Flower Farming Business: The Importance of Showing Vulnerability
One thing that I’ve noticed with social media and flower farmers is that we’re always trying to compare ourselves to other flower farmers.
It’s pretty natural. On one hand, we love seeing what everyone else is growing - it’s so fun to see what is bloom, how people are growing and designing and running their businesses, and it’s great to help support each other.
But there is another, darker side to it - where we start having jealousy over other peoples’ successes. The beautiful images: the idyllic shots of the coiffed, well-manicured farmer plucking a single perfectly grown sweet pea stem from a lush planting, the golden sunlight in their hair.
And we start questioning ourselves.
Some people seem to get a bit self-conscious about themselves when it comes to flower farming.
Maybe they are self conscious of their property and that it doesn’t look picture perfect.
Maybe they don’t think they're pretty enough, smart enough, talented enough.
Maybe they don’t see themselves as a legitimate flower farmer.
And some people really start to rag on themselves.
I’m not pretty enough to photograph
Nobody wants to see another woman growing and “playing with” flowers
I’m not really a farmer, am I?
I’m not anyone special… why even bother?
This makes me sad, because you know what? It truly doesn’t matter what you look like, or how legitimate you think you are as a farmer or even if you are special or not.
You are YOU.
Your business is yours - and that’s what makes it special.
Not that it’s just as beautiful and successful as the other businesses you follow. Or that you’re following a business model that was a success.
And in fact, if you try to model yourself after another person or business you will fail. Simply because you are NOT them, that business is NOT yours, and it’s not authentic.
What matters to the person/customer following your journey and what matters for your business is that you tell the world about yourself. And you be your authentic self with all the brilliant bits of you that shine brightly and the parts that shine a little less brightly too.
I admit, it’s not easy. It’s something that we still struggle with because there is a vulnerability in showing yourself off to the world. It takes a certain level of self-confidence and knowing yourself to be able to present.
But what’s funny is that the things that we perceive as weaknesses - our hair that never quite does what we want it to, the inherent clumsiness that we’re still trying to overcome, the nervous laugh that comes out when we’re talking, the ancient pickup truck that we’re still using to haul flowers, our relative inexperience when it comes to growing - are only weaknesses if we let them be weaknesses.
Ironically, these are the things that people tend to love the most about us. These are the characteristics that endear us to others, to our customers, and make us who we are. They give us personality and individuality, and make people want to engage with us and get to know us and our businesses.
Let me put it this way: if you don’t show people who you are, how will people love you and support you? And believe me, once you put yourself out there, you will find people to love and support you. Overwhelmingly sometimes, but people can’t help themselves. If you’re doing good work and creating something of beauty and that is authentic, people will be interested and they will follow you.
My challenge to you is to think about how you present yourself and your business. What are the things that you feel embarrassed or nervous about showing the world? Is it something about yourself? Could it potentially be a strength, rather than a weakness?
Some of the most popular and successful growers out there are the ones that show vulnerability. That share about the successes and failures of themselves. That use self-deprecating humor a lot. And it makes them so extremely likeable because it is authentic. We like them because they’re human, and sometimes they do things like eat M&M’s for dinner because they were too busy digging dahlia tubers all day long. It’s relatable.
Humans love other humans, and there is no better way to connect with your audience and customers than by being a human. Find a way to connect with people this week, and let yourself be yourself.
THE FLOWER FARMER VULNERABILITY CHALLENGE
I challenge you to post something on social media that is outside of your comfort zone. Something that gets into the big raw nerve endings of your self, that will tell your customer more about yourself and make that human connection.
Some ideas:
1) Tell your origin story. How did you get started in flower farming? What’s your purpose in growing? Where do you want to head and accomplish?
2) Talk about something that you may not like to share, but is important to you. Did you have any formative experiences that have made a huge impact on you? What are some of the events in your life that have changed you?
3) Talk about your weird habits. Snacks, music and favorite artists, TV shows and movies, weird personality quirks are always a good start.
4) Talk about your children or pets. Sometimes the craziness of small dependents is the way that I make a strong connection with others.
5) Talk about something you’re struggling with. People like an underdog and a narrative, but more importantly they like someone who is not perfect, and is imperfectly perfect like anyone else.
6) Post a candid photo of yourself. No makeup, with hat hair, out in the field, wearing a mask - the more raw and real, the better.
7) Talk about your year in 2020. It’s been a crazy year for most of us, and if there’s one thing we can agree on this year has been NUTS.