Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bethany Lloyd. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Bethany, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Starting a business can be SO scary, but I’ve been fortunate to have the unwavering support of my parents throughout this journey. They’ve always been my greatest advocates, and without their encouragement, Serendipity Floral Designs wouldn’t exist.
Their guidance and support has been instrumental in helping me pursue my passions, regardless of how practical they may have seemed. Their ability to show me how to integrate my interests into my everyday life has empowered me to follow my dreams, otherwise I likely would still be stuck in jobs that don’t inspire me, or I’d be endlessly shifting between careers without a clear sense of purpose.

Bethany, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My journey into floral design actually started with my best friend’s wedding. Her soon-to-be mother-in-law owned a floral design business called Embellished Blooms in Raleigh NC, and of course she was putting her heart and soul into creating all the beautiful arrangements for the big day. The night before the wedding, after the rehearsal dinner they needed someone to make flower crowns for the flower girls so I offered to help. My friend worked for Embellished Blooms on the weekends, so I’d visited and watched her work before. They gave me a quick crash course, and that was it I was hooked!

At the time, I was living in Rehoboth Beach DE, and working at a local bookstore. (shout out Browseabout Books). Before I got into floral design, books and reading were my biggest passion. Going back to what I mentioned about my parents, they had actually encouraged me to try working at a bookstore to see if owning one might be the right path for me, but honestly…I was starting to burn out. The constant retail grind was taking a toll, and it was even starting to kill my love for books. I really didn’t see a way out or what the next step might be until I made those flower crowns for my friend’s flower girls. Her mother-in-law, offered me a job on the spot, and even though it took me almost a year to make the switch , that was pretty much the beginning of my love for floral design.

Despite a lot of trial and error this is basically the inception of what would become my life. Serendipity Floral Designs is definitely a reflection of my time at Embellished Blooms. We are a wedding and event florist only, we don’t operate out of a storefront. Instead? A home studio. Sometimes this can feel limiting, but as this business has grown and the years have passed I’ve learned to appreciate the slow seasons.

I’m really proud of what I’ve created with Serendipity Floral Designs. As a single woman it’s always felt really important for me to be able to support myself and not feel like I need a “man” or any other kind of contributing second income to be or feel self sufficient. Even though it’s been a long road I’ve been able to find that for myself with this business. Supporting me is supporting my livelihood and I try to never take that for granted.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve done a lot of pivoting in my life. I went from thinking about college to working in a bookstore, then from the bookstore to becoming a florist, back to college, and then back to floral design again. And even once I figured out that floral design was what I really wanted to do, I’ve still had to make a lot of pivots within my business itself!

When I first started my business, I knew I wanted to focus on weddings and events. It was what I loved and what I was familiar with, but I also knew it would take time to get there. You can’t just say, “Hey, I’m a florist now—book me for your wedding!” and expect things to happen right away.

So, I got creative. I built a flower cart (well, technically my dad built it—thanks, Dad!) and took it to a local festival. After that, I started popping up in front of coffee shops on weekends with a “build-your-own bouquet” bar. Was this my dream setup? Not exactly. But it was a way for me to pivot and give myself time to build a following and get my name out there.

The flower cart wasn’t making a ton of money. It wasn’t losing money either, but I wasn’t exactly making a profit. I was working retail, trying to market myself with styled shoots, and running the flower cart on weekends. It was a lot! So, when a wedding planner reached out about partnering with her as her in-house florist, I made another pivot.

It’s been four years now, and I’m still working with her. That partnership has opened so many doors—new venues, new vendors, new friends. It allowed me to quit retail and flower full-time. It’s taught me so much and has been key in growing my business. And honestly, it’s helped me realize my worth, which has been the biggest takeaway of all.

I guess you could say I’m the queen of the pivot. Anything is possible—don’t be afraid to say yes to something that might not be exactly what you want right now. You never know where it might lead!

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

“The best thing that keeps morale high is my fav employee, Jess who bring us Starbucks all the time.” -Anonymous Employee

While yes this is SO true, also just surrounding yourself with people that really love the job, and love the business, and don’t mind getting a little messy on the weekends is key.

Keeping team morale high in a floral team is super important, especially when we’re working on tight deadlines, juggling multiple events, or big contracts. Making sure you can laugh off the hiccups and apologize if someone (usually me) gets a little snappy is super important.

I try to lead by example. If I stay positive then my team will mirror that. I think I’m lucky though because I also know that if something has gone wrong they’re also there to support me while we come up with solutions to fix a problem.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.serendipityfloraldesigns.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serendipityfloraldesign/

Image Credits

Sammy Cald Photo

Dakota Hersey Photography

Laura Memory Photography