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

Roxanne , appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

There are plenty of moments when the stress of being the one in charge, doing all the research, planning, ordering, design & setup is overwhelming. Sometimes I think, wouldn’t it be nice to have a 9-5 job that I could just leave work at work and it wouldn’t creep into the rest of my life? Wouldn’t it be nice if someone else would be responsible for anything that goes wrong? However, 99% of the time, I LOVE being a business owner and my own boss. The moments I question why I do what I do, are when I’m in the middle of a long wedding week with multiple nights of working all evening, frequently, past midnight; or I have buckets of flowers going bad before I can even use them, and I have to find substitutes to FedEx overnight to replace what I can’t use. I’ve had moments of sitting on the floor in the middle of buckets and buckets of flowers, and just having a good cry. But then I get up again the next day, and I figure out how to pull everything together and deliver what I’ve promised to my clients.
The moment when I know why I own my own business, and when all the stress melts away and everything feels worth it, is when I hand the Bride her bouquet on the morning of her wedding. Seeing her face light up, often wiping away tears so her makeup isn’t ruined, getting a giant hug from her and hearing words like, “it’s even better than I imagined”, that’s why I keep doing what I do. To bring joy and beauty to other’s lives, and to make them feel seen and heard through bringing their personality and vision to life through creative design and flowers.

Roxanne , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started working in the floral industry 15+ years ago, but established Perla Flor Designs (my own business) just over 5 years ago. My business name means pearl flower and was chosen because I love pearls and that they require working through some dirt to find their value. In a similar way, God is continually digging through my imperfections to refine, purify and give me His value. My goal for my business is to share my passion for florals, beauty and creativity, by creating unique and original designs that are personalized for each client and event.
I love the secret meanings of flowers from the Victorian era, and one my of favorite things is to include a custom card for all my Bride’s, that tell all the meanings of the flowers they’re carrying in their bouquet.
Just like a pearl is a hidden treasure, flowers have a hidden language all of their own. The intricate details and personality God has created in each flower allows messages of cheer, hope, encouragement, strength, comfort, love & more to be conveyed to the receiver. I love being a part of creating these messages of beauty!
I feel this is one of the things that set my designs and services apart. I always want to know more about my clients so that I can understand who they are as a person. Knowing this helps me plan and design flowers that fit not just their vision, but also their personality.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There have been moments when working with flowers that I have experienced awe and worship of God’s Creation. I’m continually amazed at the vast variety of flowers and foliage and feel so grateful that I have the opportunity to use them in my work. Working with a live, natural product makes the creative process so much more fun and fulfilling. But above all, the most rewarding part is serving others through my business and designs. Whether it’s the unhinged joy of a wedding day, milestone celebrations; or the broken and deep grief from the loss of a loved one or life not going the way one imagined; the chance to bring meaning and beauty to life’s moments and occasions is an honor and a privilege.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

It often seems like people think my job is all fun and feel good. I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve heard, “oh you just get to play with flowers!” That couldn’t feel further from the truth. The hours and HOURS of time researching seasonal products, trying to find new products, the best farmers and prices, figuring out needed supplies and planning out mechanics would blow most minds. The hours of emailing and ordering, refiguring for change of plans, finding substitutes for poor product or cancelled supplier orders, still make my brain spin after years of practice. Oh and I haven’t mentioned the hours spent processing flowers (cutting stems, removing leaves that would cause mildew, and dethroning roses so no bride get pricked and drips blood on her white gown), washing buckets, cleaning candle shades, tearing down installations, and bagging up all the clippings and trash for the next trash day. Yes, the design work is usually, mostly fun. But that’s only a percentage of the time we actually invest in our clients and our work. Also, there’s this thing with creatives where it feels like those who don’t feel creative, just think we are doing and making exactly what we want, every single time. Hard Truth for most Creatives: we’re not. See we have a visual in our mind, but it’s very common to feel like we can’t quite get that visual into our hands. It can be so frustrating and disheartening to feel like you’re unable to connect your brain and hands and actually produce what you’re wanting to.
Honestly, I would just say that it’s a lot like any other job. You have days that are really long, hard, stressful and it’s really just paying your bills. Then you have the moments where you feel good about your work, or someone affirms you or is extra grateful, and you can love and appreciate what you do all over again and keep on going. You can’t let it be your identity, or it can really mess you up. But if you can find something about your job to be grateful for, that gratitude can carry you through the unfulfilling and grueling tasks that just come with any career.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @perlaflordesigns
• Facebook: Perla Flor Designs

Image Credits
Jessica Photography Deborah Grace Photography Jessica Babic Photography Ashleigh Grzybowski Photography