This week, I’m here to celebrate my squad and remind y’all of how important it is to have people in your life who are as excited to see you shine and thrive as you are. People who will show up for you at a moment’s notice to eagerly push your good to GREAT! People who, without even being asked, will deploy their expertise, connections and studio space to make sure your shit is tight. These are the kinds of women I have in my tribe.
I appreciate having friends that I can depend on for just about anything life might throw my way.
I appreciate having friends that I can depend on for just about anything life might throw my way. To make me laugh when I’m down. To talk me off a ledge and tell me when I’m overreacting. To join me on the dancefloor when I’m the only one out there twirling around aimlessly. And to stand by my side to help me build an empire; brick by brick.
I shared my frustration with a friend that night over drinks, and she immediately offered up solutions for studio space and photographers she thought would be perfect to capture the images I was looking for.
For weeks, I’d been working to put together a photo shoot to get fresh pics of my flower babies for the site, social media and marketing materials. I’d been brainstorming story ideas and shot lists, as well as tightening the brand story to make sure the photos reflect it accurately. The shoot was planned for Monday but when my photographer and venue fell through the Friday before, I was back at square one rushing to pull it all together in time. I shared my frustration with a friend that night over drinks, and she immediately offered up solutions for studio space and photographers she thought would be perfect to capture the images I was looking for. Over the next two days, she secured not one but TWO sets of photographers and a space that had so many different set ups, it was like we were doing the shoot in 5 separate locations. To top it off, the night before the shoot, another friend who just happens to be a professional, celebrity hand model (seriously) hit me up and offered her “handy j” services at the shoot. I went to bed excited about the shoot the next morning and grateful for friends who proactively care. The morning of the shoot started off rocky AF. I woke up at 3am to pick up the flowers, only to find that my car battery was dead after not driving it for several weeks (thanks Rona). That set the rest of my day back 2hrs and it truly felt like it was destined to be one of those days. By noon, I could feel myself starting to freak out, but just when I was ready to lose it, my girl with hands came in with a smoothie because she knew I hadn’t eaten since the night before and thought a super blend would help stabilize me. She was right. Once I downed that smoothie, I was like Popeye with spinach. I immediately felt stronger. Not just because I had some much-needed fuel in my system but because she also brought with her a calming presence that I needed. Rather than allow myself to stress out, I decided right then and there that it was going to be a good day. A late day, but a good day nonetheless. After I gave myself 5 minutes to breathe deeply and reset my energy, my day began to turn around.
We don’t sell flower arrangements. We sell boxes of flowers in bundles that people then break apart to design and arrangement however they see fit.
Just to back up a bit, one of the main reasons that I was doing this shoot is because I desperately needed imagery that bridged the disconnect between the brand story and the journey on the website. This is to say that I needed to find a cleaner, more concise way to help people understand that they should first select their preferred box size based on how many flowers they needed. Once they determine the box size with the quantity of flowers that best suits their needs, they will then select the flower pairing that best matches their desired aesthetic. This seems simple, but it wasn’t translating, and I was spinning my wheels trying to come up with a solution. That is until I got on set for the shoot and realized that the photographers my friend had booked weren’t just there to snap pics, there were there to help flush out the brand story and translate it through the images. Before a single photo was taken, we spent over an hour in the conference room talking through every detail of the order process and getting very specific about what I want our clients to come away with at each stage of the user experience. It quickly turned into a makeshift marketing brain trust with my friends and these storytelling photographers to help breakdown the process so simply, that the solution was plain: It’s the box, stupid! I needed to lead with the boxes, because that was the first choice people would make. Next, I had to remove images of the flowers in arrangements from the site because it was confusing people. We don’t sell flower arrangements. We sell boxes of flowers in bundles that people then break apart to design and arrangement however they see fit.
It truly takes a village to be great. Never be afraid to ask for or accept help. Allow others to share in the joy of serving others.
By the time the shoot was done, my squad had collectively come through with the connects, space, brand clarity and professional hands that I didn’t even know I needed. In the coming weeks, I’ll share more about the detailed solutions that came from this think tank but soon you’ll begin to see some of the new pics on the updated site that help to better tell our brand story. This will include fresher single stem flower images with more insightful background info, as well as cleaner storytelling for the flower mixes and how they work together for the floral adventures we had in mind when creating them. The goal is to create a space where you can engage more holistically with our flowers. Additionally, we’ve got several new offerings coming including holiday gift boxes, a merch pop-up and the announcement of a new flower variety that I’ve been dying to get into our mixes and am super geeked that we’ve finally been able to make it happen! But almost none of it would have happened without the exact set of circumstances that led to my spontaneous think tank and brand build at the shoot. The moral of the story is the same and it’s been over and over again for me on this journey: trust the process! Over the course of 3 days I had so many highs and lows, but every time a low hit I had a friend there to help me lift it back to high. It truly takes a village to be great. Never be afraid to ask for or accept help. Allow others to share in the joy of serving others.