Meet Laurel

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laurel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Laurel , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Resilience is something that takes a lot of time and persistence to develop. Looking back at when I was younger and growing up, I had some very, large dreams that I wanted to achieve. One of these dreams was to be the best piano player in the state of MN (which is very different from the flower farming and floral design I do today). Part of this dream was working extremely hard to get to be the best piano player. From the very beginning, I was good at music and piano; but I had so many people critique my playing abilities that ultimately pushed me to prove them wrong. When I was told ‘You’re not great,’ I’d go home and practice non-stop to prove I was great at what I was doing. I developed thick skin, but I knew that I needed to grow and become better at what I was doing to achieve my dreams. Having others critique you isn’t a bad thing, I look at it as learning opportunities to improve and get to my dreams & goals quicker.

Part of resilience is being your biggest cheerleader and finding others that want to be your cheerleader. In life, you’ll have so many people tell you ‘no’ or ‘maybe next time’. We can’t let the ‘no’s’ impact our path forward; I always tell myself ‘you have to get through the ‘no’s’ before you get to the ‘yes’s’; by keeping this mindset I’ve been able to pursue my dreams of being a flower farmer florist I’ve wanted to be. Surround yourself around the people who believe in you, and believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, others won’t believe in you.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a flower farmer florist based just outside of Minneapolis, MN. I grow flowers on about 2 acres west of the cities next to a protected wetland which provides lots of beauty and a sanctuary for wildlife. Growing up, I’ve always loved flowers (who doesn’t though) but wasn’t exposed to what a career in flowers looked like. So I pursued a career in business, specifically marketing, and became very successful in corporate America. Throughout my marketing career, I always dabbled in the idea of transitioning to working with flowers instead of being in corporate marketing. My first step in at least trying to jump start my floral career was applying to work as a cashier in a flower shop…and I was told ‘no’. Over the past almost decade, I never gave up hope. I kept applying and reaching out to florists in the area to find any opportunity available; majority of the answers were ‘no’ but eventually I was able to breakthrough and start getting some amazing florists to say ‘yes’ to me. Throughout that entire time, I kept practicing my floral design skills and creating a business plan so that when the opportunity was there, I was able to launch my flower farm and floral design business. Now I’m able to own my flower farm and floral design business and have a career in flowers.

At Laurel’s Flower Farm and Floral Design, I offer cut flowers for sale at grocery stores, farmers markets, and to florists. I also design using the flowers I grow for weddings and special events. We are a boutique farm focused on growing beautiful, specialty flowers in an array of colors; we do not produce mass amounts of flowers or have a large commercialization process. Instead we focus on growing sustainably and giving back to our earth, I don’t use harsh chemicals or sprays ever. I use organic like growing practices that focus on regenerative growing techniques to ultimately make my farm a sanctuary for myself and everything around it. Another piece of my business I focus on is connecting with the community in various ways; by offering my flowers at local farmers markets and grocery stores I’m able to give my community beautiful, seasonal, local flowers that I never had growing up. Beautiful, local flowers shouldn’t be exclusive, we should be inclusive giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy the beauty we have to offer here in MN.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Never give up, it may take years before you can achieve your dreams but it will come.
2. Be your biggest cheerleader, if you don’t believe in yourself others won’t.
3. Take your own action / journey, if someone tells you ‘no’ figure out how you can continue on a path forward.
4. Extra: take the leap. Get out of your comfort zone and take that first step forward.

Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?

My ideal client is someone who appreciates the art, dedication, and craft behind offering a local product and supporting a small business. I focus on 100% local when designing and providing flowers to my communities. It’s tough to be 100% local, but it’s worth the effort. Clients that appreciate sustainability are also key; sustainability can come at a cost to support and a higher price point, but the longer term impacts sustainability has on our world is very important to my business and ideal client.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.laurelsflowers.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurelsflowers/

Image Credits

Spacecrafting Photography