BY ALISON ELLIS Flowers FALLING INTO A step-by-step guide to today’s modern wedding business 9781733782692 51999> ISBN 978-1-7337826-9-2 $19.99 HOW TO BECOME A WEDDING FLORIST FALLING INTO FLOWERS ALISON ELLIS love floral design. Just about every flower is my favorite, but the “business stuff” is just as important as a designer’s eye and a master florist’s touch. In order to succeed, florists must create beautiful work and attract customers who are willing to pay them for their time and skill. It takes a lot of time and effort to run a wedding design business, and if you’re not turning a profit, you’re working for a hobby—not a business. The good news is you can turn a profit on every order you make and build a reputable brand that attracts awesome clients. I can help show you how. You don’t have to skip paychecks or reduce your prices to compete. You can create a profitable floral design business on any scale that works for you, whether you work from home, a shop, or consider flowers to be your part- time gig. Let’s get started! 200629_FIF_BookCover.indd 3200629_FIF_BookCover.indd 36/29/20 2:11 PM6/29/20 2:11 PMPHOTO BY ALISON ELLIS11 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 CHAPTER I How to Become a Wedding Florist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 CHAPTER II Finding Your Niche . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 CHAPTER III How to Sell a Wedding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 CHAPTER IV Money Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 CHAPTER V The Business Q + A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 CHAPTER VI Wedding Planning + Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 CHAPTER VII The Long Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Table of ContentsPHOTO BY DARIA BISHOP PHOTOGRAPHY13 eddings are my dream job. I’m talking about love. I trained for more than six years in traditional flower shops before I finally got a chance to design flowers for a wedding. Once I dipped my toes into the wedding pool, I was eager to jump in and immerse myself.  The importance of wedding work made an immediate impression on me. The weightiness of the occasion. The precision of the preparation. The elevated expectations. The timing—the perfect timing—required to be in all the places at all the right times. I can appreciate the challenge of working on a day-of timeline to ensure that everything will arrive precisely as scheduled so that I can get to the bridal suite, set up the ceremony flowers, place all the centerpieces, and still be in the right location to pin the boutonnieres on the groomsmen at 3 p.m. There are no do-overs. Before I designed my first wedding, the shops where I worked didn’t do any weddings; in fact, they complained about the prospect of wedding clients because of the “hassle”. I was instructed by one shop owner to handle wedding inquiries as follows: “If a bride (or her mom) comes in here, just say our minimum is $1,500, and watch them turn around and walk right out the door.” Clearly, turning away clients was the goal here. When I was presented with the opportunity to learn more about wedding design, I was amazed to discover that what had been described to me as a “hassle” turned out to be exactly the kind of work I wanted to dive into. Now, don’t get me wrong, weddings are a lot of work (and a lot of pressure, too). I can understand why some florists simply don’t have the desire to invest time and IntroductionPHOTO BY ORCHARD COVE PHOTOGRAPHY17 loristry was such a natural fit for me professionally that it didn’t occur to me that any floral designer would have a path much different than mine. It seemed obvious that everyone learns to be a florist by working for a florist. I learned from a lot of great florists in about half a dozen flower shops before I launched my own floral business in 2002. First, you start out making cash-and-carry bouquets, running the register, and taking phone orders. Next, you learn to make some basic arrangements for the cooler display. Then, you begin to train the newer hires at the shop to run the showroom as you move onto a full-time designer position in the back. And finally, after years of practice and training and bucket washing, that’s how a florist is born!  Well, after years of coaching calls and connecting with floral designers around the globe, I’ve come to understand that my story of a very straight path from starting in the floral industry as a teenager to starting my own floral design business in my early 20s isn’t the official route. In fact, floral designers often tell me they “fell into flowers” quite by accident. FALLING INTO FLOWERS Sometimes florists happen by accident: You get asked to design the flowers for your cousin’s wedding, and everything is so beautiful that the guests not only comment on how perfect the flowers look, but the next thing you know, your aunt’s friends have hired you for several events next summer. CHAPTER I How to Become a Wedding FloristPHOTO BY ALISON ELLIS45 learned in a college accounting course that the first rule of business is to “pay yourself first”. In real life, however, I learned that a lot of florists unfortunately missed that important lesson and seem to pay everyone but themselves. And because they love their businesses, sometimes they let this go on for years and years. I have always made money in my business. Even when I barely had any business to speak of, my part-time flower gig turned a profit. Even when I was working out of the kitchen in our second-story apartment and only had a handful of weekly accounts because I still hadn’t figured out how to consistently book wedding clients. Turning a profit allows me to keep doing the work I do best. Therefore, it’s essential to feel confident with industry pricing formulas, no matter how big or small your events may be. Whether flowers are your full-time gig or your side hustle or your creative passion or the roots of your brick-and-mortar shop, turning a profit is a requirement in your business. If you don’t turn a profit, you have a hobby, not a business. And that’s okay if that’s what you want to do with your time and talent, but if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you’re an entrepreneur, so I want to make sure the path to profitability is clear. You can’t opt out of mathematics. You may be the most talented florist around, and you may learn to master the art of selling a wedding, but if you don’t turn a profit, your business won’t be sustainable. CHAPTER 4 Money TalkNext >

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