“Focusing on key areas of your business with intention affects more than your bottom line.”
There isn’t one “right way” to create a floral design. Some days you let the flowers lead your design style – often surprising yourself with the final results – while other times you create an arrangement with a plan and intention that requires you to use your ninja-like florist mechanics to manipulate each stem to obey your will.
When it comes to floral design, one can find art and beauty in both of these approaches. “Going with the flow” may be your signature design style, or, perhaps, your expert use of color, structure and lines that almost defy gravity is what sets you apart. Either way, no one can tell you you’re wrong in your artistry.
However, when it comes to business planning, it’s important to build your business with intention – not maintaining a nonchalant “go with the flow” attitude toward what happens next. “Going with the flow” means you’re willing to accept whatever happens to you rather than controlling your path. If you’re going to reach your potential, you need to determine what path you’ll take to get there.
This is why it’s crucial to make an updated plan for your business every year and to continue to set your sights on doing “better” year after year – because “better” doesn’t just happen. You have to be intentional about what needs to get better, why you want to get better and what results you’ll create once you accomplish the work to “be better.”
Ask yourself questions like “What’s your intention in your business?” “Why do you want to be better?” and “What are you striving for?”
Here’s an example from my own business-building journey: I pick something every year that I want to do better in my business in the upcoming year. A few years ago, I set my intentions on improving my marketing and branding so that I could stop feeling like my branding didn’t match the level of quality and service I provide.
My goal was to develop the voice of my brand in a way that felt more authentic (so that I no longer felt like I was impersonating other talented wedding florists) and, ultimately, that would attract better clients. By focusing on marketing efforts, I was able to do the following.
• Identify the problem, and invest wisely. An evaluation of what it meant to “be better” at branding, made it clear that a stellar website was the No. 1 place to invest my time, money and energy.
• Find help. I knew I had a lot to learn about branding and website “stuff,” so I invested in an online business course to shorten my learning curve.
• Schedule the work. With a clear focus, I was able to prioritize the time I devoted to my website and marketing efforts.
• Get results. Through hard work, I’ve developed a voice for my brand by blogging and honing the language in my sales copy so that it speaks directly to my ideal clients and builds trust more easily. With continuous practice and maintenance, my marketing efforts reflect the level of service I provide, and this results in great bookings from clients who are eager to work with me (and that allows me to take more control over what kind of work gets me to say “yes”).
Remember: When you build your business with intention, you can control where you’re headed.
Keep doing beautiful work!
