Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in floristry but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Holly Urban, owner of Flowers by Froggy's Garden, located in Kintnersville, PA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Flowers by Froggy's Garden is my creative outlet and business. We create garden-chic floral designs using premium, unique florals. We use a lot of locally grown flowers and enjoy including branches for interesting arrangements and herbs to delight the olfactory senses. My goal is to make my customers exclaim over blooms and greenery they've never seen before or thought to include in an arrangement. Not only are we a full-service florist (delivering flowers for birthdays, anniversaries, sympathy, etc.), but we are also an event florist that enjoys implementing beautiful ceremony backdrops, centerpieces, and bouquets that give the vibe and guest experience my couples are trying to achieve.
Tell us about yourself
Floral design is my second career. I've always wanted a creative career but hadn't found my medium by the time I graduated from college. So I entered the clinical trial space and led a myriad of roles from data management, project management, hands-on training, and process improvement. About ten years in, I realized I couldn't spend my entire life in the corporate setting. So I started my exploration, and after formal training, I realized that I truly enjoyed working with flowers. During the next decade, my side hustle turned into part-time corporate/part-time growing my business, to eventually being able to cut the safety net and earn a living 100% from Froggy's Garden. Certainly scary to make the leap, but I've never regretted the career transformation.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I feel like each year, I hit my biggest accomplishment from the first sale to the first wedding booked to earning Best of Weddings, pivoting numerous times to find ways to keep the business moving forward during COVID, doubling sales, and hiring employees.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
To me, the necessary business aspects are the hardest things for me to conquer and make time for - like filing assorted taxes analyzing the past month vs. previous years, navigating the employer space, actively booking events while maintaining the current pace of business. It's tough because I don't have a business partner to share those responsibilities with.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Being an entrepreneur takes bravery, persistence, resilience, patience, constant education, and planning. But don't let any of those fears (or your family's fears for you) stop you from taking the leap. Just do it smartly.
- Networking is really helpful for making industry connections, marketing, and learning. I'm an introvert that prefers reading a book with a cat on my lap or listening to a podcast while I design. But when I do stick my neck out and participate in meetings or collaborate in a photoshoot, my effort pushes my business further. I've gained a lot out of our local Rising Tide group. I highly recommend finding a similar supportive, educational group to engage in.
- You can't do everything yourself. As your business grows, it's good to hire professionals and assistants so that your time is freed up to advance your business. Having a bookkeeper to enter my monthly sales and expenses, an accountant to compile my tax filings hiring staff to help me take on larger events than I could handle myself (and very importantly, keep me from having to work late every night) have all been so vital to my company's growth. Burnout is real and needs to be prevented.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Don't measure your success against others. Everyone has a different journey and is at separate pathways along that journey. Celebrate your accomplishments. Continue to learn and try things that challenge you.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.froggysgarden.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/froggysgardenflowers/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/froggysgardenflowers/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-urban-froggysgardenflowers/
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.
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