The Floral Hustle

Jeni: Hello, flower friends.

This is Jen.

You are listening to the
Floral Hustle podcast.

It is the new year.

The new year is upon us, and I don't
know about you, but every new year I go

through this like state of reflection.

Of course I'm doing goal planning,
but I wanted to talk to you today.

Some unconventional goal planning.

When I worked in corporate America,
like I would always dread this.

Um, I was the director of sales for an
automotive, uh, advertising agency for,

it was like 10 years I worked there,
and every year they would get these

crazy spreadsheets out and we'd be
looking at like salesperson allocations.

I mean, all of those things
are things that you should do.

You should be looking at your financials.

Uh, I actually just had a meeting with
my, uh, accountant and we planned out

like what we were gonna pay me this,
uh, this last quarter of the year.

And then we looked at like, what are
some potential, uh, opportunities for

some write-offs and, and so having those
type of moments definitely are needed.

Those could look like for a florist, like,
okay, how many weddings do I wanna do?

How much do I want to average per wedding?

And if you don't know what your stats are
for this past 2022, now is a great time

to start because you're gonna have to have
all of that data for your taxes anyways.

So take a little time and dig deep
into those numbers because then all.

Other goal planning that we're gonna
talk about is really going to be helpful

because you're gonna kind of have this
base understanding of where is everything

financially and for people to really
like, I think, operate their business

from their heart and to really like,
Love their business for what they need

to feel like they're getting paid and
that their work is valued financially

because you need, you need money.

It's just part of life.

But what we're gonna talk today
about is planning the rest of it

how we can, and this is one of the
things that I say, how he can build

a business that you absolutely adore.

and a lot of that like literally starts
with you just even dreaming of what

that would look like and personally.

I often am very, very busy and
have a lot of things going on.

I have, you know, two children I've
mentioned on the podcast before.

I literally did 56 weddings this year,
and I think we're ending, um, the year

run a quarter of a million dollars.

So like, and this is with limited
childcare, so I'm, I'm kind of always on

the go, but my husband is a big dream.

And even we had date night this
past weekend, and this is a long

story, but it's very relevant.

He asked me, cuz we are in the talks
of, of building a life that we, we

absolutely love, like everything about it.

And part of that foundation is a farm.

I grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota.

I was in four H.

We had animals.

Like it, it just is something that
I so want to give my children.

I have a really good friend that
owns a, um, horse ranch, and

whenever I go there, I just feel
this peace and this just like it.

I don't know what it, it's just
like it awakens me that this is like

how my life should be, and so he
was asking me when we get to that

point, , what does it look like?

And I think right now, That's,
that's something that we can all

do with our, with our business.

Because he was just like, what
do you want it to be like when

you get up in the morning?

What do you want it to be like?

What do you want your routine to be?

What do you wanna be doing?

Where do you wanna be?

Like, just all the like getting to
feel, cuz then you're getting to

visualize how everything is going to be.

But we don't need to wait
till we get to some milestone.

What do we want it to be next year?

What do we want our business to look like?

What do we want our life to look like?

Because mine basically smashes into
each other and is very intermingled.

I don't know about yours,
but I, I like to work.

I.

Love working actually.

Especially, I love teaching.

I love, uh, delivering a bouquet
to a bride, but I also love.

when my mom, uh, my, um, my kiddos
come out here and they're like,

mom, we really wanna do, you know,
we wanna go to the park, or, you

know, I wanna go to karate tonight.

Like, I also love equally
love those moments.

So I feel like my personal and my business
intercede because we also have the studio

five from foot, feet from the house.

We've basically, I've
taken over, um, our garage.

Is he.

Uh, air condition.

It was the first thing I actually bought
my house because I walked in the garage

and I was like, this is my studio.

And it is, cuz we're in Minnesota,
it has to be insulated and

it had a water source in it.

So it was just like all the
things big enough to, uh, you

know, make everything work.

So, you know, I, I was thinking.

. I wonder if everybody else does
this reflection of what do I

want this weird to look like?

Because a lot of times we just get
into it and I knew somebody that I

just thought it was really funny.

Like he always call or we're
knee-deep in alligator piss,

which is the weirdest phrase ever.

But like we get into the thick of it and
we don't even think of how we got there.

So right now, I want you to take a
moment of intentionality, of thinking,

what do I want my business to look like
from a goal planning, um, perspective?

Because goal planning doesn't
need to be just financial.

What do I want my rest to look like?

I am not a rester.

But I need to rest to want for one,
to have creative rejuvenation time.

I know when I go to pottery class
and I am sitting on a wheel making

something, or I am thinking around with
something there, like that's rest for me.

And I start thinking of a million ideas.

I start thinking mentally
about installations.

a lot of things other than the pot
I'm making, but I'm stepping back and

I'm taking that space and even that
little like two and a half hours while

my kiddo is in preschool literally
gives me so much creative energy.

So that's one reason why we as creatives,
we need space because our brain needs

to almost like empty out a little bit.

and so we can fill it back up with
all the crazy shit that we wanna do.

But without that, you're gonna
be stuck in creative lulls.

I've, I've seen it happen to people
where like, you start to see all

their work just really look the same.

And that might have been because
they booked those weddings in

a very, you know, condensed
amount of time around each other.

So they maybe had like a theme
or something in their mind.

Taking that space, that creative space
to fill yourself back up is going to

make your work look so much better.

When I see there's a couple floors that
I really, I mean, I, I fan girl them, I

just like, absolutely adore one of them.

But like her stuff is all different, all
beautifully, meticulously planned out.

and that is not something
that I'm interested in doing.

Getting so down into the details that
like, I'm swimming in that water, uh,

water of that wedding in every single way.

I, I love being able to, to step back and
like, think of something like, what is

something really cool that we could do?

for this wedding and what kind of
theme or you know, whatever kind of

details, but like, I don't want to
worry that their place cards are cool

or, you know, any of those details.

Just that's, that's personally not me.

So I wanna build enough creativity that
I can think of ideas, I can have time to

even like look at other people's work.

Look at Pinterest.

So you need that space creatively.

But I also feel you need that
space to, to be the person outside

of the business, to be the bomb,
to be the wife, to be the person.

If you have this as your side
hustle, to be that person.

And if you're not, you're also
like, that's your path to burnout.

Only being this character in your.

Could seriously burn you out.

So taking that time for rest creatively
and just to make sure that you are, you

know, connecting with all of the different
people in your life, connecting with

your family, connecting with yourself.

Taking time to take care of yourself.

I've really, in the last, uh, I think
it's been about like nine months to a

year, have really been trying to take care
of myself because I, I was just always

really tired, but I was always really
going hard, so I was making excuses that

that was the reason why I was tired.

Then I went to the doctor,
had all my labs done.

I was like, I just, I'm so tired
and I do have a three-year-old that

thinks getting up in the middle
of the night is a Olympic sport.

So I'm like, oh, I'm just
tired because of that.

And I actually found out like, I went to a
functional medicine doctor and I had high

amounts of pesticides, herbicides, and
mold in my body, like toxic levels, like

they were almost to the top of the chart.

Uh, and if you're ever curious about
that test, if you're struggling

with the same thing, And you're
around flowers, like that could be

something showing up in your life too.

So I have been doing all these things
to try to kind of detox my body, and

I've been trying to just, even if it's
like two minutes of taking epso salt

and putting in my bath before I take
my bath, like those little moments

are, are things of self-care to me
and to me, make me feel like I'm.

I really am trying to take care
of myself at the end of the day.

So planning those two things are
huge, but we also want to be planning

when we have, especially that space,
that creative space to be fulfilled.

What do I want my business
to look like this year?

I have seen different Floris evolve
their style, evolve their business

because like something in their heart
changed and you should check in.

Is everything that you're putting out from
a work perspective, does it feel good?

Is this in your mind what your dream
business would be putting out there?

Is it the budgets that
you wanna be working with?

Is it the.

Clientele that you wanna be working with.

Like if you're working with barn brides
that want mason jars and baby's breath,

which haunted me forever, which I have
not had a request for years, um, for that.

Is that where what you want?

So even going down to, uh, and there's
always this exercise in every, uh,

you know, course I'm taking about
identifying your ideal client.

. And I always just think it's
like, seriously, why are

we taking up brain space?

Because brides are going to be
brides and couples are going to

be couples, or whoever's getting
married is gonna reach out to me.

But if you think a little bit through,
and I don't go into this like naming

them, Peter and Paul or Betty and
whoever, I, I don't get specific.

I wanna attract a type of
client with a type of budget.

That wants the type of florist that I
am, which is kind of opinionated and

wants to have some creative freedom and
doesn't want the entire process laid out.

So I feel like I'm a monkey
making their wedding.

So laying out those details like are
you really attracting, think of like

the last 10 couples that you dealt with.

Did you like your interactions with them?

Did you like how they made you feel?

Did you like how.

, uh, they even communicated to you.

Do you like how their inquiry form looked?

I can usually tell if this is my, my
couple or my bride by their inquiry form.

If they didn't take the time to fill
in each one of the limited blocks

that I have in my request form.

They are probably not the, the
couple for me because they didn't

take the time, but they expect me.

and so I'm not going to reciprocate
bending over backwards, especially

cuz those are usually the people.

Like, can't you just give me prices
on, what am I giving you prices on?

I have no idea what your wedding's about.

I have no idea how many, you know,
people like, I had another inquiry

recently, I sent a list of questions
back because she didn't do that.

And she goes, when can I set up a.

And I'm like, I don't even know what
package is best for you because I don't

like meeting with my Al Cart clients.

I didn't, um, word it that way.

They said, I don't know which
option looks good for you.

So I don't know what to recommend
from my services standpoint

to be able to tell you.

if, if a meeting is, is even appropriate
because if she has a thousand dollars

budget, I am not going to waste an hour.

She can look at my a la carte
and it's very, very easy.

If she has a, you know, $3,000 budget,
then I would love to meet with her.

But if she doesn't have that time
to even answer the questions or.

Be respectful in answering.

I think it's disrespectful personally
when somebody doesn't answer direct

questions, I think that like they're
just not caring and just wanna waste

your time at an appointment personally.

But that's not the type of bride that
I want, that's not the type of couple I

want a couple that is like respectful of
your time in your investment into that

process because it is an investment.

, and then also do you even like
your current consultation process?

That could be part of your goal planning.

You know what, I'm getting a lot of price
shoppers, so I want to put in a brochure.

I want to build a brochure so
that I can provide some pricing

guidance for that couple so they
can know if they can afford me or.

, and then we can either move on to
moving forward or they can move

on to looking at other options.

And either way is okay, but P,
adding that little thing could be

a goal to improve your process.

Or even looking at, you know, what?

I want to really dig into my
communication to my couples.

I wanna communicate that I am
a luxury florist, or I wanna

communicate that, um, I only do
sustainable weddings, whatever it is.

That could be a goal.

Then you could even make it a
goal to manifest or develop plan.

to get some of your floral
bucket list out of the way.

So they're, for most flos,
there's these things that

they've thought of or dreamed of.

And I know one Floris that actually
does this a lot, like thinks of

these ideas and goes and finds
a couple to execute that idea.

and it might not always be at
full price, which like I've talked

about that in another episode.

If you really have something that you
wanna do and you want it as a portfolio

piece, you can always position something
super fun and exciting for you to do

that you were doing at a discounted
rate as a portfolio builder, because

after you built your portfolio, you
never have to duplicate that discount.

and I don't even recommend a discount,
but if it's just something that like

your heart is totally speaking to doing
this and you would've just done it in

a style shoot anyways and then paid for
it yourself or between a few creatives

and you know, why not do it for and
make it for somebody's special day?

So thinking of, are there things
that like I really want to do

this year that I wanna creatively.

Accomplish.

I know another florist that literally
has a vision board and those types of

things, like a picture she sees or, um,
a whole inspiration theme or mood board

goes on her vision planning for the year
or goes on her goal setting for the year.

I want to find a bride or couple
with this whole theme in mind.

. And I do think that there's something
to even, like, if that is one thing

that you're really excited about
to attract that bride, what are you

gonna do to attract that couple?

What are you gonna do?

You could potentially make some Canva,
uh, you know, graphics that just

say, you know, tropical inspiration.

I'm dying to do.

and it could have inspiration
photos, uh, embedded in it, or you

could put together a whole mood
board and put it in your stories.

There's so many things that you could
basically just make up in Canva, which

if you haven't heard of Canva before, it
is a, I call it like a graphic resource

center that you literally can go in.

and create a million different graphics
that are hostable shareable to Instagram,

uh, in stories or on a regular post
that really could speak to some of

the things that you wanna do or just
even fundamentals about your business.

I know that's actually something
that is one of my goals this year

as a business and when I've been
thinking about my goal planning is,

I want to do more informative
educational posts.

I post pretty pictures, which
most of us do, but I want to

add value in 2023 to my couples.

I want to talk about like my service
offerings, get some specific pricing

talking, talk about my a la carte
flowers, talk about my rental

inventory, uh, do videos, talking
about different wedding topics.

and so people can get a feel in
the videos like of who I am and you

know, just my general vibe sometimes
is even nice for somebody to watch.

And then I can, um, you know, really just
have a social media plan built in as well

that we're gonna do wedding Wednesday
or we're going to do, uh, florist

tip Tuesday, or we're gonna do fun.

Fun Friday.

Whatever you wanna do.

You could make up theme days around,
you know, really just speaking to

your customers and teaching them about
how you do business and informing

them and how wedding flowers work.

I, I think we all assume that
everybody knows, but nobody knows.

It's the same thing when you're buying.

About anything.

Buying a fridge, buying a dishwasher,
buying a car, buying a house.

Most people, like they go into a situation
just like thinking they know everything.

And like then you sit down for
a consultation with somebody and

they're like, I had never thought
about a million of these things.

And so you could have them think
about those million things that you

consistently run into right in your.

Whole social media strategy you
just developed by setting a goal

of wanting to change your content
from just pretty pictures to being

a, a bit more educational, a bit
more, um, informative, sharing your

services, uh, sharing your pricing.

If you have dream wedding venues that you
really wanted to work at, you could even

use a hashtag strategy to talk about.

Hashtag Hutton House wedding.

And even if you haven't done one there,
you could literally say some common

thing that you see in every one of their
wedding photos tagged on their Instagram,

uh, like their fireplace installation.

How much does a fireplace
installation cost?

As long as you know how big
it is and can price it out.

Starting at.

that could be a post talking about like
I want to do, you're putting out there,

I really, from a venue perspective,
from a creative perspective, I really

wanna do a wedding at this venue.

So you can have themes of, I want
to do this type of wedding, this

these flowers, or this is a big goal,
but you might just desire to do a

specific venue or a new venue and
that could be a goal that you plan.

So it doesn't always have to be financial.

I think that so many
people just focus on fi.

They either focus on financial
for their business or literally

they're just focusing on what their
personal goals are for the year.

And really, I don't know a lot of people
that actually probably spend time.

Thinking about how am I
going to change my business?

Am I going to change my business?

What do I like about
my business this year?

What do I not like about
my business this year?

So I've been doing a lot of thinking
about that, not only with the

things that I've mentioned, but
I've been thinking about my space.

I love being literally 15
feet cuz uh, sometimes.

10 o'clock at night, uh, after I put
kids are all down and everything,

I'll come back out here and I'll
tinker a little bit and it's relaxing.

To me, it's a, even though I'm working,
it's a little bit down because there's

no noise, there's no commotion.

It's just me and flowers, which is my
purpose, and I'm just, I'm soaking it

all up, even at 10 o'clock at night.

I have gone through several,
several iterations of my space.

I went through and, um, like literally
painted the walls in here, a nice

bright white to make it whiter in here.

I've went and got new shelving in here.

I've rearranged and
got better work tables.

So right now you could even goal plan,
what do I want my space to be like?

As one of my, my favorite,
well, one of my favorite like

personalities, um, who is Ally Kazaa?

She is a life minimalist mom,
minimalist, if that makes sense.

But she always says, what takes
up your space takes up your time.

And so this could also be a good time.

What do I want in my space?

Is my space working for me?

Do I like how the flow and setup.

and do I feel like it's, it's
filling its potential and it's

basically filling its purpose.

And so we're, I'm going through that right
now and I actually, because it is, um, a

down week, week and a half before my New
Year's wedding, I literally have, um, some

of my freelancers coming in and we're.

Literally gonna be packing a
bunch of things up because I don't

need all my inventory in here.

I need space.

I need more space than I do
having my inventory here on site.

And so what, what does
your space look like?

Do you have enough space
to put finished pieces?

, do you have enough space to put your
boxes before you take them back to

the wholesaler or back to recycling?

Do you have an area
that is for cleaning vs.

Or what are all the big things that you do
in your business, in your, in your studio?

Are they working?

Because if they're not working,
now is a great time to reflect.

and potentially set goals.

I've set a goal that there's going to
be more space in the studio for people

to work and for us to have product.

I literally am going to, um, take a
whole row, well pretty much almost

the whole row of shelving out and
I am going to have extra space.

I'm gonna get a bucket system in place.

We kind of been placing them around.

I had a Milk Creek kind of rack system
before, and I just like all of a

sudden got this thing where I wanted
to see if we had more space, like on

the perimeter, and we put the buckets.

But then like somebody stepped in a
bucket this year because there were so

many buckets and it just became a thing.

So I want to create more space for my
helpers, for flowers to be safe, and so

they're not getting bumped and damaged.

So take a moment and
reflect, do I like my space?

And if the answer is no,
like something doesn't feel.

Go and ask your, your freelancers,
your, um, employees, what do you

think of how things are set up?

Do you like how everything is set up?

And then they're gonna ho and I, and I
want you to be honest with me, because

I think people are always afraid, even
though be honest with me, or I, I'm gonna

be honest with you, it seems like a very
Minnesotan phrase, but you know what?

Like, I feel like we're
always crammed, or I feel.

None of the supplies are in a
good spot, or I feel like there's

not really a place to do X.

And then just, okay.

Do you have any ideas on
how we could fix that?

And if you don't, that's totally cool.

I just, maybe you've already thought
about it, so I thought I'd just ask

and they might or they might not.

But then you're taking feedback from
your team and they are going to value.

Their, you know, their ability for
one, that you even care to take their

input and then you can kind of develop
some goals around your space, cuz what

ta, what is in your space, what takes
up your space, takes up your time.

So every single item in your studio,
we don't have to Marie Kondo anything.

but is it serving a purpose or is it
some attachment to a monetary value

that you're not wanting to part with
that item because you paid money for

it at some time, but you haven't in
three seasons if you have not used it.

My rule is usually like I,
I didn't use it this season.

I'm going to take a hard look at it.

Okay.

I don't wanna quite get rid of them
yet because maybe you have one book

bride or one couple booked this year,
but next year I probably, if, if I

don't book more than one, I probably
shouldn't have 'em, um, in inventory cuz.

Maybe they're out of style, maybe, uh,
they are just not something that maybe

you should initially bought that you
thought you could sell, but couldn't.

Uh, and then just go from there.

So, make a goal about your space
because you want your space.

You're spending time in your space,
and you want it to feel good.

I don't know, I if, if you guys have
someone that helps fill this role, but

I have someone that on Monday, They
come in and they sweep everything up.

They empty all of the, um, system compost.

They empty the trashes, they
clean all the countertops.

So when I come in Tuesday, my
space feels really good if you

don't have, when you come into your
space, and it feels really good.

, like how can you change that?

Because you want to
feel good in your space.

You are spending too much time
to feel like shit in your space.

And this goes for your house too.

Like do you like everything and
how it's functioning in your

house, your bedroom, your whatever.

And if you are looking for help
and guidance on that, um, the woman

I mentioned earlier, Ali Kaza has
all these decluttering your home.

Uh, courses that I, I've taken them
as well cuz I am a huge fan of hers.

But I also have wanted to just reduce
my clutter, reduce, because that

clutter, like when you come in, you
just, like, your brain sinks because you

feel like you're drowning in clutter.

You're just like, I don't know
how I'm ever gonna pick this up.

And I feel that same way when I come into
my studio and things are out of order.

They're a mess.

Uh, . I just, I don't want it
to feel like that any anymore.

And so you can make that same choice.

So we've talked about a few things.

We've talked about, like goal
setting for your space, goal setting

for your designs, goal setting for
taking space, and your business.

Now, like we talked a little bit about
the financials in the beginning, which

is of course great, but to get some
of that time that we talked about,

to get some of that space initial.

What do you want your team to look like?

Are you happy with a one person show?

Does that feel good to have all of
that pressure and weight that you

are making all this happen, or is
having a couple freelancers feel

good so that you have somebody that's
like next up at bat and can help get

something accomplished or potentially.

do you need to, are you at the point that
maybe you should hire somebody full-time

or hire somebody for 20 hours a week or
hire somebody for, uh, potential VA work?

Um, so a VA is a virtual assistant
and that virtual assistant can

offload a whole bunch of tasks
for you, like answering emails.

Uh, let's just say figuring out what
you need to schedule on social media.

Build a plan.

That person can execute your plan.

They could help, they could
just help with so many things.

It's like, Organizing your bookkeeping.

I mean, I, I know I personally do have
someone that helps with those, um, more

of like social media tasks and some
organizational tasks if I need them.

Cuz that's just not one thing
that like, makes me feel like

I'm living in my purpose or I'm
living in my zone of genius by.

Doing a bunch of admin things, uh, I
feel like my brain and my body should

be better served working on the business
and thinking of ideas and how to

network and how to grow relationships
and how to serve my br my couples,

my brides, my vendor friends better.

So it, do you have all the
right people or is there a task.

I think it's always great to do an audit
of the tasks you're doing and what time,

amount of time you're spending on it.

If it is things like I'm spending
two hours a week washing buckets,

step back and is that two hours of
me washing buckets for once, saving

me so much money or making me feel
like crap cuz I'm washing buckets.

or it's something I really enjoy doing and
it maybe I need help with something else

because I, I actually enjoy doing this.

Or is there some better allocation of, you
know, maybe you need to have somebody come

in and you spend 30 to $40 on Monday and
have somebody come in and clean a little

bit and potentially wash, wash buckets.

Or maybe it's $60, whatever it is.

For you to come in and your people that
are helping your wedding to come in and

have buckets clean, have a space that
feels clean, a face that a space that

feels better, would maybe that investment
be worth it for people to feel more

joy when they come to work for you.

And so looking at like, do I
have the right people in place?

Do I have enough people in place?

What are their stances?

And that's, that could be goal planning.

Like, you know what, I really liked
Sarah, but she seemed like, you know,

she just has a lot going on and so
maybe I need to find another freelancer.

okay, that could be a goal.

And I actually have an episode
all about tips and tricks for

finding great freelancers.

Um, that was one of the initial
batches of episodes that you should go

listen to if that's one of your goals.

So goal planning doesn't just need
to be, let's look at the financials.

Let's look at the numbers.

How can I love my business?

How can I like, get.

Freaking excited when I get out of
bed in the morning because every task

that I'm doing that I've tracked and
done inventory on, and I've looked at

like what is the best route for this
to be like, should I be doing this?

Should like in the end with all
the should a woulda couldas, is

this the business of your dreams?

Because that's where your
goal planning should start.

We are here too little of time to.

Hostage to our business that is
not exactly lighting, lighting

us up internally, making us like
happy that we're influencing.

Like if we're happy in our
business, uh, that's gonna trickle

out to we're happy in our life.

And if we're unhappy in our
business, that's gonna trickle

out and people are gonna be like,
something is not going right.

in mom's business, in my wife's
business, in my partner's business.

Like, and they're gonna probably
wanna help you figure it out.

But you need to figure out like,
is everything what I dream of?

What would I dream that's different?

Would I dream that I am, you know,
doing three big weddings a week and.

They're gonna be, or three bank weddings
a month, and they're going to be looking

like x uh, budget, X type of client
like we talked about, like identifying

who do we wanna be working with and
frankly trying to repel the people

that we don't want to be working with.

I am so glad that I have changed
my business enough that I don't

get, and I'm not bashing on barn
venues, but I did so many of them.

So many, so many baby's breath things,
so many mason jar things that it's

like it causes a physical response in
my body when I even think about it.

Cause I'm just like, oh, I so
don't like how that made me feel.

I felt like I was being undervalued.

I felt like I was doing monkey.

Florist work, like I just, I felt like
I was meant for bigger things, more

creative things, and like this was
just like a fire hose shooting me back.

that that's not going to
happen if you keep doing this.

So I've changed how I'm presenting
myself, how I'm presenting my business

into this way that like I feel like the
majority of time I'm attracting someone

that's going to value me, value my
opinion, value my creativity, and I'm

setting them up with providing pricing
guidance so they know about what this

should cost, and then go from there.

So right now, . I want you to
think, how does my business feel?

Does it feel good?

What is coming up for me?

When I think something isn't feeling good,
what specifically isn't feeling good?

Because if you don't identify
it, you can't fix it.

Okay?

So I don't like how going to
my wholesaler feels because it

feels negative or I don't like.

My wholesaler never has things in
or I don't like working with Renos.

like whatever it is, it doesn't
matter what it is, if it doesn't

feel good, you are the c e O of your
business and you can stop and if a

couple bride like pushes back on you.

Guess what?

You are still the c e o and the boss of
your business, and I am so sorry that

you, that's something you really want.

But I have had such bad experiences
that let's just say anes.

, like I, I think I talked about anes in
another episode, like one of my most

unfavorite flowers, uh, just because the
white ones just, ugh, by the time they get

here to Minnesota, they're usually just
crap, or they're green, or they're bruised

or they're blown million different things.

So like maybe you just.

I'm sorry I don't work with the nees
because I'm going to have to increase the

price of your flowers so much to cover how
much bad flowers there is that I have to

throw in the garbage because they're so
temperamental and I, so I, there's some

alternatives that I'd love to offer you.

that doesn't get us down that road
of increased pricing, if that's

something you're amenable to.

If you're not, I totally get it.

And I know a couple floors that don't
mind working with an ES and then you

VOD over them, they can volley back.

Like, no way.

I'm want 'em.

Okay.

You have made a hard line.

I want my business to feel.

and this stress.

I actually, I've seen Flores do this.

They'll book a wedding that during
the booking process, it was stressful.

They're like, I don't like how
this couple bride made me feel.

The mother-in-law seems batshit crazy.

They really want ax flour.

That's super hard to get during
their wedding time and on and on.

Then, , you stress about
it every month or whenever.

Cuz those people are the ones that
usually check in all the time.

Every time they ping your email
box, your body has a reaction.

Crap.

I have to deal with these crazy people.

I thought this was gonna
be an easy wedding.

I didn't charge enough for this wedding.

And on and on.

Step back from the beginning because
it ain't gonna get easier that week

when you're going to the wholesaler and
when you're going to make their stuff

and you're worried that that bouquet
is not going to look like they envision

or the pictures they said because
you're literally nothing is probably

going to live up to their standards
cuz they're that difficult of a person.

Why do that wedding?

Make the choice now that you are going to
do things that feel good in your business.

I've actually had one of those brides
that I literally, when I was taking her

deposit, Said, I am so worried that I
am going to deliver your flowers, and

I am an extremely confident and very
well educated florist that you are

not gonna like whatever I bring you
because you are so specific to a point

that it is hard for me to understand.

And I was right.

I maybe manifested that.

I don't know.

We'll see, uh, if that's what
the, the universe meant for me.

, but that's the only bride that
I've ever delivered a bouquet.

Had her tell me she loved it, and I
literally held it up in the mirror

with the photo that I printed on an
eight by 10 because I was so worried

about it and I had to tear that thing
apart because she wanted it air.

I'm like, oh, this is one
of my favorite FRA phrases.

I said, you wanted things boning out more.

Is that what I'm understanding?

Because I wanted her to
like think about how silly.

, like she wanted these flowers just jetting
out and I knew they weren't gonna hold

up good and a million different things.

I said, okay, I can make
things boner up more.

And I went and I tore it apart
and I gave it back to her.

And like that day I made a decision.

If I ever feel even remotely or even a
twinkle of what I felt today, I'm going

to say no because I want happiness.

I want good vibes.

in my business, and I want, I
want good vibes in my email.

I don't want to have to open my
email and be like, crap them again.

Just, just stop.

You deserve better, and that's
a whole nother set of issues.

A lot of times people are just like, I
have to, I have to, I have to, I have to.

I need money.

I need, I need the experience.

I need a, I just, I need, I need, I need.

, but if you need that, you're going
to keep needing that and you're

gonna keep attracting that person.

And so if you don't make, I always put
like hard line in the sand, if you don't

make that hard line in the sand at some
point in your business that I am going

to love every single thing about my
business, or I'm not doing it because

I'm the c e o and I make those decisions.

You're going to be
making, I need, I have to.

They're not so bad.

And then complain in your
head, complain to your partner.

So then they start wondering, why are you
doing this if these people are so crazy?

Because that's the
conversation I used to have.

Why are you working with these people?

They sound.

and sometimes they are, sometimes
that's just like, people

are just not happy people.

And I, I, when I start getting
that vibe, I'll just like flat

out say, I, you know what?

It sounds like you have some pretty
big feelings about whatever it is

that we were discussing, and that's.

I think we might be on the, uh,
different page because I don't, I,

I can't do that and probably fulfill
it to the way that you, or the

level that you have expectations of.

And I've never delivered something
that I didn't feel confident that you

were going to be happy and I don't
wanna deliver something you're not

gonna be happy with starting now.

And normally they're going to be like,
and take a little self-reflection because

you're basically telling 'em like the way
they're acting is not working for you.

And sometimes people might not appreciate
that, but especially with there, there

are some people that just, they need.

I called little, little education
that we can't be treated that way.

I, I had somebody actually, and
I made a funny reel about this on

Instagram, request a Christmas Eve
consult because they were in town.

My business does not operate on holidays.

That's one of the reasons why I own
my own business and shame on you.

I have a family and it's very public
that I have a family like I am.

Make that known in all my posts like that
you would even have the expectation of,

of someone, no matter who they are, that
they're gonna drop everything on Christmas

Eve or Christmas Day was also okay.

Just throwing that out there.

to meet with you.

Like I don't feel like anything
that we're going to discuss

couldn't be accomplished on Zoom.

So we can do Zoom if you want,
otherwise I totally understand.

If you need to go a different
direction, that is one of my, my

favorite phrases to use and reply to
an email to somebody that's, that's d.

Address what they said because it's crappy
to not address their concern or what

they've said and just say, you know what?

If this isn't okay with you, I totally
understand if you go in a different

direction, because then you're giving them
permission and it's okay if you want to.

So those are some untraditional goal
planning things that I go through in the

new year, and especially when you know,
You're in a growth phase, like I feel like

I've grown so much in this last couple
years that I am really excited to what the

next level of growth is with this podcast.

Fitting in with my coaching business,
fitting in with, uh, my family fitting

in, and my health fitting in, and just
creating this synergy that like when.

You're thinking about your life,
like everything just feels so

good and it can feel so good.

You are the c e o and I am so proud of
you for even listening to this because

that means that you are open to change.

You are open to making your life better.

And if you need help with that, because
I, I've needed help in the past, I needed.

A kick in the ass to be like, you don't
need to do baby's breath weddings anymore.

Stop.

Well, what do I say to that person?

Here's a couple things you could say.

and now I can say it just like that.

I'm sorry.

This, this doesn't fit the style
and aesthetic that our, um, floral

studio, uh, you know, pride ourself on.

And so if you're really looking
specifically for that, that's not

something within our design aesthetic.

But I can recommend some studios that do.

So I've needed he that help.

So if you need help, I am your girl.

I am here for you.

I have a couple spots for
monthly coaching right now.

Or if you just need a one-off session, you
just wanna like hammer out like a little

bit of goal set, uh, setting or a little
bit like of clarity around an issue.

Um, my monthly coaching
is really affordable.

It.

We'll give you 2 45 minute sessions,
so we space them out every two weeks.

Because I am your accountability buddy,
I am going to hold you accountable

for the change that you are desiring.

I am going to check in with you
every week and we're just gonna

talk about like struggles and
things that you're running into.

And there's this amazing tool,
Voxer, and if you are, Somebody that

likes to especially talk, uh, when
you're messaging boxer is amazing.

You could have your team on
boxer because it just sits there.

It's not a text message that's
staring you in the face.

You can boxer your team.

Hey, we need to pull, um, seven trio
cylinder bases, and then we need

ivory, three inch floating candles
for it, and, or we need to, whatever.

You can boxer that person and it can
just sit there and not interrupt them,

and then they can come back to it.

And you can see if they've read it or not.

It's pretty easy, but you get
Voxer access to me and we can go

back and forth and we can really
work on the things and set goals.

I literally, I do like a 90 day
recap of what we've accomplished.

And it is, it can be crazy if
you were driven to really make

shit happen in your business.

I mean, I, I had one coaching client,
like we made their brochure, we

looked at their copy on their website.

We, um, looked at, uh, Recipes and
proposals and what those proposal

templates could potentially be changed to.

I mean, so many good things could
happen if you really dedicate time

and space and really are open.

To growth, so you can check it
out on the floral hustle.com.

There's a, uh, coaching page
that has all of the options.

And so I just wanna throw that out
there because I absolutely, like,

it fills me up to help people.

And I would love to help
your business succeed.

Like, my ha mine has, and because I just
know how much happiness comes with growth.

I hope you guys have an amazing new Year,
beginning of the new year, and really

take this time to reflect because I
just know that you can change yourself

into the person you wanna be and you can
change your business into the person you

wanna be, and you will find just so much
happiness in that when you are living

in your purpose, when you are living
in everything that feels good to you.

So have a great new year.

Thank you, friends.

I look forward to seeing you.

Bye.