5 Lessons we learned starting our own business!

Often times, businesses become successful because they fill a gap in the market satisfying their customer’s needs. For example, Netflix filled a gap in the entertainment industry when they offered movies online vs having to rent DVD’s. Venus Et Fleur filled a gap in the floral industry when they created a flower that lasted a whole year vs dying within the first week.

So how does our decor business fill the gap in an industry that’s over saturated?

It all started when a good friend of ours was getting married and had a hard time finding a decorator that worked with her budget. Initially, we were just going to make the centerpieces ourselves, not intending for anything to come out of it. But after doing a lot of thinking, we realized there are so many other brides out there that are probably running into the same issue. After all, it is your big day and who wants to hear the word “no” simply because you don’t have the budget. In that moment, we decided we would be the decor company which made a bride’s dream wedding fit her budget.

So here are the 5 lessons we learned along our journey of entrepreneurship:

Lesson one: Research research research! First and foremost, before you actually start doing anything, research your business. Research the industry, research the product, and learn what’s needed to get started. Learning the needs will save you a lot of time and a lot of money up front. We get so caught up on our idea and our vision that we often forget there are rules and regulations to follow. Research your business beforehand and I promise starting will be so much easier than anticipated.

Lesson two: Compensate for your time! We were so caught up in wanting the business, we were giving away our time and only charging for cost. Compensate for everything from labor to mileage - if you are constantly on the road for your business. Because we were not profiting in the beginning, it was getting very hard for us to cater to our clients while trying to offer them more. As much as we love our clients and we love what we do, there is a reason we are doing the work vs them having to do it themselves. Be confident in your prices while also being generous to your clients and watch your business flourish.

Lesson three: Organization is KEY! After we started getting busy, we were not very experienced to handle the rush, so everything was everywhere and we lost clients due to our lack of organization and time management. We would spend so much time trying to find paperwork from previous conversations or keeping track of what was needed when, so we caused ourselves business for not staying organized. As your business grows, always put some time aside to organize your files and inventory. You’ll thank us during tax season!

Lesson four: Innovated innovate innovate! There is a reason some businesses that started 20 years ago are still in business today and some businesses that started 5 years ago have shut down. It’s no mystery that growth and innovation define the world we live in. If you offer only one thing and you have no intentions of changing it, or improving it, your business will become outdated and it won’t sell. We started off with just floral centerpieces in the beginning, and after seeing a decline in business a few years later, we realized that we needed to add more appealing services. Hence, we now offer backdrops on top of centerpieces. Keeping yourself updated on a trend or simply being original is the only way to keep your business running.

Lesson five: Remember why you started. We started because we wanted to help brides with a budget. During certain moments we did not understand how to create value in our business while still staying true to our mission statement, so we weren’t very consistent. Everything in business is trial and error! Remember why you started and you’ll always find a way out of your negative thoughts.

Do your research beforehand, compensate for your time, keep yourself organized, innovate whenever and however you can, and remember why you started. These are all key factors in any business big or small. While you will learn all of this overtime, it's always nice to get a head start.

“Every journey begins with a single step…” - take your step before you regret not ever trying. Good Luck!