Meet Alicia Yokota of Flowers by Alicia in Sun Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Yokota.

Alicia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am the owner/chief floral designer for Flowers by Alicia. I have had a lifelong expertise in flowers. I was born and raised on a flower nursery in my back yard on an acre of land. Then, when I was in high school and college, for fun, I would take floral design classes in my free time. The teacher of my floral design class was a retired owner of a successful floral design shop in Beverly Hills. After finishing classes, I got hands-on experience by designing flowers for a high-end event coordinating company and for local flower shops.
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I graduated with a B.S. in Interior Design from California State University of Northridge and was a high end residential interior designer for 5 years until I found myself unsatisfied in that industry. Underpaid and underappreciated, I wanted to feel free, and in my heart, I had a burning desire to make a positive difference in people’s lives. This led me to open my own business, Flowers by Alicia, where I was finally reunited with my first love, flowers. Here, I can thrive on bringing happiness to couples on their wedding day by sharing my talent for floral design. I love seeing the bride’s face light up when she sees her bouquet and all of her arrangements set up for her big day. It makes me feel like I am doing exactly what I am meant to be doing.

Has it been a smooth road?
It was definitely NOT a smooth road getting to where I am today. My first two years of business were especially a struggle. I felt like I was treading water, and I had no idea what direction to go or what I should do to make my business successful. Nobody ever taught me how to be an entrepreneur.

In my first two years of business, I had two other jobs in order to be able to make ends meet. At one job, I was a caretaker for a 5-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, and at my other job, I was a floral designer for a high-end event coordinating company.

When I came into my third year of business, I knew at this point, my business was not sustainable, and if I continued to stagnate, I would need to give it up. This was when I decided that I am going to go “balls to the walls” and go all out trying to save my business. I invested nearly my entire life savings into my business, worrying whether or not I would ever see that money again. Luckily, it worked!

We’d love to hear more about your business.
At Flowers by Alicia, I specialize in wedding flowers. I am passionate about creating floral designs that help brides complete their dream wedding. Our signature style is a “fresh from the garden” or “wildflower” look. I know that this is one of the biggest days in their lives, and my goal is to make it as fun and stress-free as possible for everyone involved. I am dedicated to delivering the freshest, highest quality flowers from some of the best growers around the world!

We have been featured in The Knot, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, The Huffington Post, ABC, Good Morning America, BuzzFeed, Daily Mail, House Beautiful, Pop Sugar, and many other publications around the world.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I feel like Los Angeles is a very difficult place to start a business from scratch like I did. Most people in Los Angeles are bombarded by businesses telling people to buy their stuff, and they are sick and tired of it. Also, there is so much competition in Los Angeles, and not very many people knew that I even existed.

In order to rise above these issues, first, I had to get my name out there. Second, I had to provide worth to my clients before they were interested in buying what I had to sell. The way that I got my name out there was through social media and bridal expos. With social media, it took about three years before I clients began to inquire about my floral design services. On Facebook and Instagram, I kept providing my worth with how-to videos, behind-the-scenes shots, and photos of my work. At bridal expos, I would have a chance to display my work, and I attracted brides who also loved the “fresh from the garden” or “wildflower” look.

I think that VoyageLA is a great platform to combat these problems and give young entrepreneurs a chance to succeed. Also, I think that it is important to create a network of friends in the same industry who support each other. Some of my clients come from referrals from the people I work with. We also support each other on social media by liking each other’s posts and engaging in each other’s comments.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.flowersbyalicia.com
• Email: weddings@flowersbyalicia.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/flowersbyalicia
• Facebook: facebook.com/flowersbyaliciayokota

Image Credit:
Raelyn Elizabeth Photography

Getting in touch: VoyageLA 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.