Let’s talk about passion. It’s the next thing I think we need to consider when comparing floral designers (in case you missed point #1 – pricing – you can read that here). I think it’s seriously underrated how important passion is in life and business. But if we think back to the restaurants we used in our pricing example, my gut tells me that the master chef creating fine seafood dinners at the fine dining restaurant might have a little more passion for his craft than the fast food worker. That’s not to say that all fast food workers lack ambition and drive, their job might be a stepping stone for them – or it might just be a paycheck. Either way, there was something there that pushed the executive chef to his position, or odds are it was more than just luck.
So what is passion and why is it so important? For me, passion is what started me down this path in the first place. I eat, sleep and thrive on weddings. Flowers absolutely make me feel alive. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but I can’t make this stuff up. My spare time is spend Pinteresting bouquets, Googling new flowers and staring at wholesaler’s inventories – even when I’m not planning an event. I think about how I can add more flowers to my garden and perhaps even get myself a bit more of a green thumb, although I might be better off letting someone else do the growing. A girl can still dream. My spare dollars are spent on new clippers and flower coolers. It’s because I’m passionate about this.
I think passion is something that shines through in someone’s work. It can’t be taught. I can hardly wait to get home and put together a floral proposal after a great first meeting. I’ve emailed my brides back and forth numerous times a day swapping ideas about their weddings and dreaming up new ideas for them, even when I should probably be working on other things. And receiving a floral wholesale order is better than Christmas morning. But I’ve had brides complain to me that they’re talking with other florists who haven’t responded to them in over 2-3 weeks. Planning clients of mine have shared that they don’t feel comfortable in what they’re florist is telling them, or even if they come close to understanding their vision. This could possibly be due to a lack of passion on the other florist end.
With all this being said, you need to feel confident in your florist abilities and know that they love what they do. It’ll shine through and their work will reflect it.
