We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hannah Murrey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hannah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today
If I were starting over today, I would simply believe in myself more. I started out running my business as a side gig for the first 3 years. I was nervous about going all in and taking the leap. It is a huge risk to start your own business and rely on that as your main source of income, and I was very nervous about it for a long time! The moment I decided that it was time to just really believe in myself and go all in on what I wanted to do, that was when the magic happened. Giving myself more time to fully invest in my business was exactly what I needed to make it grow. I firmly believe that you get out what you put in, and putting in that time and energy is so important to make your business grow!
Hannah, 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 own and operate a Florist called Flora By Hannah! I always loved flowers as a child and remember picking them out of the yard, always looking at them in the grocery store, and just being intrigued by their beauty. When I was in high school, I went and saw the movie Valentine’s Day where Ashton Kutcher plays the florist. He goes to the flower market and picks out flowers, delivers them to people and brightens their day. I thought it looked so fun, so I came home and told my mom that I wanted to be a florist. She goes “Ok, so get a job at a florist”. So, I did! I worked at a florist through high school and college. I would attend different floral and garden master classes and seminars just to learn more about the art and the business. I loved every second of it. I took a corporate job after college, because it felt like the responsible thing to do. About a year later, my best friend was getting married and asked me to do the flowers for her wedding. She told me that it would be the perfect time to start my own business, because that’s what I was meant to be doing. That’s when I opened up! I just did a few friends weddings at first, which turned into doing friends of friends weddings, and the ball kept rolling from there. Next thing I knew, I was receiving requests from strangers I had never met that had seen my work and wanted me to be their wedding florist. It was so surreal that it was all falling into place! I kept running my business on the side while working another full time job. I eventually got to a point where I knew that I need to put all my energy into my business if I wanted to keep growing. I needed to invest the time and energy into my work to put out my best product and allow myself the space to grow!
As I have built my business, there have been a lot of decisions I’ve made intentionally to shape what kind of business I want to be. I want to deliver high end product to each client with exceptional customer service. When dealing with people throwing weddings or other large events, the day really means something to them. Especially with weddings, that is such an important day to the client, and I want them to know that makes it important to me too! They deserve exceptional communication and delivery for their event, and my work should be the last thing they have to worry about that day.
One thing I do a little differently than other businesses in the industry, is that I don’t require a minimum cost to book with me. I believe that every event is special big or small. Just because someone is having a smaller wedding does not mean it is any less special or deserves any less attention than a larger one. I want to treat every client with the same positive energy and share the beauty of flowers with anyone regardless of their wedding size! With that being said, I completely understand companies have bills and have to secure certain amounts of income to maintain their businesses. I do feel lucky that I can accept events large and small!
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Creating a connection with your clients is so important to growing your client base. I have found that whenever I have a phone call or face to face meeting with a potential client, I am 90% more likely to book them than if we had just emailed. Some clients prefer online communication, but when you speak to them directly over the phone or in person you can learn so much more about them and build a much stronger connection. I’ve found that creating that connection has really been a game changer with booking the leads, and then having them refer me in the future!
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
One thing that I have loved about my job is that I have genuinely made friends with some of my past clients! I love when I get to have a client meeting, we talk about the flowers for their event, and then we end up talking about other random things for another hour over coffee. Communication is huge for building a good rapport with your customers, and it locks in that brand loyalty when your clients feel like you are just there for them. When they feel like they can rely on you, they will keep coming back. I have had many clients tell me that they appreciate the thorough communication and feel much more comfortable knowing that I always get back to them in a timely manner.
Contact Info:
- Website: florabyhannah.com
- Instagram: florabyhannah
- Facebook: florabyhannah
Image Credits
Natasha Coyle Photography Photography by Cameron Katherine and Tyler Photography Susannah Katherine Photo