This is the first in our series of posts about Alumni of The Business of Growing flowers course- our main flagship course for Flower farmers who are wanting to become more effective, productive and profitable.
This Autumn winter season will be our 3rd running the course, and Meg was one of the first to sign up.
Who are you?
Meg Edmonds, Upper Wick Farm, Roots Family Farm Shop
Flowers by Meg
We are in Worcestershire. We sell mostly retail direct to customers at our farm shop, at Cheltenham farmers market (when we get back there!) through home delivery locally and bespoke funeral flowers.
How long have you been in business? and trading as Flowers by Meg?
We’ve had a farm shop for 20 years. We started with sweet peas 20 years ago but gave up because it wasn’t financially viable. I continued growing flowers in the farm house garden, the odd bunch/bouquet for a friend, and then more, a friend bought me the floret book - and then I grew a couple of large beds of annuals for the farm shop (2015/16/17/18) and then I met FFtF at Chelsea (I didn’t know about FFtF), signed up when I got home, joined TBOGF that winter. Re-focussed, made plans for ‘proper flowers’ 2019, tuned into where I wanted to be (retail, funerals, a few wholesale buckets to another FFtF florist member) made profit – 2020 I’m confident I’m making money on what I do, but I’m currently trying to grasp back control over record keeping (post-crisis) to work out where I am. It isn’t ‘stand-alone’ yet, but it is growing and I do intend it to be able to ‘stand alone’.
Why did you decide to take TBOGF?
Timing was everything! Positioning the course over the Autumn/Winter is ideal, although this year I struggled to give it my full attention until January .. and then COVID
Secondly that fact that I could, rather brilliantly, do the course around my busy life – often early morning, late evening or sometimes with a snatched coffee during the day. The breakdown into short sections is ideal. And it’s totally mobile, so dare I confess to doing little sections secretly when we’re supposed to be ‘having a weekend off’ visiting relatives, at the hairdressers (yes, I actually visited a hairdresser once!), on the school run. The style of the course suggests that the creators have a really good grasp on ‘real life’ making the elements accessible but also encouraging the importance of committing to the course through the opportunity to attend live call sessions, completing worksheets, research and feedback.
Following my first year TBOGF and the FFtF conference Lincoln I chose to develop funeral flowers and have sought one-on-one coaching to further skills here. My second year TBOGF deepened my learning although I had intended to cover much more of this early season but COVID crisis has limited my ability to access (I’ve been flat out in other areas of our farm shop business and just hanging on to the basic flower production that I had planned to advance this year). My selling skills have improved no end. I value my stems MUCH more highly. I make sure my points of difference are super clear.
What did you like most about the course?
Focus on BUSINESS – this is a course designed to nurture participants towards a flower business that works for them and makes them money. It provides the launch pad for individuals to create their own opportunities, really empowering. TBOGF also feels like a ‘secret support’ and don’t we all need one of those now and again(!) – a technical advice bank but one in which you can invest and receive even greater gains.
Flexibility – as I’ve said above, the online format combined with live sessions works brilliantly for me.
Real Life scenarios – the leaders (as well as being lovely people, clearly!) are down to earth, practical and driven by sound business principles along with common sense. Sympathetic to everyone’s individual challenges, but also prepared to drive home the critical lessons necessary for turning a flower fancy into a passion for plants with profit in mind.
Technical detail – I’m already making plans for TBOGF Year 3, I want to dig deeper and learn more! Although I also need to grasp the elements of the course that I haven’t applied enough focus to and in times of crisis (like this year) I’ve allowed to slip. For example: my planning, seeding, planting records are so much better – my cutting records are appalling although I have taken a lot of pictures which will help me to capture information for analysis, my sales records are better than they were.
LOVE the videos! Want to be brave enough to record and post my own
Facebook Group – I really appreciate this interaction, I mean to contribute more to this in the future
What have you done differently since taking the course
I can ignore weeds☺
I can cut much more quickly and efficiently
I can bunch like a demon with values in my head which makes weekly bunches and buckets SO much quicker to make and sell.
I often say (referring to TBOGF team) “My flower girls would say we should think about it like this …” which usually means we (my husband and I) are about to charge off and do something, instead we stop, prioritise and plan actual tasks much better. I haven’t quite managed the 20 minute timer yet, although I do understand the principle now.
I don’t overbuy seed or sow massive amounts – with more confidence I could cut back on the amount of plants raised even more – or maybe do something profitable with those extra plants (because in our case space is something we have too much of, it can make us lazy!)
I have to develop better records that incorporate planned cutting dates – much of what I have available through the season is the result of guess work – but then this is now more ‘informed’ guess work, so maybe next season will be better still
Why would you recommend the course to others?
If you want to turn a passion for growing flowers into a profitable business this course is an excellent place to start. Allowing subscribers to work at a time and at a pace that suits them individually, the course is structured to engage and motivate. Practical advice is forthcoming with the seasoned experience of the hosts often adding a reality check, bringing focus. I have and will continue to recommend the course. I’m already looking forward to my third year! Thank you Claire, Carol and Paula for helping to build my confidence in flower farming.