We recently connected with Kara Nash and Heather Slattery N/A and have shared our conversation below.
Kara Nash and Heather Slattery, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?
Kara –
As mother and daughter we share a passion for flowers and creating, and we love being able to share a business and career! We even have other family members get involved and join our team on event days! You will often find my dad (Heather’s husband) and brother (Heather’s son) loading and unloading trucks, helping us with installations, and cleaning up. I’ve started teaching my own kids some of the ins and outs of the business, enlisting them to help process flowers and fill candles. Even if they don’t develop a love for floral design, they have a beautiful example of entrepreneurship, and I hope this inspires them to create their own path someday.
Having a family business is wonderful because you have a built-in support system from the beginning. We also know that we each care about the business just as much as the other person! Of course, there are certain challenges when it comes to working with family. Defining roles can be tricky. Who is “the boss”? My mom and I have always clearly shared this role and decide everything together. However, when my dad joins the team, he has to step out of the family mentality and into the team member mentality, under our direction. Compartmentalization is key, I think. When we are not working and having just family time, we try REALLY hard not to talk about the business. Of course sometimes we just can’t help ourselves!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Both of us have always been creatives at heart, but we never thought about translating that into a business until Kara’s wedding in 2008. We DIY’d everything from draping to florals. After doing the same for several family members’ weddings, we discovered a love for making spaces beautiful with flowers. At the encouragement of loved ones, we registered for a business license in 2010, and Kara Nash Designs was born.
Now we provide floral design for weddings and events. We create all of the floral elements, from bouquets to centerpieces to dramatic statement pieces. Our clients are those that are looking for thoughtfulness and artistry in their event florals and are excited to be surprised and delighted by their custom works of art for their day! Every event is a passion project for us, and we take on a limited number of events each year in order to stay creatively fresh and serve our clients well.
Practically speaking, a lot of people come to us for a style that falls somewhere between foraged and classic. While we can and love designing in a variety of styles, our designs tend to be pretty bloom-heavy without being too stuffy, and organic and whimsical without being too wild. It’s a happy medium that a lot of couples are drawn to. At the same time , we love to explore different styles and are always open to new challenges! One of our favorite things to hear from a client or planner is, “I have a crazy idea…”!
Beyond the magic we’ve created over the years, one of the things we’re most proud of is our joy in our work. We believe that flowers bring so much warmth and joy to a celebration, so it’s essential that our attitudes and demeanors reflect that. It’s really important that our team shows up to each event positive and joyful, even when the job is difficult and stressful. That joy has a way of infusing itself into the designs and making them even more alive!
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
RELATIONSHIPS! Most of our business comes from vendor referrals (planners, venues, photographers, etc.) or word of mouth from previous clients. Coffee/Lunch dates, collaborative projects, and conferences are great ways to foster relationships that lead not only to referrals, but to a support system. If nothing else, it’s incredibly helpful just to be able to talk to someone else that “gets it.” Our best advice when beginning a new relationship is not to think about what you might gain from it, but how you can be a source of support and encouragement to that person. Be open and gracious to everyone – you never know where something will organically lead!
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
As you grow your business, you will have to learn quickly that you absolutely cannot do everything yourself. You could try, but you will either not execute or you will burn out. As artists, this can be VERY challenging, because it’s hard for us to give up creative control over our art. As our events have grown larger, it has become impossible to have our hands in every single piece, so we’ve had to learn to trust our freelancers and team members, while still making sure that every piece that goes out the door is consistent with our brand, quality, and style. Being able to clearly communicate vision and instruction is key, both when it comes to the overall big picture of the event and the individual arrangement. You also have to learn when something really needs to be adjusted, and when it is good enough (and on brand), even if it’s not the exact way you would have done it yourself.
As I mentioned before, it’s essential that our team is joyful, so we are very concerned with keeping up morale! We try to lead by example, staying positive even during moments of high pressure. Offer praise and encouragement. Be kind when correcting or instructing, never condescending. Hire enough people for the job so that nobody gets burned out and everyone can stay energized and creative. Don’t underestimate the power of happy tummies! We try to make a plan to feed our team during every event (work it into the cost of delivery!). Make sure you’re organized and provide the right tools your team needs to succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.karanashdesigns.com
- Instagram: @karanashdesigns
Image Credits
Image credits in each photo’s file name