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Struggling to turn your floral design talent into a profitable, scalable, and stress-free business? Welcome to The Floral CEO® Podcast—the ultimate audio destination for wedding and event florists, flower-shop owners, and creative entrepreneurs who want to book bigger budgets, price with confidence, and lead like a true CEO.
Hosted by Jeni Becht, award-winning wedding florist, event designer, and floral business coach with 25 + years in the industry, each weekly episode dives into:
Profitable pricing strategies: markup formulas and minimums fine-tuned for weddings & events
Magnetic marketing & local-SEO hacks: social posts, blogs, and Google tricks that attract high-budget couples and planners
High-converting sales funnels: inquiry replies, proposals, and follow-up scripts that turn curious leads into dream clients
Streamlined systems & smart outsourcing: workflows, templates, and hiring tips that free you from the design bench
CEO mindset & sustainable growth: leadership habits and eco-friendly practices that keep both you and your business flourishing
Jeni pairs real-world success stories with actionable strategies you can implement today, so you’ll spend less time hustling and more time designing breathtaking bouquets, installations, and arrangements.
Ready to scale your florist business and reclaim your life? Follow, subscribe, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or your favorite podcast app. 🌸
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Turn your passion for flowers into the six-figure floral business you deserve—one episode at a time.
Website- floralceo.com
Social @thefloralceo.com
Flower 📍 friends, tis the season for dreaming up of what next year is going to be. And after, like this year has been a lot, and I have, we moved, I now drive like six to eight, 10 hours a week. Um, going back up to the cities. My, like my business has changed, my life has changed completely. Like literally there was a target almost always like five minutes away and you guys, it's like 20 now.
It's just life is different, things are different. And I was really thinking about like. Some of these things were really, really hard, but I had some different coaching sessions and really just talking to people recently and a lot of people, I think 2025 felt like they are surviving it and I am. Making big plans for 2026 and what that's going to look like.
And so I wanted to dive in what we can do to go from surviving to thriving in 2026. And I wanna talk about five ways that we can make that happen. But I really wanna start with naming survival. Season survival really looks like, I mean, it looks like something different for everybody, but. If you can resonate that these things are happening for you, I want you to really kind of look inward.
First I wanna acknowledge like survival mode is not failing. Sometimes we are building, we are caregiving, we are healing, we are learning, we are, in a, a stage of rebirth of, of regrowth. It often can look like we're saying yes to everything. We're not paying ourself consistently. We're living in reactivity to emails, texts, fires.
We're making decisions based on fear instead of strategy and survival mode is not meant to be permanent, but I do feel like a lot of people make themself a very permanent resident of survival mode. But it costs so much to stay there. And I feel like often, as most of us are women, mo, a lot of us are mothers, a lot of us maybe have caretaker tendencies.
And so we feel like this is normal. Like feeling like life is hard, is just normal, but that normalcy. Like really is burnout, physical stress, high cortisol levels, exhaustion. Then your creativity starts waning, and you're just like, I can't be inspired by anything. Like I can't look at this really cool flower and come up with anything.
Maybe it's because you're undercharging and you're living in resentment of your clients and the work you're doing because it's not in alignment. Because you've just been like, I need to pay the bills. Your business growth feels really heavy instead of expansive, you love flowers, but you're tired of your business.
This is a big signal that things need to shift, and I have gone through this. Several times, like they've all looked a little bit of different because of the different season that I was in. And I've had it that, you know, I was 40 quitting my corporate job of 10 years, leaving safety, um, and having a baby, losing my mother shortly before that.
Uh, going through a very crazy custody battle, finding out my daughter had autism, like then just feeling no energy, feeling tired, feeling uninspired, feeling like I was just trudging along and I just didn't wanna feel like that. And then that. Really sparked me to dive into like, oh God, I felt like this was normal and I had normalized it for so long, you guys that I finally went and saw a functional medicine doctor and I've, I've done a whole episode on how being a florist made me sick.
And yes, the stress and all those things definitely didn't help, but I had heavy levels of chemicals like pesticides and herbicides in my body. And after like some things started kind of like coming into place, that's when I started really digging into that. I shouldn't feel this way, but I had normalized feeling burnt out for so long.
I was doing online school with my daughter for like two and a half years and I was doing 45 weddings and I was, I had a newborn baby and I was 40 and I was. Just frankly feeling like shit. And I decide that I didn't wanna feel like that anymore, and that I wanted to redefine what thriving looked like instead of just surviving like these things could happen, but I'm no longer a victim to them happening.
I am a action taking, problem solving woman, and I wanna create clear boundaries. I wanna create predictable income. I wanna choose work instead of chasing it. I wanna feel calm. I am a very calm person, you guys, but I want it to feel inner calm. I am very calm in the outside, but sometimes when things are feeling heavy, like my heart feels like it's that twisty mop and I'm ringing the shit out of it because I feel like it's just all these threads are being pulled in a million different ways and I just, I don't wanna feel like that.
I don't want you feeling like that. I want you to have margin. In time, in money, in energy. And when you have margin fee, everything feels different. And what I mean by margin is like, I remember like my first big investment to go do some floral workshop or something like that. It was a floral workshop and it wasn't even really that expensive you guys, but I remember I was just like, whoa.
Like, that's some money. And like I, I remember like getting a bill for something and being like, God, how am I gonna figure this out? And. Now like the, it was even funny 'cause this last week I know I talked about it last week, but I think my little mini horse, apple could be pregnant. And I had the vet out.
'cause I really wanted to try to see if I could figure it out because I'm a person who loves to actually understand what's going on and. Plus chat. GPT says, I, they think she's pregnant, so must be real you guys, you know, if chat GP t's 95% sure, and I, I literally like, the vet was just like, okay, well if you really wanna try to be certain.
You know, there's a blood test and it's, there's three possibilities of answers, maybe yes or no. Takes like over a week and you know, it's probably like 70% ac accurate, but it is $150. And then she paused and I'm like, okay, yeah, let's do it. Like she paused because a lot of people don't have that margin of money.
She wanted, she's like, Hey, can I come over? And you know, like, she made an appointment. I'm like, yep, because I have margin for time. You guys, I have margin for energy because I'm not living in this survival mode anymore. But what was really interesting is I went to breakfast with my daughter's dad's family, which yes, it is weird.
My daughter doesn't see her dad, but we have a couple people in her family that two of 'em that I really like and the other ones like are just her family and I just roll with it, but I always go with her. And you know, they're asking 'cause I haven't seen 'em since we bought the farm and they're asking how things were and I, I just noticed this default in me explaining how crazy things were and how busy things were and.
You know, how complicated and just all these things. And when I left and we were driving the 15 minutes back, I really thought about like, why, like why can't you talk about how things feel good and how, like why does busy have a badge of honor with it and mean that you are doing something and mean that your life has more purpose and.
I think a lot of us live in that we're supposed to be running around like fricking crack addicts on caffeine and with no sleep and no self care and that that's normal. And I just I'm done with that. You should be done with that. You deserve to take care of yourself. You deserve so much more than you were probably giving yourself credit for.
And I truly feel I about two and a half years ago, two-ish years ago, was certified as a life and mindset coach. And I truly believe if you have a life problem, you probably have a business problem. If your business isn't successful, if, if things are holding you back. I am guessing there is a life problem, and that's why I'm so passionate about being a life and business coach because you, if, if your business is feeling hard and you're, you're like emotionally exhausted because of your personal life, you're physically exhausted because of your personal life.
You have no space in your brain. Because of your personal life, how are you realistically going to grow a business? Like how is that going to happen if everything feels hard, how is that going to happen if you're running around busy in scarcity mode, in reactivity doing everything? Everything is gonna feel hard.
And then how are you gonna have any space? I, I always like when I'm talking to someone, um, and they really want all of these big things, but then they have all of these big things in their personal life. I'm like, you have this plate, you have this spaghetti on your plate. The noodles are. Spilling off your plate, you guys, the sauce is all over the table.
The sauce is everywhere. You have cheese just everywhere going. Your meatball is like down the table, three feet. How are you going to have any room on your plate for a business? Because your plate is already full. It's actually overflowing, so you need to get. The biggest freaking fork workout, and you need to wind some of that spaghetti off your plate.
You have to create space, or things have to be running in harmony that things aren't spilling off. And so that's really the shift, like how can your life be in alignment to support growing a business and if your life is in survival. Then there's really like, how is our business gonna be thriving if, if your fundamental like nervous system is just in this fight or flight all the time, you deserve better than that.
Your business deserves better than that, and. Really, some, some big shifts could move you for one. Sometimes I, and I have done this, you guys, you are the, literally the sum of the five people that you hang out with the most. I have had friendships that have just dissipated because I didn't think COVID was a conspiracy, you guys against small businesses in America.
I didn't have time. To watch somebody fight up the hill on every single thing and just wanna keep themselves small, like I, I just, I couldn't hear about how the world was on fire and how they were adding gasoline to it every day. It's exhausting. Even with my mother, I went through years and years of not having a relationship with her, not speaking to her because.
Like it, it drug me down so much that I couldn't, and that's, those are really hard things sometimes, like ripping the bandaid off of creating a better life is just hard. But I, I had a, some, actually a group of planners that specialize in cultural weddings. You guys, they drive me fucking crazy. And I literally just was like, you know what?
I just can't. I can't. Every time it's something crazy and I don't have time for that anymore. I don't want to have my cortisol levels sky high because these people don't know how to run a business. Their craziness. They're not my monkeys, not my circus, not my job to help them. I have a choice. I'm the CEO in my business, so I'm going to choose peace.
I'm gonna choose to simplify. I am going to say no because of course, they always want a deal as well to low margin work. I, I want things to feel better. And starting with that really is deciding 2026 can be different, but only if you decide a new year. You guys does not create change decisions do. If you don't intentionally design 2026, it will default to survival mode if that's what you are running in.
Th thriving requires reflection. What worked, what didn't? Clarity what stays, what goes planning money, time, energy. Plan your shit. If you do not have your week planned by Sunday night, you have, in my opinion, probably lost the week. Win your week by planning, support, mentorship, community accountability. The floral CEO MA Mastermind is a game changer.
If you are looking for guidance, that's actually going to be impactful in supporting the things that are most likely holding you back, which is accountability, a plan, staying consistent. And clarity, reflection. We're in January, like taking a deep dive. We are going to have several different, like a reflection.
Let's look at 2025 and see what worked, what didn't work, like where things are really at. So you have some guidance going into, and you're not just guessing, I wanna make X amount of dollars. What is that based off of? How are we backing into that? Are we spending the time on the right things? And if that is a big step for you to be like, I just don't know about diving into something like that.
We are having a goal planning party on January 5th at 1:00 PM Central Standard time. Go into the show notes and sign up or go comment on any of my Instagram posts with the word goal. I wanna get together with you guys and really start dreaming of a business that's in alignment with your life. That helps make your financial goals, that feels creatively inspiring, like whatever's important to you.
Let's dive into it. You're gonna get a goal planning worksheet. We're gonna just like meet on Zoom and hang out and really plan
what part of my business drains me the most. What actually makes me the most money? Where am I overgiving? What would thriving feel like? What am I no longer willing to tolerate in 2026? Because you can decide you are the CEO and as the CEO in your business. You have the power to make that shift. But now I wanna talk about the five step shift.
First, we have to acknowledge survival without shame. Survival mode isn't failure. It's a response. Many florists are surviving because we are mothers, because we are working, because we are rebuilding. Like I have talked to so many people, they're like, life is starting over, or they're starting a next chapter in their life like.
I am so proud of one of my mastermind girls that's now been with me a year. I'm so proud of the stuff that she has accomplished. Like she has worked so hard while she's working full-time and while she is like growing flowers and doing all these things like we need to honor what got us here, but like still push forward.
We deserve thriving. We need to identify what's keeping us stuck is step number two. If you are not charging enough because you feel like you just need work, low margin work is keeping you stuck Saying yes out of fear, like, this person isn't gonna like me anymore. Like, just like the planners I told you, I kept saying yes because I thought I was supposed to, and it it just like, it's insanity.
It doesn't make any sense. You might be stuck because you have no clear systems. The floral CEO Mastermind, we will teach you systems. If you are not paying yourself consistently, that is keeping you stuck. You need to pay yourself, you need to make money. You're working hard. If you are living in constant reactivity like that is keeping you stuck.
You can't fix what you won't name. So now we need to redefine what does thriving mean to you. Like, what does it truly mean? Thriving is not working nonstop. Booking everything, chasing likes and follows, and being cool on Instagram. Thriving is calm, predictable income, clear boundaries, creative, joy, feeling supported you guys by your business.
All right. Step four. Making small strategic shifts like this is not a rip your bandaid off and tomorrow is gonna be different. Like I feel like everybody thinks, like the new year, new me shit. You need small action steps to get you there. I've done episodes on micro momentum and I'm serious, like it is impactful.
Simplifying your offers might be that strategic shift that you need. If you are like living in reactivity to every time the phone goes off, you are gonna be chasing some $35 order and then delivering your $5 stop. You have no space for big thinking. Raise your prices with intention. Build some planner relationships, focus on micro momentum on doing any objectives in your business, and then create systems that repeat small changes are sustainable growth.
Alright, number five. Decide that 2026 will be different. New Year's don't change businesses. Decisions do. Thriving requires intention, structure, and support. You cannot do it alone, but you do need to choose it. If you want support, go check out floral ceo.com/mastermind. I would love to support you with accountability systems structure.
A little kick in the ass every once in a while. And really just like somebody that's done it, like I have had a business that is in multiple six figures. I think this year will hit in the three, the threes again for years now, for years. And I did that with moving with. Being, I'm a farmer now, you guys like getting my kids off the bus, snuggling them and being a human that I'm really proud to be.
And not just somebody that's like I'm every day, I'm hustling. That's part of the reason why I changed the name of the podcast because I am the CEO of my life and my business, and I do things that feel in alignment that. Are really things that I feel so good about the human that I'm being the mother, that I'm being the business owner, the work that I'm producing.
Like I made so much beautiful stuff this year, you guys it's bananas like, and I did that and I, like today I was out doing chores and. I looked at Petya, my mini cow, and I was thinking, because I've been planning the goal, the vision the goal planning party, and I was thinking about my vision board.
For 2025. And I had a feeling, you know, I don't it, I had a weird feeling that we were gonna find, we've been looking for a farm for five years, you guys. I had a feeling that this was gonna happen. I don't know why. It was just like this innate feeling. And I had a highland cow. It wasn't black and white, you guys, it was a brown fuzzy one.
But I had a highland cow on there. I had a mini donkey on it. I had a beautiful barn. I had a windmill and my motorcycle all, just all these things that I just love and like so many of these things, you guys came true. Putting intention behind the life you want to live, it works. And I know on Monday I did an episode on Manifestation Without the Woo and really putting intention behind your life.
And going, this is what I want, saying it. This is what I want. Putting it on paper. This is what I want. That will change your life. It just will. And I know that seems really like simple, but like it makes it more real that you've actually said it, you've said it to somebody else, and that person can help you hold, hold you accountable for that.
Maybe it's even your brain just wrapping around, what do I actually want? What do I actually want? That is all possible. I am so excited for what's next. I'm so excited for the goal, whole Goal Planning party on January 5th. Please go check out the link in the show notes. It is gonna be so fun. And the Mastermind in January.
If you guys have been considering joining it, if you wanna start your year off. That's the place to do it. Like we, we are gonna have so much fun, we're gonna have a vision board party because I. So important and we're gonna create our screen savers so everybody has it on their phone. 'cause I just feel like we have our phones, we need constant reminders and go check out floral CEO com slash mastermind to check that out because it's gonna be huge.
I'm excited. I loved last year's goal planning month. It was, it was amazing, and I would love for you to be a part of that. So thank you so much for listening. I hope if you celebrate the holidays that you have an amazing, fun and maybe a little flower filled holiday.