Meet Jennifer Haffner

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jennifer Haffner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

My work ethic comes from my family who were all small business owners on Cape Cod. Everyone in my family ran their own businesses from landscaping to excavation to residential building design. During summers growing up I always had 2-3 jobs. I’d work in a retail shop during the day and wait tables at night. A good work ethic is key. After college, my full time career focused on corporate events for large companies in Boston. After hours, I started a small business coordinating weddings on on weekends and pursuing my first glimpse of entrepreneurial work. I was now working full time as a marketing events manager and growing g a small business in the weddings industry. That work ethic was everything g.
My dad was always a huge supporter and in recent years he and I had a lot to share about small businesses and the work and mindset required to be successful.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

When I was working in Boston for large corporations, I realized that events with personal connection and artistry were my passion. After having g my first son and moving to Connecticut leaving corporate America in the rear view was hard.
I knew I wanted to run a small business but not quite sure of what it would look like. I enjoyed planning weddings, but always felt most passionate about the floral design. My vision for an event company that focused on farm flower workshops was launched in 2017. Barn Door Blooms started with a workshop hosted for close family and friends using local flowers from one farm. Everything grew from here –
I started hosting workshops at local businesses and getting my name out through participating at the local farmers market and creating pop up shops at small businesses like bagel shops, wineries, breweries and home decor shops. I also spent time shadowing another florist friend and helped with a series of weddings and events. I took any farm flower workshops I could and built relationships with local flower farmers. I taught myself about small business and floral design through podcasts, books, the internet and anything I could get my hands on!

I knew how to manage large scale events, I had passion and creativity, but learning the floral world was a totally new challenge!
Today I am the owner and creative officer of a luxury weddings floral design studio. With a brand created right from my own barn, “Barn Door Blooms”. I have a growing team, 8 years of growth and amazing clients who trust us to flower the one of the biggest days of their lives!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Perseverance, patience and a sense of humor.
While you need to keep putting one foot in front of the other – even if it’s tiny moves, you need to keep moving in the direction of your dreams. Patience is required because you’re going to make mistakes and you’re going to go down wrong paths and if you’re anything like me, you might even cry a little. Here is where the sense of humor comes in. It’s a great adventure, don’t take yourself too seriously. Learn from your mistakes and laugh. A good sense of humor will keep your perspective in line!

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

There is never just one person. I think you need to be open to the universe but I will say, a good business coach, a mentor in your industry, friends in the industry you’re pursuing and building relationships with fellow small business owners is critical to success. Relationships have saved me when I was second guessing myself, trying to wear 100 different hats, grow my confidence and know I was not alone in the entrepreneur journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www..barndoorblooms.com
• Instagram: @barndoorblooms
• Facebook: @barndoorblooms

Image Credits

Nicole Bedard Photography
Pearl Paper Studio
Rachel Kaoudello Photo
Aesthetic Sabotage
SMS Photography Connecticut