Mistakes Make Magic

024: Something Borrowed Blooms: Growing a Product-Based Business

December 26, 2017

I’m Catherine.
A New Orleans based wedding photographer and educator. We are excited you are here and cannot wait to connect with you!.
TOp categories
how to determine your base price
Get My Free Pricing Guide 
ACCESS NOW

Hi everyone! Today I am interviewing a special woman. Aside from the fact that she is stylish and beautiful, she is also a quickly rising female entrepreneur. Her business Something Borrowed Blooms (co-founded with her cousin Laken) offers brides a different option for florals through high quality silks. They seek out flowers and design collections that follow the trends and have them delivered all across the country. I am so excited to dive into today’s podcast. Welcome to the show, Lauren Bercier!  

 WHAT YOU WILL HEAR ON THIS EPISODE:

  • What are the first steps to start a functioning business?
  • What are a few mistakes to learn from?
  • How important is custom packaging?
  • What is a difficult aspect to running a business?


First steps to start a functioning business

Choosing florals for a wedding can be a stressful and expensive step in planning a wedding. Lauren and Laken wanted to offer another option to brides. After being inspired by the idea behind, Rent the Runway, Lauren and Laken came up with Something Borrowed Blooms. Once they had the idea, they flew to New York to find premium silk flowers at a wholesale price. Then created their first five collections of wedding bouquets, boutonnieres and other wedding florals. Once the collections were created, they showcased them on their website and had their first wedding three months later!

Mistakes to Learn From 

When first starting out, Lauren struggled with the quantity of inventory to order. While trying to be cost-efficient, she quickly realized she was not ordering enough when a few of their products became discontinued. They would then have to find a similar replacement for the collection. Looking back, once they found a product that they know they liked and would continue to use, ordering a larger amount would have been the smartest choice. Also, in the early stages of starting a business it is so easy to say “yes” to too much. Lauren would not turn down a single client or meeting in attempts to convert every inquiry to a sale. It is so easy to assume that meeting in person is the best option, but sometimes it is not the most efficient use of your time when things can be done quicker and easier over the phone or via email. Now, Lauren stays true to their system and beliefs and is able to say “no” to more things.

Custom Packaging

Packaging was one of the first things that Lauren thought about when starting Something Borrowed Blooms. If you are shipping items nationwide, it is important that the product is intact when it arrives. Lauren researched different options and created custom foam inserts that work perfectly and allow the items to ship more efficiently. When a bride opens up her package that contains her wedding florals it is important that their experience is a memorable one. Lauren has added rose scented paper as well as beautiful stationary that inclues a special note to the bride. The brides are excited and feel so special when opening the flowers!

Difficult Aspect to Running a Business 

With the excitement of a new business, especially a successful business, it is easy to become impatient. Everyone has big visions and where they want to see the business go, which is great! But, it is so important to be patient and understand that it is a process. Sometimes you want to run with your business, but once you learn to walk everyday instead that is when you will appreciate the growth.

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. – Henry David Thorough

CONNECTING:
Website
Instagram
Facebook

Add a comment
+ show Comments
- Hide Comments

Leave a Reply

Browse By Category

Weddings

Business

Podcast

Sessions

cg
photo

On the Air

Mistakes Make Magic

The Mistakes Make Magic podcast is a podcast designed to give wedding photographers and creative entrepreneurs entertainment and lessons learned. 

LIsten in
WORK WITH US

Our Services

Whether we are blending into the event experience or assisting to find the best light, the wedding day is where we create authentic and emotion-filled moments.

WORK WITH US

TOP RESOURCES

Blog Post or Freebie

Etsy sriracha williamsburg thundercats literally vinyl selfies distillery squid humblebrag. Glossier church-key subway.

TOP RESOURCES

Blog Post or Freebie

Etsy sriracha williamsburg thundercats literally vinyl selfies distillery squid humblebrag. Glossier church-key subway.

Get On the List

Embed your opt-in form on the right. We styled this placeholder version how we think it should look so just do your best to match it in your marketing email platform of choice.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consec and also really great newsletter content.

yes, I'm in!

Get My Free Editing Preset When You Subscribe