We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jackie Swanson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jackie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.
Our first business client was a stroke of luck wrapped in a bit of craziness! Rick and I were juggling shopping for our new home in Austin with launching our flower truck business in 2021—talk about multitasking! We were working with Tanya Alvarez, the best realtor in town, and as we toured homes, we mentioned our budding flower truck venture. At that point, we only had a beat-up truck named Norma, a rough sketch of our logo, and no website.
Despite our bare-bones setup, Tanya was incredibly enthusiastic and invited us to do her Client Appreciation event in a few months. My stomach did a flip, and imposter syndrome tried to take over, but we took a deep breath and said, “Heck yes!” Our very first event was for 75 people, and it was a blast. Now, it’s our favorite annual gig, with her event growing to over 250 guests who absolutely love it. It’s been a fantastic journey from those humble beginnings!
Jackie , 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?
Hi, I’m Jackie Swanson! I took a leap of faith and started this flower truck business after losing my sales job during COVID. It all started when I saw a friend’s picture with a flower truck in Nashville and thought, “I want to do that!” I whipped up a business plan, showed it to my husband, and he was all in, saying he couldn’t think of a better investment. Cue the happy tears!
Now, I had zero experience with flowers, and let’s just say my first bouquets had a lot of personality. But I dove into a sea of YouTube tutorials and practiced until I got it right.
We kicked things off with public pop-ups and a few private events, but over the last year, private events have really taken off and become our main gig. We’re also branching out into wedding florals.
Our passion, my Virgo-level attention to detail, and our brilliant, vibrant team are what set us apart. With so many private events under our belt, we’ve become pros at making the process a breeze for our clients!
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Our biggest source of new clients is good old-fashioned word of mouth! We hand out so many business cards at our events, and that has helped us meet tons of new clients. We absolutely love engaging with guests at our truck—our positive vibes are like a magnet for good energy.
As for social media, we’re not chasing massive follower counts. Remember, a business’s success isn’t measured by Instagram numbers; you can have just two followers and still be rocking it. It’s all about the quality of connections and the passion we bring to every event!
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
My co-founder is my amazing hubby, Rick Swanson. We swiped right on Tinder ten years ago, and we’ve been obsessed with each other ever since!
I handle the day-to-day operations, while Rick takes care of the financials and generously donates his time as my free labor at events. Working together has been a blessing but also a bit of a rollercoaster. The first year was all about finding our rhythm and avoiding strangleholds! But, hey, it’s made us a stronger team and even better partners because we’ve learned to complement each other perfectly.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Burlapandtwineatx.com
- Instagram: Burlapandtwineatx
