Meet Tammy Myers

We recently connected with Tammy Myers and have shared our conversation below.

Tammy, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

I think my work ethic came from living on a small farm growing up. When you have a farm, whether large or small, you have responsibilities around the clock. Feeding horses or cows doesn’t stop on a rainy miserable night and nor does “changing the sprinklers” in the pasture when friends pull up to go off and do something. It all has to be done no matter what. Even if you worked a full day at your real job, there were chores to be taken care of when you got home. Over time that level of responsibility becomes part of life, the routine.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

As a small business consultant, my job is to give other business owners advice on how to run their own businesses! Sometimes, I wonder myself how I’m qualified for this title. The truth is, I started working in customer service at a young age. I worked retail jobs. Standing behind a counter, ringing up sales, counting back change the old-fashioned way, and treating customers the way I would want someone to treat me in a store.

My business, Lora Bloom Consulting, is very focused on the customer’s perspective. I believe it’s really the building blocks of being a good business owner. Long before SEO and social media, someone’s word and reputation meant everything in business. Now the shopping experience isn’t just in person, it’s online, in emails, and on social media. I try to help my clients see their business from the consumers point of view and how they felt with the interaction.

Having been in the floral industry for the past decade, selling flowers locally in my community, I too am shifting my client base from B2C to B2B. I have had to rethink who my customer is and what their experience is with my new consulting business. One of those ways I’m working to create real connections with new and existing clients is by hosting monthly meetups. Each month I’ll host an event with a different theme, topic and/or guest speaker. For January, I partnered with a local brand photographer and we’re offering a headshot, networking and industry insights. In February, my bookkeeper will discuss tips and tricks on managing business finances. In March, I’m partnering with a local social media and branding Expert. This creates great networking opportunities for all who attend.

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

I’d have to say failure, courage and perseverance. You know that saying how failure isn’t really failing, it’s learning. It’s one of the truest lessons I’ve ever learned. Early in my business years, I took a lot of risks. Many were failures even though I knew what I offered as a product and service was quality.

In the floral industry, many florists, especially newer ones who don’t have physical stores will host pop-up flower shops. In my second year of business, I got this amazing idea to host a flower shop in an old historical gas station that was owned by the city and used for meetings and holiday events. It was in a great location! It had total curb appeal, and I pulled out all the stops with buckets and buckets of flowers on display. I had friends help me pull off a 3-day pop-up over Valentine’s day; I even had a custom sign made to display weeks before. I spent thousands of dollars and barely broke even. I put so much work into that holiday with no profits. It felt like a total failure.

Yet, by Mother’s Day, I mustered up the courage to give it a try again at a different location on a smaller scale. Again, break even when all was said and done. It was another failure again.

Over a few more years and a few more failures, I figured out how to tip the scales back in my favor. I learned the purpose of a pop-up was to not have a pop-up at all! A pop-up should be used as a short-term strategy to gain visibility and exposure so customers will seek you out directly for business. By the end of my floral business career, I was consistently hitting 50-60% profit margins for holiday sales.

Every time I failed, I learned. In time, I learned how to win.

I don’t think I would have tried again and again if I didn’t have courage or perseverance. It takes courage to admit failure and perseverance to keeping trying until you get it right.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

I have to say myself. I hope that doesn’t sound arrogant. At the end of the day, only I know the insecurities rolling around in my head. The only thing or person that’s truly held me back is myself. If you believe in something enough, you’ll find a way.

There are close people in my life who haven’t always been the most supportive or agreeable about my business decisions. It’s hurtful at times to know this, and there’s an enormous amount of self-doubt that can constantly be sitting on my shoulder talking to me like an annoying parrot.

I’ve had to be downright uncomfortable with the thoughts and feelings rolling around in my head to discover what I truly wanted. It took patience and time. I had to shut out everyone else to truly hear what my heart was saying to do. I had to discover that myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lorabloom.com/
• Instagram: @lorabloom.consulting
• Facebook: @lorabloom.consulting

Image Credits

Missy Palacol
Dana Romascanu
Jessy Clinch