225 – Bridging Careers from Nursing to Floral Design with Patti Muhlenfeld
Patti Muhlenfeld is the owner of Enchanted Events but her background is actually as an Emergency Department Registered Nurse where she loved taking care of her patients.
At Advocate Sherman Hospital she was often called upon to design for corporate events such as award celebrations, leadership conferences and holiday galas.
Patti and her husband have seven children and, as you can imagine, with all the kids came plenty of opportunities to plan and design festivities. She always created celebrations that were known as “the best to go to for a fun time.”
Patti’s love of flowers and unique designs were enhanced as a protégé of Preston Bailey in New York, and under the apprenticeship of Akeshi at Kesh Designs in Chicago.
Business Building Insights
- Pay attention to what you’re passionate about. You’re pulled in that direction for a reason.
- Invest in becoming skilled in your craft. Take classes, find a mentor or join a community of people in your same niche.
- Communicate your mission statement to the people you hire because they will be representing your business when you’re not around. They need to understand your values and message so everyone is in alignment.
- Starting a business is a learning process. You’ll make mistakes and you’ll learn from them. Then keep going forward.
- Former customers are fabulous for word of mouth. Build a system into your customer service followup plan so you routinely as for them.
- Networking is key to bringing in sales. You must get in front of people so they can learn about you and what you do.
Contact Links
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Thanks! Sue
Transcript
Gift biz unwrapped episode 225 I've had so many people say
Speaker:to me,
Speaker:why are you nursing when your arrangements is so pretty?
Speaker:And I'd laugh at the,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:attention gifters,
Speaker:bakers, crafters and makers pursuing your dream can be fun whether
Speaker:you have an established business or looking to start one now
Speaker:you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal,
Speaker:Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi Derek,
Speaker:it's too.
Speaker:Thank you for joining me today.
Speaker:I want to start out by giving a listener shout out
Speaker:to Vicki glaze.
Speaker:She left a great review on Apple podcasts and it's titled
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Speaker:Every time I'm struggling with something,
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Speaker:questions. This podcast has helped me to grow my business,
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Speaker:day, so again,
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Speaker:Also, I want to make sure you're familiar with my free
Speaker:Facebook group called gift biz breeze.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and our community to
Speaker:support each other.
Speaker:I've got a really fun post in there.
Speaker:That's my favorite of the week.
Speaker:I have to say where I invite all of you to
Speaker:share what you're doing,
Speaker:to show pictures of your product,
Speaker:to show what you're working on for the week,
Speaker:to get reaction from other people and just for fun because
Speaker:we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody in
Speaker:the community is making.
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Speaker:Wait, what aren't you part of the group already?
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Speaker:make sure to jump over to Facebook and search for the
Speaker:group gift biz breeze.
Speaker:Don't delay.
Speaker:Come join us in gift biz breeze today.
Speaker:Moving on to talk about what we have in store for
Speaker:us in this episode.
Speaker:I am really,
Speaker:really excited to share with you this week's guest because I
Speaker:think that she's in the same spot as many of you
Speaker:are. She's had a solid professional career,
Speaker:loves what she's doing,
Speaker:and now sees that she's in a stage where she's starting
Speaker:to think about and moving into retirement.
Speaker:And with that comes the idea of,
Speaker:okay, what's next?
Speaker:And so what she's doing,
Speaker:which I think is really interesting,
Speaker:is she's creating a bridge.
Speaker:Her word,
Speaker:I love that word.
Speaker:She's creating a bridge from her first career to now a
Speaker:new career as being her own biz boss.
Speaker:She's going to talk about how she's transitioning,
Speaker:how this came about in the first place,
Speaker:and without giving everything away,
Speaker:why don't we hear it directly from her Pleasure to introduce
Speaker:you to Patty Mullin,
Speaker:Feld of enchanted events.
Speaker:Patty's background is actually as an emergency department registered nurse where
Speaker:she loved taking care of her patients at advocate Sherman hospital.
Speaker:She was often called upon to design floral arrangements for corporate
Speaker:events such as award celebrations,
Speaker:leadership conferences,
Speaker:and holiday galas.
Speaker:Patty and her husband have seven children and as you can
Speaker:imagine with all the kids came,
Speaker:plenty of opportunities to plan and design festivities.
Speaker:She always created celebrations that were known as the best to
Speaker:go to for a fun time.
Speaker:So Patty's love of flowers and unique designs were enhanced as
Speaker:a protege of Preston Bailey in New York and under the
Speaker:apprenticeship of a Kashi at cache designs in Chicago.
Speaker:I am so excited to have you on the show.
Speaker:Patty, welcome to the gift biz on wrapped podcast.
Speaker:Oh, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker:I appreciate it.
Speaker:I'm going to start off in a creative way,
Speaker:which you'll be able to get to easily with all of
Speaker:the creativity that comes with flowers,
Speaker:but we're switching up the product a little bit.
Speaker:I'm going to ask you to describe yourself by way of
Speaker:a motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to create a candle by color and
Speaker:a quote that resonates with you,
Speaker:what would your candle look like,
Speaker:Patty? Well,
Speaker:it would definitely be pink.
Speaker:I love the soft feminine look.
Speaker:So definitely pink.
Speaker:Is this a light pink?
Speaker:Pastel pink.
Speaker:Okay. Yes.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:And so I'm going to explain to you this quote.
Speaker:In essence I developed it and that quote is what does
Speaker:your dash say about you?
Speaker:So I'm going to explain what that means.
Speaker:As a nurse,
Speaker:I'm comfortable with the concept of death.
Speaker:That's part of the life cycle.
Speaker:Something all humanity has in common.
Speaker:And I read somewhere that we all will have on our
Speaker:tombstone, our birth date or date of death and had dash
Speaker:in between.
Speaker:And this dash represents your life and all that you did
Speaker:with your life.
Speaker:And I got to thinking about this.
Speaker:And I really believe that it's so true because it envelops
Speaker:all of our thoughts and actions.
Speaker:What did you believe in?
Speaker:How do you treat people?
Speaker:How do we serve?
Speaker:Do you give others respect and compassion?
Speaker:What was your life mission statement and did you live it
Speaker:out? So we should give consideration to our life now because
Speaker:our thoughts and the actions that we are living out right
Speaker:now in the present will be represented in that dash.
Speaker:So what does your dash say about you?
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Petty. So potent.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:I'm just like in a little bit of a silent reflective
Speaker:mode right now and I got to say to you that
Speaker:dash now,
Speaker:I think whenever I do emails or anything and I add
Speaker:that dash,
Speaker:I'm going to have to think about all you just said.
Speaker:Yeah. So you've left it not only in death,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:between your birth date and your final date,
Speaker:but now I'm going to be using it in a dash
Speaker:throughout my life.
Speaker:So thank you for that.
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:And if I were you,
Speaker:I would totally claim that quote.
Speaker:It's perfect.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:So let's go into your dash Patty.
Speaker:Have flowers always been part of your life?
Speaker:They have.
Speaker:I've always loved them from the time I was little.
Speaker:I remember may day when I was a little girl and
Speaker:I grew up in st Louis and I would go out
Speaker:and gather flowers for my mom and bring them into her.
Speaker:So even from a young age we had honeysuckles in our
Speaker:backyard. So I've always enjoyed them.
Speaker:Definitely. Is it the flower or the color of the flower
Speaker:or the scent or what is it?
Speaker:It's just the whole experience And the freshness and yeah,
Speaker:That's the beauty and I think more than anything,
Speaker:it's variety and it's just absolutely incredible how they can be
Speaker:so individual and it's like people that,
Speaker:it's just amazing.
Speaker:All the thought that's put into each individual flower,
Speaker:just like at each person.
Speaker:I agree.
Speaker:But this is not what you decided to do for a
Speaker:career. Right.
Speaker:Did you even think about the floral industry when you were
Speaker:thinking about a money generating career?
Speaker:No, and actually I never even thought of my career as
Speaker:a money type aspect.
Speaker:I knew from the time I was probably 11 years old
Speaker:that I wanted to be a nurse.
Speaker:There were no nurses in my family.
Speaker:How I got it.
Speaker:I think it had to have been from God because it
Speaker:was a very,
Speaker:very strong desire.
Speaker:I knew I wanted to be a nurse and I wanted
Speaker:to be a mom and I was blessed to have both
Speaker:of that.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:Tell us a little bit about your career.
Speaker:Were you always in the emergency room or the emergency department?
Speaker:I guess I say right,
Speaker:Just a short stint after getting out of school.
Speaker:I was on the med surge unit,
Speaker:but other than that it's been through ambulatory care and emergency
Speaker:room service.
Speaker:And how long were you there?
Speaker:Oh gosh,
Speaker:in different places.
Speaker:I've lived in a couple different States,
Speaker:so I've been a nurse for about 39 years.
Speaker:So a while.
Speaker:And tell me a little bit about the story of how
Speaker:flowers and floral arrangement started to be incorporated while you were
Speaker:still a registered nurse and working in that manner.
Speaker:Well, I think throughout my life I like to do things
Speaker:out of the box or do things 150% there's been different
Speaker:avenues I was interested in.
Speaker:I took cake decorating,
Speaker:I took belly dancing and I've done the floor arrangements for
Speaker:about 30 years as gifts,
Speaker:the core.
Speaker:And as you said with the hospital functions,
Speaker:and I've heard so many people say to me,
Speaker:why are you nursing when your arrangements is so pretty?
Speaker:And I'd laugh at the,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:but then my daughter got married and I helped her with
Speaker:her decor and I fell in love with the process.
Speaker:So I decided to take a course at Triton college and
Speaker:wedding planning.
Speaker:And I got certified as a planner.
Speaker:And when I took that class I realized I was interested
Speaker:in the design aspect of the weddings and the functions.
Speaker:And as much as I enjoy the planning process,
Speaker:I'm a huge planner.
Speaker:I really was intrigued by the designing process.
Speaker:So I asked my instructor how I should start pursuing learning
Speaker:about the floral design for events.
Speaker:And she directed me to a friend of hers that gave
Speaker:the seminars on the luxury floor in Chicago.
Speaker:That was a Kashi.
Speaker:And the first day I walked into that seminar,
Speaker:this one was literally filled with dozens and dozens of pink
Speaker:and white and lavender hydrangeas and roses and ah,
Speaker:it was like I was in heaven.
Speaker:I was surrounded by him and I just fell in love.
Speaker:I love the flowers.
Speaker:I love the deciding.
Speaker:I love the luxury look.
Speaker:And I knew that this was an Avenue that I was
Speaker:passionate about as I approach retirement in my nursing career.
Speaker:And I always knew I just couldn't sit around.
Speaker:There's no way in retirement.
Speaker:And I was just debating what Avenue to pursue and this
Speaker:was the turn that my path was taking.
Speaker:And it really is a step by step journey For sure
Speaker:is. And I want to stop you here just for a
Speaker:second gift biz listeners.
Speaker:Did you hear what Patty was talking about when she walked
Speaker:into the room?
Speaker:And just like,
Speaker:it sounds to me,
Speaker:Patty, it was just that moment that it struck you.
Speaker:You already knew and you were searching out going to a
Speaker:Kashi because your friend had told you too that you should
Speaker:go and pursue and learn more.
Speaker:Right. But you've had a physical reaction when you walked in
Speaker:the room.
Speaker:It just kind of hit you Absolutely.
Speaker:On many levels.
Speaker:Yeah. And so give biz listeners,
Speaker:I just want to point that out to you because here
Speaker:Patty was working in a whole different industry.
Speaker:She started pursuing something she really loved,
Speaker:and I talk about this a lot cause a lot of
Speaker:you are trying to figure out what it is you'd want
Speaker:to do to start your own business.
Speaker:And many of you as makers do multiple things because that's
Speaker:what we do as makers.
Speaker:Right. And Patty,
Speaker:you were saying the same thing,
Speaker:like you had a couple of different types of things you
Speaker:could have considered,
Speaker:but it was that one that really hits you inside you
Speaker:that you should pay attention to.
Speaker:Right. And that's probably the one that you should pursue.
Speaker:Would you add anything to that,
Speaker:Patty? No,
Speaker:it's absolutely,
Speaker:it just Grips you that when you're having that type of
Speaker:feeling, like you said,
Speaker:pay attention to that because you're being pulled in a direction.
Speaker:Absolutely. So you were then,
Speaker:and you said you knew you wanted to do something else,
Speaker:like when you decided you were going to retire,
Speaker:that wasn't going to be it.
Speaker:You weren't going to sit on a rocking chair on your
Speaker:porch and to do something else.
Speaker:Right. How long did you have that overlap?
Speaker:Well, actually I'm still in the emergency room one day a
Speaker:week now.
Speaker:I'm exiting out of it as I begin this new business
Speaker:and I started at probably a year and a half ago
Speaker:and I knew I wanted to start it while I was
Speaker:still working in the hospital because of so many contexts there.
Speaker:And that has really developed well because it starts going around
Speaker:as word of mouth and I started doing weddings for people
Speaker:there in the hospital.
Speaker:And so being able to make that transition from when I
Speaker:still knew people and work with them alongside them,
Speaker:that it helped getting the second business started.
Speaker:Yeah, that's a really,
Speaker:really good point.
Speaker:So you're kind of winding down one career and ramping up
Speaker:another one,
Speaker:but using that crossover to really help grow your business.
Speaker:Yes. You're seeing it as a bridge?
Speaker:As a bridge for sure.
Speaker:Well, I have to share with everybody how we met and
Speaker:this was the one thing,
Speaker:Patty, I told you in our pre-interviewed talk that I wasn't
Speaker:going to tell you till we were actually recording.
Speaker:Okay. You and I met at a networking event a short
Speaker:time ago at Alden kennels.
Speaker:Janet's event,
Speaker:but they do this four state multi networking event once a
Speaker:summer and they use the area where they do the exercise
Speaker:in and the training of the dog.
Speaker:So it's this big huge room.
Speaker:We walked in and I saw this floral arrangement and my
Speaker:jaw dropped.
Speaker:It was so beautiful.
Speaker:It had to have been what Patty like it was on
Speaker:a pedestal,
Speaker:but like six feet high,
Speaker:something like that.
Speaker:Huge, gorgeous and not just a bunch of flowers put together,
Speaker:which to my way of thinking is still beautiful.
Speaker:The way everything was placed and the way the flowers foul.
Speaker:I don't mean like falling off onto the floor,
Speaker:but the way they draped or whatever the professional term is,
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:showed quality throughout.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:who did these floral arrangements?
Speaker:I want to find her.
Speaker:And that's how you and I met.
Speaker:Thank you very much.
Speaker:It's very sweet.
Speaker:I appreciate it.
Speaker:It's true.
Speaker:I mean it's one thing putting something together that's still beautiful,
Speaker:but there's something about your designs that just shows a level
Speaker:of professionalism and sophistication.
Speaker:And now as I got to know you and learn about
Speaker:your history,
Speaker:you invested to make sure that you had the skills and
Speaker:the ability to do your floral arrangements really,
Speaker:really professional.
Speaker:Right. And it does take the take An opportunity for to
Speaker:get the education and the Avenue that you're looking at.
Speaker:It's really important.
Speaker:Talk to people,
Speaker:listen to them.
Speaker:Oh you think that's important for a transition from,
Speaker:let's say that just a hobby into a real business?
Speaker:Yes. Okay.
Speaker:Talk to people in terms of the skill of the art
Speaker:And then to take classes,
Speaker:whatever they can take advantage of to learn more about what
Speaker:they think they might be interested in From a design standpoint
Speaker:or a business development standpoint?
Speaker:Both. Definitely both.
Speaker:Both. Okay.
Speaker:Alright. So we've talked a little bit already from the design
Speaker:standpoint. So you took apprenticeship and then you were the protege
Speaker:of Preston Bailey and then,
Speaker:well first of all for,
Speaker:for those of us who don't know,
Speaker:who is Preston Bailey,
Speaker:he, His father of flowers.
Speaker:He is Oprah's florist and he's the one that designed for
Speaker:about Trump's wedding,
Speaker:just really over the top incredible,
Speaker:incredible designs.
Speaker:Okay, so you didn't go small,
Speaker:Patty, you went for the big guys to learn,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:Okay. Love that.
Speaker:Okay, so we've got the design side covered.
Speaker:For some people who might be listening,
Speaker:Patty, who are just thinking,
Speaker:and it doesn't have to be floral,
Speaker:it could be a number of different maker type products.
Speaker:What were your first steps on the business side of getting
Speaker:in chanted events established?
Speaker:Well, once I had taken the design courses,
Speaker:uh, I started on the work of starting my business and
Speaker:found someone to do the web page.
Speaker:I did an outline of enchanted events,
Speaker:mission statement and processes,
Speaker:did photo shoots,
Speaker:legal contracts,
Speaker:started checking off all those boxes to get the business going.
Speaker:Why did you feel a mission statement was important?
Speaker:Right in the beginning,
Speaker:I firmly believe in mission statements.
Speaker:There are so many times you go into a store or
Speaker:whatever and you have somebody that is just really cranky and
Speaker:then you turned around and the boss is just as cranky
Speaker:and you think,
Speaker:my goodness,
Speaker:if leadership is like that,
Speaker:the ones that follow are also going to be that way.
Speaker:So I think a mission statement has to be communicated to
Speaker:the people that you hire,
Speaker:that you work with because they are going to be presenting
Speaker:your business and your product when you're not around and they
Speaker:need to be of the same mindset that you are presenting
Speaker:to the community.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Kind of sets the path for everybody yourself included,
Speaker:I would say.
Speaker:Exactly. Okay.
Speaker:And so does it also,
Speaker:would you suggest help you define who your audience should be
Speaker:With the mission state,
Speaker:Like who your customers are that you would be selling to?
Speaker:Mm, I never thought about it that way.
Speaker:I'm just wondering,
Speaker:and maybe you just did this all in your mind,
Speaker:but as a florist you could do only events and your
Speaker:history and the direction gravitated to bigger events and gosh knows
Speaker:you have the skill as I'd already talked about earlier,
Speaker:but you weren't necessarily just selling to the general public one-off
Speaker:consumers or were you,
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:No, that was my goal was to go into the luxury
Speaker:market. I absolutely love making those big floral pieces like what
Speaker:you saw.
Speaker:Those are my very favorite.
Speaker:I love doing the things that people go,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:how did she do that?
Speaker:So you had that idea and that vision right from the
Speaker:start, that's where you were going?
Speaker:Yes. Okay,
Speaker:gotcha. I think that's important to clarify right in the beginning
Speaker:of a business to now,
Speaker:not that things aren't going to change as we talked about
Speaker:before, you know,
Speaker:your path might change a little bit as you go,
Speaker:but to really understand and have a clear direction on what
Speaker:you're leading to in the beginning,
Speaker:where your dash dashes going.
Speaker:Yes, definitely.
Speaker:Okay, got it.
Speaker:Any advice for someone who's just starting out,
Speaker:something that maybe you learned or you would have done differently?
Speaker:Hindsight, especially because you're so new still,
Speaker:right? So this could be fresh in your mind like a
Speaker:fresh flower.
Speaker:There have been so many challenges to starting the new business
Speaker:and it really has been a learning process.
Speaker:Everyone's going to make mistakes.
Speaker:You pick yourself up,
Speaker:you learn from it,
Speaker:and you keep going forward.
Speaker:You keep putting one foot in front of the other and
Speaker:there was on one wedding,
Speaker:let me just tell you,
Speaker:I had given the quote from my florals to the bride
Speaker:and then I got them ordered.
Speaker:That's the natural procedure and it ended up that my total
Speaker:cost was much more than I anticipated because they were bought
Speaker:during the week of Valentine's day.
Speaker:And little did I know at that time that all Flores
Speaker:costs across the board,
Speaker:across the country are increased by a huge amount during the
Speaker:week of a holiday.
Speaker:So I lost a fair amount of profit because I'd already
Speaker:given the quote to the customer and of course I stuck
Speaker:with it.
Speaker:So now I share check that calendar for any sneaky little
Speaker:holidays that are coming up before I give another quote.
Speaker:There are going to be,
Speaker:I think,
Speaker:nuances within every industry that you don't know until you're actually
Speaker:there doing it.
Speaker:Right. I'm so happy to hear that you didn't go back
Speaker:to the client and say,
Speaker:sorry, I'm up in your price,
Speaker:because that would've not been a good idea for sure.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you're investing in the future of a client and your reputation
Speaker:by doing right by a client.
Speaker:Absolutely. And you expect them to honor your contract,
Speaker:so why wouldn't you honor your contract?
Speaker:Oh, it's vital.
Speaker:You stand by your word.
Speaker:Yeah. So I don't know that that would have even been
Speaker:a thought that you would have considered,
Speaker:but I'm glad to hear it just by way of best
Speaker:practices. For sure.
Speaker:Yeah. The other thing that I like about your wording,
Speaker:Patty, is you talk about,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:these were just mistakes.
Speaker:They were learnings you didn't fail.
Speaker:Right. How did you get to that thinking?
Speaker:Oh, I think it's like when you're watching a baby learning
Speaker:to walk.
Speaker:He doesn't just get up out of the crib and start
Speaker:running. He's going to learn.
Speaker:It's a learning process and the parent encourages him and helps
Speaker:him and he falls down and cries and the parent come
Speaker:and dust them off.
Speaker:He gets up and he keeps going and over and over
Speaker:and he gets better and better as he continues practicing.
Speaker:I think so often people look at businesses and think,
Speaker:Oh well they are successful because they've never ever had a
Speaker:failure. You know?
Speaker:And so when someone first encounters a failure within their business,
Speaker:they're like,
Speaker:Oh see I can't do this.
Speaker:And they term it failure.
Speaker:Not mistake.
Speaker:I like mistake or learning or progression.
Speaker:Just like you talk about like a baby doesn't fall and
Speaker:say, okay,
Speaker:I'm never going to walk my whole life.
Speaker:That wouldn't be good.
Speaker:So yeah,
Speaker:so I love that.
Speaker:Any other challenging moments you care to share?
Speaker:We'll hear a challenge that Patty still struggles with to this
Speaker:day. Right after a word from our sponsor.
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Speaker:for more information.
Speaker:Well, another area that I still struggle with is the cost
Speaker:of a product within the floral industry.
Speaker:I've found that there's certain parameters of pricing that are expected
Speaker:to be observed by that community,
Speaker:but sometimes it just seems too expensive and I want to
Speaker:help the bride be able to afford certain arrangements,
Speaker:but that usually comes at a cost of decreased profit for
Speaker:me. And I know advisors recommend not to do it and
Speaker:I really try,
Speaker:but it's really hard.
Speaker:Sometime I'm the kind of person I love to give to
Speaker:others, whether it's emotional support,
Speaker:physical need,
Speaker:or the flowers.
Speaker:So this is a challenge for me,
Speaker:both on the business side and on a personal side.
Speaker:I would give away a farm if somebody needed it,
Speaker:so I'm getting better at it,
Speaker:but it does still continue to be something I endeavored to
Speaker:work on.
Speaker:Yeah, I can get that.
Speaker:Because if they want to switch out flowers and another flowers
Speaker:more expensive or they want to add flowers after your quote
Speaker:or all of that.
Speaker:I could imagine just wanting to be generous cause you want
Speaker:to make them happy and pleased and you love doing the
Speaker:arranging anyway.
Speaker:But then adding that pricing element on top,
Speaker:you're right,
Speaker:it all does come from your profits.
Speaker:That'll be interesting to see how you progress as you stay
Speaker:in business and perfect that a little bit,
Speaker:but I'm glad you notice it.
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:It's a caution for all of us.
Speaker:I think another place where you're talking about the margins and
Speaker:adding in more expensive product than what you might've quoted,
Speaker:cause I'm saying that right,
Speaker:right. Patty,
Speaker:that's kind of where you lose your profit is more expensive
Speaker:pieces versus what you initially thought.
Speaker:No, not necessarily.
Speaker:It's just that they're saying,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I can't afford that.
Speaker:Oh so you come down in price.
Speaker:I come down in price,
Speaker:but it takes it away from me.
Speaker:Right. Yeah.
Speaker:You'll learn what's gonna work for you and what's not.
Speaker:And guess what,
Speaker:you're the business owner.
Speaker:You get to decide what you want to do.
Speaker:Right. You might have less money at the end of the
Speaker:day, but you get to call the shots.
Speaker:Which is the best thing about being a business owner.
Speaker:Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker:I think the other place,
Speaker:tell me what you think about this.
Speaker:I think the other place where we lose money and don't
Speaker:consider in our pricing is production time to make things.
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:150% that's so true.
Speaker:I can figure in the cost of my flowers of going
Speaker:down to Chicago to pick them up.
Speaker:All your hardware that you have to work with and everything.
Speaker:But then I have a very,
Speaker:this ties in what we were just talking about.
Speaker:I have a hard time tying in even more because of
Speaker:my time.
Speaker:So definitely a struggle And I think that's also just experience
Speaker:time into what you're doing.
Speaker:Cause you get faster the more you do it I'm thinking.
Speaker:Right. And then you're also learning better how to gauge how
Speaker:much time it actually takes.
Speaker:Cause it's one thing,
Speaker:having a vision and then estimating,
Speaker:but then actually doing it is a whole nother story.
Speaker:True. And I just want to say to the people who
Speaker:are listening into,
Speaker:if you're not charging for any of your time,
Speaker:if in your pricing all you're doing is charging for the
Speaker:cost of materials,
Speaker:even though you might be getting money for that,
Speaker:it's a hobby because you're not making a profit that you
Speaker:could then use either to pay yourself a salary or to
Speaker:invest in growing your business.
Speaker:Right. And there's all the other,
Speaker:the nuances of the business too,
Speaker:that I had to learn of doing monthly tax forms,
Speaker:that the taxes have to be paid on a monthly basis.
Speaker:I bet that's your favorite thing to do.
Speaker:Oh, I love it.
Speaker:Oh gosh.
Speaker:Sometimes I think all I wanted to do was make flowers,
Speaker:you know?
Speaker:Yeah. It doesn't go that way.
Speaker:There's other things you have to do.
Speaker:Are you at the point now I know your husband works
Speaker:a little bit in the business with you,
Speaker:right? Yes,
Speaker:he does.
Speaker:He helps a lot.
Speaker:Mainly with,
Speaker:we go down and pick up the flowers from Chicago and
Speaker:he carries and helps me set up and different things.
Speaker:Does he do any of the photography?
Speaker:No. Okay.
Speaker:Alright. Do you have any other people as part of your
Speaker:kind of support team you will at this point?
Speaker:Or is it just the two of you?
Speaker:Mostly you.
Speaker:I get it.
Speaker:I have probably it's a very select group of people and
Speaker:I'm still looking for wonderful creative people.
Speaker:Oh, to do the design work part you mean?
Speaker:Yes. Ah,
Speaker:and it's someone that I want that I have a great
Speaker:attention to detail and I want them to have that same
Speaker:desire to give the quality product to the customer.
Speaker:So I'm definitely still looking,
Speaker:but I've got a couple of nurse friends that helped me
Speaker:when I have the bigger weddings.
Speaker:Well, anybody who's in the Northwest side of the Chicago market,
Speaker:you're interested get in touch with Patty versus you.
Speaker:Yes. What about or are you thinking about as you grow
Speaker:and as more time of yours gets into quoting,
Speaker:envisioning and designing the events and all of that,
Speaker:do you think at some point you'll spin off like your
Speaker:bookkeeping and maybe photography or website enhancement,
Speaker:that kind of thing?
Speaker:Uh, spin them off to other people?
Speaker:Do you have other people do them for you so it
Speaker:frees you up as you grow?
Speaker:Absolutely. I envisioned having several little departments there of,
Speaker:of people helping me.
Speaker:But again,
Speaker:it's going to be a slow process because I do want
Speaker:to be careful who I bring alongside with me.
Speaker:Right. And the nice thing now is that they don't have
Speaker:to be employed by you.
Speaker:Like I know for my organization,
Speaker:my bookkeeper,
Speaker:I job that out.
Speaker:Some of my Facebook ads,
Speaker:well my Facebook ad stuff,
Speaker:I job out,
Speaker:but I consider them part of my team.
Speaker:They don't work solely for me,
Speaker:but that helps so much.
Speaker:So, and I say it just because it's come up in
Speaker:conversation, but also for all of us to consider as we're
Speaker:growing our business.
Speaker:It's not like you have to all of a sudden it'd
Speaker:be employing everybody,
Speaker:some people you would employ and some people can be independent
Speaker:contractors doing things for your business that you don't like to
Speaker:do like Texas.
Speaker:Right. And that's the exact terminology I was gonna use was
Speaker:the independent contractor.
Speaker:So you're still practicing in the medical field.
Speaker:And you mentioned earlier that a lot of the business that
Speaker:you get is because of the context that you've had in
Speaker:your other profession.
Speaker:Right? As you're transitioning out of it,
Speaker:how are you seeing,
Speaker:or what are you already doing maybe to start attracting business
Speaker:in a different way at such time that you don't have
Speaker:that connection anymore?
Speaker:Well, again,
Speaker:I've already put the bridges out there.
Speaker:Bridges, you have bridges,
Speaker:but yes I do.
Speaker:I advertise on the knot and that's a huge resource.
Speaker:And that's an industry specific.
Speaker:Yes. Is it a publication?
Speaker:A website?
Speaker:It's a website for weddings and it's all around the whole
Speaker:Chicago area.
Speaker:It's probably a lot further out than that,
Speaker:but I get a lot of calls from that.
Speaker:Oh, that's good.
Speaker:So you're already thinking into the future for that.
Speaker:Absolutely, because the time is limited with the hub.
Speaker:So just preparing for the future.
Speaker:Sure. Have you done anything specifically that you saw right away
Speaker:jumped forward in terms of sales besides promoting in the knot,
Speaker:but is there a promotion you did or something else that
Speaker:you've done that has really all of a sudden brought in
Speaker:sales over and above what you would have been expecting?
Speaker:I think my highlight event that brought me to the threshold
Speaker:of the type of events that I want to do,
Speaker:and that I went into this business for was when I
Speaker:got my first wedding at a luxury hotel down on Michigan
Speaker:Avenue. And it was reinforcement for me of why I love
Speaker:this business.
Speaker:And I really felt it was a breakthrough into what I
Speaker:wanted to do into my desired niche,
Speaker:that it really was possible to see this dream come true
Speaker:and service a luxury market.
Speaker:And it was quite a improvement on my increased traffic on
Speaker:the Instagram page,
Speaker:on my website.
Speaker:It was a huge boost to me personally.
Speaker:There's a couple of things that I think are really important
Speaker:to talk about here.
Speaker:First off,
Speaker:if you do it once,
Speaker:you can do it again.
Speaker:So getting that first one had to feel so good to
Speaker:you and just reinforce everything.
Speaker:Yes. The other thing that you did is you maximize that
Speaker:opportunity because if you're saying that it gave you a bump
Speaker:on Instagram and all that means you took pictures and you
Speaker:promoted that you did that event.
Speaker:Yes. And they had a video on there with music with
Speaker:it and it really went wild.
Speaker:Was your client the hotel or was your client the bride.
Speaker:The bride.
Speaker:Okay. Did you have to ask her if it was okay
Speaker:to do videos or did you just do it as you're
Speaker:setting up or how did that all work?
Speaker:It's part of the legal contract when we're working everything out
Speaker:between us and it's very clearly spelled out in there.
Speaker:Oh very good.
Speaker:So there was some forethought as you were putting together what
Speaker:your contract would be,
Speaker:that you would use this also so that you could promote
Speaker:moving forward.
Speaker:Right. Cause you definitely need advertising.
Speaker:Yes. Very smart.
Speaker:Okay, so you've done some weddings,
Speaker:you've done some events,
Speaker:you've done some networking events,
Speaker:which is where I saw you.
Speaker:You're definitely out and about getting the word out.
Speaker:What do you do to follow up with existing people to
Speaker:hopefully get more business from them?
Speaker:Because we all know existing customers are our best potential for
Speaker:more business.
Speaker:Their existing customers really are fabulous for word of mouth.
Speaker:When they put reviews on the knot,
Speaker:when they talk to people.
Speaker:I had people taking pictures of some of my pieces there
Speaker:at the hotel.
Speaker:I'm not surprised.
Speaker:Word of mouth is huge.
Speaker:Among your clients that you've already had,
Speaker:Do you ask them,
Speaker:do you have something in your structure,
Speaker:maybe a follow up or something where you ask them to
Speaker:then review you?
Speaker:Yes. Actually,
Speaker:even before their wedding I say,
Speaker:if you want to consider it,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:may I contact you afterward and give you this link that
Speaker:you can leave a review on?
Speaker:The not for me.
Speaker:Perfect. I love that because so many people,
Speaker:even though they would don't initiate it themselves unless they're asked.
Speaker:Right. So you sound like you have no qualms about doing
Speaker:that either.
Speaker:No, it's part of the business.
Speaker:That's great because most people won't.
Speaker:Patty, I mean it's kind of nerve wracking asking for someone
Speaker:to do that for you.
Speaker:Well, I've always been a big believer in when people are
Speaker:doing a great job,
Speaker:let them know about it,
Speaker:let their bosses know about it.
Speaker:Okay. And I know you're still young in your business,
Speaker:but are you communicating on any type of regular basis?
Speaker:Regular because you do big events,
Speaker:like not everyone's going to have a wedding,
Speaker:hopefully not another wedding or maybe so depends on the situation
Speaker:I guess,
Speaker:but how do you or would you consider in the future
Speaker:reaching out to some of these more like significant life events
Speaker:where you wouldn't necessarily have them certainly every month or every
Speaker:year, but they could be potential repeat business throughout their life?
Speaker:Right, Right.
Speaker:Absolutely. And I already do that.
Speaker:I had a 70th birthday party not too long ago.
Speaker:So there's definitely things more than just the weddings.
Speaker:And so how are you communicating with existing customers?
Speaker:Again, it's been word of mouth that they have been communicating
Speaker:for me,
Speaker:which is resting.
Speaker:Do you do any emailing of past customers like was so
Speaker:fun doing your event this past year?
Speaker:Like things like that?
Speaker:Yes, that's just I feel common courtesy after them giving you
Speaker:their business and you just want to thank them for uh,
Speaker:using your company.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So you are clearly an advocate of educating yourself on the
Speaker:business that's proven with what all you did as you were
Speaker:starting your company,
Speaker:right? Going,
Speaker:doing your research,
Speaker:planning with all your processes and your mission statements and all
Speaker:of that.
Speaker:What do you do now on an ongoing basis to stay
Speaker:informed and to continue perfecting your artistry?
Speaker:Well, there's always so much to learn.
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I'm planning on signing up for more design classes online.
Speaker:I had a bridal show down at the w that was
Speaker:wonderful. Attending regional,
Speaker:national floral shows and the internet is great to get information
Speaker:from and even to ask your clients of the internet.
Speaker:So many customers are already familiar with lots of options from
Speaker:what they're seeking the services for and they reviews on products.
Speaker:I know I always read reviews and they did a research
Speaker:and so we can learn from them too.
Speaker:Are you part of any industry groups?
Speaker:I'm thinking of there are a lot of different types of
Speaker:Facebook groups for people in different types of industries like gift
Speaker:basket groups and candle making groups and people who use the
Speaker:cricket, which is a,
Speaker:it's like a fabric cutting and label cutting product.
Speaker:So you may not even know about that cause that's not
Speaker:in your industry.
Speaker:But are you part of any of those types of groups?
Speaker:Not yet.
Speaker:I've kind of had my plate fall between the hospital and
Speaker:getting everything going and eventually I would.
Speaker:Oh well there is still the hospital.
Speaker:And how does networking play a role in your business?
Speaker:Networking. Oh,
Speaker:it's invaluable because again,
Speaker:you go back to the word of mouth and just getting
Speaker:out there and letting people see what you do is huge
Speaker:because if you give them a card and they look at
Speaker:it and it's like,
Speaker:okay, I usually whip out my phone and my Instagram and
Speaker:I say,
Speaker:here's one,
Speaker:here's two,
Speaker:that I give them an idea to kind of reel them
Speaker:in a little bit.
Speaker:And are you a member of,
Speaker:uh, any chambers or BNI groups or anything like that?
Speaker:Not yet.
Speaker:Again, that's something that we've been looking at.
Speaker:Okay, so that would be the next step for you,
Speaker:right? Correct.
Speaker:Wonderful. Any suggestions for someone who's thinking,
Speaker:whether it's the floral industry or any type of industry,
Speaker:but they're just hedging?
Speaker:They're just like,
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I'm hearing Patty talk about this,
Speaker:but I just don't know if I could do it.
Speaker:I'm not sure that it's what I could do with my
Speaker:passion. What would you say to that person?
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Try it.
Speaker:Absolutely. Try it and don't give up on it.
Speaker:You know that baby that's trying to learn to walk.
Speaker:Everything you go through good and bad is going to help
Speaker:you with your business if you let it and just take
Speaker:a step at a time and you can do it.
Speaker:There's so much out there and get quality people around you
Speaker:to advise you to teach you to help you along the
Speaker:way. It's not really a solitary way to walk.
Speaker:You need lots of yeah and you know that just I
Speaker:think when we Just stay within ourself and talk within our
Speaker:own head,
Speaker:we'll think of all the reasons why it's not going to
Speaker:work. Of course.
Speaker:Right. And so getting that camaraderie around you will help you
Speaker:like flush out your ideas,
Speaker:get confidence that things could work and get support for what
Speaker:you're doing.
Speaker:Absolutely. And when one person falls down the other can help
Speaker:them up.
Speaker:Absolutely. Another thing I really like about your story and we
Speaker:touched on this in the very beginning,
Speaker:is that you are coming from a totally different field into
Speaker:the floral industry.
Speaker:Do you feel like there are any skills that you had
Speaker:and still have,
Speaker:cause I realize you're still a registered nurse and practicing in
Speaker:that way.
Speaker:Do you see any skills from that that have transferred over
Speaker:for you as you're building your business?
Speaker:Absolutely and it's not really even a transfer,
Speaker:it's just the way I approach my customers.
Speaker:I have the same mindset as I do with my patients.
Speaker:Everybody has their own special story of their life and they
Speaker:are valued by God and if God values them that I
Speaker:will too.
Speaker:And I think my caring about them as a person comes
Speaker:across, whether it's in my nursing or the floral and I
Speaker:desire to create their florals with the same care that I
Speaker:would as if they were my family.
Speaker:Just like I treated each of my patients as if they
Speaker:were my mother,
Speaker:my father,
Speaker:my spouse,
Speaker:or one of my children.
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I can hear the passion and the heartfelt accent I guess
Speaker:I would say in your voice when you say that.
Speaker:Well, Patty,
Speaker:this has been absolutely fabulous and by way of exchange and
Speaker:thanking you for all the information that you've so generously shared
Speaker:with us,
Speaker:I would like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:So this is a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your
Speaker:future. It can be your dream or your goal of almost
Speaker:unreachable Heights that you'd wish to obtain.
Speaker:So please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What's inside your box?
Speaker:Well, if I was given a gift to be able to
Speaker:reach an obtain unreachable Heights,
Speaker:it would be to be able to minister to thousands of
Speaker:people in need,
Speaker:both physically and spiritually.
Speaker:And the needs are so great and there's so overwhelming that
Speaker:it would take this magic gift to be able to reach
Speaker:them all.
Speaker:And through the wonder of this gift,
Speaker:my team would be able to give all the medicine that
Speaker:was needed to never run short of food or supplies our
Speaker:water. And I'd want to have the time to develop a
Speaker:relationship with each person and befriend them and encourage them and
Speaker:let them know that they are important and special.
Speaker:And I think to tie a bow on this wished box,
Speaker:I would be allowed to see how their lives were changed
Speaker:and improved with that magic gift.
Speaker:Why do you keep leaving me speechless,
Speaker:Patty? Oh my gosh.
Speaker:That is so powerful.
Speaker:I absolutely love that and I want to share with people
Speaker:in some way all the beauty of your floral designs.
Speaker:Where can people go and see all of these beautiful creations
Speaker:that you have?
Speaker:What's the best way for people to find you online?
Speaker:I'm enchanted events,
Speaker:floral.com and that's got the direction to all the other sites.
Speaker:Beautiful. Okay,
Speaker:well you know what,
Speaker:in that gift box that you just opened,
Speaker:I think you're already providing a lot of that medicine because
Speaker:it, that's in the beauty of all the flowers that you
Speaker:create and you get a chance to see that when you
Speaker:see all of these beautiful life events,
Speaker:the weddings and anniversaries and all of that,
Speaker:people being able to celebrate their occasions.
Speaker:Absolutely. They're dashes,
Speaker:so you're contributing to have any beauty and caring in the
Speaker:dashes. Oh,
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:Where you are,
Speaker:you're so consistent with your message from start to finish.
Speaker:It's beauty in nature like people and healing of people and
Speaker:creating beautiful things with fresh flowers.
Speaker:I mean it all aligned so perfectly together and there is
Speaker:not a doubt just by the way you communicate how much
Speaker:you love and care about all the things that you do
Speaker:in your life,
Speaker:so thank you so,
Speaker:so much for sharing it with us today.
Speaker:I really appreciate it.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:I really enjoyed it.
Speaker:Now you can see why I was so excited about bringing
Speaker:Patty onto the show.
Speaker:She's so professional and really has gotten traction for her business
Speaker:even though it's only a year and a half old bridges.
Speaker:Think about it.
Speaker:If you're in the same situation,
Speaker:Patty is in terms of transitioning from a long time career
Speaker:that you really enjoyed to doing something a little bit different
Speaker:and something for yourself.
Speaker:Bridges. Moving onto next week,
Speaker:I'm going to be sharing with you another person who gives
Speaker:a great example of how your business will move through different
Speaker:stages. We talk about how her product has adjusted over time.
Speaker:How she got validation through market testing.
Speaker:She moved to wholesale and then finally into her own retail
Speaker:shop and a little teaser for you.
Speaker:This is a product that we have never ever highlighted on
Speaker:this podcast before,
Speaker:so it's going to be a first and I can't wait
Speaker:for you to hear it next week.
Speaker:Bye for now.
Speaker:After you listened to the show,
Speaker:if you like what you're hearing,
Speaker:make sure to jump over and subscribe to the show on
Speaker:Apple podcasts.
Speaker:That way you'll automatically get the newest episodes when they go
Speaker:live, and thank you to those of you who have already
Speaker:left a rating and review.
Speaker:By subscribing,
Speaker:rating, and reviewing you help to increase the visibility of gift
Speaker:biz on wrapped.
Speaker:It's a great way to pay it forward to help others
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Patti is an amazing entrepreneur, and she has been an inspiration for me. She did my wedding and it was gorgeous!! She has always encouraged me to reach for my dreams, and even as a coworker at the hospital, she is always encouraging in all aspects of life. I have taken the leap and I always think of Ms. Patti.
Patti is such an inspiration. She is so kind, loving, caring and always thinks of others first. She is such a talent & her work of art is beautiful, just like her soul. I love you Patti.