225 – Bridging Careers from Nursing to Floral Design with Patti Muhlenfeld

Patti Muhlenfeld is the owner of Enchanted Events but her background is actually as an Emergency Department Registered Nurse where she loved taking care of her patients. At Advocate Sherman Hospital she was often called upon to design for corporate events such as award celebrations, leadership conferences and holiday galas. Patti and her husband have seven children and, as you can imagine, with all the kids came plenty of opportunities to plan and design festivities. She always created celebrations that were known as “the best to go to for a fun time.” Patti’s love of flowers and unique designs were enhanced as a protégé of Preston Bailey in New York, and under the apprenticeship of Akeshi at Kesh Designs in Chicago. Business Building Insights Pay attention to what you’re passionate about. You’re pulled in that direction for a reason. Invest in becoming skilled in your craft. Take classes, find a mentor or join a community of people in your same niche. Communicate your mission statement to the people you hire because they will be representing your business when you’re not around. They need to understand your values and message so everyone is in alignment. Starting a business is a learning process. You’ll make mistakes and you’ll learn from them. Then keep going forward. Former customers are fabulous for word of mouth. Build a system into your customer service followup plan so you routinely as for them. Networking is key to bringing in sales. You must get in front of people so they can learn about you and what you do. Contact Links Website Facebook Instagram Gift Biz Resources Join our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue