Episode 300: Celebrating Milestones, Memories, and Lessons Learned

Episode 300: Three hundred episodes later—wow! What started as a “let’s try it for a year” experiment has turned into a five-year journey filled with laughter, lessons, and lots of love for the floral community. In this special episode, Vonda and Lori reflect on what they’ve learned along the way: the joy of authentic connection, the quirks of podcasting, and the importance of patience (in business and in life). From hilarious behind-the-scenes moments to heartfelt takeaways about kindness, customers, and each other, this celebration is both a thank you to listeners and an invitation to keep going—together.

Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Should we continue?

SPEAKER_00 0:05

You never have to ask me because you know my answer. You know my answer. Welcome to the business and pleasure of flowers. We're your hosts, Vonda LaFever.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

And Lori Wilson. And we believe the business and fun are a perfect combination. Kind of like us, Vonda.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Celebrate, Lori. Woo-hoo!

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Happy 300th birthday.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

No, not birthday. Please don't put me at 300 anniversary? Anniversary. Happy 300th episode. What is this called? 300 episodes. 300. Do you believe that? Wow. No. No. Honestly, I thought we'd maybe do three. We'd do a year and then Ellie and you would go, Well, shall we keep going? Yeah. And then I'd say, Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Oh yeah, we gotta go. And then the next year. And I say this every time we get to like an anniversary type number. When we talked about doing a podcast at the beginning, in my mind, I thought we'd do it like a year. You know, because this was kind of on your bucket list. I want to try a podcast. I wanted to see if I can do it, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:24

It was on my list, right? Not a bingo card, but one of those things I wanted to do, probably for well, four years. Cause I looked up 2016 when I'm like, I'm gonna do so. It was four years, finally. And it was like, oh, we did it. And now yes, it was on my bucket list, and you're like, I'll do it with you.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Yeah, I remember walking around your house trying to figure out a name for it with Yumi and Ellie. And we were walking around and I'm trying to like come up with names and talk about it, and that's where we landed on.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Well, it's got to remember that, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Oh, I do. I remember that because I'm like, well, you're all business, and uh, I'm party in the back, you know, like woohoo. And so we're like business and a little bit of business, a little bit of pleasure, and that's how and it was a perfect title.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

I mean, you think of that.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

You think of that now who goes? Yeah, we're all about flowers. So anyway, okay, so that's kind of what we're gonna talk about today. We're gonna talk about like moments and what we've learned in the past three, because you and I've learned a lot. But before we start, I want you to know that if this flower gig, when it's over and stops working for us, I found us our next opportunity. Oh, okay. So I don't think this next opportunity is going to pay us anything, but this one doesn't either. So it's okay. Right. Well, that's true. Okay, this is going to reward us in all the other ways that you and I want to be rewarded in. So this will be this will be our retirement job, how we'll give back, if you will. Okay. All right. I like that idea. So I found a lady that I am now obsessed with. I found her on TikTok and I follow her on Instagram. Of course I did, but this is where I go when I just want to have joy brought into my life. Her name is Jamie, and her Instagram is called Reborns with Reasons. And she is a doll collector, which that's why I started following her because you know my mother is obsessed with dolls, right? But she does those newborns that look like real babies, almost terrifyingly newborn, real babies. I have those, yeah. And they're very expensive. I mean, you may have them custom made, and anyway, she uses hers for therapeutic benefits. She's also a hospice nurse, which is something that you've always talked about wanting to do. So she takes her reborns and she goes to memory care facilities with her reborns, and she brings them in a little wagon, all dressed, and she goes from like room to room and gives the babies to the patrons that live there. And one gets me so emotional. One of the men that lives there was a pediatrician. Oh, and I cannot tell you how much I sobbed the very first video I saw of him, and she keeps going back to him. She never shows his face. But when she hands him a baby, he immediately goes into pediatrician mode and starts checking like the top of their head, the face. And he is not super verbal, but he starts talking then and says, Well, you're a fine young man, yet we will fix that, and just starts communicating with the babies. And it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. Oh my absolute most beautiful thing I've seen. And so she does that and she shares a story, and then people will help sponsor to raise money to get a new baby for her. And so anyway, I was like, this is what fun. We could do this, and so she has like premies, and then she has little up to like maybe a one-year-old size, and they look so, so real. And then there was another episode where she had a baby and she kept giving it to a woman, and the woman didn't really respond, and she couldn't really figure out why, because everybody else wasn't she'd hold it a while and then just kind of not want it. And then one day she brought a dark-skinned baby, and she just happened to give it to that woman who is not dark-skinned, and the woman just grabbed it and held it to her chest as tight as she could and wouldn't let it go. And the woman's completely nonverbal and just started rocking, started rocking and holding it, and she thought, I wonder what's going on. You know, what what's the connection here? And just started like patting it and all these things. And so she asked a nurse and to kind of share it, she goes, she goes, Oh, she was a school teacher her whole life, and she taught in like the inner city of Chicago. Oh, an all-black school her whole life. Um I would imagine that's why she's feeling the connection. Yes, and so she said from then on, she always made sure to have that baby. And she said, because she would just light up when you brought that baby. And so I was like, Again, sobbing.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Oh, I would too, Lori. Oh my gosh. Yeah, I yeah, we could do that. We could do that. I know. So that's next. That's our next, but we have to retire first, and then we'll get a bunch of babies. Is that gonna happen? I'm not sure I'm gonna retire. I don't know. I might just have to do that.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

Just here's the thing, we'll probably be in the memory care. Having the babies brought to us. I don't know. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

But maybe we need to buy one first, so we'll have it there.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

We'll pass it back and forth. Exactly. We'll just pass it back and forth and share it. So, but that's what is my day right now.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

I look at that people doing such amazing things. And that just brings up something else. What you just said triggered. Remember, we used to do that at the end of our podcast when we received life. Yeah. That's what's giving me life right now.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

That's like I I am so selective what I look at in social media right now, but that is one. I'm still looking at my goats, still look at all my animals, but that is the reborn with reasons. I highly recommend watching her and the work she does because it's incredible. The memory care world is so near and dear to my heart. And yours, because you you know people that have gone through that. See them react. It's just beautiful, especially that pediatrician. He's not, you know, really giving the baby a physical, but you can tell the way his hands move. He thinks he is, and it's just it's incredible.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Wow. Yeah, I might even have to get on TikTok and look at that.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

You can I'll send it to you on Instagram. You'll on Instagram, you can go through all of it on Instagram and it's beautiful, beautiful. So all right, so let's go back to our 300. We are at 300. I have a question for you. Oh what is one thing if you can think about this, one thing you learned from our audience in these 300 that you surprised you that they like us.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Yeah. That they listen. We have listened, but we that they that we have one. We have a podcast, we have an audience, and we're so grateful for that that people listen the first few times and they're like, oh, something about those gals. I'm gonna listen. And we have followers, and that people how however random information you come up with or we come up with, that they comment, they enjoy it. So yeah, I think that's been a really source of what do I want to say, pride, I guess. I'm not a prideful person, but I'm really proud of the fact that we give people something that they can connect with.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Yeah. I I would agree. And to add to that, we have always stayed true to our true, I will speak for myself, my true quirky self, our true authentic self. And when we have been able to meet people, they say, Hey, I listened to your podcast, and and they have a smile on your face, and it's not, oh, I've listened to your podcast. Like we rarely get that. It's like I'm so humbled. I truly, truly am humbled. Because my first thought is, really? Wow.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

But you have to be proud too, in a way that oh, I'm so proud, but I'm so humbled. Yes, aim. Honored, honored, I think is a better word.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Yeah, right. And so honored that you do, because that's why we do it.

SPEAKER_02 11:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Oh, because we want someone out there to to listen and go, wow, I feel that way too. Or I learned that I learned something. I'm not alone, I think.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

I'm not alone. And that's why I wrote that. You asked me why I have that little note up here, what that means. And it's what we say sometimes, we're going through whatever your notes are, or maybe no notes at all, which we do a lot of times. Yeah. And people will tell us they heard this or they heard this, and we say to ourselves, Did we say that? Yeah. Yeah. So and so it's like I have priest friends and you have pastor friends, and it's the same thing. They deliver a message, which is what message they intend to deliver, and people hear a different message depending on what place in your life you are. And I think that's really fascinating to me. It's like that is a whole, obviously, a spiritual message, but we sometimes give a message on flowers or thoughts or whatever it is, and people hear what they want to hear and take away what they need to take away, which I think is fascinating.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Yeah, no, I agree. I think the other big thing we learned about our audience is they can't tell our voices apart.

SPEAKER_00 12:28

And that just I cannot believe that.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

I couldn't either. I couldn't either. And the first time I heard it, I'm like, you've got to be kidding, because a lot of people think I have an accent. And I I don't think I do, but a lot of people do think that. And then just not long ago, when we were in Douglas, Georgia, one of Randy's co-workers, one of Jamie, Jamie, he was like, No, which one's which?

SPEAKER_00 12:59

And I'm like, you don't know? Like, how do you not know? No, it seems so obvious to us. So funny to me. Like, how? We're nothing alive, but we're not at all. A lot of people, I don't know. It just blew my mind. I know that when he said that, I was like, seriously, yeah. I I even think our voices sound so different.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Oh, so different. But I don't know. I guess on the podcast, maybe not. Who knows? We'll never know because we are in it. We're not on the outside. So here's my question to you.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Oh, here we go and should we continue? You never have to ask me if we know because you know my answer. You know my answer. And Lori, I still am editing them every time. It's getting so much easier because of the technology that's available, the script and and everything. It just makes it so much easier. You like editing? Yeah, I really do. It's it's very interesting because I get to hear again what you say. Because many times you're right in the middle of things, right? We're having this conversation and you're giving these facts or not facts, whatever it is. We're having fun. Just my own facts, my own version of facts. And then I get to hear it back. And truly, if there was a microphone in the office that was capturing things, it would hear me laugh when I'm ending the podcast. So I get to hear it a couple times, play back and go, and I really do enjoy it, I guess, still.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

That's crazy because you will text me sometimes when you're editing and you're like, I'm cracking up. And I'm like, I don't even remember what I have no memory of what I said.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

I know that's what I'm saying. We just go through all this, and then I get to like, oh, did we say that? Did you say that? Is that a should I okay? I'm just gonna leave it. Yep, that was our outside voices. Yes, it was.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. We'd say that outside. Okay, that's one thing we learned about our listeners in doing this 300 episodes in five years in Flower Click. Um, can you think of things that we've learned along the way? Because one of the benefits, I'll speak for myself, one of the benefits of doing this podcast is I look at my role at Flower Click. Part of that is like everything I do, everything I read, everything I absorb in my day to day. I'm filtering through. Ooh, would that be good podcast content? Ooh, would that be good podcast? Like, we're always looking at that everyone we meet. Oh, would they be good to have like you and I do? That's constant. It never stops. It's actually quite annoying. Like it never stops. Because that's how we filter our world seven days a week when you do a podcast.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Right. Would you agree? I agree. I agree. We're always trying to say, oh, oh, is that a good lesson? Oh, is this something that we like to share with shop owners? Yeah, and totally 100%, Lori. 100%. Sometimes that's where we have our shower thoughts too, because then it comes back to us and we're like, oh, right, there's one. There's one I remember. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

So part of the thing about doing a podcast tagged on to our normal day-to-day job is you don't just clock out. Like fucked up for the day. I don't have to. No, because we're in charge of our own content.

SPEAKER_02 16:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Like if we don't come up with content, you don't have a podcast. So that's another thing I'm learning about podcast world. Like, we got to keep it moving. We got to keep it fresh. We got to keep it moving. We got to keep thinking. So that's one thing I want to say. The other thing I'm learned about our industry and about like flower shops in particular is I don't know how to put this. So I'm just gonna say it because I struggle with it. I think our world as a whole, too, is our lack of impulse control.

SPEAKER_00 17:27

Oh yeah. Well, that's that's a subject for sure. I mean, we see that so much in the industry, but you know, there's so many little pockets of it that we see all the time in Flower Click or for other shops that we're talking to, we're like, ooh, ooh. One example that I would say is that people change their website platforms over and over and over again. We hear this from Cammy. It's like, oh, so-and-so changed their website platform, or somebody's calling in and they want to join, and they're like, Well, I could change it to this. Oh, I could change it to this. I just changed it to this, you know, six months ago, and now I think maybe I should change again. It's like people, right?

SPEAKER_01 18:11

Well, and I mean, let's even back it up. I think when we first started the podcast, right? It was such a slow go. I being impulsive was like, let's just stop. I remember Ellie and I coming to you going, maybe we should just do it every other week. Uh, you do maybe once a month. Remember that?

SPEAKER_00 18:25

Once a month, maybe once a month, every other week, not just once a week.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

Yeah, we were wanting to stop real quick and slow it down and not give it enough time. And you were like, No, my boyfriend Pat says that's right, my boyfriend.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

It's not really your boyfriend, but we make fun of Vonda because she whoever he is Pat's Lynn, he does a lot of podcasts, and he's the one who taught me how to do podcasting, right?

SPEAKER_01 18:49

Right, it's all virtual. She doesn't know him personally, but we call him her boy because she always talked about Pat says this, Pat says that. So call him her boyfriend. But we were queens of lack of impulse control because we wanted to pretty much cut put the kibosh on it.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

And the reason for that, somebody this weekend when I was talking about something, and I'm like, oh my god, that is it. Instant gratification. We wanted instant gratification. We wanted, oh, everybody should listen to our podcast that first year, and we shouldn't and they're not controlled. Yes, right. And so you and Ellie are like, well, this isn't scaling the way we should, and I'm like, it doesn't matter. The people who are listening are getting something. That's why we're doing it. But instant gratification is like that with uh the changing of the platforms, that the the Lori and Ellie wanting to make sure we had all these followers. I think that's what it is. I mean, we want that instant.

SPEAKER_01 19:45

But you're right, I've seen it roll over into flower shops when it comes to changing their website, changing their name. I see it in email marketing. You know, they join, they start doing email marketing. First of all, it's very hard to measure email marketing, how well it's doing, like blah, blah, blah, blah. They're in it a couple months. If they don't see something, like you can't, you can't measure it in two months. You've only sent out six emails or whatever, like all of those kind of things.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

Well, we can't measure how much return we're getting on our podcast. Let's just say that. And we're doing 300. So exactly. You know, exactly. People who can't measure their emails. I mean, there's some ways you can do that, but what you can't get from measuring emails is that top-of-mind awareness that you're continuing to send out week after week. And also you can't measure the good information you're giving to them in emails and how that really benefits that shop. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

Another one I was just thinking about is when we first started our bundles. Yes. And that we started that during COVID. COVID. No, actually, out of necessity, because a lot of our shops were in trouble. And when we first started it, you know, there were some hits and misses. There were some a lot of struggles because they weren't perfect. That's right. They were brand new, just like anything. And some shops got them, there were issues. Never nope, yeah, not not gonna not gonna order them again.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Okay. Okay. And sometimes, and even today, you know, you're gonna get a bad flower or something. But when you get it from your wholesaler and it's bad, you're like, oh, I don't want that wholesaler anymore. You know, instead of looking at the advantages of what you're getting and and the changes, but you're right, people don't want to what do I want to say?

SPEAKER_01 21:44

We just don't have patience. We don't want to try again, we don't want to give second chances.

SPEAKER_00 21:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

But then this is what I find to be interesting. And we talked about this a little bit in our directors' meeting this week, you and Cammy and Ellie and I. And I also have talked about this with a group of flowershop owners at the bar at SAF. Yeah, there you are. People since COVID, this is just our theory, customers are just more mean. We are not as considerate. And I also think even though let's say you are a flower shop and that your customers are treating you not very nice. Not nice. Not nice. But we also have flower shops that are treating us that way more than they used to. So we're all becoming a little bit meaner right now. Ellie was even talking about that, dealing with all of her wedding stuff, not even just our industry, but in other industries. And I was even talking to my son who's in the restaurant industry.

SPEAKER_00 23:11

And he's like, Yeah, people are just more impatient right now, just is and mean about it. And they're more demanding, their expectations are higher for sure. And then they don't mind telling you when they're really disappointed. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

But there's not a lot of gratefulness.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

Yes. Yes. And then as Ellie and Kami were talking about, it's all this, well, unfortunately, unfortunately, we can't do this. Unfortunately, instead of saying, we can't do this, but we can do this. This isn't going to work, but let me tell you what we can do. You don't hear that anymore. People used to try to solve those little problems or situations, but now they're just like, unfortunately, we can't do that.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:00

Yeah. And that's why people are losing customers.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Right. Which is what we talked about at Texas State. Yeah. You know, going back to Simon Senax saying, here's the thing. I know you can't solve every single problem I have, but I at least as a customer want to know you tried, you put forth every effort and you feel my pain. That's all. I need to know that you're like as bummed as I am.

SPEAKER_00 24:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

And you did try to take it to the top.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

Yeah, you're in it with me. Come on.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Right. Right. Even if you had to fake it.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

Well, that's good. You would mention, and I thought that was great. It's just like, let me see what I can do. Let me see. And just put them on hold. Yeah. You know, you can't do anything, but come back and say, I tried everything I can and I never can't do it. I know about this. Right. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

Give them that attempt. Right. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do that.

unknown 24:57

No.

SPEAKER_01 24:57

Just it just takes a little bit of nuance and empathy to let them know, oh man, this is a bummer. I tried. I went up to the boss. His hands are tied too. This is a corporate thing. Like, blame someone so high up that you're like, oh, that's I get it. I know you can't do anything about it. But at least you tried. I mean, isn't that even a better conversation to have thanks for no? That's what I'll just I never understand it.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

So we're just gonna invite everybody to be kinder, more patient, and lie.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

Just lie to your customers. It's what to make them feel better. Lie for them.

SPEAKER_00 25:47

Make up a story. I think it sounds better than lie, Lori. Let's stab a little story. There you go. So that's so how many more are we gonna do, Lori? We have 300. You go on for six.

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Oh gosh. All right, maybe well, how many do we do in one year? Is that 52?

SPEAKER_00 26:11

That would be 52 weeks in a year. Yes, that would be let's take it 52 at a time. Okay. I I think that's fair. But I do have to tell you one thing that I've learned the most out of 300 episodes. Okay. How much I love you. Oh, and I love serious because I think after 300 episodes, and you know, we knew this earlier, but we get to know each other more and more and more. And I just don't think there would be a way we'd do that, even working together all the time. No. Doing a podcast together, we share stories with our listeners and with each other and share our hearts. And I just have gotten to know you and adore you and love you even more. So thank you. Thank you for speaking with me.

SPEAKER_01 26:57

Oh, here's the thing. I wouldn't do this for anyone else. What our listeners probably don't know is before we hit the record button, there's always a good chance we've been on for 45 minutes just talking or laughing. And then after we stop record, there's a good chance we're on for a whole nother hour talking about God knows what. So this dysfunction goes on forever. Just stick with us. Stick with us. We're so glad you're here. We love everybody. Thanks for listening. Thank you so much for listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoyed spending time with us because we enjoy spending time with you. If you did, make sure you hit that subscribe button or add the Business and Pleasure of Flowers to your Google morning routine or your flash briefing on Alexa. We look forward to seeing you next week.

SPEAKER_00 27:55

So please come back and join us and discover how a bit of knowledge and one small change in your mindset can take you to new levels in your life and business.