We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tessa Manton-Sevearance. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tessa below.
Hi Tessa, thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
As a business owner, I find fulfillment in the challenges and purpose it brings to my life and by employees, but I also face moments of doubt and reflection. The challenges of entrepreneurship are significant, but the rewards—personal growth, autonomy, and the ability to make a meaningful impact—are worth the effort, most of the time!
The wedding industry can be extremely challenging- a mix of hardworking, motivated small business owners all working towards the same mission: creating the best day of the couples lives. The pressure and expectations can be overwhelming and stressful especially if elements that are out of your control are going awry, like weather. When everything does goes right and the couple and family walk away on cloud 9, it is the best feeling of success. But the opposite can happen! Which makes us all question why we do what we do! I do think, occasionally, think of what would my life would be like if I wasn’t constantly thinking about the next inquiry, the pressure of being creative, if those flowers are coming in brown or fresh and how we are going to get through the summer months of slow season. How nice would it be to actually clock out! But at the end of a hugely successful wedding season, I would not change a thing.
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.
Tessa saw and felt a gap in the floral design market in St. Augustine. Tula Rose was born and built in a 900 square foot duplex with the AC turned down as low as it would go to create a floral cooler apartment! Tessa slowly booked smaller events and weddings while working her corporate event planning job and once the event list grew to 50 events a year, she quit her corporate job, moved the business into a small space and focused full time on growing and learning Tula Rose.
Now, with 10 years of floral experience under her belt, she lives & breathes the language of flowers and cannot imagine doing anything else!
Originally from Colorado, Tessa is now a northeast Florida wedding floral designer, specializing in high level service, sustainability, and artisanal designs. She finds her inspiration through nature itself, fashion, and traveling… With a deep love of the natural world, Tessa has grown her business into a celebration of all the beauty that nature has to offer.
When Tessa’s hands aren’t full of flowers, you can find her enjoying time with her adventurous husband Josh and friends, whether that be boating, flying, traveling, cooking, or gardening.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Starting slow was my biggest success. I worked out of my home for almost the first 2 years as I learned the floral industry, got more experience with mechanics and techniques and built an inventory. This allowed me to keep my steady paying job while growing the business and not feeling strapped financially. I owned a small duplex and rented out the other side, drove junky car that was paid off and I lived fairly minimally so I could put extra money into growing the company. As I felt the business out growing my living room, I started a “store front” savings account and contributed 20% of my profits for one year which allowed me to move debt free. I took a $10,000 loan from my parents for the much needed floral cooler ( I was tired of sleeping in a snow suit!) and I settled in. Since then, the “store front” savings account has become a savings account for many other financial goals like better inventory, a work van, marketing and eventually moving into a wear house with 2 coolers and stacked to the ceiling with rentals. I am very proud to say Tula Rose has not taken on debt only because I was patient with my spending and did not spend outside of what I could afford. My parents were paid off within 12 months with interest!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I worked in this wedding market for many years before I started Tula Rose so when I transitioned from my corporate job to Tula Rose full time, I had already created a number of really quality and solid relationships with venues and other event planners. It would have been worlds harder had I tried to break into this market as a newbie. However, keeping the reputation and pivoting from event planner to wedding florist was an interesting transition. I have always been committed to being kind, patient and helpful to everyone involved in the wedding day, including our clients. It is a team effort, if catering is behind, I am behind, if the wedding planner is struggling, I am struggling. If we aren’t working as a team with one dream, the wedding will not as big of a success. It is also my responsibility to educate the couples along the way, we do this every weekend, they do it once!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tularoseevents.com/
- Instagram: @tularosefloralevents
- Facebook: Tula Rose Floral & Event Design
