Covid Continues: How are YOU doing?

Episode 087: Summer is winding down and Covid numbers are up, which is a cause of concern for all of us. Vonda and Lori discuss the likelihood that it's not going away soon and how  compassion and empathy fatigue have set in. In this heartfelt conversation about struggles with vaccines,  CDC guidelines, and running a business, Vonda and Lori highlight a few things you can do to continue your success  this fall.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Designing flowers. It's hard. It's hard. I know you don't think it's hard because you're natural. It's freaking hard, Vonda LaFever.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Welcome to the Business and Pleasure of Flowers. We're your hosts, Vonda LaFever and Lori Wilson.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

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

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Lori, this morning I woke up knowing that we were going to do this podcast on COVID. And the song by Ann Murray came to mind. A Little Good News. Do you remember that song? I sure could use a little good news today. Is that the song? Yes, I do. It just kind of hit me thinking, isn't that where we all are right now? It's like, yeah, oh my gosh, we sure could use a little good news today. Yes, all the reports are coming about, the number of sales that are going down in the month of July because of the new Delta Virant. And you know, all of that. It's just like, wait a minute, give me some good news.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Yeah. You know, there's an Instagram account that I follow. It's called the Good News Movement. And I love every time I scroll through when it pops up because I know it's not going to be bad. It's going to be something happy. It's going to be something really heartfelt. Um, and it's you either a video or a picture and it tells a story. Um, and it might even be like a military dad coming home and surprising his kid, or anyway, that's one of my safety things on social media.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Yeah. Just wanted to share that. That's exactly the same kind of thing. It's just like we just need something because we are all getting to where we're just tired.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Yeah, we're round two, right? We are round two. I think in our director's meeting, I was joking about how in 2020 we were like waiting for 2021. And 2021 was like, oh yeah, anything you can do, I can do better. So here we go. Like another song, another song. And now I'm like, well, 2022, are you good? So I don't want to say that things are worse because we do have access to a vaccine now. Um, and I do think my personal opinion and my doctors, all of my many doctors that, as you know, I have to go to, they all feel that the vaccine helps keep you out of the hospital. You can still get it, we all know that. But I don't think things are getting worse, but I think so many of us held on to the hope of oh, if we can just get to 2021. So true. I think we've I don't know if we thought there'd be like a magic button that we would press and everything would go away. But we did. That's that's what kept us moving forward. And now we know we're kind of just in a holding pattern right now. I don't know that we're backwards, but we're in a holding pattern.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Well, you shared with us during our director's meeting also about the flower click members meeting that we had when it just started. Remember? And then one of the members was just in tears.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Yeah, yes. Oh, I'll never forget that. Um, we had our shop talk meeting, and it was, I want to say it was March of 2020, right at the beginning. And there were a lot of tears from shops. I think you and I were crying too, just because we could feel it. And one of them said, I can handle anything, no matter the severity of it. I just need to know an end date. Like, how long do I have to maintain this level of whatever, you know, fill in the blank? And I think about that so, so much because at the time, I was like, well, we don't know the future. Well, we don't know those answers. But now I'm like, I get that. That's how I feel now. Like we're all just tired, and we don't, we don't know what else we can do.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Right, right. I think part of it too, Lori, is that what we found is that we were so hopeful of 2021 and we thought maybe we would be able to escape this. And now what we don't have anymore is you had mentioned it actually, is a lack of freedom.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

And you used to be able to just like get out of the so things that have changed, well, so much has changed in all our lives, but things that I notice a huge difference in just my well-being are number one, all of my classes at the Y are no more. Like a lot of the teachers who actually that needed to have keep jobs went elsewhere that was remaining open. You have to sign up. I'm so bad at signing up, I like to just show up, right? Right, you know, so all of that has kind of been put by the wayside, and now we're going into a whole nother year. Yes, I can do those things at home. Yes, I can make those, but I'm I don't. That's why I go. It's more for the social, it's for you know that. And then the other thing we joke about, I live very close to a Target, which I love. Target, Trader Joe's, my two favorite places in the world. When I need a break, I go, I can go for literally go for 30 minutes and come back. And now I don't because I'm like, uh, unless I need something, is it worth the risk that I'll that I could be bringing back? So I know those things sound minute, but those were things that helped me get through my day to break up my day because working from home is hard sometimes. Right. You know, and now everybody's doing it. I mean, everybody's doing it. My husband is still working from home. You know, we went yesterday. I asked him, I said, can we go up to your office, uh, his building, and take some flowers? Because I had been down at Bill Doran, as you know, and I had some flowers, and I was gonna take some social media pictures for Audrey, our social media girl, so she could use them. So we had a couple of ideas, and we took, we ended up just taking three because we don't have a delivery car, we don't aren't specialized in how to deliver. I'm like, man, this is hard.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

Uh-huh. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

I had two in my lap, I had one between my feet, and I'm like, do not drive over 30. Like, this isn't fun. I'm not doing this again anyway. How funny go up there. First of all, we had to get permission, we had to make sure nobody else was there because you have to sign up. And my thought was like, our our township has offices there, there's a couple, and nobody was there.

unknown 7:11

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

I because I was like, Oh, I'm gonna go give these flowers to the other people. Nobody, and it's a weird feeling. I was almost more fearful being there. I was like, I want to get back home, I need to get back home. It's such a strange, and it's this whole thing has played games with our mind, like the psychological part of us to where it is scary going out. It is, yeah, you know, even to those kind of places. So I was like, I don't know, let's just go back home. Let's and so we took our little pictures there, and even he was like, This is just eerie being in this big building.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

I think that's it, eerie in that situation. I've been traveling quite a bit the last couple weeks and flying on an airplane, and I had done that a couple times in 2020, and you go to the airports and you're like, you could shoot a cannon down, Minneapolis Airport, and Atlanta had a few people, but oh my gosh, Lori, this time the airports were absolutely packed. Wow, flights were full, they were at the point again where they're like, We'll pay you if you take on another flight. And I was like surprised, somewhat, but also, like you said, people are just so tired of staying home. They just want to get out, they want to go places, and it was a lot of families, and I know they were coming here because I live close to Destin, Florida, and so a lot of them were coming and going from here, right? But it was crazy. It's like the difference between your abandoned building and an airport these days was like that's crazy and day.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

Yeah, it was. No, it's it is crazy, and I just saw that the Department of Transportation for the United States has pushed that mask mandate into January, mid-January of 2022, which you know what, I think that's smart, better safe than sorry, not a big deal. I too have traveled like you, especially after I got my vaccine, and I don't find it a big deal to wear my mask on a plane. No, not at all, actually. You know me and my hatred of people that bring on smelly food on the airplane, which again, uh someday I'm gonna go lobby for that. I'm like, my mask helps.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Yes, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

It filters out those smells, filters out well, not all of them, not still doesn't filter out when people bring on tuna. Oh, like what? Why is that even sold in an airport? Why I don't understand it. It just yeah, but anyway, that's a whole nother podcast.

SPEAKER_00 9:57

Yes, it would be, yes. But I do think we're kind of at the point where all right, people are either staying in completely or they're getting out because they're want to escape. And a lot of those people I think who are traveling have had their vaccines because I think there's a freedom. Yeah, when you have that, you feel like, oh, well, at least I'm have a layer of protection, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

You know something, and I mean, we we talked about this last week when we interviewed Laura. Again, she's an attorney just for the state of Texas, so every answer she had had to be fairly general because every state's different. But I think about our shops that the owner has been vaccinated, and and many of their some employees, some shops everyone has, some has, but they still have that bit of a fear. You have to keep going. If if you are a business owner, you're gonna make money and sustain your business. You have to wake up every day, you have to go into work. You can't just go, you know what, I don't want to go to walk around Target for a little while. Like that's not an option for them, right? And I admire them so much for their drive, even though there has to be days they wake up and they're like, I just I don't want to do this anymore.

SPEAKER_00 11:19

I think some of that, though, Lori, is you do feel safe within your own environment, even at the flower shop. If you surround yourself by people who one have had the vaccine or abide by your protocol, which is you have to wear a mask if you're in here and you have to wash your hands every so often. I know me, and that if I'm in my own environment and I'm controlling that environment, you know, I'm thinking of some of our Flower Click member shops, and specifically I have a couple in mind. I'm thinking that's what they would do. They would go, This is my safe space. And if I don't feel safe in my own space, then you need to get out of here. Right. Because this is my safe space. Yeah, and I'm not talking customers because customers control how many come in and out, but I do think that flower shop owners have still a drive to make people happy with flowers because it's the heart and soul of a flower shop owner or a designer. It's like I know what flowers can do for people, and so I know how important my job is.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Yeah, I know a lot of shops are thinking through, you know, again, 2020 was really good to our industry. It was if you got to look at something that was good, and I think a lot of shops are wondering is that momentum going to keep going, or are people going to just go, you know what, I'm over it, I don't care anymore.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

Well, I was talking to a shop just yesterday. We were talking about the number of weddings that had increased. It was insane. I'm like, so did the people who moved over from 2020 go to a weekday? And she said no, they were taking all the 2021 weekends, and so the new brides is who she was feeling bad for because then the people who had newly engaged or that were trying to book a date were having a hard time finding weekend wedding slots. So it was they're still getting married, the weddings are mid-size to big, but yeah, again, that's gonna have to be monitored.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Yeah, I know. I was talking to my oldest child the other day, and he's supposed to be flying to Florida in October for a wedding, one of his dear friends. And and usually, you know, he's young, so yes, he's been vaccinated, but COVID is like an afterthought to his lifestyle hasn't really changed, unfortunately. But anyway, he said, you know, I'm concerned that they may end up canceling, um, or they'll go off and get married, and well, you know, because he was going with a group of friends, they have an Airbnb. I mean, it's a big celebration, right? I mean, they love this guy, he's one of their childhood best friends, so that reality is hitting very close to home for us. But at the end of the day, that couple has to make a decision that works best for their family, and I'm sure they would talk to you know their parents and everything, but very rarely does he plant a seed of doubt like that. But it was first time I was like, Oh, now you're worried about these things.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Right, right. Well, it's because he's surrounded by people who probably have put that doubt in his mind, and right we've talked about it a little before, you know, it's a fatigue, and what's happening too, and I know you feel it, and I feel it and see it, is there's less compassion for people, yeah, and the flower shops are feeling it a lot. Is it yeah?

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Um, they are, and I don't think they feel it, you know, when they're doing sympathy arrangements. I think that is still there, but I think our world as a whole, there's a big part that you you talk about the sympathy compassion fatigue in the articles that I was reading, and what I feel is empathy fatigue. And I do that when I read articles or watch videos from nurse, frontline nurses, from frontline teachers, um, people that are servants in the world, and they're like, I'm absolutely exhausted, you know. Um, and some of the nurses that are seeing the things they see and dealing with patients that possibly could have been a lesser um intensity COVID symptom, you know, intensity, and I don't know how they do it. I don't know how they do it. I I think I've told you before, I mean, I I worry about my daughter, and she's in the healthcare field and she goes in every day, and she she does have some underlying conditions. Underlying conditions, right, right, and you know, even though she's vaccinated, even though she wears the strongest masks you can, and she does everything that you're supposed to, there's still that fear of, but what if, you know, and so I was listening to something on the news the other day, they were interviewing a doctor, and the doctor was saying, he said, there are some insurance companies that are looking at, he said, let's be clear, none of this is a done deal, but they are looking at if you don't have a vaccine because a vaccine helps this be preventable, they're not going to cover all of the cot the cost, which could go up to hundreds of thousands of dollars along in there. And I was like, again, he said 500 times, this is not truth right now. I mean, this is just they're just in talk. So just be aware that this is coming. And I thought, dang, that because some of these bills would be would be really high, you know, really high. And so I but I think that's bit go back to your compassion fatigue, empathy fatigue, even thinking possibly we'd do that. It's they're done. They're like, listen, yeah, yeah. Based on the data and the science, this could help. Why are you not doing everything you can to try help? So I know there's people listening that are completely 100% against me, and that's okay. That's okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

You can get on your podcast and say the opposite. Well, you and I were discussing that. It's like, you know, there are reasons, some people for religious reasons, medical reasons, that they their doctor maybe has advised them not to take the vaccine, but I don't think there's many out there. There's not many, right? Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:07

And I I did a lot of research on that too, because I had, you know, some family members saying that. And and based on just the research according to me, and then my own doctors, my pulmonologist, my cardiologist, it's very, very few reasons. I mean, the reasons would be pretty apparent and obvious for that person.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Well, you know me, I was a never vaccine person.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

I know you were.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

And then the more I watched Lori and the struggles that she's gone through because of COVID, and you know, hear of a few people who had it, and it was so bad. It's like, okay, so anybody who thinks, well, this isn't real, does it hurt to get your vaccine? You know, right.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Better say I'm sorry, is my model of the sense. Right, right. And that's how I feel. And even because what you you learned from me, but I also learned from you, I have to understand. Not everybody thinks the way I do. So even if there are people that don't get the vaccine for whatever reason it is, wouldn't you want to wear a mask? Yeah. At least keep a mask on when you go out. I think of the argument saying, you know, well, that's they may not work. Well, the same goes with seat belts, right?

unknown 19:35

Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

It may not keep me alive in a horrible car accident, but maybe it will.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

So don't talk to me about seat belts because it saved my son's life. So there's no reason not to wear a seat.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Oh, I and and I would be the other way. My brother who died wasn't wearing one. So yeah, there you go. There you go. So, right? Um that that's the thing. It's it's hard, it's hard for me. And I don't think I'm alone in this, no matter what side you're on. It's so hard right now to sit and have a conversation with somebody that's on the other side, right? When it comes to their belief about COVID, and that's where I think the fatigue goes in. Like we can only be patient for so long. Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

I totally agree. I don't know, and then it's just like, you know what? Okay, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

I I don't want to talk to you anymore. We right, right. And anyway, we're getting so off track because we're supposed to be focusing more. But I but I'm we're having these conversations because I have had these same conversations with flowershop owners about their own employees, you know, like some of them that have been there for a long time. And for whatever reason, they don't want, and the owner is like, come on, please take one for the team. Do this for us, like let us because I want you to stay. I don't, we don't have to agree on everything in the world.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

And it was like your friend and the attorney Laura last week was saying, you know, this is uncharted territory and check state to state, you know, there might be guidelines in your state that you can do something. Otherwise, you know, if they're not abiding by your rules, which are you need to have a mask or or a vaccine, then you know, they might not be able to work there.

SPEAKER_01 21:35

So one thing I want to say is if people are listening and they they're not going to get the vaccine no matter what, I don't want you to leave our podcast thinking we don't like you, we don't have empathy for you. I I that's not at all my heart. It's quite the opposite, right? I care about you, I love you. I love you. I want you to be alive. I want to someday meet you in person. Like all of those things. Right. It's it's because I want to be and I strive to be others centered. That's where I got the vaccine. I want to protect other people around me and myself.

SPEAKER_00 22:20

And we respect everybody's decision. It's not that at all.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

Yeah, we do. We do. My my only advice: here's what I tell people speak to your physician. Do not look through the internet for things that are gonna align to your belief system. So true. Right? And this is hard. This is hard for all of us. We all do that, let's be honest. I mean, you look at any of our social media algorithms, it's only stuff that we're getting is stuff that we've searched or liked, or that's just the way it is. But when it comes to this, speak to your doctor, your medical doctor, right? Have a conversation, maybe have more than one conversation. That's the first conversation with cardiology and pulmonology before I got vaccinated. And I wasn't even against it. I was just like, what exactly, you know, and they the both of them, they're more than happy to draw charts, to draw diagrams. I mean, because it's it's their passion, it's their love, it's what they went to school for 12 years for, right? That's who we gotta trust.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

Well, what we do know is this last quarter that it's not going away, right? That we need to be safe, please. Every one of you listening, keep yourself safe, wearing the mask, social distance for sure. And you know, if you can and are willing, get the vaccine if you haven't already. But for sure, wear the mask and social distance. Try to keep everybody around you safe because it's not going away, Lori. Right. And you can still be successful. Oh, absolutely. And so I think that's the upside. I think that's what we have to look at right now. And what I want to share with all of you is that you need to market to the people who sent flowers out of love last year. I mean, it's been it's been a year, and so we do have records of who purchased flowers last year, certain holidays, maybe it's a birthday, maybe it's for no reason at all. Look up that information because those are the people who understand the value of flowers. They know that you're sending virtual hugs, you're spreading smiles and love. So pick up the phone, call that person and say, Hey, you know, I think Aunt Susie could use a little pick-me-up. Can we send something out to her today? I agree.

SPEAKER_01 24:52

The other thing I would add for that when you talk about marketing, and again, this is free stuff. Post on your Instagram and your Facebook, but target those teachers, target those nurses, target, say people who has a teacher or a nurse in their life that maybe needs flowers this week. Yeah. Back to school, teachers are exhausted, nurses are beyond busy. Just think about those types of things because you never know who's gonna see that and go, oh my gosh, my cousin's a teacher. I should totally send her flowers. Oh my gosh. I can tell you nothing makes you feel better as a teacher than if they flowers get delivered for you. I mean, that is such a big deal, it makes you feel so loved. And all of your students are like, Oh, Mrs. Wilson, who sent flowers? I mean, it's just it makes me so happy. It makes me want to go teach just so I can get flowers again. But I mean, it's a big deal.

SPEAKER_00 25:55

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

And so if there's anyone, and it doesn't have to be a $200 arrangement, right?

SPEAKER_00 26:03

Have a just a mean, just a thinking of you, getting you through the day. We actually would do that for marketing purposes from the flower shop to the school offices, the flower shop, flowers, etc., in Dixon. Shout out to Didi there. Yeah, because we would send it to each one of the school offices and say, You have such an important job to do to teach all the children and influence them. Thank you for all you do. Here's to a great year ahead. And we would get so many notes from the teachers and the office staff and everybody else. It was a big base of flowers, Lori, because you wanted everybody to just go, Wow, that's well, but you didn't do a big base for each individual teacher. It was just one big but that then sparked people who were in the office, yeah, right, to go, oh, I should send flowers to my teacher. And so then it kind of did spread the love a little. It was a good, it was a good marketing idea. So yeah, send flowers to the nurse or I think it's fun.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

I think those are just things you throw up on your social media, have a you know, an ad or something in your store to remind people of that. You know, you get it going. All right, Vonda, what are our takeaways here?

SPEAKER_00 27:13

I think our takeaways are don't get discouraged. And I know that's hard to say. Yeah, Lori, who is our ever happy bubbly, is getting discouraged. I am I'm flat. I don't have any bubbles in this week. So try not to get like that. I mean, you you have to find some joy in your life and to be able to get through this. And sometimes it is just flowers, Lori. And I see beautiful flowers behind you, so I know that's helping you. So those are.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

It's at one point Mark was laughing at me because it took me a good hour, a good hour to even make three out of our bundles, Vonda. Out of the bundles, which a normal designer could throw that in, add your foliage into the but it's hard. And so, to all of the designers out there, I truly am in awe of you. I really am because it is not my wheelhouse. I'm just gonna say that. It is not my wheelhouse. I like them, it makes my anxiety high because I get so caught up in following the recipe and making it look exactly it's just it's just a lot. I can't do it. I would rather be on the phone for 10 hours, talking about it. Which you are, so that's I am than away in there and and designing flowers.

SPEAKER_00 29:10

Isn't that weird? Yeah, it surprises me that flowers can cause anxiety.

unknown 29:15

Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 29:17

But I think a lot of people go into the business. A lot of the people that are doing it from home, they just love flowers and but it's not that easy. Yeah, it's really not that easy. Designers are phenomenally creative people, they're artists, they're truly artists. I remember you a long time ago, you hated when people would use the word crafty, craft or something like that. Remember when we talked about and I didn't quite understand that now. And I'm like, this isn't just a craft, like this is an art.

SPEAKER_00 29:52

I agree. It is more of an art. And a lot of people now, I guess that's kind of the buzz thing, is it's a craft. And I'm like, crafting to me is like gluing and like I repainted some furniture. That's a craft, but that's a talent too, you know.

SPEAKER_01 30:07

Oh, it is. It is rather, I would rather do that.

SPEAKER_00 30:11

Craft to me downplays the importance of any artistic creative thing that people are doing. Yes, that's I guess that's where I'm at.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

And and so it's good for me every once in a while when I do get the boxes. It gives me a whole new, fresh perspective again on designers.

SPEAKER_00 30:32

So look good.

SPEAKER_01 30:33

I'm impressed. I'm impressed by you. So but I did make cloud nine one, I think, or a version of it of your bundle.

SPEAKER_00 30:40

It's cloud nine, and it looks like roses. Those are Myra roses, they're a type of a garden rose and they smell heavenly, don't they? They do, they do.

SPEAKER_01 30:49

My kitchen smelled like them. So anyway, that's that's what's inspiring me.

SPEAKER_00 30:54

So well, that's good. Cloud nine and Myra roses are inspiring you. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 30:59

Well, and it's inspiring me that it is not something I have to do for a living.

SPEAKER_00 31:07

All right, Lori. Our words for them are stay safe. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 31:12

And stay up, stay up, stay patient. Try to maintain your patience level because every single one of us at the end of the day are doing our best, right?

SPEAKER_00 31:22

Yep. So spread love and joy and smiles with flowers.

SPEAKER_01 31:26

There you go. 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 31:50

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.