7 Simple Steps to Starting Your Floral Side Hustle
So you’re wondering how to start a floral design business, but you’re not sure if you are ready, how to get started, or whether or not you can balance it with the rest of your life. As someone whose side hustle is arranging flowers, I would love to share some tips that have worked for me as I entered into side hustle floral design work!
There are seven simple steps that I’ll be diving into in this article. To start your side hustle of floral design work, you should:
Assess your capacity. How much are you able to give to your floral side hustle?
Find your “why.” What’s your mission in working with flowers?
Make a move. Just start! This can sometimes be the hardest step.
See potential in every celebration. Look closely, and you can find floral design work in your circle.
Set aside a budget. Make some wiggle room in your finances to invest in your side hustle.
Hone your practice. Learn, grow, and develop your floral design skills.
Market yourself according to your long-term goals. Know where you want to go!
Wherever you’re headed on your floral journey, we can help you get there. Learn floral design and get free floral education sent to you instantly. Sign up today!
Decide how much floral design work you want to make room for in your side hustle
1. Assess Your Capacity for Floral Design Work
As a working parent, I’m learning to balance my floral design business among the many other roles I have as a wife, mother, friend, and coworker. I am lucky in that my day job is flexible, and I’m only in the office for 30 hours per week.
Since weddings are planned months ahead, I can schedule my work calendar accordingly. If I have a wedding on a Saturday, I purchase and prep the flowers on Wednesday morning and then go to work and spend Thursday and Friday arranging. At this point, three to six weddings and events per year is a perfect balance for my life.
As you are thinking about your capacity, keep in mind you do not have to take on a wedding every weekend to legitimize your craft. It’s okay to suggest other florists when certain opportunities conflict with priorities you have with work, family, and even rest.
While turning away clients at the beginning seems counterintuitive, it will prevent you from experiencing quick burnout and allow you to continue performing quality work. Estimate how much you can take on and let it be enough!
2. Find the Why for Your Floral Design Business
Write down a vision for why you’re stepping out in your new venture and where you want to go in your floral design business. This is vital in determining how much time and money you are going to invest in making the pursuit happen. While plans often change over time, be intentional in reflecting and talking over where you see your creative life going with a friend and write down achievable goals for yourself.
You could set a specific, measurable goal. For example: Over the next three months, you plan and budget to make six arrangements, photograph them for your portfolio, and bring them to local businesses. Casting vision for yourself will ensure that your new pursuit is life-giving both to yourself and your clients.
Take the first step as a part-time floral designer
3. Make a Move (Any Move!) in Starting a Floral Design Business
Recently I was speaking with a floral designer who has a full-time job and freelances on the side. She said the hardest part of a side hustle is often merely starting.
To start, begin arranging flowers for a few smaller events on the weekends, and then offer to do a friend’s wedding at the cost of the flowers.
After you have a couple of weddings under your belt, you’ll begin to see how feasible your floral side hustle is.
Sometimes the right time is just making the time to start in the first place. Decide you are going to put yourself out there and book that first wedding with confidence!
Ready to start on your floral journey? With our How to Become a Florist guided online course, you’ll get everything you need to take the first steps with confidence.
4. See Potential in Every Celebration
Building a client base and developing your portfolio is difficult when you’re working on how to start your floral design business. A good place to begin is with the celebrations of those you know.
Whether it is a holiday, a friend’s wedding shower, or a birthday, offer to make arrangements for these occasions. See if there is a budget for decorations and volunteer to take charge of buying and arranging the flowers.
So many of the arrangements in my portfolio are flowers I made for a friend or family member’s event! Since they care about you and your passion, I have found that friends and family are happy to not only cover the cost of flowers, but to also pay you for your work as well.
5. Set Aside a Budget for Your Business
While it might seem risky at the beginning, it is okay to make little investments in your business. If you are able, take a small percentage of your current income and dedicate it to your side business until you begin to make that money back.
Create a line item in your budget called “side hustle.” This will allow you to purchase tools, build your portfolio, and ensure you are practicing your trade—even before clients start reaching out to you.
6. Hone Your Design Practice
Why would a client choose you over someone who does floral arranging full-time? Your clients will feel more confident about their decision to go with someone who does flowers on the side if they trust that you know what you are doing, produce quality work, and fit within their aesthetic.
If you are able, volunteer for a florist on a Saturday or take an online class like those offered by Kelly at Team Flower. Taking classes, watching videos, and reading books will help you develop your skill-set and propel you toward challenging arrangements that will make you more competitive.
You do not have to break the bank to educate yourself! There are plenty of free and low-cost online resources that can help you reach new heights in your floral design business.
Share your floral design business through beautiful images of your work
7. Market Your Floral Design Business According to Your Long-Term Goals
Knowing whether you want to make your side hustle a full-time business or keep it as a freelance gig will help you determine the type of tools you need to market yourself. If you are a freelance florist, then just sticking to Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest under your name can serve your purposes well.
To up the professionalism of your marketing efforts (all from your smartphone!), check out our fast-track class on how to photograph flowers.
However, if your side hustle is or becomes a side business, you will want to purchase a domain name and a website, file an EIN, and eventually obtain your resale license. Regardless, Instagram is one of the most reliable tools for marketing yourself. If you haven’t already read the Team Flower article on hashtags, I highly recommend it.
Aside from these seven tips, I will also add one last important thing: Don’t get caught up in comparison!
While social media is a great tool, it can also make you feel like you are not enough or not okay right where you are. When you have a side hustle, sometimes things move slowly—and that is okay!
Don’t measure yourself by how many Instagram likes you get, measure yourself by the amount of purpose you feel in doing your work and how much joy you experience as a result of creating.
Vibrant Resources for the Floral Side-Hustler
Ready to learn more? Check out the powerful resources below that will help you take the next step in your journey:
Florist salary considerations: Learn how much floral designers make, florist salary considerations, and revenue-building ideas.
Learn how to become a florist: In this guided online class, you’ll learn everything you need to know to get started out on the right foot.
Maintaining a beautiful floral side-hustle: Prefer to stay part-time? This article discusses how to do so.
Your complete guide to becoming a florist: Free article guide with plenty of tips and advice from the pros!
Step-by-step floral design video tutorials: Get inspired and learn new skills—for free!
