We recently connected with Victoria Rule and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Victoria thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
Being a business owner isn’t easy. Owning & operating a floral design company, especially as a one-woman show is hard AF, yo! I question my life choices on the daily! I LOVE what I do, but if I’m being totally honest, I don’t always love being my own boss. However, I also know that I don’t want to work for anyone else. Ever again.
Sure, there are plenty of days where I wish I didn’t have to be the one scrubbing the mountain of dirty buckets & vases that are left waiting for me after a wedding or event, or that I have to drive all over the country-side, from farm to farm, at the ass-crack of dawn to snag the best blooms available for a wedding that weekend, or sitting down with a thousand tiny boxes filled with numbers, dollar signs, and percentages & “flower math-ing” (yes, it’s a thing!) until my head explodes, regularly – to make sure my sales taxes are paid on time & to be absolutely certain for the 9-millionth time, that I am definitely not running my business into the ground. Yeah…On those days I am most definitely not happier as a business owner. But I’ve done the whole work-8-to-5-for-someone-else gig and I would still choose WTF, one thousand percent! Why? Because I love what I do. Even when I hate it. I know that I am good at it. Even when I think I suck at it. My availability revolves around my life and the needs of my family.
Am I going to be a millionaire? Not likely. Am I overworked & completely exhausted? Most of the time. Is being creative & doing what I love worth it. Damn skippy! Do I find my hands filthy & green with flower remnants in my pants at the end of the day? Every night. Do I sometimes find myself on the floor in a pile of stems crying because flowers can sometimes be assholes? YUP! Is showing up & showering people with flowers anyway one the most rewarding things I could do for J.O.B.? You bet your bottom dollar! Would I ever give up what I’ve built and all I’ve accomplished? Maybe. BUT NOT TODAY! Because I get to wake up every day and CHOOSE to do WHAT I LOVE.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My floral design journey began in Montana back in 2001, right out of high school where I started working at a local flowers shop. From there I proceeded to work my way through 3 different flower shops. All of which had their own ways of doing everything, but it allowed me to learn every aspect of the floral industry six ways from Sunday! I had some really great teachers and some… not so great. Luckily my last flower shop topped all the shops and gave me the steppingstones & encouragement I needed to believe in my floristy-self! To this day I still maintain an amazing relationship with them & they welcome me back with open arms, every time I visit my home state.
My husband & I, along with our first born moved to California in 2007 where I took a short break from “shop hoppin” to expand our family, choosing only to work during the holidays. Growing a family is chaotic enough on its own, so trying to grow a floral design business at the same time was not something I was prepared for, even though I always knew I eventually would. So, in 2015 when the time was apparently right, I started the floral design company that is known today as What The Flowers, or WTF for short! Since then, I’ve done daily deliveries, weekly/monthly floral subscriptions, workshops, events, funeral work & weddings (BIG & small). And I’ve done it all as a “one-woman show”, besides the occasional but also mandatory request for weekend help from my designated event staff, AKA, my husband. This year I am really honing in on my creativity & focusing on collaborating more with other local artists, elopements, large-scale installations, and event work.
Today, WTF is known as an independently built, distinctively off-beat, rad AF, no bullshit floral design comapany, based in Sacramento, CA. My WTF style stems from my deeply rooted passion for floral design, botanical art, & bangin locally grown blooms! I strive to provide top notch services, high quality, bespoke floral designs, made with fresh locally sourced product. Personally & professionally, I am unapologetically straight up & straight forward. What you see is what you get. The only “sugar coating” you’ll find here comes sprinkled atop a hearty helping of profanity and sass! I love what I do & I love that I am able to provide people with something that oftentimes, offers a deeper sentiment than words alone can express.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I used $50.00 that I had found stashed away in my little “foxy-pocket” of my wallet. It was a single 50-dollar bill that I had left over from tips that I made during a short stint as a waitress/bartender at a little taphouse in the Delta months earlier. That fifty bucks bought the flowers I used to wine over my first client. That $50 turned into $520 check that straight up paid for all the initial fees associated with establishing a business (permits, licensing, DBA). In the first few years, every dollar I made, I put right back into growing business.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
I’m sure there are much more effective strategies, but what’s worked well for me is: “word of mouth” & actually putting my money where my mouth is. I have a reputation for always following through, paying very good attention to details, and going above & beyond. So “word” has a tendency to get around.
I do very little advertising. If at all, really. I’m not a huge fan of social media so I don’t post things as often or as regularly as other businesses/brands. I’m also not super salesy. I’m not the kind of person who subscribes to that type of strategy. I don’t chase clients or push my products or services. If flowers are something someone needs or wants, and they want them from me, they know how to find me. My clients are people who’ve been referred to me by other clients, stumbled across a post made about WTF by someone else, or saw my work at a wedding, loved what they saw and contacted me.
I suppose another way that could be considered advertising, is the hoodie that I wear with my logo on it. I wear it because WTF on anything is just rad. But people have literally stopped dead in their tracks at the grocery store to ask me about it. “WTF” as a business name is definitely not appreciated by everyone. However, the name of my business alone has also brought me so many clients… because of how rad they think it is too. I’ve gotten some clients based solely on the fact that my business name is WTF/What The Flowers. Even without ever having seen my work! So… It would appear that combining fresh flowers with a little profanity has proved to be quite successful for me!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://whattheflowers.net/
- Instagram: @WTF.what.the.flowers || https://www.instagram.com/wtf.what.the.flowers/
- Facebook: WTF.WhatTheFlowers || https://www.facebook.com/WTF.WhatTheFlowers/
Image Credits
Lauren Alisse Photography Sabrina Jovanna Photography Brianna Noelle Photography Felicia Montenegro Photography Amanda Wei Photography Angelee Arceo Photography Bokeh by WTF