jeni: Hello Flower friend.
This is Jen and you are listening to the Floral Hustle podcast.
I am so excited to talk about something about making 2023 a more intentional year.
We're gonna talk about today, five things to start right now.
To help make your 2023 wedding season a less stressful, a stress less
wedding season, and a lot of those things need to start today because if
you keep going and keep this momentum potentially of where you're at right now.
Next year could end up to be very stressful, very hard, unless you put
some boundaries in place, some rhythms in place to help make it less stressful.
We control our stress.
We can make choices to make sure that we are less stressed down the road.
So five things for a Stressless 2023 wedding season.
First thing, you need to schedule time.
You literally need to go in your calendar.
If you ha have weddings, if you have birthdays, if you have whatever it may
be, go in there and mark some time off.
And if you get an inquiry for that, you are simply unavailable.
And that is a really hard thing to do for some.
But not having that time off is gonna make you.
Resentful of your schedule, it's going to make you feel out of control like that.
You are not controlling your days.
And I literally have seen some of my flower friends that have done this,
like they just look less stressed.
They can be with their family, they can.
Enjoy life, which is the whole reason why we're doing this, is
we want to have those moments.
Because if we're working all the time, does any of the
other moments really matter?
So go in, look at your calendar, look at all the dates that you already have
booked, and book time in for yourself, for your family, for whatever it may be.
. A lot of people don't seem to do this very well because I've seen so many
Flos with their head spinning, looking for stuff in the heart of wedding
season is start sourcing supplies now.
And I know it's a cost and I know that you know the money isn't coming
in if you're like in Minnesota.
Wedding season has really slowed down.
But you are going to save yourself so much headache by strategically finding
supplies that you know you're going to.
This could be lomi dishes, this could be floral glue.
It could be cylinder bases, it could be floating candles.
All of the different things that you use on a regular basis.
I would try to get a stock of those items so you are not dealing with
panic when those items potentially aren't available next year.
I witnessed so many florist in Facebook groups and at the wholesaler
literally in panic mode for not having floral glue this year for not being
able to get loy dishes this year.
The three brick oasis trays or the two brick oasis trays, like
those were out for, and people.
, they were just struggling with ground installations a florist center.
Our area was literally trying to find like 27 little one foot
trays, and luckily I had them.
And we have a group in Minnesota that helps us source things from
other florist friends and communicate and just ask anybody if they
can borrow something, et cetera.
So we have at least that to help as a backup.
But not everybody has that.
Get your A game on, get your planning game on to really get ahead, get
it done by the end of the year if you want the tax deduction for this
year, cuz that is always helpful.
And then really going into the year number three is mapping out your goals when you
don't map out your goals or start planning like what you want a year to look.
You are just wandering around with really no purpose, nowhere that
you're headed because you're just kind of wandering around aimlessly
with no intention in your business.
So sit down, I'll explain a thing that I think is super helpful.
It's called a c e o Day, and literally take, you are the c e o of your business.
Take a day.
Because you deserve to be able to take the space.
To take a day to plan out on a quarterly basis would be best, but plan out
what you want your business to be.
Look at things from afar, like your analytics on your website,
your analytics for your Instagram.
Are things working?
Are they kind of working?
Should you tweak something?
You revisit things that you've seen other flos do that you would
love to implement in your own strategies, and then go from there.
So like you have a foundation of I know where my business is at.
and then take that and plan because then you are chasing
a goal, chasing a dream, not.
Like having no intention, having, having no vision.
And with that vision, you will feel more purpose.
You will feel like you are accomplishing more when you get those goals.
Make a vision board of what you want your floor, your floral, um,
whole world to look like in 2023.
I, I know one florist that literally makes it a goal to have a wedding
at a certain wedding venue.
or a, they love this inspirational palette and so they, they make that a goal.
I want to do a wedding like this and I'm going to find a bride.
Because when you speak out or write down a goal, it is so much more likely
to become true because you are putting it out there in the universe that
I want to do this and I mentally, when I do that, I feel more committ.
and when you're more committed, you are going to have a little
bit more hustle, a little bit more grind, a little bit more intention
in every single thing that you do.
Is this helping me get closer or farther away from my goal?
Which I think is a critical component of really mastering every single task that
you do because so many people spend time.
On tasks that aren't getting you towards where you wanna go.
So definitely do a goal planning session.
Do a c e O day, you deserve it.
Then evaluating your pricing and adjusting in accordingly.
Doing it right now, flowers are going to just, that's how the world works.
Flowers are going to be more expensive next.
You can of course, source and build that whole plan, but you need
to look at your pricing and make sure your pricing is going to be
in line so you can be profitable.
Because when you're working your butt off and you're not
profitable, you become resentful.
You become I've been there like, you're like, why am I doing this?
I'm not making any money.
I'm working my ass off.
and you deserve to make money that is impactful in your life.
And when I made that decision, that I deserve to make money that's impactful
for my family, impactful for me, that is worth me not being with my children.
Even though I do think not work, working BA basically makes me a better mom
because I have that creative outlet, that creative space that it's almost
critical for me to have just that little bit of pause and that little bit of drive
going towards something otherwise, I.
I'm overwhelmed because I'm just in kid land all the time.
I, my, my mind personally needs a break and so making sure it's worth it for
me to be paying someone to help the children or to be watching the children.
Is definitely an equation for me.
I don't know if that's an equation for you.
I often have them working with me.
I have a whole setup that has an and a desk and you know, all the, the different
things that they can play with out here, a train set, all the super fun things.
But I still sometimes just frankly, need to have childcare and there's cost
associated with, so making sure it.
Undeniably worth it to pay for that childcare to come in and
be with your children when you are working or your spouse.
And then that mental energy that is, uh, going out of your spouse,
you need to make sure it's worth it.
So make sure you're making enough money.
And then the next thing, again, goes back to scheduling, is practice saying.
Don't overbook yourself.
I literally have done nine weddings in one weekend and a funeral, and it was a large
funeral, nine weddings in one weekend, and I see Flores, I don't do that anymore.
I have done some bigger weddings, like a huge wedding, and then had like a smaller,
medium size wedding in that same weekend.
, but I won't do like that I'm running all over because that's just not the
space of frenzy that I want to live in.
And then I'm making sure that I have obviously the support.
To pull off those weddings because I can't do it all myself.
So when you overbook, you overbook everybody, not just you.
You're overbooking your freelancers that are going to be with you because
everybody is going to feel stressed out.
They're gonna feel the tension that this is a.
A tough week, they're gonna feel like the icky energy potentially, that you're
just, you're running around with your head cut off and you look like a shit
show, and you want to create environments.
For your freelancers that are cultivating, good energy positivity, not like we
don't even, we're running outta buckets.
We don't even have space for some of these things.
So look at your calendar and when you go into the practice that I don't
want to overbook myself, you're going to be a little bit more strategic
about the weddings that you choose because you're not just choosing.
You are choosing strategically, weddings that are going to be profitable,
weddings that are going to bring you cre, creatively fill your cup
up and that it's a good decision.
You're not gonna be making bad wedding decisions cuz a lot of
those bad wedding decisions are.
The bride was not your speed.
The couple was not your speed.
The mother of the bride was not your speed.
Like they just seemed really difficult.
They just seemed all these complicated.
Issues around their wedding.
Like when I have somebody that's in their inquiry telling me that they
wanna repurpose a million things.
I can tell that this is probably going to be a pain in the ass, and
this might not be a wedding that I wanna do because it's going to
be me there three different times.
I personally love to have the majority of my installations for that wedding
done before I even arrive on site and get in, get out, get everything
done, and get enjoying my life.
Because the weekends are when my kids don't have school or my husband
isn't working, and I'd rather be with my family and minimize that time
that I'm outta the house that day.
Sometimes it just happens that you need to be there for a flip.
You need to be there for a tear down.
I personally try to find someone to do the tear down.
Cause I just think that, you know, if somebody else is happy to do it and I
pay them accordingly and it's worth it to them, then I don't mind doing that.
It makes my life a lot easier and it makes me, I.
Less choosy about doing a larger wedding or doing a bigger wedding that needs a
tear down because I have someone that can just take care of that and so I don't
need to be leaving at midnight or whatever it is to go and tear down a wedding.
So having those things in place really helps you make sure
that you're not overbooking or just overextending yourself.
I know making money is important and being able to pay your bills is important.
If you overbook yourself, you're doing a detriment to your finances as well,
because when that inquiry comes in for that wedding, you're not gonna
be responding it to the to that week.
You are going to be dropping the ball with some current clients.
You are going to not be providing the experience that I'm guessing
that you want to provide because you're just so stretched thin.
And that's not only that.
When you get a lot of this, you are running in a panic
mode of planning all the time.
You're running in a frenzy, you're running a, a running thin.
You know, you just, I I I call it, I'm drowning here and you're describing
the water a anytime that anybody talks to you about any wedding, cuz
you're just like, so, Exhausted and the week has not all even began.
So you deserve space.
You deserve to have time to actually enjoy being a florist.
That is one really hard thing for me personally, and one of my
freelancers that I just absolutely adore has said this to me.
Jenny, stop and enjoy your wedding.
Look at how beautiful it is.
Look at how, and it is true because I wanna get in there and
get out and get to my family.
So that is something that when you overbook yourself, especially, you
have no time to enjoy your creativity and like to look at what you did.
And for one, Take photos and videos so that you have social media content.
When you are overbooked, you are dropping the ball on all of those things normally
because you just don't have the capacity.
Social media can wait.
The client that emailed me an inquiry can wait.
They deserve your attention and I think that really just being
intentional and when you see that.
Have a whole drafted, I'm sorry, but I'm not available
because how can somebody argue?
I've actually had someone argue it was a family that I've done
multiple weddings and I was like not wanting to do another wedding
because they're kind of crazy people.
But have that script, have that email already drafted in your, Google driving
a note or in your notes app of your phone so you can just cut and paste it.
And so you're not having to mentally struggle every time that I have
to say no to this wedding again.
And it's just, ugh.
Cuz then you're like, am I not gonna be hitting my goals?
Am I not gonna be making the money?
You will make the money that you deserve and that your business.
Is entitled to.
By creating that space, you will elevate your business.
You will elevate your experience and you will command more.
Of a investment from a bride or couple because you're, you're worth it
because you provide that experience.
So those are quick five things to do to make 2023 feel lighter and more aligned.
And I really hope that you're going into next year, cuz
next year isn't that far away.
It's not here already with some intentional practices that you can
feel better going into next year.
You can feel better while you're in that wedding week because I truly believe
that starts now and I hope you do too.
Thank you so much for listening, flower Friend.
I so appreciate you and I hope you are having a great flower week.