We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tiffanie Clark a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tiffanie , thanks for joining us today. Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

On Valentine’s Day, we had many orders. Flowers were everywhere and the phone was ringing off the hook. My 12 year old son came home from school and got right to helping me. He paused the orders and started to assist me by keeping the delivery drivers entertained and watching for new orders on the system. He even made a few arrangements.

At that that point, I was working on a very large order. It included 2 dozen roses, a candy heart keepsake, and 12 “I Love You Ballons.” The ballons take a very long time to make, but with his help we got them all done.

To my surprise, I received a call from the customer. She was missing 2 balloons! I guess that they were lost along the way. Since we were so appreciative of the order, we made 6 new balloons although this costed us valuable time. The customer called back and was extremely grateful. I might venture to say that it was an unforgettable valentines day for her.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Opened in 2020, All the People Poetic Floral Arrangements was just “All the People.” The idea of a young mother, wife, and teacher, the goal of “All the People” was to transform a run down building into a haven for the Columbus, Ohio community. This was to be a place where people could come together to read poetry and receive the resources they need to lead a healthy life-style. When the owner got the opportunity to study a PhD in Literature at the University of Cincinnati, All the People became a dream deferred.

This dream returned when a friend asked if she’d ever considered running a flower business. “This was it,” she thought. Since then, All the People Poetic Floral Arrangements was branded. For this young business woman, this would be a way to create tangible poetry that she could share with her community while promoting health and wellness.

The first stop in a larger journey to celebrate diversity and humanity, All the People’s products express and reflect the beauty of nature with the timelessness of poetry. As such, we view flower arranging as creating a poem, where each flower acts as its own verse and each arrangement tells your story in the most unforgettable way.

We provide flower arrangements for all occasions, including birthdays, holidays, funerals and “just because.”
What sets us apart is that our flowers are never more than three days old, as we believe in keeping inventory tight. Since we work on a limited inventory, customization is key. I am most proud that our arrangements tell our client’s story and are carefully crafted.

Have you ever had to pivot?

This year provided a moment to pivot my business because of my family. When we first began, we did tons of orders which led to higher sales, but I felt that the arrangements began to become commercialized because of the sheer bulk. Furthermore, my children (5,10, and 12) were beginning to need me more emotionally.

I took a difficult decision to take less orders and open on a pop-up basis for holidays, so that I could spend more time on my family. Since our arrangements are inspired by nature, spending summer, fall and winter days hiking and fishing with my boys renewed my spirits and allowed my poetic vision of flowers to return to my imagination.

It also gave me time to actually forage for some of the most glorious green foliage and flowers from the Cincinnati landscape, that I would later incorporate into several best-selling arrangements. This “pause” gave me time to let the indomitable freedom of my children breathe new life into my floristry. Most importantly, I began to garden and grow some of my own flowers, which I would also incorporate into arrangements that were truly one of a kind.

This creative pause -like an space of no words in a poem- provided us the silent music that would transform into an orchestra of colors, sights and aromas that characterize each flower delivery and make them poetic in nature.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social Media has been incredible. I have been using “Instagram” as a place to connect with other women business owners in the city. For example, I sent 3 complementary arrangements to 3 lead local Instagramers. Though I had to invest my own flowers, it was wonderful to watch them post their reactions to the flowers. These reactions reignited our flame and made me feel very proud of my brand.

As a business owner, it is hard to accept that not EVERYONE is going to accept or like your brand. You just have to focus on those who do understand those details that set you apart and focus on them; not the negative naysayers.

Doing this social media give-away- which I hope to do more- demonstrated that their are many people who understand , appreciate and love what All the People Poetic Floral Arrangements is all about.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://allthepeoplesflowers.com
• Instagram: @allthepeoplecincinnatiflorist