Meet Rachel Schumacher

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

Hi Rachel, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?

It comes from just having a big heart for people and Jesus. I have always wanted to make a difference in the world no matter what I am doing. Despite switching careers from health care to now a business owner, I wanted my business to have a giving back component. It was funny, before I even started a floral business or knew I’d be interested, during COVID I went to Trader Joe’s and picked up flowers and delivered them to the residents for Valentine’s Day while they were stuck in their rooms. It only felt natural that a great way for me to still serve the older adult communities in assisted livings and nursing homes was to be able to give them flowers after a wedding instead of throwing them away. Yes, it is a little more effort and work, but I don’t do it for the money. I do it because I want to make a difference and spark some joy in some of the most lonely places.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Essentially as a floral designer and business owner my goals are to serve couples with kindness, respect, and creativity. I want to bring each couple’s unique floral vision to life inspired by what I learn connecting with them or their planner, understanding their priorities, and making as much of an impact as we can with their investment. I also am striving to not throw beautiful flowers away and give them another purpose to bring joy to others when their beauty still has time to be enjoyed by many. I feel this is uniquely special in that these services are free, but add so much value to our couples too knowing the flowers are getting used beyond just their wedding day despite being a perishable product. Our values as business are to be more relational than just transactional and I want that to shine through in my customer service, designs, and giving back components of the business.

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?

Not being afraid to take a risk, finding community, and knowing that changing careers is okay was something that took me a while to come to terms with, but once I did, the business has grown tremendously, and I am so grateful for that. I would encourage those wanted to start a floral business that you freelance for other florists first to really get a taste of what it is like. It is not an easy job and requires a lot of manual labor, but can be worth it if you truly love it.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

I think as pretty much all business owners, the biggest obstacle can be mindset and managing the waves of excitement and disappointment that comes with being a business owner. It is a constant rollercoaster of emotions from being excited about a recent booking to rejection. It is something I am continuing to get better with in time, but I think will always be a challenge at times because I deeply care about every person I interact with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sunsetflorals.com
• Instagram: @sunset_florals

Image Credits

Images by Amanda Leigh
Mar Faedo Photos
Timeless Photo and Video
Nicole Simensky Photography
Kira Nicole Photography