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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.
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Hello, flower friends. This is Jen, and we're gonna talk about feedback because I got some doozy feedback this week. And, you know, I, I like had this wedding planner refer this person to me, and I, I felt like their communication, like they seemed crazy. Have you guys ever gotten those emails that you're just like, "This person seems crazy."
But because it's from one of my favorite wedding planners, I'm like, "She wouldn't have signed me up for crazy, would she?" And, you know, she was working with her, so obviously I was, you know, like understanding of that. But I was like, it felt off. But we got to the point, she had a decent budget. It was like an $8,000 budget.
The venue, not my typical style of venue that I'm in love with, but like I was like moving forward, doing whatever. And then, um, I was like, you know, asking all the questions, got to a consultation, 'cause I fully vet a person before I'm getting to do a consultation. And then that turned into, um, you know, me going through a consultation, and truthfully, she has one of the most h- difficult color palettes to pull off.
Her Pinterest board was full of silk flowers. There literally was not one flower that was real on the whole thing. It was terracotta and navy blue and a little bit of light blue, but everything was fake. I mean, fake dahlias that were really, really terracotta, and you know, there are terracotta options and there are blue options, they just aren't like that.
And so I, you know, went in and was talking to her about her Pinterest board because honestly, she could tell me that she loves fluffy bunnies, and they're not going to be in their colors. Like she could tell me she loves a million different things, and I don't want us going down a rabbit hole, so I really focused on her Pinterest and, you know, the essence of the fluffiness of the blooms and, you know, like what could we do to complement that to maybe lighten things up so they pop off her dress colors and- You know, I asked her if there was anything else that she wanted to discuss, and went through all the basics of she's doing a bunch of DIY shit, which was another red flag.
But, you know, again, like, I was like, "That's a pretty big budget to be wanting to go and do some DIY things." So probably gonna be able to do something really fun for the ceremony, which I al- always have to have something really fun about a wedding for me to wanna do it. So then, I g- get done near the end, and I explain the next steps, and I...
She of course bought a bunch of shit at IKEA, and I needed to know, like, the quantities and which ones and what the sizes were so I could properly, um, estimate out the bud vases. And then, um, you know, I did my positioning statement. I always do a positioning statement at the end to just... for them to know that they're in good hands.
So I was like, "Hey, did you have a chance to look at my About Us section?" My, um... And she's like, "I don't think I did." "Well, just to, to share in general, um, I've been a florist for 30 years. I've done about 1,700 weddings, so nothing that would happen during wedding week would surprise me. So if anything, there, there was any hiccup, I would make sure that it was flawless and you didn't even know something happened.
And so you can trust that I'm going to deliver a really seamless experience that's gonna be very low stress." And that's what I said. Well, 30 minutes after this consultation, which felt weird the whole time, you guys. Like, the energy was really weird with her. It was really high stress, and just I'm also not, like, a high stress kinda person.
And, you know, she sent me said, uh, email that said, "I am no longer, um, in need of getting an estimate 'cause I don't think we're a good fit." And I coulda taken just it from there. But I wanted to understand, because, I mean, I felt a multitude thi- of things were not a good fit, but I wanted to understand what she didn't think was a good fit.
And she said that it was a very difficult con- consult for her because I didn't ask her a bunch of questions about herself and about what flowers that she loves and what her vision of her wedding was, and just, like, all of these things that I'm like, "Okay, I'm not gonna ask you about flowers that you love, because they're not possibilities in this color palette.
I looked over your Pinterest board. I Googled and stalked on Instagram your wedding venue." We talked about all the assets that you wanted to have in, so I was like, I, I could have just asked, "What do you want your wedding to feel like?" But, like, it just, because the energy was weird, I didn't do it. And, um, she also thought me saying that I was an expert at this and that I would take good care of you also meant that I knew more about flowers than her, so that she thought I was demeaning her, and I was literally just trying to make her feel more confident.
If you choose me, I'm going to take good care of you. Because there's a lot of instances that you have no faith in the person that's doing so- something for you, and you get shit. Like subpar experience, subpar product, and stressful experience, and I want as easy as possible. So with that, I like to just make sure that the person knows whatever happens, I'm gonna handle it.
It's going to be beautiful, and you're gonna love your flowers. And so making it super, just like a little bit of a, a confidence, like you're... I'm peacocking a little bit because I want them to know I'm the girl. She took that as me demeaning her, and I can tell as being a certified life coach, that she struggles with all of this in her everyday life.
And I can tell now after talking to the wedding planner, this is a woman who is very high stress, thrives off stress, loves everything to be stressful, and so, like, I was just her next victim. But I try to think what out of this cr- even though she is crazy, what out of this feedback could I take and gain something from?
And I decided that maybe even if it's diff- difficult colors, I need to go and explain to them, "You know what? I really wanna hear about flowers that you like. But I also with that wanna keep in mind that with our color palette, our choices are so limited. So are there special flowers? Are there flowers that you don't want?
Are there, you know..." Whatever it may be to maybe garner just a little bit more details and feel a little bit more connected. And then I guess I need to ask every bride, like, "What's, what's your vision?" I'm like, I don't know why people do Pinterest if they're not nailing down their vision in their Pinterest board, but it sounds like she felt like she had a separate vision outside of her Pinterest board.
Maybe it's a vibe. Maybe it's, it's something. It is something. So that is very present for her, and I wanted to, you know, just- Take that and go, "Okay, so I need to ask, like, what do they want their vibe to be? How do they want the wedding to feel?" Maybe ask them... So a- asking questions and more questions, because my consults are very concise, which is how I can shorten them down, um, is probably something that I really need to refine.
So I screenshotted the email and sent it to the wedding planner, and I told them I was sorry that someone had an interaction and that they trusted to send them. And then she texts me back. She's like, "Jen, this is not on you at all, so don't you worry one bit. This lady thrives on stri- on stress, and is just a little off to begin with, so she's just...
This is her new thing. This is her new thing to stress out about." And she's like, "I know how you do consultations, and I know they're great, so I am not worried in any way." But without asking for the feedback, which, you know what? When I typed it, it felt like shit. I wanted to just say, "You know what, lady?
You gave me shitty ass energy that I wanted nothing to do with, and I don't need to work with fucking crazy people, so good riddance." That's what I felt like I wanted to say. Like, F you and your craziness. But I wanted to know, like, because I don't want somebody else that is my ideal client down the road to feel this way.
And to do that, I need to learn. So asking feedback is so important. So how do you ask for feedback? Why do you... Like, when should you ask for feedback? Any time somebody is telling you they are going in a different direction, you need to ask for feedback. And how I do that is I go, "Oh my God, I, that is such a surprise.
I was so excited to work with you. I loved your," name a specific detail about their vision. Then you're gonna go into, "As a small business owners, I'm always looking to grow, and I would love to hear what made you go into a different direction on this, because I would love to take that feedback to help grow.
And your feedback would be invaluable, and I really appreciate, um... because I was just so excited about your special day that I, I want to learn what I've could've done different potentially." Or just something short and sweet along that line. Because I have heard, like, one time I got feedback in this process, and they said that they went with another florist that sustainability was really important to them.
And they-- I was like, "Oh, what do you mean by sustainability?" And they basically said shit that I do. So they're not foam-free florists. They, um, buy locally grown flowers, which I do, and I grow my own. And they, um, compost and recycle. All shit I do. So I learned that that was important enough to one bride that maybe I need to put something in my brochure that talks about that because I had no clue that that was that important.
And then, um, I've gotten feedback on, you know, that, like, my pricing, uh, was higher than another florist. And then I've gone into and been like, "You know what? Y- you know, we all design different. We all plan different. I just wanna make sure that I feel like I really understand your vision, and I wanna make sure that we're not talking apples and oranges.
Sounds like you've already make-- made a decisi-decision, and I completely understand that. But I would love the opportunity to be able to really compare what you're getting to make sure that you're getting everything that you have requested with me. I'm also happy to take things off, exce-- er, you know, all of those kind of different things."
But feedback is information. It is not an attack. And if somebody gives you feedback, it doesn't auto-- it doesn't automatically just mean you failed. Sometimes it means they were confused, expectations were unclear, communication broke down, your system needs tightening, and there's a real growth opportunity.
Not all feedback is also created equal, though. There is-- There is so much about this. Like, useful feedback, emotional feedback, misdirected feedback, feedback from people who are not your clients, feedback that says more about them than you. You don't need to absorb every opinion equally. Take feedback where it lands well, and where it doesn't, let it go.
We need to separate our, our feedback from our identity. If you have a client that's saying- I am so confused about your process. It is the not the same thing as, and you are bad at what you are doing or something like that. You have a planner maybe saying you're a disaster. I need more communication on timing and timing.
And, you know, the more you tie feedback to your worth, like that could utterly destroy you. Like the feedback this week, because I was having kind of a hard week. I mean, I went to a goat auction that was so sad. And like that just messed me up a little bit because I was like thinking I needed to start a goat rescue.
I swear to God, you guys, I did. It was so bad. There were so many abused goats there with overgrown, not treated medically, like bad. And then I had Bella's birthday this weekend. I had two weddings this weekend. A bunch of flowers got messed up. So I had a full plate. And with that, when you're like sensitive and you're kind of keyed up, it's so easy to take that feedback and totally attack yourself.
But I took that feedback and I was like, you know what? I know this bitch is crazy. And so I'm going to take this with a grain of salt. I'm going to try to make sure that I'm more inquisitive during my consultations. And then when I actually saw the wedding planner at a wedding and she was just like, girl, you don't have to worry.
I know you're doing a good job. She is just crazy. And I'm so sorry. I was like, you know, my biggest worry was disappointing you because you are the biggest thing that is important to me in this equation. And she appreciated that and all the things. So you never know when feedback will sting. You never know when feedback will be like so enlightening.
So never stop getting feedback. Good feedback can also come from anywhere. You could get valuable feedback from a bride, a planner, a venue, a freelancer, somebody that comes to one of your workshops, your spouse, yourself during reflection after an event. You already do this naturally when you reflect on what worked, what sort of worked and what didn't work.
And then make sure you ask for feedback on purpose. Even after you have done a wedding and they seemed happy, send them an email that's just inviting them in. What felt smooth? What was confusing? And really what stood in the way, uh, and, and stood out in a positive way, if you did this again, what could we have done better?
You know, there's so many different things that everything is just a process of making yourself better. Feedback should help refine that. If your client is, are confused, you need to improve your onboarding. If proposals feel flat, you need to improve your language. If wedding days feel chaotic, you need to tighten your timeline res- um, restrictions or production, um, timeline.
If planners feel they're out of the loop, you need to improve your communication. If team members make repeated mistake, you need to create SOPs. Sometimes the best feedback is the one you don't want to hear, um, but sometimes the thing that stings is the exact things that could change your business. So because y- they're not always right, because it's worth exploring, just dig into it.
Positive feedback also matters. Don't only focus on what went wrong. Positive feedback tells you what's your strength, what your brand is known for, what, what clients love you for, what you should keep repeating, and you should... "Made this feel easy. You were so calm. You really got my vision." That is a brand goal right there.
Then on top of it, as the CEO, you need to use that feedback. Don't drown in it. Just use it, and then you can go into layering questions. Is this really true? Is this really useful? Is this a pattern? What do I need to do? What do I need to ignore? That helps set that feedback up to actually take action in your business.
Um, some examples would also be you make, you know, something, and your client feedback could help you improve your process. It could help you improve your communication. It could, like, shape that you actually go and get feedback, and there are so many opportunities that feedback could be the next step in you elevating your business.
So- Go ask for some feedback. You deserve it. Your clients deserve it. Your clients probably wanna share it. And it is so important that you are there showing up in that way to help make your business even better. And it doesn't always come out sunshine and rainbows as I had this week, but I learned something that I didn't know last week.
And I learned that I don't want to work, work with that woman, also a win, because I wanna work with customers who are in alignment with me. And if I'm working with people who are stressful, don't feel good through the process, that's never gonna be helpful. So thank you so much for listening, flower friends, and you have an amazing flower-filled day