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

Hi Samantha, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I get this question fairly often, which is understandable- it’s a mouthful! Our full name is Tulihulipoosies (two-lih-who-lih-poosies), but we refer to it as “Tulis” (Two-lees). I gave my business that name because when I was young, my Dad called flowers “Tulihulipoosies.” He actually got the term from a movie. I often think about officially shortening our name to Tulis, or Tulis Florals, but for now our name feels too nostalgic and sentimental to change it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

So when Tulis began, I had this dream of a cute flower cart going to different farmers markets around town on the weekends. I started with a single folding table and a few buckets filled with flowers- I loved every second of it! My Dad and I designed the Tuli flower cart together and he took the reins on building it. Soon enough I was doing flower cart pop ups in front of small businesses and farmers markets, and renting the cart experience for baby showers, wedding showers, weddings, birthdays, and corporate events. I love our flower cart and although it is how I started this business, my heart is in designing dreamy florals for weddings! Tulis is a full service floral company- we make weekly local deliveries, design and set up thoughtfully curated weddings and events, have a flower subscription called “The Bloom Room,” and also enjoy the occasional workshop. I am so proud of the growth of Tulis in such a short amount of time (just a little over a year in business now) and it’s all thanks to the amazing community here in Orlando!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Something I was not planning on or expecting when starting my small business was needing to also become a social media manager. Small business owners wear a lot of hats and social media takes a lot of time and thought. Now that I understand the best ways to use it (Instagram, Facebook, etc.) it’s not so much of a chore anymore, I actually enjoy it! I think it’s such a great way to connect with people near and far about, in our case, flowers! I get to keep in touch with my customers and feel inspired by other creative’s work- whether that be flowers, photography, interior design, or anything else creative. Building an online presence takes time and consistency is key. I’ve gotten to a point where I just post what I want and when I want to my feed- which sounds like “duh, of course you would” but I think a lot of us get stuck in posting only certain things that we think will “do well,” at certain times, and that can get stressful. I would say to just stay authentic and true to you and your business. You will find your people!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

When I started Tulis, I was a marine scientist (true story). I originally planned on just doing one farmers market once a week, but that quickly changed. I loved seeing the joy that my designs would bring people! I switched gears when I started doing weddings, it was kind of a lightbulb moment like “oh, I think I can actually do this!” I was also a yoga and dance instructor, so I kept doing that while making the leap to full-time business owner/florist (and I still do once in a while). Once I took the leap things moved quickly and I was booking more weddings. I had more time to plan, practice, and design. It was truly the best decision at the time for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tulihulipoosies.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tulihulipoosies/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tulihulipoosies

Image Credits
Image credits go to: Brittany Borders Photography The Capps.co Carolina Airais Photography Art of Reminiscence Leslie Tresher Deanna Grace Design Chelfrich Weddings