How Social Media Helped One Woman’s Business Bloom
When event and floral designer Rachel Bowes was made redundant from her event planning job, she decided to be her own boss. She started Finch and Thistle with the goal of having greater flexibility at work. We spoke with Rachel about leveraging social media to build her brand and coming up with creative and new ideas to serve her clients.
What made you go into floristry and event planning?
When I was working as a charity event planner full time, I found I liked the more creative parts of my job the most—the art direction, the floral design. I enjoyed art and art classes all throughout school, but I didn’t get to pursue that love in any job I’d had before. Designing events and flowers is a special way I get to express myself. I’ve always been a keen gardener, and working with flowers seemed really natural for me.
What made you want to work for yourself?
Circumstances. I was made redundant, and I had to do something else. At that time, companies were making event people redundant because they were considered “non-essential” employees, which is crazy because we were raising money for the charities. I’m a self-motivated person, and I always wanted the freedom to follow my own path. With events, you have busy and slow times, just like with all project management. When I worked for someone else, I would be frustrated just sitting around in an office when nothing was happening. A bridal bouquet including blooms Rachel grew herself (@finchandthistle).
How did you start Finch and Thistle?
I hired someone to design a website and do some basic branding. Then I started networking and putting the word out that I was looking for events. People started getting referred to me. I’d worked for my first client before, during my time working for the charities, and they hired me on a contract basis to do all the event flowers. I built up my portfolio doing weddings for friends of friends. I look back on those days, and I can’t believe how little I charged! But I had to start somewhere.
When would you say your business really “took off” and why?
I received a lot of publicity in various magazines and on blogs about 3 years in. Having my business out there in the media gave me a lot more credibility with potential clients. People were coming to me saying, “I saw your wedding in this or that magazine”. I got a lot of new calls. I track my website traffic, so I saw I was getting a big bump after articles were published.
How do you use social media to promote your brand?
I’m very active on Instagram, and I also hired a social media consultant. Even though I’m in my mid-30s, I didn’t really grow up with social media. As a business owner, though, I need to make a real effort in that area, and it’s not something I naturally think about. I brought someone on board to give me some direction with the launch of my remote design business. It was my consultant’s idea to create a beautiful, Instagram-worthy design board to send to my e-design clients. Not only will they be able to take it to meetings with their event vendors, but they can also share it on social media, which promotes my business.
What is your approach to customer service?
With my customers, I always feel like I under-promise and over-deliver. I think that’s a good strategy for anyone in the service industry. I always follow up after the event to make sure they were happy and to hear their feedback.
What’s next for you?
I am in the process of creating an event facility. My husband and I bought some land, and we’re planning to build a modern and simple space to host events. The idea is that it’ll be a blank canvas so clients can rent it and turn it into whatever they want. It’ll have a sit-down reception capacity of 200 and capacity of 400 for a cocktail event.
This is by far my biggest career adventure yet - and not for the faint of heart! I am so excited to see it come together and be able to offer my clients a unique place to hold their weddings and corporate events.
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