Summary

In this episode, Janelle Thompson, owner of Lavender Flowers and Tonal & Co, shares her journey of starting and growing her businesses. She talks about how she acquired Lavender Flowers and transformed it to align with her creative vision. Janelle also discusses the importance of strategic pricing and budgeting for weddings, sharing tips on how to manage client expectations while maintaining profitability. She emphasizes the need to separate personal and business expenses and highlights the value of mock-ups and clear communication with clients. In this conversation, Janelle and Sarah discuss various aspects of running a floral business, including understanding client expectations and budgets, creating a lower-tiered offering, streamlining processes for efficiency and profitability, and the excitement of their upcoming in-person workshop. Janelle emphasizes the importance of knowing your client and their budget before presenting mock-ups, as well as the value of offering alternative solutions to meet their needs. She also shares her experience with creating a lower-tiered service, Gathered by Lavenders, to cater to clients with smaller budgets. Sarah highlights the benefits of streamlining processes and creating a signature service that can be replicated efficiently. Both Janelle and Sarah express their excitement for the upcoming workshop and the opportunity to connect with and mentor other florists.

Takeaways

1. The process of discovering your creative voice sometimes come from necessity, or hitting your “business rock bottom.”
2. Strategic pricing and budgeting are essential for maintaining profitability in the wedding industry.
3. Separating personal and business expenses helps ensure financial stability and growth.
4. Mock-ups and clear communication with clients are crucial for managing expectations and delivering on promises. Understand your client’s expectations and budget before presenting mock-ups.
5. Offer alternative solutions to meet client needs and align with their budget.
6. Consider creating a lower-tiered offering to cater to clients with smaller budgets.
7. Streamline processes and package up replicable wedding systems to increase efficiency and profitability, while creating more space for creative discovery and growth.
8. Participate in workshops and events to connect with and learn from other florists.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background
03:02 Taking Over Lavender’s Flowers
06:05 Shaping Lavender’s Flowers
11:50 Managing Pricing and Budgeting
28:04 The Importance of Mock-ups and Communication
29:12 Understanding Client Expectations and Budgets
37:00 Creating a Lower-Tiered Offering
45:28 Streamlining Processes for Efficiency and Profitability
51:00 The Excitement of the In-Person Workshop
55:52 Final Thoughts and Words of Encouragement

Join us at our upcoming workshop!

Here’s how to redeem your special bonus!

1. Click here to purchase your workshop ticket.

2. Send an email to sarah@mulberryandmoss.com (or DM me @mulberryandmoss) after purchasing your workshop ticket, provide your order # and mention this episode of Coffee Wine & Flowers.

We will sign you up for a free 1-hour coaching  call with Janelle or myself, redeemable at any time in the coming year.