Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Yoshihara.
Hi Megan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It all started shortly after I graduated from college. I was hard at work putting my psychology degree into practice at a local short term residential treatment center for young girls dealing with trauma, drug abuse, gang violence, etc.
As you can imagine, I needed to cultivate a healthy creative outlet working at a job like that. At the time, a friend of mine asked: “If ten years old Megan could do anything right now, what would she do?” “Play with flowers” I answered. I went home that day and sent emails, made phone calls, or stopped by every local flower shop offering my help. I had zero experience or knowledge but a lot of passion and willingness to learn. One local shop took me up on my offer to help. For months I’d come in once a week to sweep the floors, learn the flower names, and help with random tasks. I learned how to process flowers, “green” vases, and even make a corsage and boutonniere. I went from volunteering 4 hours a week to becoming a designer for weddings, parties and events. The more fun I had the more I just talked about flowers in my daily life. By word of mouth and some scattered Instagram photos, I started getting clients of my own. A random wedding here. A flower crown for a little girl’s birthday party there. More freelance work with other florists and designers. Soon enough, I had enough interest and clients that I started Fully Bloomed Florals. It has been a year and a half of more learning, lots of flowers, and navigating the ins and outs of running a business!
Alright, 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?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! I think there are legitimate external realities that make starting your own business difficult like:
- figuring out all the legal jargon with the state and following all the right steps to be legit
- OC/LA have a lot of competition in the creative world
- needing to make money to pay rent / not being financially able to start your own thing
But many of my challenges have been internal: insecurity, comparison, negative self-talk. On my hardest days, it is not the clients or the financial instability that make me want to quit… it is my own negative self-talk or comparison especially with social media. It is really easy to go on to someone else’s Instagram and see where they are at and compare that with where you are starting from. It totally isn’t fair to yourself but really easy to do! Another challenge in my industry, that I am sure other industries deal with too, is client education.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My love is flower arrangements! I do mostly flowers for weddings and parties– but I’m up for anything. If it exists, I’m always trying to think how to include or attach flowers to it. Some of my favorite elements are: cake flowers, flower crowns, and fun arbors! My specialty is my particular style. It combines fresh, beautiful blooms with the more modern dry, preserved, textured pieces. In my arrangements, I try to focus on color, movement, and texture. And I’m not afraid to make it a little weird! I love working with interesting color palettes and having the freedom to be really creative. But I especially love making my client’s visions come to life! I try not to stick to one particular style because I want to be able to make the bride’s style and vision come to life. I love hearing: WOW! This is exactly what I imagined… only better!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Apps: Planoly UNUM Unfold Wave Books: Thomas Trahernes’ Poetry Anything by John Steinbeck Other resources: Fleursociety Team Flower
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@fullybloomedflorals.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fullybloomedflorals/
- Facebook: https://fb.me/fullybloomedflorals
Image Credits
1) Julia Hitz Photography 2) Carrie Rogers 3) Brandon Yoshihara 4) Rhiannon Morfin 5) Rhiannon Morfin 6) Emily Roberts 7) Brandon Yoshihara 8) Brandon Yoshihara
