My husband was talking at work to some of his colleagues and he mentioned that I wanted to start a flower farm full time and sell wholesale/retail. A woman named Hannah listened, was very excited about what he was saying and told him that she would love to help us get started and could help create a website. When my husband came home and told me this, I said “oh that is so sweet”... thinking that this woman was just being nice and would not really help us make a website. As time went on, Hannah said it again to my husband at work and we soon realized she meant it. I was completely surprised and excited!
So Hannah came over and my sister, spouses, and I sat around our dining room table as she asked us numerous questions as to what we wanted to offer for our business. How was it going to be different and unique? How would our flowers be sold? What were we hoping to charge? And we kept doing this for quite some time. We did not know how much Hannah was going to charge for her services and to be honest, we did not have a ton of money for this, but knew it was a very important part for our business to get started. She looked up at us and said for payment she would like to have our vegetable/fruit CSA share and some flowers. I smiled and said, "we can do that".
So every week we delivered her a share of our farm’s produce and some bouquets. She created an amazing template and she began giving us lots of homework. For every flower we grew, I needed to take pictures and create write ups for. This took me about 6 months, but once it was done, she categorized and fine tuned what we wanted to do. She is very good in marketing and social media and she ended up being one of the best things for our farm in the very beginning. I do not think we would have had such a great start if it were not for her kindness and help! So, Hannah, if you are reading this… Thank You!
Check out our website here… Cedaredgefloral.com
The kindness from people did not end there. Many people really believed in us, even when there were times where Jackie and I became overwhelmed. Our neighborhood friends helped us with a new logo that incorporated certain flowers we love and grew a lot of with dahlias, zinnias, daffodils, bees and butterflies.
They came over and helped with signage when we began building our farm stand etc. Many of you were our test subjects as we delivered different flowers and different methods in terms of packaging to you as test runs across the country when we were first starting out. It has been amazing working with such positive women who have empowered us to do and be better at our farming venture. To all of you, we Thank You!
But, it still did not end there. A woman from Jackie’s work became a big fan and continued to help promote it on social media. Our nieces and nephews were excited and began helping out on the farm, students in my classes when they found out were excited and gave advice for instagram etc. Although, they said I had to stay teaching until they all at least graduated:), to which I assured them I would! We started a floriculture course at the high school I teach at and our farm donates a lot of flowers for them to use to learn design ideas and these kids loved it! To be honest, I loved it! We truly love to teach people how to do what we are doing just as much as the flower farming itself. This eventually would lead to our floral design courses on the farm! We have been farming for a while and there are many organic tips and tricks we use to make the season go smoother.
But, it still did not end there. The kindness continued from people and we soon realized that flowers can really change everything. A bouquet gives you a feeling, whether it takes you back to a childhood memory, a smile from a rough day, or a sense of gratitude that someone was thinking of you that day. Jackie and I have been surrounded by flowers and farming flowers our whole lives and I do not think we really thought about the impact they have had on our lives and the impact they have on everyone else. The feeling they give has helped us create the business we love!