Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Rosenbaum.
Rachel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The florist idea originated while I was still in college. I received my BBA in Marketing from Texas A&M, with a minor in Horticulture. For one of my floral design classes, I had to create a store front. I borrowed my then-boyfriend (now husband)’s nickname, Rosie, as the flower shop name, and thus, Rosie’s was born (and more importantly, it didn’t send him running away!).
Fast forward to a year out of college, I was working in corporate America, and though I loved the company and excelled at the job, my artistic side was not being used. I took a week of vacation off at Valentine’s Day to work in a flower shop as a Temporary Delivery Coordinator; I received so much insight into how a flower shop runs in that one week (something harder to teach in any floral design class), which was exactly what I needed before venturing out into my own business. I took the $500 I earned that week and invested it into starting Rosie’s-DBA, websites, vase inventory… I decided working out of the home would help keep my overhead down and be less risk, so I maintained my day job and made wedding flowers on the side.
That first year I designed prom boutonnieres and corsages for my high school brother and his friends, and a few of my friends trusted me with their wedding flowers. I worked solely by word of mouth, and fortunately many friends and acquaintances were marrying right out of college (common here in the south), so I appealed to many budget-friendly or even just small business local-buying brides-I started up at just the right time!
It has been almost 5 years since “Rosie’s” began designing wedding flowers. I have designed flowers for both small and large weddings, my total count at 39 weddings.
I owe much of my success to my husband’s encouragement and willing to help pack the car, deliver and set-up, my family and friends’ recommendations and trusting my artistic ability for their own wedding, and my grandmother’s prayers for a successful business!
I have since had a baby and stay at home with her, continuing enjoy designing wedding flowers. I love seeing the photos of my brides with their flowers and how I helped create their dream wedding!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I work out of my house. In our first house, there was no designated area for just flowers, so I set up a folding table in the dining room the week I had a wedding. By the time the flowers were done and ready for delivery, they were all over the house-nowhere was safe, aside our bedroom. Flowers in the kitchen, TV room, walk-in area, on our table, in our refrigerator… We moved a couple years ago and my husband and I both loved the large, tiled utility room-perfect for containing the flowers-it was a selling point! Weddings are a little less stressful now for my husband (who has awful allergies), and purchasing a cheap fridge for the garage also really helped keep Rosie’s separate!
Another struggle is since half of the weddings I have done are for my friends, we are usually either in or invited to the wedding. That means rehearsal dinners, photographs, etc. Many a times I was delivering the flowers, setting up, changing into my dress in the bathroom, walking down the aisle as a bridesmaid and then going home at midnight to start cleaning up buckets of flowers and leaves at my house. It has definitely made for hectic weeks but I have learned great time management! A couple years ago I actually had 3 weddings in one weekend, and I was the matron of honor in one of them! All 3 brides received their flowers on time and had no complaints!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Rosie’s Floral Design – what should we know?
Rosie’s is a floral design company. I mainly create flowers for weddings, varying from personal flowers (bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages) to alter designs, floral arches and centerpieces. I pride myself in being able to create the bride’s dream wedding, but being more price sensitive since I have no overhead (work out of my house). I meet all of my brides one-on-one and can instantly connect with them. I want to help them, not just be another vendor that stresses them out.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
So many people love to hear how I started Rosie’s, the personal story just really connects with so many people. Also the idea to support a small, local business appeals to many brides. Having my friends share my story with their friends and helping spread my business via word of mouth is how I have grown! People love personal recommendations rather than just the first name in the phone book.
Pricing:
- Bouquets average $40-125
- Centerpieces average $30-150
Contact Info:
- Address: North Fort Worth
- Website: www.rosiesfloral.com
- Email: info@rosiesfloral.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RosiesFloralDesign/
Image Credit:
All images taken by Rosie’s Floral Design.
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
