Episode 107 - How to Build a Floral Community with Amy McGee

We chat with Amy McGee about how she’s built up a community of florists with her education and resource website.   If the past year has taught us anything, it’s the importance of virtual communities.   In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we talked with Amy McGee of Botanical Brouhaha. Last year we loved learning about how she has pivoted her business over time. In this episode we chatted about one of her newer projects, Bloom Trust Co. She’s brought together educators and resources in one place that makes it easy for fresh florists to find the help they need—and there’s lots of useful info for us paper florists, as well.  Amy wasn’t planning on Bloom Trust Co. being a virtual community. She envisioned it as a place to grab info and go. But as she listened to feedback from members, she realized that people wanted more. They wanted a place to gather together.  You can hear all about how Amy has successfully built up that community and what Bloom Trust Co. offers by listening to the episode. Here’s a little sneak peek of three things she’s done that have helped her virtual community thrive.   Here’s what you’ll learn when you listen to our conversation:► How to “flower with purpose” and choose work that is meaningful to you. ► When to listen to or ignore feedback. ► Why building a foundation of trust is crucial in business. ► How to nurture an online community.► Which educators are involved in Bloom Trust Co. Build Trust If people didn’t grow to trust Amy over the years, they wouldn’t have wanted her to create an online community. Amy has proven herself trustworthy to countless florists by providing top quality education and advice time and time again with her podcast, blog, and personal recommendations.   “The mission of everything I do is to flower with purpose.”   A community must be built on trust. If you’re trying to nurture a place for people to gather, whether online or in-person, you need to gain people’s trust first.  Think about why you want to build community. We put together Paper Talk because we want our entire paper flower industry to thrive, just like Amy wants fresh florists to succeed. And people can tell when you stay true to the heart of your mission! As you make decisions that reflect those values, you’ll build trust.   Strengthen Relationships As Amy mentioned in the podcast, every educator she works with for Bloom Trust Co. is someone she feels comfortable enough with to call on the phone. She knows that people will get quality education and content from them. She trusts them.  Community is about bringing people together, and that means navigating relationships. You need reliable partners who can help you build your gathering place. We’ve talked about it before, but Paper Talk and the success of our individual brands wouldn’t have been possible if Quynh and Jessie didn’t have each other. Listen to the episode to hear more about how Amy has built up her relationships with the people she’s worked with, as well as who is involved as educators with Bloom Trust Co.    Focus on Accessibility Amy spoke passionately and beautifully about why accessibility matters. You’ll want to hear about how she has kept that focus at the forefront while creating Bloom Trust Co., and how she has been so successful at bringing floral education to a wider audience.    “If your mission is to help people, and your mission is to get access to people, then you want that for them no matter where they find it. It might be with someone who’s doing something similar to you, then that’s fine, and we’re all better for it.”   To put it simply, a supportive community should be inclusive and accessible to as many people as possible. And sometimes that means helping people find their place, even if it’s elsewhere. As Amy said, “If your mission is to help people, and your mission is to get access to people, then you want that for them no matter where they find it. It might be with someone who’s doing something similar to you, then that’s fine, and we’re all better for it.”    Join our Facebook group where you can share, connect, and grow with us. Please also consider supporting us on Patreon for even more great content like this.