The Floral Hustle

  📍 Hello, flower friends. This is Jen and you're listening to the floral hustle podcast. On this week's episode, we are going to talk about the number one way for you to grow your business. And that is networking with other industry professionals. Those people are people who are dealing with your ideal client.

Most likely if you are a wedding and event florist, but even without that, those people need flowers for. They need flowers for funerals. They need flowers for general happiness reasons off and on. I see so many planners or other, other floral friends getting tagged in other industry professionals feeds.

I've had them order daily orders from me as well. And so it is a huge area of opportunity that often no one is spending any time. And the reasons why I, I see people not spending time on it is because for one, it's uncomfortable. You're getting out of your comfort zone. You're, you're trying to reach out and connect with people.

You're trying to really, build relationships with especially florists are usually creative introverted people except and not really that extroverted outgoing that you see some photographers be some wedding planners are very extroverted. Creative people often are very introverted, so connecting and reaching out of your comfort zone is super uncomfortable sometimes.

Call that what it is. Let's start with baby steps of how do we network with making it doable. And I am an extrovert, even though I am creative, I have always been an extrovert. So connecting with people is not something that is difficult. I'm great at conversations. I'm great at digging deeper and asking, clarifying or deeper questions, because I want somebody to know that I'm listening.

I want somebody to know that I'm really trying to get to know them, that I'm digging deeper and that I'm like, not. surface level. I've had super deep conversations with people on so many different topics when I have first met them, that it is fascinating. And it's because I'm good at reading people.

I can see like when somebody is talking about something and they're, you know, they're not really excited about it, but it's like a part of their business. They're talking about it. I have straight up said to somebody like, do you really want to do that? It doesn't seem like you're excited about it. And, but when you talked about this, you seem super excited.

Because people don't notice those things and their, their energy towards something. And I read people's energy all the time and feed into that because I'd love to hear more of some aspect of their business, or I'd love to learn more of some aspect of their personal life that they're doing. And with that, I learn about that person.

I'm building a deeper relationship, but let's start at the beginning level. How can you start to network and who you should be networking with? I always try to start with like bottom of the funnel of people when somebody, because I'm focused on wedding and events, bottom of the funnel to me, our wedding planners, our venues, our photographers.

But I don't want to forget about my other flower friends because other flower friends are also a great resource for referrals because they get clients that need wedding flowers. and might be booked and send them your way. So the first thing that I do to build relationships with people is when I have someone looking for a planner or a photographer or whatever, I usually personally direct message or text that person and ask that they were available for that specific date.

If they are, I say, I have a client that acts on this date at X. And is this something you would be interested in? Oh, yeah, sure. Send them my way. Like, I just had a wedding flower friend, planter friend, that also does flowers, that she lives about 25 minutes out of the Twin Cities, and a person in her city Needed an arch done.

Well, that should be pretty easy for her and a good chunk of money to do this one item in her backyard, basically. So I text her and said, Hey, this person needs that. I sent a screenshot of the arch inspiration and I said, I'd love to connect you. Can I do a you know, a little text or a email, a group email to introduce you.

And I do that with those interactions. Cause for one, I'm getting my name again in front that Jen is thinking about me for two, I'm making sure that this wedding speaks to them and inspiring instead of somebody that isn't spike on is uninspiring, sending that person their way, then I'm also making sure that the venue, cause some venues like aren't inspiring to people.

So I'm telling them like the basic components that might be interesting or may make them interested in this wedding. Then from there, I am doing that. Text message, group text message, group email, and that person knows that I cared enough to not only from a client standpoint, but also a referral standpoint, both of those people know I care enough not to just scurry them down the hallway towards each other.

I want to connect them. I want to make that interaction happen. I don't want to worry that the client's going to forget the name. I am helping facilitate it because I want that relationship that I have with that person to be further supported. And if they're not booking it, It's, it's not doing everything that I would want that referral to do.

I want them to get booked, so I am doing a little bit more work to help make that happen. But I am also, when I am at setting up weddings, when I am at the wholesaler, I am at a networking event, I am always talking and saying hi to people. I'm introducing them. Hi, my name is Jen. I own Green Goddess Floral.

I do wedding and events. I specialize in cultural weddings, but can do any, pretty much anything. I also tell people I'm an educator. I'm a business coach because you never know. When that person might know someone, because I am not only coached florists, I've coached wedding planners. I've coached photographers.

So you, you never know when that interaction might come in place, not only from a professional level, but I have connected with people who have kiddos with special needs or have autism and even at my gym, I just had the owner of the gym. Somebody at the gym found out their nine year old just was diagnosed with autism and they are trying to wrap their head around everything and really trying to develop a, a concrete care plan going forward of what they're going to do to help her.

And he did an introduction. He would have never known if I would, when we were chatting, if I never mentioned I am a, a boss when it comes to my daughter's autism. I have dug so deep. I have done the work. I have enabled all of these resources for my daughter to have. And we just talked about it in a personal training session, like just, cause I think I, it was a tough day one day when I went to a session, but I still went and I just said, I'm sorry, I feel a little off today.

Like My daughter is going through early puberty throwing it out there. It is a thing. It's called precocious puberty. It's I don't understand. So since age 7 that it had started and I, it was a rough like day, like she just was really emotional or whatever. So I just, I opened up and talked about it because I'm, I don't want to be a person who stuffs.

My feelings are stuff's what's going on anymore. And especially if in that relationship, if, if I'm going to be coming and working out with him every week, so I can become the best version of myself. Like I want him to understand like me a little bit and how my daughter complicates my week sometimes because she can be having a really great day one day and another day, it could be really bad and she could be sideways and she could just need her mom and I might need to cancel or she could something else could happen that I just need to support her better. So that connection happened just because I am completely myself. with everybody. Like I don't hide anything. I, if somebody asks me a question, it doesn't matter.

Like I'm probably going to answer it because I believe transparency and really being your most authentic self is going to attract your most authentic relationships. And I've even had people because I am vulnerable on this podcast. I do talk about personal things because I want people to, for one, know that.

Even successful people struggle, everybody struggles sometimes it's how you embrace that struggle and move forward instead of staying stuck, instead of wallowing in your own self pity and having a pity party, anything, anytime anything negative happens, which I have seen those business owners that just spiral.

I want to be inspiring. I want how my life is lived. To be inspirational for people and I have had people reach out via dm. I have a coaching client right now that like we have a common bond because we both have she had a kiddo with autism. I have a kiddo with autism and that there is. It's something very powerful when you have something that much in common with someone that you just get each other at a different level.

When you have a complicated kid, when you, I also have had someone reach out to me, I took care of both of my parents. Somebody who was taking care of their parent. They get it. Someone who has lost their parents like I have we just have this common ground. It is, it is hard for some people who have never experienced that to really get that, but when I'm talking with like a client, and they're saying when, when I get to the parents question, and there's one dad, or there's two moms, one dad, or one dad and one mom I go, okay when we get a little bit later, you know, you mentioned, cause I don't want to do it right then you mentioned that like there was only one dad and one mom.

Should we be doing a memorial or are they just not around? Because if, if we need to you know, celebrate their memory, I'd love to help you think of some creative ways to do that because I've lost both my parents. And yeah, Normally, like, it's, they've lost them. Sometimes they're just shitheads.

They don't talk to them. Which I'm like, I get that, too, because mine were kind of shitheads off and on, too. So, it is... Being your authentic self that I think really helps cultivate these relationships, my relationship with my decor bestie nor we have such an authentic relationship like I can tell the other day, I could tell by her voice that something had happened.

With as busy as my day was and could be and getting prepared for next week's weddings. I'm going out of town to go to a Indian floral jewelry workshop. I dropped everything to help her and spent an hour and a half of my day helping her because I want to support her. I went and drove to her storage unit, met someone in her staff because she had forgotten something.

It's because I. We understand and I could, I could tell immediately that something was wrong with her and I want to build relationships with other vendors that we are that close that I have room for friendship. I have room for collaborative vendors to be in my bubble and I want to be in their bubble vendors that have my type of energy that are.

Passionate. I want to be around more passionate, inspired entrepreneurs that want to grow their wedding businesses to new levels that is just so inspiring. And when I meet someone like that energy, I just. It fires me up because I'm like, I could really have a close friendship with this person and we have so much in common.

Our energy is the same, our drive is the same, and that is hard to find. When you find someone on that same wavelength as you, feed into that. That is your person. Nor is my person. Like our energy is just. on point. And so you can have that too. So start talking to people when you're out. You never know who you're.

I met nor at a wedding. She was doing a backdrop, a grass wall. And I wanted that at my wedding. And I just started talking with her and I just totally fell in love with her that day. I also met one of my favorite wedding planners who was a total boss who also has a kiddo with autism. Also is like, has great, amazing energy, great design, but we have so much in common and over the years of me getting to know her, that it's just, it's layered.

Like the, the common allies, one of my best friends was a bridesmaid is really good friends with her. And I just found this out after knowing her for four years, had no clue. So you never know. When you are investing in someone, if there's going to be that great relationship that takes off, that really grows your business.

So invest in getting to know people, invest in getting, letting yourself out of your bubble and getting people to know you. Because I know that I am. An awesome person to be in their bubble that I am going to give back to our relationship. I'm not going to just take from our relationship. I know I can be inspiring.

I know I have good energy. I know that I'm empathetic and I can listen. So what can you bring to the relationships in your life? Bubble. What can you do to really get, let somebody get to know you? What is, what is something that is your superpower that other wedding professionals should be around? And does anybody know that?

Because other people, like I, I have people say, Jenny's really good at this. And I'm going to ask, For her help. I had one of my decorator friends that does a lot of ceiling draping and somebody asked her for fall coastal. She couldn't figure out what the fuck that meant. And I said, okay, the style shoot we did earlier this year, I would take this color out and I would add a mustardy color.

And then I would add a little bit of a golden yellow. And I think that that would make it coastal. And then I sent her a screenshot of another wedding that I have. That's almost identical to it. No money exchange us supporting each other, but a week later I asked her, Hey, you know what? I've really been wanting to do a bouquet workshop.

I'm going to be coming out with a workshop and then later on a course called bouquet rockstar, uh, because I can help you become a rockstar and making bouquets. And I want to have an in person workshop and she owns an amazing, beautiful flower farm I mean, horse farm that. Her husband also grows flowers on.

It's just it's so inspiring being on this farm. And obviously there's horses there. So I'm going to have a workshop, a model, and an amazing photographer there. And we are going to have a workshop and she's letting me do that in exchange for helping her with something else. And so those relationships, you never know when they are going to pay off.

But I want to give you some actual strategies that you're not out at weddings. You can also do. So first thing is when someone follows you on Instagram and they are a wedding professional, I want you to reply. Thank you so much for following me. I looked at your page and I love. Pick something that is cool, fun, inspiring out of their profile page that you saw in an image.

I love the shoot that you did at X venue. I just loved your use of color or I loved the light and airy look of your photos. I love that whatever it is, pick something that like really spoke to you on their page so that they know you actually looked at their profile page. Then I want you to say if you ever have anybody looking for wedding flowers, I would love to be considered, something along that lines that you're really just saying, Hey, I have availability in 2024, 2023.

And if you need any, have anybody that needs flowers, if I have anybody that needs planning, I'll make sure that I have them reach out otherwise. If you want to set up, Hey, I'd love to chat with you and do a virtual coffee date sometime just to learn more about your business. You can do something as simple as that.

Also, make sure that when you're sending it, they have already followed you. I hate getting the out of the blue DMs that are kind of aggressive. They followed you. You followed them back and you sent the DM, or if you followed them, when they follow you back, you can send that DM. The relationship isn't one sided anymore.

It's, it's being reciprocated. They're volleying back to you, following you back, or you're volleying them and following them back. Then you can send a DM saying, Hey, I want to introduce myself. My name is Jenny. I looked at your profile page and I just absolutely love this wedding that you did at X. It was just so beautiful.

I loved how you put the colors together whatever it is, depending on what their role in that was, or I love the light and the airy feel to your, your photography I absolutely love the, the wedding. Like you just captured the bride so beautifully, whatever it is, you're saying something nice and personalized.

Then I would love to connect for a virtual coffee day because I'm always trying to make more industry friends because people are booked or unavailable or whatever it is. And I would love to have another person to recommend for whatever job that they are doing. If you have time, I'd love to meet for a 10 minute virtual coffee date and get to know you.

So that's one way. Another way is I strategically, when I see a Like styled shoot or something tagged by another flower friend that's taking a wedding planner or somebody that would be your target person you would like to have on your vendor recommendation type team. I take a screenshot of their profile page.

I park it in a vendor recommendation folder or a wedding planner folder. And I periodically go through and I want to send out little Intro packages to different wedding planners or different photographers, whoever you're trying to reach out to. I think wedding planners are a great place to start because they are on the vendor recommendation team of that couple and I send out.

Like a virtual coffee date invitation to them and my last one I did cookies and coffee. I have beautiful like handmade cookies that had my logo put on them. They were stunning and I have coffee mugs that I had made their little thermoses with my logo on them. I put a handwritten note and I sent out my coffee and cookies to 10 different planners And asked to have a virtual coffee date.

And I met with six of them. One of them was a dream planner that I would love to get in front of. And I got some really great feedback of why they, what, when they look at my Instagram, doesn't speak to their client. They thought I had a very TikTok esque cause I do a lot of educational content and not enough pictures.

And so I said like, that is really good feedback for me. I have so many pictures already on my Instagram. They're not clustered together. They're broken up by videos, but that feedback was super helpful. And I decided to post pictures three days a week and one of them be dedicated to Indian weddings. And with that, like that meeting was so helpful because I had never had anybody, but here is a premier planner giving me that feedback and it was invaluable.

So that. Paid off so much for the 10 in shipping for each box. I think I spent 4 each cookie I put two cookies in my note card was a dollar So total with the thermos and everything and I put a little caribou coffee Individual packet in there. I think it was 25 a piece so I spent 250 In marketing my business to people who are at the, the front lines of potential clients that I want to meet with and I got meetings with six of them.

One of them that I didn't get a meeting with, like, I was just throwing it out there. They've won like Minnesota best of. Several years and they are kind of an uppity type brand, which I'm a lot more relaxed brand than they are, but I also you would love to do the bigger budgets they do. So I just wanted to get my name in front of them.

So they got something in the mail and I find these addresses on Facebook in Google and several of them. I actually just Said, hey, I want to send a little something to introduce myself. What's the best address to send it to? So that is also a great way. Cookies and coffee. I also I just sent out coffee and then I had like some really nice notebooks made that have my logo embossed.

When I made my brand transition from my old business name to my new one I sent out to 25 different planners. I sent these little packs out and That was before I found these amazing cookies These were just so beautiful, and there are so many bakers that are doing these custom logo custom design cookies right now.

They are just a great intro. They made it on seven Instagram. I got tagged on Instagram seven times out of the 10. So it was a. A great investment, in my opinion, to get in front of their audience even just by tagging me that I sent that and I had such great meetings, virtual coffee even though I don't drink coffee, I had my Mountain Dew or my tea and I feel like it was a huge win, but those things take consistent work, getting relationships with planners is, takes consistent work.

I also do the same thing with flower friends. When I met the wholesaler people in my market, the majority of florists know who I am because I have formed a floral community, floral events, like educational resources for florists in my market, but People know because even before them, because I just said, hi, I'm friendly with them.

I will comment in people's stories and tell them great job for showing up on video. I know that's really hard or when something is really beautiful. I tell them. Because there's not enough positivity in the world. And if I can add a little bit, I want to do so. So you could do the same thing. Just start commenting even on flower friends.

You never know when that flower friend is going to be booked and then want to refer you. It is so uplifting to get a referral from another florist because that person is trusting and does the same job as you and thinks you are going to do such a good job and take care of this client that they're referring.

They could just say that they're not, they're not available and that person can go find somebody else. But if you have made such a relationship that they want to send business your way and you do the same and it's all about reciprocity, you're going to give them Potentially a referral at some point.

And if it's not a referral, like I just do nice things in the floral community. I let people, they need to borrow something and they're like, how much I'm like, nothing you can borrow that from me. I don't care. Or you can let, I'm lending it to you if I'm using proper grammar because I want to cultivate relationships in this market and the 30 that they would pay me for rentals is not worth.

For one, me keeping track of. I just don't even want to keep track of it. I would rather just cultivate that relationship, invest in that relationship, and just make the flower world a little bit better place. So those are a few tips on cultivating relationships. And if you ever are like, how would I reach out to this person?

Just send me a DM. I'd love to help strategize and look at that. person's Instagram page and see if I can see an in because a lot of times you might have common ground. You never know when you might have something in common. If that person does CrossFit and you know it because they're taking it and you do it, mention it when you reach out to them.

I see you do CrossFit. What gym do you go to? I go to X or I see that you do this. I absolutely love it. I have people comment on me going to pottery class. I have people comment on me going to CrossFit. I have People comment about my daughter with autism and they're you know, they're however they can be related to that topic, whether it's a, their kiddo or a family member's kiddo or their, whatever it may be, there could be some little piece of common ground.

Common ground is going to build relationships and going to help accelerate your business. Be your true authentic self showing up all the time. It is so going to pay off for you because I have felt the benefits of that for years because I've always been showing up as my authentic self. But since I started the podcast and have just really made the decision that I'm going to be my true vulnerable self because people will grow from that.

vulnerability. I have seen so much more interaction. I found so much more about so many people that it's just been so enlightening. And I hope you can experience it in whatever way that serves you. Thank you so much for 📍 listening flower friend and have an amazing fun filled flower week.