How Dubsado Works For Your Business: Florists
Welcome to the Dubsado Industry Series. This is a series highlighting how Dubsado works for all the amazing industries that make up our Dubsado family! From Photographers to Lawyers; Calligraphers to Doulas, Dubsado is the CRM for all creative entrepreneurs. This week, we got to hear from some amazing Dubsado Florists.
We asked them a little about themselves, their industry and what makes Dubsado the perfect Client Management System for them! Let's meet them:
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Anna: Hello! My name is Anna and I'm the owner and lead designer at Old Frond Floral Co. I was born and raised in beautiful Huntsville, Alabama and after doing freelance floral work in Atlanta for a few years, I am so happy to have moved back home to start my business here. I am passionate about designing unique, untamed florals for weddings and events, and I love incorporating unusual and foraged botanicals into my work. I absolutely love what I do and one of my favorite parts of this job is getting to collaborate and work side by side with so many incredible female small business owners in my area. In my free time you can find me antiquing, working on house projects, and cuddling my many rescue pets (and husband).
Ashley: Hi there, I am Ashley the owner and creative director at A Beautiful Theme. My husband and I run the company together and we live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We recently just moved back home after living in Orlando, Florida for the last 12 years. We are all about making things over the top and fabulous for our couples. We believe in the motto "the bigger the better" and apply it to all of our floral designs. You can find me-Ashley drinking Caramel Lattes from Starbucks, Roaming the aisles of Hobby Lobby or Home goods, loving anything PINK, and cuddling with our 3 chihuahuas. You can find Stephen building props, prepping flowers, taking care of all our landscaping and making sure all the details are perfect. He also loves to be outside and spend time with our 12 year old rescue dog. Follow us at @abeautifultheme to see all of our pretty creations!
1) What drew you to floral arranging?
Anna: I was drawn to the simplicity of it. Nothing sounded better to me than zoning out, getting my hands dirty, and creating something beautiful from nature's gifts. Turns out I was right. It's therapeutic for me, especially when it's just me in my studio with some music on, hammering out those bouquets and table arrangements. I also love that I never stop learning. There is always a new flower variety to learn, a new way of designing, and new color palettes to explore.
Ashley: When Stephen and I first started dating over 13 years ago, my grandmother would always send me elaborate flower arrangements. She had to make up for the long distance thing! From there Stephen started creating his own arrangements to compete with hers. His were always so beautiful and he knew how to make them unique and personalized. Fast forward a few years and our good friends were getting married. Instead of having a bridal party they asked everyone to donate one of their talents. Well we built them a beautiful Flower Wall to use as a photo booth backdrop. It was a total hit and everyone wanted our business card. A Beautiful Theme was born the very next day! With his love of creating arrangements and my design eye we are a perfect team.
2) How did you develop your signature style?
Anna: That is such a difficult question because I feel like I'm still developing my style so it's hard for me to see a pattern! I've been told that I do have a signature style, though, so I'd say I developed it through trial and error and mostly through freelancing and working for other florists. When you work for other people and have to design with their style in mind, it really teaches you what you do and do not like! I don't like anything too structured or symmetrical, and I like a lot of texture.
Ashley: Our signature style developed over the years and anyone that knows us knows we are over the top and love things that are big and beautiful. Nobody feels like they were short changed when it comes to our designs. You will always get more than what you expect. We love having a luxury brand and spoiling our clients.
3) As a florist, how has Dubsado been most impactful to your business?
Anna: Dubsado, like I'm sure EVERYONE can agree, is a business game-changer. It used to take my inquiries weeks to get me a deposit and signed contract. My on-boarding process is so streamlined now, and I get my contracts signed and deposits paid SO quickly. I've also created some beautiful forms for my clients to fill out, and I think the whole client experience has increased their confidence in me as a vendor. I've noticed much less questioning and much more "I trust you!"s, which is pretty much the dream!
Ashley: Dubsado has been an amazing tool because we are not only Floral Designers but Wedding Planners as well. Its an all inclusive program that allows our brides to have all of their information, forms and contracts in one place and we don’t have to have 2 different programs for our different services. I LOVE being able to upload images into the proposals and making those absolutely beautiful and informative. It gives the bride a way to envision her wedding day but also stay organized.
4) Do you have any processes in Dubsado you think would be helpful for other florists?
Anna: I developed an Order Form (in proposals) for smaller, studio pick-up weddings that has been such a time-saver for me. It basically replaces a consultation, which most of these smaller-budget brides don't necessarily need, and has saved me SO much time and the headache of going back and forth on the floral order. They can view pricing and example photos for each floral item, fill in their number per item, leave me any notes, upload inspiration photos, and schedule their pick-up day/time slot. The pricing is transparent and they feel in control as they build their order. Then they can easily sign the contract and pay their deposit on the invoice page. Clients have given me great feedback on how much they love the ease of these forms and I can't stress enough how amazing it has been to cut my consultations down to only my full-service weddings!
Ashley: I like the way you can create beautiful brochures and magazines and give your clients a way to be informed about your services. This has been really helpful for us to send to our brides so they know what our process is like and what to expect after hiring us. Another great tool is creating mood boards and sending clients collages of pictures and having them choose which style they like best and then being able to add a paragraph for them to describe in detail what they like or don't like. I also love the new file uploader so if there is something the client has in mind they can just go ahead and upload their own file. Dubsado is a way for our clients to get totally personalized forms and be able to keep track of it all in one place. We are currently working on making an inventory list and uploading it so they can directly pick out which vases they like and so forth. So many possibilities with this program!
5) What is your favorite flower and why?
Anna: Hah, this truly changes weekly, but I always fall back on hellebores. They are so delicate, and are one of the first things to bloom after winter so I'm always happy to see their little faces as a sign of spring.
Ashley: Peony, hands down! The “Dinner Plate” Peony is my favorite variety because it’s large, in charge and the prettiest pink you will find in nature!
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Learn more about our featured guests at their websites:
Ashley Sargent: A Beautiful Theme
Anna Lee: Old Frond