Journal Entry: Teaching your competition

Virginia Beach Workshop, Photographed by Amy & Jordan Demos

When I first started my business five years ago, I had been in the floral industry already for ten years. I reached out and tried to find local workshops, conferences and other events where I could learn floral design. Like ground up kind of stuff! Event design – large scale pieces and learn in a way that felt like I was getting first hand, intimate education from the masters! To be quite honest, it was like as if I was asking a magician his secrets — many closed doors, many unanswered emails and phone calls. Now there are more available conferences and things, which is AWESOME. I decided I was going to be the one that helped other people learn what took me years to figure out, much trial and error… things that I actually had to answer on my own that I couldn’t get help with from other people. I’m gonna say the thing that we’re not supposed to say — there’s an old school mentality in the floral industry that saddens me. “A rising tide lifts all boats” (-JFK) I’ve had two coaching session in the past month where one of them, the designer actually told me she’d gone to another coaching session and felt the coach was holding back and not answering her questions and even refusing to answer some. That’s sad! I’ve had many people tell me I’m stupid for hosting workshops and coaching because ‘they’re going to steal your business’. What they don’t understand is that I’m not teaching them how to do it exactly the way I do it, I’m teaching them how to do it THEIR way, and giving them the skills, technique and education to build from. I’m not selling workshop seats to come learn my secrets and swoop in and book all my clients before me at a cheaper rate. I’m giving the technical skills to build from and to know HOW to wire a flower properly, HOW to properly care for flowers, HOW to work efficiently, HOW to build your business. But, those are all foundations. Just because you take Picasso’s painting class, it doesn’t mean you’ll do it like him. You’ll take the painting techniques, the understanding of brushes, oil on canvas and understanding yourself as an artist and inspiration from him — but you won’t BE him. Don’t come take my workshops or coaching to be just like me, you’d be doing yourself a disservice. I want people to come learn from me to GROW, period. To be inspired, to learn proper techniques, handling, care, how to create a business from scratch and make an income that allows you to work from home if you like, and spend more time with your children. God didn’t turn me from an atheist teenage suicidal/depressed drug dealer high school failure to a God fearing, twice over home based business owner, wife and mother for me to keep my secrets to myself and think of other people as competition. I’m lucky to be alive, lucky to have what I have, and HAPPY to share that with others and lift other people up so that they can kick life’s ass too. I’m an open book and it gives me great happiness to pour my story, my passion and my knowledge into other people.

For more info on workshops & coaching sessions with me, visit the information page!