it is possib. , but if you need a little mom hustle, support in your workspace. I actually have a play area. I have crafts, I have games, I have a tv. I have all of these other things that if my kiddos are out here with me, , they can, um, you know, do and still be by my side.

I still feel like we're spending time together, we're still interacting. Um, but I'm providing. You know, some tools or things that they can do so they're not bored. Silly in just wanting to be on their tabby tablet out, um, here in the studio so you can create an area for them. When my daughter was really little, we actually, they have these, um, Plastic almost looks like a little pen, but it's just something to keep her safe.

And we had it up, we had a rug underneath it. It had all of these toys in it, and I literally would just have my workstation right next to her and she would be in there. Um, when she was really little, I had the snug of monkey. Literally sitting on my workstation. So I'm staring at her while I'm making flowers.

Uh, so there are ways to make that work, even though it might feel a little bit hard, and sometimes you're like, they're gonna ask you a million questions and you're trying to get this bouquet that you're struggling with for some reason, and you're just like, Ugh, I can't handle it anymore. But you can. I know you can because this, this has to work.

And. They need to know that this has to work. And that's also leads back to that conversation of having the conversation about this is really important to mom to make this work. Uh, I really want you to be out here with me cuz I wanna spend time with you, but I really need to get this done. So could you do this for 10 minutes and then Mommy will read that book to you, or whatever it may be.

You've probably learned all the negotiation tactics with your kiddos. Now is a great time to put them in. then get help. I see so many Flos struggle with not wanting to bring somebody on to help them to hire a freelancer, to do whatever. Cuz for one, they don't even know how it works. Two, they don't, uh, think that they can afford it.

And you can if you are pricing correct. , you deserve the help because you are doing so many other things. So look at, am I setting my business up for profitability to begin with? And if you're doing that correctly, then you are not superwoman. You do not need to be superwoman. You can not, you don't need to feel guilty for hiring help, whether that's hiring childcare, that's hiring another florist.

you deserve to have help. You deserve to not have to do it all. And if you set this up correctly, you are going to love your business more because you're actually sleeping. You're actually not up till midnight every night doing flowers after your kids go to bed. And so you have the space to be a human being.

Have your, you know, mom hustle or your side hustle and. Like enjoy this thing, this business that you're growing and you're loving and it, it can be really great, but you need support. So you need to make sure you're pricing things so that you have the ability to get that support. And with that, make some flower friends.

Flower friends are the greatest gift. . When you have a wedding that you need help with, one day you can say, Hey, I have this wedding this week, and I could really use your help. And especially if they have a mom hustle or a side hustle and they're with their kids during the day, maybe they can come over and help in the studio at night and then lighten your load.

They're having fun because they're, I mean, it's fun to make flowers and. , you are getting that extra help. So it's just, it's a win-win. So I make a practice of saying hi to people at the wholesaler, commenting on people's posts on Instagram, building a relationship with other florist in town because it's, if you're ever in a bind like that could be your opportunity to help someone or for you to get.

So put yourself out there a little bit, and I know sometimes that's uncomfortable, but uncomfortable action makes you grow. Then the last thing is give yourself grace. You are learning. This is new. Or even if you've been doing this for a long time, it's new because your children are changing. Your job is changing and just know that you are doing the best job that you can.

That giving yourself some grace when things aren't going exactly the way that you want them is critical in you feeling like I'm moving my business forward, even though it doesn't look perfect. That messy middle is perfection to me because I am. I am trying. If you think about if you are, if you've started a business, you're trying to grow your.

you were doing 10 times more than most people. Most people are, are staying in their nine to five job bubble. And not taking uncomfortable action by taking a gamble on yourself, on taking a gamble even a little bit financially, um, by making a website and doing all of these things like that isn't normal behavior.

Most people just wanna stay in their bubble of working their full-time job, and that's it. So you deserve a little pat on the back because you are taking big action with having this business and with that, like just give yourself a little bit of grace when things aren't perfect. Because especially when you're a mom, things aren't perfect a lot of times cuz kids are changing and they're messy and.

Fun and crazy, um, but totally worth it. So I hope you enjoy today's episode. If you ever are running into an obstacle and. You're like, God, I don't know how I'm going to deal with this. This seems heavy, this seems, I just don't know what to do. Please send me a DM, or I would love for you to go join our Facebook group.

It is, um, in Facebook, in the group section, the floral hustle. Go in there and I wanna build a community of like-minded floral entrepreneurs that just wanna support each other that aren't Karens that are gonna be judging cuz they're not gonna be allowed. That behavior's just not allowed in the Facebook group because there's too much of that out there already and all of the Facebook groups out there and really providing information that is.

Either experienced or fact-based. I see so many people like just saying, oh yeah. And I'm like, no, you, that is inaccurate, . Uh, so just please head to Facebook, check it out. I would love for you to be a part of it. And if you have a question that just seems like, I, I really want help with this, but I don't want it to be public, send me a DM on Instagram.

I would love to help support you, um, because we are all better. Thank you so much for listening to our friends and have a great week.