061 – Luxe Bloom Roses Last 60 Days Without Water! with Shelly Rosen
Shelley Rosen, is Founder and CEO of Luxe Bloom, a venture-backed Chicago based start-up. Luxe Bloom delivers a transformative innovation by offering natural, long-lasting rose arrangements to luxury business operators on a subscription basis. Luxe Bloom roses do not require water or refrigeration to keep their supple beauty and last 60 days.
Shelley was an executive at McDonald’s Corp for over twelve years. She directed global strategic planning efforts in the areas of innovation, global brand strategy and issues management. She led the first ever global innovation effort for McDonald’s resulting in the launch of REDBOX, dvd vending rental; today a $1 billion company. During the obesity crisis she led and developed a new brand platform called McDonald’s Balanced Lifestyles. Today McDonald’s offers nutritional labeling and new menu items such as; salads, apples and low fat milk options as a result of this effort.
Ms. Rosen holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Michigan. She has attended Executive Development courses at Harvard University on Leadership as well Strategic Business Management Classes at the University of Chicago. Shelley is the Chair of Economics Club of Chicago Nominating Committee. She was Trustee of Columbia College for ten years in an effort to help inspire tomorrow’s creative leaders.
Motivational Quote
Business Inspiration
The origin Luxe Bloom [5:19]
The startup lifestyle of an entrepreneur [8:47]
Candle Flickering Moments
She didn’t win the Saks Fifth Avenue account … and then this happened! [21:46]
Business Building Insight
When developing a product you must have Proof of Concept [7:16] and [12:56]
Hugo Boss – the first big account [9:25]
Getting visibility in a big way for the first time [15:43]
Her two current challenges [18:51]
B2B versus B2C thoughts [21:24]
Shelley’s QVC experience [23:57]
Insightful Stories/Concepts
Fake it til you make it with the Waldorf Historia [10:29]
Eat the broccoli on your plate first [27:59]
A Bamboo Forest [30:50]
Success Trait
Hear Shelley explain her belligerent perseverance [25:31]
Productivity/Lifestyle Tool
For Shelley it’s the traditional pencil and paper to make her list of tasks for each day. [27:21]
Contact Links
If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue
Transcript
Gift biz unwrapped episode 61,
Speaker:You cannot give up.
Speaker:You can never give up because it's your dream.
Speaker:And you're the one that's going to have to make it
Speaker:a reality.
Speaker:This is John Lee,
Speaker:Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to the gift of biz unwrapped.
Speaker:And now it's time to light it up.
Speaker:Welcome to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop
Speaker:and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host,
Speaker:Sue Monheit hi there and welcome to the gift Unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Whether you own a brick and mortar shop sell online or
Speaker:are just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your
Speaker:business. And today I am thrilled to have joining us.
Speaker:Shelly Rosen.
Speaker:Shelly is the founder and CEO of Luxe bloom,
Speaker:which is a venture backed Chicago based startup Lux.
Speaker:Bloom delivers transformative innovation by offering natural long lasting Rose arrangements
Speaker:to luxury business operators on a subscription basis.
Speaker:Luxe bloom roses do not require water or refrigeration to keep
Speaker:their subtle beauty.
Speaker:And they last 60 days,
Speaker:Shelly was an executive director at McDonald's corporation for over 12
Speaker:years there.
Speaker:She directed global strategic planning efforts in the areas of innovation,
Speaker:global brand strategy and issues management.
Speaker:Thanks for joining us,
Speaker:Shelley and welcome to the show.
Speaker:Thank you so great to be here.
Speaker:Is there anything else you think we should add to your
Speaker:intro? Well,
Speaker:I guess we could just tell everybody out there that it's
Speaker:never too late to be a late blooming entrepreneur.
Speaker:So my introduction that you gave was the first part of
Speaker:my life.
Speaker:Now this is the second part,
Speaker:the plan B part,
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:I am so excited to get into this whole story and
Speaker:I want everybody who is not listening on audio,
Speaker:but anywhere near your computer or when you get to your
Speaker:computer later,
Speaker:you have to look at the product that Shelly has.
Speaker:These roses are on believable,
Speaker:and you're going to hear the whole story right now as
Speaker:we get started.
Speaker:But absolutely definitely when you can,
Speaker:you've got to see this product.
Speaker:It is,
Speaker:you can't really explain it until you see it.
Speaker:That's what I have to say about that.
Speaker:You're right.
Speaker:Sue. You're absolutely right.
Speaker:Seeing is believing.
Speaker:Exactly. So I want to start,
Speaker:and as our listeners know,
Speaker:we like to get a little bit of an indirect feel
Speaker:from you by talking about a motivational candle.
Speaker:If you were to create your very own candle,
Speaker:what color would it be and what would be the quote
Speaker:on that candle?
Speaker:Well, I know for sure my favorite color is red because
Speaker:it's a color of passion and insight and it does so
Speaker:happen to be the top selling Rose color in the world
Speaker:by far Because it's the color of love,
Speaker:right? Red is the color of love.
Speaker:It is a romance color for sure.
Speaker:The top selling Rose color worldwide by 70% of all Rosales
Speaker:is rep.
Speaker:So that's kind of a fun little fact.
Speaker:And I think the word passion is sort of the link
Speaker:to the quote and sort of the idea.
Speaker:And I actually had this hanging on my bedroom door in
Speaker:high school,
Speaker:and I've never really found a quote that beats this quote.
Speaker:And it says winners never quit and quitters never win.
Speaker:And the idea behind this quote is you got to get
Speaker:in the game and you got to go the distance and
Speaker:have the stamina because in the end,
Speaker:if you place enough bets,
Speaker:you're bound to be a winner.
Speaker:So this guides me in my personal and professional life and
Speaker:with my friends and all sorts of things,
Speaker:because especially being an entrepreneur,
Speaker:you cannot give up,
Speaker:you can never give up because it's your dream and you're
Speaker:the one that's going to have to make it a reality,
Speaker:Right? And when you hit obstacles,
Speaker:you just figure out a way around them,
Speaker:over them,
Speaker:under them,
Speaker:through them,
Speaker:whatever you need to do Through that wall.
Speaker:Sue. Absolutely.
Speaker:We were talking before in our pre-chat,
Speaker:if we were going to share with the audience that we
Speaker:know each other,
Speaker:and I've just decided since you brought up where this quote
Speaker:came from Shelly and I have known each other since high
Speaker:school and lost touch,
Speaker:we really haven't talked for a while except at reunions,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:And we were actually pretty close,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:on and off during high school,
Speaker:actually. Right.
Speaker:And so now we have reestablished our connection and I don't
Speaker:remember that quote,
Speaker:hanging on your door,
Speaker:Shelly. But what I remember about your bedroom is you're super
Speaker:cool up to date furniture.
Speaker:Do you guys remember that modular kind of geometric shaped furniture?
Speaker:Shelly had the latest and the greatest and my bedroom was
Speaker:the old traditional stuff.
Speaker:And I was always so jealous.
Speaker:I just had to throw that in there.
Speaker:So now getting back on topic,
Speaker:I don't know the whole story about the roses.
Speaker:I kind of know from an outside perspective.
Speaker:So I'm going to hear this along with you guys,
Speaker:but I will tell you she is one rock star,
Speaker:not only when she was with McDonald's,
Speaker:but in providing this product.
Speaker:So we are going to carry on here.
Speaker:So let's talk Shelly.
Speaker:Now about Luxe bloom.
Speaker:How in the world did you get this idea of creating
Speaker:a Rose like this?
Speaker:Where did that come from?
Speaker:No, actually I'm going to be real honest.
Speaker:I did not invent the idea of preserving the Rose.
Speaker:The Egyptians 3000 plus years ago,
Speaker:invented preserving with the technique of involving using sugar water and
Speaker:many, many years ago,
Speaker:actually in Japan,
Speaker:a man took the idea of involving which is glycerin water
Speaker:and began to apply it to flowers.
Speaker:So in a market like Japan,
Speaker:the idea of preserving flowers is very much part of the
Speaker:culture where I got the idea for the actual business,
Speaker:because it's virtually unknown in the U S is that was
Speaker:doing some consulting for a company that has what's called a
Speaker:subscription-based business model,
Speaker:which for those of you out there,
Speaker:basically what that means is you pay someone something every month
Speaker:to get that product,
Speaker:Netflix, your garbage removal.
Speaker:Anyway, it's a monthly fee.
Speaker:And in 2009 and 10,
Speaker:I was noticing that the luxury industry was going through a
Speaker:big dramatic downside,
Speaker:no more chocolates on the pillow.
Speaker:The floral industry is shrinking at this time,
Speaker:florists are closing,
Speaker:but yet luxury brands still need to put that last detail
Speaker:to the finish.
Speaker:It's a really long story.
Speaker:How I saw the product and London and worked really hard
Speaker:to try to find well,
Speaker:where do I get it?
Speaker:Because it was not available in America.
Speaker:And I found through some actual connections through McDonald's Ecuador,
Speaker:a farm in Ecuador who made this product.
Speaker:And we began a relationship.
Speaker:It's the only woman owned farm in the entire country of
Speaker:700 Rose farmers.
Speaker:And she was working on this technology.
Speaker:I smashed together the subscription-based business model,
Speaker:which is a winning business model with the idea of providing
Speaker:luxury businesses,
Speaker:Rose arrangements on a recurring basis.
Speaker:And finally,
Speaker:what I want to say about it is in the early
Speaker:stage of a company,
Speaker:when you have an idea,
Speaker:you need to get the proof of concept.
Speaker:You have to vet the idea to see if your promise
Speaker:is there.
Speaker:But I urge all of you out there to make sure
Speaker:that you have a sound business model because you might be
Speaker:able to execute it.
Speaker:But if the financials don't make sense,
Speaker:it's not a good venture.
Speaker:So by combining that with my background at McDonald's and learning
Speaker:about predictability and consistency and creating quality experiences,
Speaker:we've smashed all that together to deliver recurring Rose arrangements,
Speaker:to leading luxury businesses without compromising the beauty that a luxury
Speaker:business demands.
Speaker:Wow. That's a lot of experience and knowledge in a few
Speaker:minutes here.
Speaker:Okay. I want to back it up.
Speaker:And I,
Speaker:again, we see this all the time,
Speaker:give biz listeners,
Speaker:it's watching your environment around you identifying an area where there's
Speaker:a hole,
Speaker:there's a need something's missing.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:during the time that Shelly's talking about people were cutting back
Speaker:on budget,
Speaker:why would you think even luxury facilities are going to start
Speaker:buying something bigger,
Speaker:better, more beautiful,
Speaker:but Shelly found the way and the system and the foothold
Speaker:in, if you will.
Speaker:The other thing now,
Speaker:Shelly, I want you to share with everybody so they understand
Speaker:how businesses have to start.
Speaker:Where were you conducting your business when you were first starting?
Speaker:Well, I was starting in the basement.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:Exactly what I wanted you to tell that I literally took
Speaker:the basement and created a little office and a Rose room
Speaker:area. And my first employee was a floral designer.
Speaker:We took one of the back bedrooms and turned it into
Speaker:her working studio,
Speaker:where the roses were stored and the basis and a little
Speaker:production area.
Speaker:And we would cart the Rose arrangements in and out of
Speaker:the house until the ups and FedEx guys were starting to
Speaker:come every day for pickups.
Speaker:And we basically made it a working office and people would
Speaker:come visit us and we'd have fun lunches cause I had
Speaker:the kitchen,
Speaker:but we made do until we ended up winning the Hugo
Speaker:boss, the count for Christmas of 2013.
Speaker:At that time,
Speaker:we would have had to order five to 6,000
Speaker:rows heads and make 400 rows arrangements to ship to 50
Speaker:Hugo boss stores from Hawaii to Boston.
Speaker:And I was saying to myself,
Speaker:okay, I could move all the furniture out of my living
Speaker:room and like move everything out of my house because I'd
Speaker:have to do that in order to have made this order.
Speaker:So we decided to start looking for space and luckily found
Speaker:a warehouse that had been unoccupied from a former place.
Speaker:And we moved in to the warehouse September,
Speaker:2013, the roses import arrived in October and we made our
Speaker:first huge,
Speaker:huge shipment just in time from the basement to,
Speaker:to get us a particular order out with big pallets and
Speaker:lots of shipping and lots of people helping pull this together.
Speaker:Wow. Were you freaking out when you said yes and agreed
Speaker:to do this job?
Speaker:Well, I think this is part of the,
Speaker:a little bit of the advice.
Speaker:One of the fun stories is my first account was the
Speaker:Waldorf Astoria in New York city,
Speaker:which is one of the most prestigious hotels in America.
Speaker:It's the entire city block of fifth Avenue and 50th presidents
Speaker:at diplomat stay there.
Speaker:And I ended up calling on them.
Speaker:The particular client was showing me the various floral arrangements and
Speaker:they kept saying,
Speaker:well, can you make this,
Speaker:can you make this?
Speaker:And I kept saying yes to her,
Speaker:but on the inside,
Speaker:I was like,
Speaker:I have no idea how I would do it.
Speaker:So I do think there's a little bit of faking it
Speaker:till you make it and having the belief in yourself that
Speaker:you're going to figure it out.
Speaker:Whether that means engaging someone else asking for advice or being
Speaker:honest with the client and saying,
Speaker:okay, I can't make exactly this,
Speaker:but here's what I can do.
Speaker:And so in the Hugo boss situation,
Speaker:once we had already said,
Speaker:we were at the Waldorf and at the Carlyle in New
Speaker:York, they're like,
Speaker:Oh, okay,
Speaker:well then this is a valid term.
Speaker:But in that case,
Speaker:I had never shipped that many Rose arrangements with such high
Speaker:pressure because they were on display for the holidays and our
Speaker:very fancy boutique.
Speaker:So faking it till you make it.
Speaker:And then having the confidence to ask yourself what questions don't
Speaker:I have answered so that I can pull in the right
Speaker:resources to get the job done.
Speaker:And I think that's the point.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:there's two things here.
Speaker:Number one is you,
Speaker:when you're presented with these opportunities,
Speaker:even though you're so anxious,
Speaker:grab them because you don't know if they're going to come
Speaker:again and then figure out and be resourceful and call in
Speaker:experts who know whatever you need to do to get the
Speaker:job done then,
Speaker:but don't pass anything up just because you're a little anxious
Speaker:or you don't have the total plan yet big point because
Speaker:a lot of people,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:especially entrepreneurs who are just starting,
Speaker:there's always the,
Speaker:okay, well,
Speaker:but, or maybe I'll do this,
Speaker:but I mean,
Speaker:how many people do you hear who think they're going to
Speaker:start a business and then they're talking about it forever,
Speaker:or they're going to write that book.
Speaker:Look what Shelley did.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:she had some high power.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:had you not performed challis,
Speaker:those are big time names that your reputation you would have
Speaker:been in trouble.
Speaker:So it was either going to go really,
Speaker:really well or really not.
Speaker:Well for you,
Speaker:you grabbed on said you were going to do it and
Speaker:look at where you are now.
Speaker:Great insight.
Speaker:Alright. You and I have both been in the marketing advertising
Speaker:world. Share with everybody a little bit about what you're talking
Speaker:about when you say proof of concept.
Speaker:Okay? So in the early stages of a business,
Speaker:you have some idea on a piece of paper,
Speaker:or you may have written a business plan,
Speaker:but you got to prove it,
Speaker:execute it.
Speaker:You've gotta be able to make money on it.
Speaker:You have to deliver on a promise that you're making to
Speaker:your potential customer.
Speaker:So in my case,
Speaker:the proof of concept was one,
Speaker:does anyone even want to buy this?
Speaker:Cause they don't even know about it.
Speaker:No one's ever heard of preserved roses.
Speaker:Two, can I successfully import it from a foreign country having
Speaker:never done that?
Speaker:Sorry, can I make a Rose arrangement?
Speaker:That is something someone would buy because it doesn't work like
Speaker:real flowers.
Speaker:We glue it in and we use wire.
Speaker:It's all constructed.
Speaker:And three,
Speaker:most importantly,
Speaker:can I ship it from my office to the front lobby
Speaker:of the St Regis hotel without any incidents.
Speaker:And this is critical because every single detail matters when you're
Speaker:serving a luxury business and you can't just promise quality,
Speaker:you have to exceed and out,
Speaker:execute on a quality.
Speaker:So we did drop test shipping with federal express.
Speaker:The FedEx guys were sitting in my kitchen table,
Speaker:like, who is this person?
Speaker:And why are we here?
Speaker:This must not be a real business.
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:please trust me.
Speaker:And please work with me because I want to work with
Speaker:leading suppliers.
Speaker:And they did.
Speaker:And so they dropped tests,
Speaker:shifted from Memphis and do the shake,
Speaker:the gorilla and do everything that they do to a package
Speaker:to make sure that it works.
Speaker:And I would say 98% of the time we get it
Speaker:to the front door without any issues back to the question
Speaker:is I decided what proof of concept would be for actually
Speaker:the concept.
Speaker:The final aspect of proof of concept is,
Speaker:is it a viable business?
Speaker:So yeah,
Speaker:I made the rosary arrangement.
Speaker:I know what my margins are on the product,
Speaker:but is there a,
Speaker:there, there is what you're trying to invent marketable.
Speaker:And does someone want to pay what you would like to
Speaker:sell the product for?
Speaker:This is key because a lot of people have ideas and
Speaker:they can't execute them,
Speaker:or a lot of people can execute,
Speaker:but they don't make money on it.
Speaker:It's the combination and the gestalt of everything to get to
Speaker:proof of concept.
Speaker:So we definitely have proof of concept with credit worthy customers
Speaker:and super luxurious brands that say yes to Luxe bloom.
Speaker:So did you go and present the idea to people first
Speaker:just to see,
Speaker:or how did you get to the point,
Speaker:not the product portion,
Speaker:but that people would actually purchase it.
Speaker:What type of steps did you take to make sure and
Speaker:to ensure proof of concept for Luxe bloom?
Speaker:First, I had to get my import brokers license to conduct
Speaker:my first import from a foreign country.
Speaker:You have to get cleared through Homeland security and a lot
Speaker:of events to be a broker.
Speaker:A lot of people may say,
Speaker:Oh yeah,
Speaker:get your license.
Speaker:You can,
Speaker:it just takes a little bit of time.
Speaker:And then working out the details with cargo and logistics.
Speaker:So we got our first import and I decided to make
Speaker:so samples at my cross fly to New York and attended
Speaker:meeting called the luxury marketing meeting,
Speaker:which isn't really a marketing group.
Speaker:It's just a group of luxury brands in New York.
Speaker:And I had asked the man that runs the group,
Speaker:if I could give some samples of my product to some
Speaker:people to try.
Speaker:And so I made some samples with a little brochure and
Speaker:I had given it to people like 20 people.
Speaker:And one of them was the person at the Waldorf Astoria.
Speaker:And essentially she took it.
Speaker:And the next day I was still in New York.
Speaker:And I see on my cell phone,
Speaker:the number of the Waldorf,
Speaker:the story it comes up and she explains who she is.
Speaker:And she says,
Speaker:I have to say,
Speaker:I just took your Rose apart.
Speaker:I got a sample at this party last night,
Speaker:I took it apart,
Speaker:is this real?
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:it is.
Speaker:And she said,
Speaker:well, where's the water?
Speaker:And I explained the process.
Speaker:And she said,
Speaker:well, do you mind coming over?
Speaker:Because our floral budget is literally crushing my operating P and
Speaker:L, but we have to have flowers.
Speaker:So I came over and this is where the fake it
Speaker:till you make it comes through.
Speaker:She took me on a tour and kept asking me,
Speaker:can you make this,
Speaker:can you make this,
Speaker:can you make this?
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:well, I know I can make these things.
Speaker:I can try to make these things.
Speaker:And she said,
Speaker:well, I'll give you a chance.
Speaker:And if it works and you do save me money,
Speaker:I will convert the buy from the super fancy florist in
Speaker:New York city to you.
Speaker:We did it.
Speaker:I literally was on the floor in the tanning salon,
Speaker:gluing the roses into the base.
Speaker:Cause I didn't know how to ship it yet.
Speaker:And we did the installation and it's three years and we've
Speaker:never looked back.
Speaker:She was my first client.
Speaker:She believed in me.
Speaker:I knew that I would do whatever it took to execute
Speaker:this to the last detail,
Speaker:including if something happened,
Speaker:I would fly back and fix it,
Speaker:which a local Flores could have just come over.
Speaker:And according to her,
Speaker:we are saving 56% of her operating costs on floral without
Speaker:compromising beauty in one of the most luxurious hotels in the
Speaker:country. Wow.
Speaker:And I wouldn't even say without compromising beauty,
Speaker:I would say enhanced beauty because the,
Speaker:and the style of the roses,
Speaker:they all look perfect and the colors pop.
Speaker:So I get shivers when I listened to that story,
Speaker:challis, that is Awesome.
Speaker:So proof of concept,
Speaker:you guys,
Speaker:this was a perfect demonstration.
Speaker:When you listen to what Shelly was saying,
Speaker:she has the end result she has to get to,
Speaker:and then she backed it up step by step.
Speaker:She identified what she needed to do.
Speaker:She listed the different steps she had to take.
Speaker:Then she was testing.
Speaker:Then she revised to make sure that the product was right.
Speaker:So that was all on product production side.
Speaker:Then she had to make sure there was a market for
Speaker:it. And what did she do?
Speaker:She got herself in front of people,
Speaker:provided product,
Speaker:gave them the experience and you landed a big one right
Speaker:from the start.
Speaker:And you haven't looked back.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:Give us another time.
Speaker:This all sounds beautiful.
Speaker:The story's great.
Speaker:You have presented us with some challenges.
Speaker:Is there another roadblock,
Speaker:a really big barrier that came right in front of you
Speaker:that you just weren't sure you were going to be able
Speaker:to overcome.
Speaker:There's two big barriers to the growth of my company.
Speaker:One is securing capital and the other is human capital and
Speaker:great talent and labor that can do what we do and
Speaker:has our work ethic and standards and quality.
Speaker:So the first with regard to capital naively,
Speaker:I thought that I would be able to drive enough sales
Speaker:myself, to operate the company.
Speaker:But as you know,
Speaker:when you move out of your basement,
Speaker:now you pay rent insurance,
Speaker:all sorts of extra costs.
Speaker:You have a monthly burn rate while we've kept the burn
Speaker:rate, low of the operating costs of the company.
Speaker:We still need to capitalize the company by hiring more great
Speaker:people. And I have to say many have tried,
Speaker:and nobody has really been able to sell the Luxe bloom
Speaker:promise, which is a barrier to my growth.
Speaker:So those two things could impede me getting to be a
Speaker:really big company.
Speaker:We compete for capital all the time.
Speaker:We are in what we call the shark tank pitches in
Speaker:Chicago. We're big in the venture community.
Speaker:These pitches work like shark tank.
Speaker:You go in,
Speaker:you get 10 minutes to talk about your value proposition,
Speaker:your finances,
Speaker:there's investors in the room at the end,
Speaker:they say yes or no,
Speaker:and we've done hundreds of them,
Speaker:but we're competing in Chicago for capital in technology.
Speaker:And right now technology and healthcare investors are more interested in
Speaker:those kinds of businesses that what I'd call a product-based cost
Speaker:of goods business.
Speaker:But yet,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:continue to try in terms of hiring people.
Speaker:I have to say,
Speaker:we use many sources on the internet.
Speaker:I was just on the phone with a recruiter.
Speaker:I think in the early years of my life,
Speaker:you had a job and you had to do that job.
Speaker:And if you stepped in someone else's sandbox,
Speaker:you'd be in trouble in the entrepreneur world.
Speaker:Many of you know,
Speaker:you have to do many jobs,
Speaker:sort of hub and spoke.
Speaker:So we look for people that have one outstanding skill,
Speaker:but have the ability to possibly do other things.
Speaker:Because an entrepreneur business cannot afford to hire one to do
Speaker:each job.
Speaker:This is one the barrier girls,
Speaker:but we continue to believe that if we become a brand
Speaker:to watch that people will want to join our company and
Speaker:want to be part of something that is really innovative and
Speaker:solving some problems.
Speaker:Wonderful. I love the point where you're talking about in terms
Speaker:of hiring,
Speaker:you're hiring for one really huge strength,
Speaker:but then the ability to take on other tasks as well.
Speaker:That's great insight,
Speaker:something for all of us to think about and remember for
Speaker:our businesses moving on.
Speaker:I know you've recently been on QVC,
Speaker:what types of things,
Speaker:and maybe it is that,
Speaker:but what types of things do you find move the needle
Speaker:the most for you?
Speaker:There's two aspects of our business,
Speaker:B2B business to business and B to C business to the
Speaker:consumer. We've held off on the consumer aspect because consumers,
Speaker:when it comes to flowers,
Speaker:have very specific requests and a consumer is buying one flower
Speaker:arrangement and a business is buying cases and cases and cases
Speaker:of flowers.
Speaker:So our focus has been on businesses,
Speaker:but we are in pilots for the consumer in terms of
Speaker:things that have made a difference for us in terms of
Speaker:sales, we had been pitching Saks fifth Avenue of New York
Speaker:city because they have beautiful window displays.
Speaker:And we always thought,
Speaker:well, maybe we could just sell them Rose heads.
Speaker:And they could do something on their own after months and
Speaker:months and months of pitching.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:months, the sex with Avenue team wrote us a letter in
Speaker:December of 2014 and said,
Speaker:I'm sorry.
Speaker:We really like your product,
Speaker:but we're going in another direction.
Speaker:But keep in touch with us.
Speaker:Christmas comes and goes.
Speaker:And whatever idea they wanted to do was not able to
Speaker:be executed.
Speaker:So at the last minute they called us back a month
Speaker:later and said,
Speaker:we'd like to award you the entire Saks fifth Avenue assignment.
Speaker:It's a hundred thousand roses in 33 windows on fifth Avenue,
Speaker:49th and 50th.
Speaker:And after I fell off my chair,
Speaker:what, what month was that?
Speaker:That was January,
Speaker:2015. And the windows had to be up the last week
Speaker:of April.
Speaker:Now, remember I have a product from God,
Speaker:God grows the roses.
Speaker:This is not made in a factory in China.
Speaker:So my first call was to the farmer and I explained
Speaker:the situation and really worked hard on a partnership to say,
Speaker:we must supply this assignment and not only supply it,
Speaker:but Sachs asked us to make it.
Speaker:So we worked with Chanel,
Speaker:Dior, Tom Ford,
Speaker:all the leading brands on their designs.
Speaker:And we literally glued in all the windows,
Speaker:have sex with Ave.
Speaker:And we did it in 11 days,
Speaker:tirelessly from 5:00 AM to midnight gluing in the roses and
Speaker:making the designs.
Speaker:If you go to Luxe balloon.com
Speaker:under the gallery section,
Speaker:you'll be able to see what we did in this show,
Speaker:stopping window,
Speaker:after window display.
Speaker:And this particular promotion got attention from NBC today's show,
Speaker:which is across the street from Sachs.
Speaker:Many people had called going,
Speaker:Oh my God,
Speaker:how did you make a wedding dress out of roses?
Speaker:You have to see it to believe it.
Speaker:So it changed us from being,
Speaker:yes, we can do it to being on the stage of
Speaker:flawless execution for one of the most leading luxurious brands in
Speaker:the country.
Speaker:And that made a real difference from our B2B business.
Speaker:Finally, at QVC,
Speaker:the QVC scout was watching the today show and sauce and
Speaker:thought, Oh my God,
Speaker:these roses are so colorful.
Speaker:The lady at home is going to want to have these
Speaker:colors. QVC,
Speaker:viewers love things that have colors products with colors and after
Speaker:much vetting and many meetings,
Speaker:this world-class company called QVC.
Speaker:We had gone to see if we could even do it.
Speaker:I didn't know how to do it,
Speaker:fake it till you make it and went down there.
Speaker:And it's a very long story.
Speaker:It's a story in and of itself,
Speaker:but we were on air April 5th and I'm back on
Speaker:air this week,
Speaker:May 17th with a special collection,
Speaker:we call the teacup collection designed exclusively for the lady at
Speaker:QVC. So we now have two really big case.
Speaker:History is B2B and B to C and a lot of
Speaker:learning ahead of us to decide what is the right direction
Speaker:to go forward.
Speaker:And possibly both impossibly both with enough capital to hire the
Speaker:right people,
Speaker:to do it Right.
Speaker:Well, I encourage all of you.
Speaker:You've got to go online and see those pictures.
Speaker:I remember when that was happening,
Speaker:Shelly, because everyone in high school was like,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:you see these windows,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:our whole high school,
Speaker:Facebook page is like Charlotte.
Speaker:Yeah, you've got to see it.
Speaker:You guys,
Speaker:you just,
Speaker:you don't understand it until you actually see it.
Speaker:I was saying that at the top of the show,
Speaker:all right,
Speaker:Shelly, we're going to move now into our reflection section.
Speaker:This is a look at you.
Speaker:And what has made you successful along the way over and
Speaker:above even everything that you've already talked to us about,
Speaker:what natural trait do you have that you continually call upon
Speaker:so that you are successful Is one thing.
Speaker:And it's kind of related to the quote,
Speaker:but it is what I call belligerent.
Speaker:Perseverance being perseverant is one thing,
Speaker:but being belligerent,
Speaker:not to others,
Speaker:but about yourself.
Speaker:And your goal is sort of the only way that you
Speaker:can make things happen.
Speaker:It's a very competitive world.
Speaker:And right now the economy,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the workforce has changed.
Speaker:The internet has changed things in an order to achieve your
Speaker:dream. You have to pursue with a rigor and a belligerence
Speaker:that can get you to that end zone that can get
Speaker:you through break you through the clutter.
Speaker:And I liken that to combining belligerent perseverance with making sure
Speaker:that you're delivering quality experiences for the price.
Speaker:The customer pays going over the top and delivering that with
Speaker:attention to what if you were the customer I'm right now
Speaker:in the middle of emailing a customer and we just want
Speaker:a cruise ship and they're trying to find the order because
Speaker:the ship is sailing.
Speaker:So I'm looking at my screen thinking,
Speaker:Oh my God,
Speaker:the FedEx guy got there on time and the boat's leaving
Speaker:and they can't find the package.
Speaker:I have to make sure that I am obsessed with the
Speaker:last mile every day on every detail.
Speaker:So that carries into my business.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Well, good luck with that.
Speaker:But that's what has made you successful,
Speaker:first of all,
Speaker:in the development of the product,
Speaker:like we were talking about your listing,
Speaker:everything that needs to be done every step along the way,
Speaker:I'm quite sure you have all of those processes and systems
Speaker:throughout your whole organization,
Speaker:just to make sure that everything is checked off and done
Speaker:to the utmost gold standard level.
Speaker:That's possible along those lines,
Speaker:what type of tool,
Speaker:if there was one thing that you use regularly,
Speaker:almost every single day that you would share as your most
Speaker:valuable tool in business,
Speaker:what would it be?
Speaker:I'm so glad you asked this because I just was talking
Speaker:to someone about it.
Speaker:I use a piece of paper,
Speaker:literally with lines on it and a pencil.
Speaker:And every night before I leave the office or go to,
Speaker:I make the to-do list for the next day.
Speaker:And the master to do was I tried to everything.
Speaker:I tried final faxes notes and outlook computer programs.
Speaker:It doesn't work.
Speaker:I literally focus on a and B priorities.
Speaker:I always eat the broccoli on the plate.
Speaker:First. I do the worst thing that I have to do.
Speaker:First. I get to work very early.
Speaker:I don't wait till seven o'clock to start working on the
Speaker:finances assistance.
Speaker:That's not a good idea.
Speaker:So eat the broccoli on the plate first.
Speaker:And I obsess about the to-do list.
Speaker:Not because I like to cross things off,
Speaker:but I can't be belligerently perseverance to move these rocks every
Speaker:day, unless I'm moving the business.
Speaker:So it's simple,
Speaker:it's fear free.
Speaker:You can get a pad of paper at office Depot.
Speaker:And I stick to the list because I know every day
Speaker:I'm going to be interrupted for sure in an operating business.
Speaker:But if I don't have the list and I don't really
Speaker:know what I have to achieve Super simple,
Speaker:everybody can do it.
Speaker:It's the pencil and paper.
Speaker:And I know you didn't say pen,
Speaker:you said pencil,
Speaker:pencil. It's the pencil and paper,
Speaker:but it's what you do with those.
Speaker:And I love that.
Speaker:Shelley, you eat the broccoli on the plate first.
Speaker:I'm stealing it.
Speaker:I'm using it.
Speaker:Okay. All right.
Speaker:And in terms of books,
Speaker:have you listened or read any books lately that you would
Speaker:like to share with our audience?
Speaker:Sadly, not even close.
Speaker:I work about 15 to 17 hour days,
Speaker:so there's no books,
Speaker:but I am on my way to Japan on Saturday.
Speaker:And it's a 22 hour flight.
Speaker:So I'm hoping to find something to read.
Speaker:And if any of your listeners have any ideas of something
Speaker:that would be inspiring,
Speaker:I'm open.
Speaker:I will send you over an email with a number of
Speaker:books that I think are fabulous.
Speaker:How about that?
Speaker:Great. Thank you,
Speaker:sir. You're welcome.
Speaker:And give biz listeners,
Speaker:as you know,
Speaker:on all of our show notes pages,
Speaker:we always recommend all of the books that our guests suggest.
Speaker:And just as you're listening to the podcast today,
Speaker:you can also listen to audio books while you're walking your
Speaker:dog, doing laundry,
Speaker:whatever it might be.
Speaker:I've teamed up with audible and you can get a free
Speaker:audio. Just go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make a selection.
Speaker:And an audio book is on me.
Speaker:How about that?
Speaker:Even for you,
Speaker:Shelly. Wow.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Now I would like to invite you to dare to dream.
Speaker:I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:So this would be your dream or your goal of almost
Speaker:unreachable Heights that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift from all of us and open it
Speaker:in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside your box?
Speaker:Okay. I love this question.
Speaker:Oh my God.
Speaker:It's like a fairy godmother.
Speaker:The first is investment capital.
Speaker:I need to capitalize this company to grow.
Speaker:So the gift would be a really wonderful investor who believes
Speaker:in Luxe bloom and the promise that we're delivering and wants
Speaker:to be an angel and helping us make our vision a
Speaker:reality on a broader scale.
Speaker:The second would be I talk a lot about luck because
Speaker:I don't believe in luck.
Speaker:The way that I think people get lucky is by planting
Speaker:seeds. Thousands of seeds.
Speaker:I tell the story a lot is if you read anything
Speaker:about how a bamboo forest,
Speaker:where I was in Asia,
Speaker:you have to plant the seeds in year one,
Speaker:nothing happens year two,
Speaker:nothing happened.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:nothing, not a bud,
Speaker:nothing. And then one day overnight in 48 hours,
Speaker:an entire bamboo forest appears out of nowhere.
Speaker:It's a miracle.
Speaker:Actually. I've been planning bamboo seeds now for three years and
Speaker:I am seeking to create our bamboo forest with qualified leads,
Speaker:wonderfully happy clients and happy consumers.
Speaker:So I think the second thing in the box would be
Speaker:seeds to plant more bamboo for us for lots of will.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:And I think what you're talking about with the bamboo seeds
Speaker:is so powerful because as entrepreneurs you go places,
Speaker:you never know what seed you drop along the way is
Speaker:going to be the one that's just going to blow everything
Speaker:out of the water.
Speaker:So that's a great analogy as well,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Give biz listeners go over to the show notes page.
Speaker:I'm going to have all of Shelly's social media sites,
Speaker:the website.
Speaker:I want you guys to go and take a look at
Speaker:this product.
Speaker:It is unbelievable.
Speaker:I've said that a million times,
Speaker:but that's because I don't lie to you.
Speaker:It is.
Speaker:And we're going to continue watching you Shelly,
Speaker:on your journey and what happens.
Speaker:And there is no question in my mind that those bamboo
Speaker:seeds, all of a sudden are going to be turning into
Speaker:this wild,
Speaker:big floral forest.
Speaker:In your case,
Speaker:on behalf of all our listeners,
Speaker:we wish you all the best,
Speaker:good luck travel safely to Japan this weekend.
Speaker:And we will definitely be following you,
Speaker:go onto QVC.
Speaker:Next time when she's doing the teacup roses,
Speaker:we all need to get our own,
Speaker:of course.
Speaker:And may your candle.
Speaker:Shelly always burned bright.
Speaker:Sue. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker:Thank you so much and good.
Speaker:Everybody Keeps supporting Each other and all good things will happen.
Speaker:Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your business.
Speaker:Download our guide called twenty-five free tools to enhance your business
Speaker:and life.
Speaker:It's our gift to you and available at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrap.com/tools. Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for
Speaker:the next episode.
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