Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in floristry but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Angela Hall, owner of Meadow Farm Florals, located in Bentley, AB, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a local, small-scale, high-intensity cut flower farm. We offer seasonal design work for weddings and events, run a flower subscription program, offer a home-cut flower course, and run a cut-flower seeding sale every spring.
Tell us about yourself
My journey with flowers has come to serve as a connection point, not only to the natural world but to my community. Flowers are so powerful for so many people. They are nostalgic, awe-inspiring, and give people hope. Being able to help educate new growers and home gardeners and filling others' lives with flowers is a constant motivation. Working with flowers has helped me to understand the natural world in new ways, has taught me patience, forced me always to be flexible, and reminds me daily never to take this beautiful life for granted.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Truthfully, I am proud to be entering into my 5th year of business with as much momentum as I did my first. With so many businesses proving to be unsuccessful in the first five years, it feels wonderful knowing that we are still operational and consistently have returning customers each season and continue to develop new revenue streams year after year.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Wearing all the hats! Due to our scale, we are not yet (and might never be) big enough to uniquely hire for all the different roles between production, marketing, administration, research, and web design, to name a few. Juggling all the tasks can feel overwhelming at times.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't let not having all the answers prevent you from starting your business up. As a business owner, you will need to take risks from time to time. You will make mistakes, learn as you go, and fly by the seat of your pants sometimes out of necessity. If you spend your life trying to figure how to run the perfect business, you'll never actually start your business. Do your research, but be prepared to dive in and learn as you go.
- Find good help, treat them well, and hope they stick around!
- Find a community to lean on, learn from, and teach to. Running a business can sometimes feel lonely, especially if it is a one-person show. Finding others in your industry or other local entrepreneurs will give you a network and a sense of connection that you might otherwise be lacking.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.meadowflorals.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meadowfarmflorals/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meadowfarmflorals/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.