You Can Lead in Your Local Floral and Event Community: Here’s How
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In uncertainty, it’s easy to curl up in your safe-haven and shut out the things that are making life unsettled. You’ll likely find yourself experiencing a slew of emotions: anxiety, nervousness, loneliness, frustration, bitterness, hurt—the list could go on and on. The questions are endless. Where do I get flowers? Do I keep my shop open? What if I have events canceled? Where can I send those flowers? How will I pay my staff? Should I look at other revenue streams?
This is really important, so listen up:
You are not alone.
The floral and event industry is vast! From wholesalers and farmers to venues and planners (and everything in between), there are so many professionals who can rally together when things are tough. But you have the responsibility to put yourself out there and walk this life of business with others, one step at a time. You might even need to take the lead. Don’t be afraid! You don’t need to have all of the answers or a lot of knowledge and experience. All you need to be is available and open.
4 Things You Can Do to Unite Your Local Floral and Event Community
We’ll talk through four ways you can lead in uniting your floral and event community—but we’d love to hear your ideas, too (join us over on Instagram or the Team Flower Community). Unifying in solidarity and teamwork is a powerful way to find hope in times of uncertainty.
Send some snail mail.
Create a Facebook group.
Host an online Google Meet.
Organize a Flower Drop.
We’ll discuss these ideas in depth below!
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1. Send Some Snail Mail
How many times have you gone to your mailbox and been upset or disappointed that you received an unexpected letter? Never, right?
Technology is a beautiful thing and is such a great tool to stay connected. But it’s not the only way! You’d be hard-pressed to beat the heartwarming feeling that occurs when someone receives a handwritten letter. Take a moment to gather the addresses of your local flower friends—especially those you know who are having a difficult time. Then write them a little note! It doesn’t have to be a storybook, and you don’t have to have perfect handwriting or grammar. Just a simple, I’m thinking of you—I’m here for you will go a long way.
2. Create a Facebook Group
Social media is an excellent tool for connecting with people. It’s arguably one of the best ways to communicate together as a large group quickly. You can create a Facebook group for the local event vendors or just for your local flower friends—or both! It’s simple and effective, and people can be added easily.
Your community can use this Facebook group for many purposes: sharing immediate needs, chatting about recent events, asking for freelance help, etc. I’ve even seen it used to organize repurposing flowers and flower friend get-togethers. The opportunities here are endless!
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3. Host an Online Google Meet
Before you tune out and say that this sounds too difficult, let me tell you—you can do it! And I’m here to help you make it happen.
First of all, what is Google Meet? It is a free service offered by Google and is ultimately a live video meeting where you can virtually hang out with your friends (or host a meeting, of course!). We use this tool at Team Flower all the time, and we love it!
How Google Meet Works
Log into your Gmail account. (If you don’t have one, you can learn how to create a Google account here!)
Find your Google apps (in the top right corner) and choose the one that says “Meet.”
Then, click “Join or Start a Meeting.”
You’ll see a link that you can share with your community.
Everyone who has the link will be able to join!
What to Discuss In Your Meeting
There are so many things you can talk about with your floral and event community! You can talk about sourcing, supporting one another’s work, repurposing flowers, contracts, proposals, styled shoots—you name it! Because there are so many topics you could cover, it can be helpful to have an agenda prepared beforehand with a general outline of what you’d like to discuss.
Whatever topics you choose, let your pals know ahead of time what you’ll be chatting about. Be sure to keep the conversation positive. The last thing you want is a chat full of negativity, gossip, and hopelessness! You’re working to love the world together through flowers, after all!
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4. Organize a Flower Drop
What better way to bring your floral and event community together than with flowers? Again, this can look like so many different things. Here are a couple of suggestions to get you started.
Repurpose Flowers From an Event
Whether you have lightly used flowers from an event or an abundance of flowers from a canceled event, don’t let them go to waste! Gather your flower friends and their extra flowers, and do one of the following:
Create bouquets to leave on your neighbor’s doorsteps.
Design small arrangements to drop off at your local hospital and/or nursing home.
Put together an installation (or five!) in and around your city to spread smiles and cheer to your community.
Put together a flower drive-thru:
We were incredibly inspired by the work Sweet Root Village did with their flower drive-thru idea! You can check out the write-up of the experience here.
Even if people are confined to keeping a 6 to 8 foot distance from one another, they can still purchase or grab some flowers from the safety of their cars! (Follow your local state and CDC guidance to determine what’s appropriate for your community.)
Source flowers from wherever you can find them—local and distant farms, wholesalers, events, etc.
Design, play, create!
Make it known. Use social media outlets to get the word out, and even take out an ad in your local newspaper!
Partner with a local business or charity. You can give some or all of the proceeds to support a cause.
Don’t set prices. Instead, give suggested prices. This provides consumers the option to give even more, and you’ll be surprised at how generous people will be!
Take pictures! Documenting the success of it all will not only give you all the feels, but you’ll be able to share with the community (via social and/or paper) how much of an impact all of their help made in the lives of others!
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Whether you decide to do one or all of the above, remember that if you lift your eyes when things get hard and love those around you with your whole heart, you’ll be able to lead with grace, compassion, and courage. Step out and be brave. You’ve got this!
