Changing Career From a Wedding Florist to a Flower Grower With Jessica Naish

#010 - Small business owner Jessica Naish shares her journey from setting up her floristry business to then becoming a flower grower and founding Lolly & The Hare. Having always loved gardening with her family, Jess's brother's engagement to his girlfriend prompted her to offer to create the wedding flowers for their big day. So she signed up for a City & Guilds floristry course at a local college. In 2008, an opportunity to re-open an old flower shop in her local town and she leapt at the chance. Meeting her husband Adam and expecting their first baby led to her closing the shop and create wedding flower design from her kitchen table. After having their second child, in 2013 the family moved to a house with a garden studio, enabling Jess to take on more weddings. And then in 2015, she moved to a bigger studio, not only offering wedding flower designs, but also Valentine's and Mother's Day arrangements. In the meantime, having met Vic Vaught whilst freelancing, they set up the Girl Flower Podcast and Jess's passion for growing flowers was reignited when she interviewed flower growers for the show. So, when the pandemic struck and she was no longer able to work on weddings, she set up her flower growing business at a local farm. Jess shares how she set up her new business, the thought process behind her company name, her marketing and taking part in my Instagram for Florists online course earlier this year. She also talks about all the different varieties of flowers and foliage that she's planted, everything she would like to use to create wedding flower designs. Listening to this episode, you can't fail to pick up on Jess's excitement about her new flower growing venture. The pandemic has given her the opportunity to pivot and a business which she's hugely passionate about. And I'm so pleased for her. At the end of the podcast, you'll discover her practical tips, which I'm sure you'll be inspired by too!Show notes and more are available on the My Small Business & Me website: https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode10Instagram for Florists Online Course : Registration available until Friday, 7th May https://learn.flowerona.com/instagram-for-florists