Hello, flower friends. This is Chen on this week's episode of the Floral CEO podcast. We are going to start diving in  to the end of the year. I,  I often make a big deal out of the end of the year because I feel like.  I'm not one of those people. Like, I need a new year for a new start. If I wanna start something, I can start it now.

It's not a big deal. Like I don't need a timeframe, I don't need,  you know, which so many people do, and I think part of that has helped make me successful in, in actually executing because. So many people, they come into the new year coming in hot  with all these big dreams and all these big hopes,  and I mean, I think the recent stat I saw is like 90% of people don't make it past the first month  of making their goals happen. 

So  if 90% of the people are going in and failing, how can you be the 10%?  I'm not focusing on anything other than being the 10%. I am someone who makes my goals happen. I am someone who creates momentum. I am someone who, I don't know if you can hear it, but listen, even how I talk to myself and I talk about myself, I am an action taking, problem solving woman, and I have it in my gut that you are too. 

So.  Often going into a new year, you come up with all these amazing dreams and goals. But do you take a pause  and actually look what happened?  What happened in 2025  that worked?  What sort of worked and what didn't work at all?  And really dive in. A lot of times I'll hear someone  talking about, I'm doing a million things in my business,  and one of the first questions I'm like, what do you really like to do? 

Uh, this is often when somebody is trying to do everything.  You know, they're doing planters, they're doing garden, they're doing subscriptions. They're doing hotels, they're doing events, they're doing funerals. They're doing, I mean, like.  Literally if there was a checklist of you as a florist, are you checking off the majority of the boxes?

Because honestly that is really hard to do successfully.  So really diving in to what you were doing that is working  and not only, I kind of add that second layer. What are you doing that's working? That actually feels good.  What actually feels good to you  because if you are doing something and it's working, but it feels like shit,  is that  really how you are wanting to feel in 2026? 

Are you wanting, like one thing that really doesn't feel good to me, and I'm just using this as an example as someone who has lost. My,  I've lost three siblings. I've lost both my parents, obviously. I mean, all my grandparents, all, all like so many people.  And as someone who like funerals, funeral homes,  and for some reason like setting a casket spray on an actual coffin,  like really doesn't feel good to me. 

Like I, and I'm someone who is chill as fuck, calm, and I don't let much bother me, but that straight up doesn't feel good. And I could spend a ton of time fighting that feeling. I could spend a ton of time I. Like in reaction to like that feeling, I could be like, I really need to push through that feeling.

And you know what? There are sometimes that you just need to put your big girl panties on. And honestly, if for some reason I had a close friend that their mother died or something,  I would figure it out.  Because I love them,  but I don't need to figure that out for Janet who's calling me about Uncle Tom's funeral.

I just, I don't, and the same thing happened for me  with daily orders.  I was like, I live in, this is when I lived in the city. So I was like, I live in, live in Bloomington. There's not very, very many flos there. I'm growing flowers, just like all these things. And I'm thinking like this is a super great idea. 

And then  I was like, I'm listening to my phone and I am like, my cortisol levels I know are spiked as all get out and like it just straight up. It didn't feel good, like always like having to be after years of having to take care of my parents  and living into reactivity that I often worried  when the phone rang that something happened to them.

Or honestly, something happened to someone  I didn't like the way that felt anymore.  With the level of spam calls that are now happening, I'm really glad that I have my phone on DND. Like it does not feel in alignment with me. When I especially looked at the revenue, which could have been for a lack of trying, I will, put that caveat in. 

But like when I looked at the reactivity my body was living in  and the amount of revenue that was associated with it, and then the time of me having to run and go figure it out because I don't always have flowers in stock. 'cause I'm not a flower shop. If I was a flower shop.  And that was my job. That is a completely different thing.

Then I need to figure out, okay, if that is like what is the revenue? What is my average order value? Does my average order value make me feel good right now? Does the revenue from that with how much work of me showing up at my shop every day? Does that feel good?  And you go through this exercise of really reflecting.

Okay.  Then you add layers into it. And actually you guys, this is something that we dive deep into in the floral CEO Mastermind.  In the month of January,  we kind of dive in and. We do goal planning, we reflect, we, you know, look forward, we make a plan  and really dive into what we want our business to look and feel like in 2026. 

And I felt like, you know, some of these goal setting exercises would be helpful for you guys. So on January 5th.  You've come back from vacation, bushy tailed and bright-eyed, and I am inviting you in. The link is going to be in the bio. I'm inviting you in for our like new year goal party.  We are gonna go in and dig into goals, and I'm gonna bring you through a ton of these exercises.

It's going to be at one o'clock Central Standard time and.  I am,  I'm so excited to, to even hear what some of your guys' goals are. 'cause I feel like anytime I have a goal, I need to say it out loud. And one, I was actually listening to the Rachel Hollis podcast this week, and I don't often disagree with her.

I think she's a brilliant woman,  but maybe this wasn't just isn't me because when I say my goals out loud.   I mean, that doesn't mean for one, that it couldn't change my goal, couldn't change what my goal looks like, couldn't change that. The vision couldn't change. And just because I said, it doesn't mean that this is concrete, but what it does mean is that somebody could ask me about it. 

Somebody could be like, Hey.  Are you doing this? Hey, are you doing this? You know, like, I have some goals on the farm.  I really want to, and see, I'm not even saying it the way I'm saying it right now isn't even saying I'm, I'm making it happen because there's a couple caveats to that. I really wanna have a, a, a camp for kids.

On our farm,  um, I want it to be farm camp, like literally farm camp where kids can come and learn about growing flowers. They can learn about all the animals on our farm. They can feed them, they can go pick eggs with me. We can do farm crafts, and I have no idea why this sounds fun because they are not my children.

But I know how much being on a farm has changed my children's life. And  I mean, I asked my daughter the other day.  When you think about your old school and when you think about your new school,  do things feel better? The same? Different? And she was like, oh mom, this is way better. I love living on the farm.

This was like the best idea ever.  And this is my child who has  autism,  A DHD high anxiety  and. She of course is learning to navigate that at 11 years old and has been going through early puberty and has, I mean, just all the things, but here, like I can see like what a difference that is made for her, but what stands in the way is me getting permits for it and me doing all the things.

But like  that is one goal that I really wanna figure out. I want.  To help people. I want to give people experiences. This farm  and I know you guys are probably like, I can't fucking listen about this farm anymore, but it's changed my life  and  that was a goal.  This started with me and my husband sitting down and saying, we want a different life for our children and that we are going to own a farm. 

And speaking that into existence. And so if you are feeling bold and you are feeling brave, I wanna invite you to our little goal party on January 5th, because this is the time for change. The economy is changing,  people are changing. I'm changing. I hope you are changing.  Like I want  to feel better.  I want, I want like to not ever wonder if my cortisol is high. 

I like got served some high cortisol T ads and I was like, why the fuck does it think that I have high cortisol and it's serving me ads? And then I'm like, what is a high cortisol T I'm like, then I'm curious like what are, what kind of,  of course I ordered it. I'm just saying. But I.  I always want better, and that's what the new year is for me.

It's a time to reflect on what could be better.  And I think so many times we feel like we're just in survival mode  that, uh, we don't have capacity for anything else.  And I met with a coaching client. She's just a very lovely kick ass high achieving woman that I just, I loved her energy and I loved her enthusiasm  and we talked about like growing her business  and a couple areas of her business don't feel good.

Like they're not like super, like  you should wanna just jump outta bed and be like, I'm gonna go do this shit.  But if you're just like, that sucks.  And I mean, that wasn't her words. I'm paraphrasing like that sucks. And I, especially when you look at the revenue for it,  which I'm guessing you have that same example in your business, you guys,  what if you got rid of that thing That sucks. 

What if you expanded  the thing that was really winning  and sometimes because.  You've already grown. You feel like the growth is there and like you can't imagine.  I couldn't imagine when my business hit a hundred thousand that I could do anymore.  I honestly like remember  that feeling going, this feels so much,  but. 

That was when I was working full time. That's when, all of these things and I created space. I decided like, I'm not gonna do this part of the, the florist world. If I wanna opt out of a holiday, I'm gonna opt out of a holiday  because if it doesn't feel like, if I'm not inspired, if I'm not, and I know that that's coming from a place of privilege.

'cause sometimes you just need to make money and I totally get that.  But I've worked really hard on making my wedding floral business  very successful that I can choose. 'cause I went all in,  I went all in on making my wedding flower business successful.  But  like my soak flower business is doing well. I,  my a la carte flowers is doing well. 

I started to add.  Once I already knew, like I'm getting really good at this and now I'm already dreaming up what, what's gonna be added next to support the thing that I'm already crushing.  I'm starting to get people to actually a ask me, they're asking me, could  you design our wedding?  Could you design like  the concept? 

And now that I.  I've got, I think, 10 workshops under my belt,  and I have two, um, wpa. I'm the director of programs for wpa Minneapolis, and I.  Helped put one concept together, helped really execute and put ideation and details together for our last event and have the concept and everything laid out for our next event.

And  I feel like that is so fun for me  and now like I get to incorporate that fun in my business.  And so I'm inviting you in January 5th  to go through a little goal setting party. You're going to the week before the workshop, I'm gonna be sending out a goal planning worksheet for you to dive into during the the party, because  who doesn't wanna, like, dream about everybody's floral business?

Together. Like how fun does that sound? Let's all dream about making our businesses more successful, more profitable  with other flower friends. So head to the show notes and check out the link  and start to go through.  You might have a little downtime, maybe you're gonna be busy with evergreen and making centerpieces,  if that's inspiring to you. 

Do that.  Totally dive into that, but if it isn't,  like think, okay, how much time did I spend on this?  How much money did I make on this? I always like to back into, and I walk through this in the workshop, what was my hourly rate for this?  Because in so many things, you guys are making minimum wage, and I just stop.

Let's stop the madness.  Start running profitable businesses that are inspiring.  I hope this was helpful. I would love to see you on January 5th for our goal setting party,  and I hope you have, um, a great, amazing rest of your week. Next week is Christmas and we are getting ready. I have to.  Dig out all of our wrapping paper from our move, so that's gonna be super exciting  and I hope you have an amazing flower failed week.