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Are you ready to grow your floral business not only in profits but in creativity and fulfillment? Listen as Jeni Becht a wedding and event designer of over 25 years shares all the juicy details of growing and evolving her floral business into one of passion, purpose, and financial freedom. She shares all the secrets with actionable tips and strategies so you can wake up inspired and on a path to profitability while feeling lighter and more aligned in work and life. Join Jeni in building your business while ditching the overwhelm, avoiding burnout, and feeling fulfilled in work and life.
Hello, flower friends. This is Jen and you are listening to the floral hustle podcast on this week's episode. And for the month of February, we're going to be talking all things starting your floral business and Ciao. That is something I did so long ago that I am actually going through a self challenge for the month of February of what I would do if I was restarting my floral business.
So you can follow along on Instagram or on TikTok with all the things that I am doing that would be basically like the reboot if I restarted my business. And today I want to talk a little bit about, like, some of the things But I think you kind of start out with as, um, checking the boxes off on a long list of things that are just required to start a business.
And I talked about this in the first couple days of the challenge this month, but I just wanted to revisit them in case you do not follow me on social. So choosing a business name is probably one of the most daunting tasks because your identity is so wrapped up in this name. When you are looking at a name, I start with going on GoDaddy, I go on social, and then I also check the USPTO, the trademark office of the United States, to make sure that that is available.
If you have a great name, but it is not available, it's not helpful. So I start with my brain dump of ideas or names for something, and then I'm going to go through and drill down to the one I like. That top five of them, I would go in and I would check on the various sources, GoDaddy, so you can check that web address, because your web address is so important, and having an easy web address is so important, and then I would check, um, social, because that's also important.
If for some reason somebody has that handle, I would go in and I would It is very difficult to figure out how to get that back. Even if it's inactive, hasn't had one post on it ever, they claimed on it, on it, and it's just, there was a name like that with our other business, and we have just not been able.
Um, to connect with that person, even ask them how much they would want for it. Um, nothing. So just be aware of that. And then the USPTO is for trademark searches. You also would hate to start building a business. And then all of a sudden you get a cease and desist letter after you put all of this time, all of this energy into building this business, building this brand.
And then somebody is telling you, nope, stop it. You have to take everything down and change your business names within 30 days, which happens people go through a lot of work to trademark something. It is an expensive process. Just filing for the trademark itself. If you do it directly with them is like around the 400 mark.
Then if you have to hire a lawyer that usually even. To help you fight an appeal, which I have done once, um, that was a thousand dollar endeavor for him to write one letter and then respond back. But I would rather be safe than sorry, because I have had some business friends that have similar names, because even if it's not the same name, if it causes brand confusion, that's where that trademark really comes into place.
When looking at your name and a similar name. Would a customer be confused? Who is this company? Are they the same companies? Etc. Then, starting out after that, and this is something a lot of people, like, do after they've built their business, but if you want to take yourself seriously, if you really want to bring your business to the next level, you need to actually have it be a real business.
And that is by filing your federal and state specific, uh, EIN, state sales tax, filing with the Secretary of State, investigating, you know, if you need a local business license, etc. Then I would secure all your social platforms for that name because that is critical, especially if you have to start putting dots and periods and dashes and things like that in your name, that just becomes super confusing.
And even if you don't feel you're going to use it now, do it anyways. Because down the road, you might decide you want to do TikTok. Down the road, you might decide you want to do Pinterest. Down the road, you might decide you want to do Facebook. And if somebody took that that is going to be a difficult one to come back from.
I love to have all social handles the same because I think it creates a brand frequency, a brand awareness, that is just easier to navigate throughout the platforms. Then from there, really develop, like, who you want to be as a business. What does your brand identity, um, like your, I would just love if my brand felt like this.
I want to attract this client. I want to really, like, Feel, um, this when I look at my brand. And so like, I love these colors. I want to have that color in and then create a logo. You can create a ton of different free logos in Canva. They will be, you know, kind of on the simpler end of things, a little bit more generic, but that is a free resource and will do just fine.
You can always also use ChatGPT. There is a plugin that works with ChatGPT called Dolly. It's D A L L E. And you can type in what you would love. The essence of this logo, what you would like included in this logo, all the things, and then have them generate different ideas based off of what you've inputted.
And the third one is if you want something very specific, like you just have this envisioned logo that you know somebody could probably just nail and then you feel like so good about the launch of your business, etc. I then would use a company called Design Crowd. And Design Crowd is kind of a cooperative of different graphic artists that help people with different projects.
And you can put in there all your specifics on your creative brief. And then it goes to, uh, all of these designers across the world and they Basically compete to win designing your logo or being the logo chosen because they've already submitted a, you know, pretty much rough draft, but you can tweak things or it could be a final draft if you just love it.
But they submit that to you, you pay based on the amount of submissions that you would like. And I usually get around 150 submissions when I've used DesignCrowd. So you get 150 different people's spin on what you are doing, which is just amazing. Then you choose a winner, and then you can also purchase, like, if you want your business cards designed, if you want all these different things, you can choose those to be designed as well.
Then I would really figure out a marketing strategy. Like, how are you going to market your business? How are you going to attract clients? Like, what are you going to do to grow your business to really foundationally get everything done? Uh, so that you just. Start. I mean, that's the hardest part. Sometimes it's just starting because a lot of people get buried in the details that I've just mentioned of getting a logo and doing all those things.
And then, you know, where, like, you know, you want to be on Instagram and you think that that's where your ideal client, you know, you want to talk to wedding planners, you know, you want to reach out to venue owners. Or, let's just say you know you want to start ranking on Google from an SEO perspective.
Then you need a plan to support that. And that plan could be as simple as, I am going to post on social media three times a week. One of those days, because I really want to do weddings, is going to be You know, dedicated to posting about wedding tips. Another day, um, is going to be, like, me talking about my business and talking about myself.
And another day is going to be me posting a pretty picture of something I made. So that's, like, three days a week you would have planned out. And there is your strategy for social. Then let's just say you want a strategy for SEO. You're going to start blogging about different things in the wedding industry, in your market, that would be relevant to growing a floral business.
So you can go into ChatGPT, And ask ChatGBT, I really want to grow my wedding floral studio in an SEO perspective to attract more of my ideal client and I'm looking on 10 subjects that would be SEO relevant to write blog posts about. And then you can get 10 different ideas, and then you could take each one of those ideas and say, help me write a blog post on this idea with the framework that I would like to drive SEO traffic, and on and on.
So like, you're just loading ChatGPT, which if you're not familiar with that, it is an AI product. It is a free product. You also can pay for an upgrade. I do that because the data is so much better on it. Um, and it's like 10 a month. But it is a treasure trove of ideas and crafting like various things that you will just, it will save you so much time.
And it's, I thought it looked scary and overwhelming. It's really not that scary. It's not that overwhelming. So it is something that I would definitely recommend checking out because it's going to help you do so many of these things. Then from there, I would really be figuring out like, where are you going to be working on your business?
So if you got a wedding or if you got an order, where would you do that? I would set up a space that feels like you have a mini floral studio, if it's in your, your kitchen, just a dedicated area that this is where I'm growing my business. So when you go into that area, And sit down to create, like, this is you going to work.
This is you getting serious about changing your life. This is you getting serious about, I need, this is work. This isn't just something that is given to me and is just automatic. And so I would, from there, go, okay, uh, I have this little space set up. And you could even do cute little behind the scenes videos of you sitting there.
You could use, um, you know, be playing with some flowers from Trader Joe's or from a wholesaler and really just building your identity as a business owner. Because right now you have not look at other business owners and, and how they show up in your business. And if you are petrified about showing up in your business, people do business what they like, respect, and trust.
And I know there are so many people out there that are scared shitless to show up online. Honestly, like I can't just, I, I can't echo it enough on people want to know who you are. People want to really just understand the business owner. Like I do business with so many people because I like them. I know them.
I get them like you want people to feel that same way about your brand. And if you are introverted, just try one thing a week. That you post a picture, or a Instagram reel, or a behind the scenes Instagram story, 30 seconds, a minute of your life, sharing behind the scenes. People will start to really identify with you as a person, as a brand, and It will just start to show, the results start to show.
I go to networking events. People know who I am because they have seen my face. They've watched my videos. They've seen me talk. I can't tell you how many times people will like be looking at me and I'm like, who the hell is that? And why are they looking at me? And then I have to remember to myself, they know me because I show up in my business.
I show up like nobody else in my market shows up on social media and it gets people to know me very easily because I, I have red hair, I have full sleeve tattoo. Like I, I also kind of stick out like a sore thumb when it comes to those videos because I'm, I. With conviction, I'm speaking in my, in the videos that I do, I, I'm on fire, like, this is my purpose in life is being a florist and being a floral educator and a mother, of course, and that comes through, that conviction comes through, and when that comes through, like, big things are going to happen because people love to be around people Who inspire them, who are just like, so in love with what they do.
And that energy kind of transfers back and forth. And it's just so amazing when you're in that state. Then, I would want to make sure I understand, like, all of my resources. I would be looking at from a resource perspective, like, where is the wholesalers? Um, where can I get locally grown flowers? If there's a local group of florists or flower farmers that is on Facebook, try to find local groups to join.
Try to find networking opportunities that you can go to. You're the new guy, but who cares? You have every right to be there, whatever that space is, you have every right to be there because that is where you can seriously do a dent in growing your business, is being around, even potentially, I always say try to network with people who are in the same spot as you.
Because then you can bring yourself up together and that synergy together and that energy of both where you're at at that point is so magnetic and it's so helpful for you to really have that energy, uh, that entrepreneurial energy around you that, that energy of like people taking action and doing things.
I mean, that's why I've been in so many different masterminds. That's why I've been in. So many different, like, coaching things over the years because I wanted to be surrounded with people who were doing bigger things that were doing the things that I wanted to do that were being bolder or braver or, or something more than I was feeling.
And often it's, it was interesting because I would go in and just think all of these things, but then, like, I was the one that was. Probably from a revenue perspective, the highest I was from a volume perspective, I was the highest. And so it wasn't even that case of me being around other people that would elevate me.
It was, I was just being in a space where that energy of entrepreneurial spirit was there. That energy of people wanting bigger things was there and that's. So impactful and listening to this podcast, starting a personal development journey, like really wanting to be the best version of yourself. That is also going to pay off in you growing your business because once you start investing in yourself, investing in your business, big things will happen because you are your biggest asset and you need to treat yourself as such.
Not be eating a million things of junk food, not throwing down monster energy drink and then feeling like crap by 11 o'clock in the morning, not going to the gym, not Going for a walk, not taking care of yourself, all the things like you deserve better than that and the new version of you expects that and so be, embody that new version of yourself because that's where you're going to see things start falling together.
If you're not taking care of yourself. Then the world is going to treat you like you don't need anything more than you already have. Then, from there, I would also enlist the support of a bestie, of your partner, of your family, if they are supportive, which isn't always the case. Because you need to be surrounded by people who are your biggest cheerleaders.
They are your biggest fans. And, like, Realistically, like just are so excited for you to do all these big things in your life that that energy is just seeping into your skin, your pores, your, you're just like everything is changing because you just feel so supported. My husband is my biggest supporter that I've had in my life.
Like, he believes in me so much, and he has every couple fights, every couple, you know, like, has disagreements. But, like, I know that he backs me up in believing in me in everything that I do, and if you don't have that, find that. Join a group. Join a mastermind. Talk to people. Find an accountability partner because that's what's going to propel your business.
You just being alone entrepreneurial, like life is lonely, but it doesn't need to be that way. So do some big things, get some, this, this peer group that understands you and join the floral hustle Facebook group. That group, we have now 1, 300 people in the group, so supportive, so kind, like the energy in there, I personally approve every single person that comes in there.
Of course, like, I'm looking at, okay, are they in other Facebook groups for florists? Are they, um, you know, working in or starting a floral business? Like, I'm, I'm manually approving every single person. So I've manually approved, like, the 1, 300 people because I feel it is so important to cultivate a culture of support of love.
People being respectful of people just like wanting to be around their own kind of humans and that is just so important to me. So I spend time going in and answering people's questions every day, every single day. I want to be that resource to help lift someone up. So if you're not in the group, please do so.
And then, from a resources standpoint, I would start looking at resources for education. Like, this podcast is a great place to start because it is free. I also have a free guide. It is at thefloralhustle. com Forward slash starter kit and it is a like all things starting your business. It's asking you all these questions.
It's got all these checklists in there. And so this is like the foundational guide for you to go, what am I going to do? Or even if you had a business and you're like, I need a reboot, like things aren't going the way I want. I need a reboot. Here is your chance for a reboot. Go download this. I have tons of free resources on my website.
Um, there is a social media guide. There's a pricing guide if you're not familiar with how to price for profit. There is, um, a holiday recap, which is going to be on, upon us very soon. There's just so many different resources I've put together because I've seen where the holes lie in so many business owners journey.
And I want to support you in that. So please go and check out those free guides, uh, join the Facebook group cause it's, it's free and it's a support. Avenue that we all need, um, especially we don't need to be alone. You don't like that. Just isn't there's the Internet. There's you can find people that are like you so much faster than when I actually started being a florist and.
That's really comforting that like that has evolved, but you want to make sure that that doesn't also consume you because social media can easily consume you in your business. And then all that time you could have been spending building your business. You're. Like, being the, um, bleachers of everybody else's business, and that is not going to be productive as well.
So set like 10 minutes a day, I'm going to go and look and like and comment on other people's posts, or 15 minutes a day, whatever it is, but set a limit. If you have an iPhone, set boundaries that the app just shuts down after that time. You can enter your code if you want to bypass it, but at least then you're, you're like keeping accountable that I'm bypassing this and that's not good.
So thank you so much for listening flower friends and you have an amazing flower filled week.