Today we’d like to introduce you to Cynthia Sanchez.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Cynthia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I first started working in the flower industry back when I was 17. I was a senior in high school and one of my first jobs was at a local, high end, flower shop. This is where I learned almost everything I know today and where my love of flowers came from. I also quickly realized how much I loved working with my hands, and how much I loved creating these arrangements for people. It would bring them so much joy and excitement! Since I was only 17 at the time, I never really thought being a florist was something I could have a career doing. I thought I had to go to school and get a degree.
So I did just that. Funny thing is, I decided to study Interior Design because I knew I really enjoyed having a job where I could be creative. I received my bachelor’s degree in Interior Design and I worked in the field for about 3 years.
I really enjoyed working as an Interior Designer but the job itself wasn’t what I thought it would be. I also hated how much time I was spending indoors sitting at a desk. It was really starting to affect me. After I got married my husband convinced me I should start doing more flowers for weddings and events. He knew it was something that I’ve always loved (we’ve been together since I was 17) and I had been doing it randomly on and off for a long time. Because this was a job I really enjoyed, I would randomly go back to work for holidays or big events. I was also getting more and more friends asking me to do their flowers for their wedding so we both thought, why not.
I quit my job in 2013 and even though I had no idea how to start or what I was doing, my husband reassured me it was the right thing to do. I slowly started my website, got my licenses, and business trademark in order. That first year I only had 4 weddings but since I took that first year to work on advertising and marketing the next year I grew to 25 weddings for the year and it’s been steady and growing ever since.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, not really. Having a business (of any size) can be very difficult at times. Especially something in the creative industry. Sometimes it’s hard to educate your clients so they know how much things really cost and why. In the beginning, I also found myself sometimes coming out of pocket because I thought I could quote someone a design a little closer to their budget just to try and get the work to grow my business. I would later realize the look I budgeted for wasn’t something I felt proud to say was mine so I found myself adding to the order to get the look I really wanted and one that went with my style and aesthetic a little more. Luckily, I quickly realized this wasn’t really good for business. I still ask what kind of budget someone has so that I can try to design something close to it but I won’t compromise my look to stay within their budget if I can’t.
All the day to day management, budget’s and rejection involved in having a small business gets overwhelming at times and is still something I’m learning to streamline and cope with.
The Blooming Bud – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Blooming Bud specializes in floral designs for weddings and events. I’m the creative director and main floral designer for all of our events. I like to personally be involved in all aspects of someone’s event. My main goal is to make things easy. Weddings or events of any size can become very stressful so I try to streamline the process from the initial contact to final details. As a former Interior Designer, I find that I can see somebody’s Pinterest board or photo inspirations and design something very close or better to the vision they had. This makes me so happy to hear from my clients. The fact that I can really bring their vision to life excites me. I like designing and giving clients proposals before our initial consultation because this then gives clients the freedom to book a free consultation for us to go over details in a little more depth. Consultation end up being a lot more productive without too much back and forth. I also order and shop for all flowers involved to execute each event.
You will also find me right there delivering and setting up with my team on the day of any event to ensure quality of our product and design.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me success is measured more in terms of quality of life. As much as I love my job, I’ve had seasons where I’m swamped. I’ll have weddings every weekend with no rest in between. At one point, I thought this was what success was. Being constantly busy, booking more brides, having my work featured on blogs, etc. Once I got to this point, the job I loved so much was starting to really take a toll on me and I re-evaluated what success really meant.
I now feel like I’m starting to come into a place of success I feel comfortable with. I’m getting more clients who know of me, who love my work, and who trust me almost completely to bring their vision to life. This makes my job so much fun and my clients end up having a really enjoyable and stress-free experience. To me, this quality and connection with my clients is how I measure success. With the size of my business now, I still have a very personal connection with all my clients but I hope to one day be able to expand without compromising our look or quality.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thebloomingbud.com
- Phone: 714-752-3406
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebloomingbud/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebloomingbud/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebloomingbud
Image Credit:
Lucy Munoz Photography
Mallory Dawn Photography
Savan Photography
Karla Ticas Photography
Davello Photography
Tracy Dodson Photography
Alicia Danielle Photography
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