Making Luxury Work for Your Authentic Brand – feat. Bron Hansboro of The Flower Guy Bron

Luxury – It’s a word that people tend to either love or hate. For some, the task of cultivating a brand that has a luxury feel while staying authentic and personal may feel impossible. But today’s guest, Bron Hansboro of The Flower Guy Bron is here to de-bunk that common misconception! Listen in as Bron dishes out his best tips for defining what luxury means to you and infusing it into your brand. Plus, hear about the meaning behind the motto that guides his brand: “We don’t sell flowers, we sell experiences”! 

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When you started building your business did you just “go for it” or did you have a plan in place with branding, a website, etc?

Bron [6:53]

Well, I was totally unorthodox, but I think most of us start that way. I only know a few friends who are entrepreneurs that have a short plan before they start.

I think most of us stumble into it and I’m no different. I literally went from designing flowers for my nightstand to designing flowers for weddings and learning as I went and just being observant. So for me, I always pay attention to what’s going on around me. So even though my interest is in flowers, I also knew that I needed to know what was going on in my market.

So it was important that I paid attention to other floors. I paid attention to other vendors in the wedding space, in my local market. And I wanted to make sure that if there was a service not being offered, that I wanted to fill that gap, or if there was an aesthetic that I didn’t see reflected, as well as I felt like I could do it, then I wanted to be that vendor.

So in terms of my website development and my marketing, all of that was based on observation doing market analysis, just not even like hiring anyone, just paying attention, opening my eyes and looking, and then trying to serve a segment or a niche within that larger market. And that’s, that’s kinda how we got it all off the ground.

I love your motto “We don’t sell flowers, we sell experiences”. Tell us the story behind how you came up with this.

Bron [9:30]

I’m glad you asked. And really it just rolled off of my tongue. So one of the things that a lot of folks wouldn’t know about me is that just as important as the completed design is, we also feel like the service component and the experience that we’re creating is as valuable.

So for a while, we were learning through our consultations with our couples. That guest experience was number one more so than even decor, but I also realize how decor impacts guest experience. So it really was an opportunity for me to connect with our couple’s overall goal, which is to host a lovely event and then also couple it in with the flowers.

So really just trying to unify my objective and the couple’s objective. And it really, at the end of the day, isn’t as much about flowers as it is experience and, you know, people at different price points, people with different aesthetics can all have a beautiful experience regardless of the flowers. So that’s really how it was birthed and us selling experiences.

What did the early days of your business look like vs. what they look like now?

Bron [13:50]

In the early part of my business, I was actually juggling a professional career and entrepreneurship. So, you know, it was a very tight rope. I was walking in terms of being able to be in full service professionally to children and parents and teachers while also being in full service to couples and my business. So that was a bit of a joke. But fortunately, we figured out, you know, a balance to manage it all. But now my days are more about understanding my clients, building my business, finding opportunities, and art directing.

So although my hands are very involved in just about every step of the process from the overall conception of the event, to art directing its execution and engaging with the clients. So for example, we’ll have a consultation. I don’t take the initial consultations anymore, but I do call off the proposal presentations. And that is really where the magic happens in terms of couples having an opportunity to see the potential of their event. And that is where I truly thrive. I thrive in the spaces where the creativity is being shared with the couple and their creative juices and energy about their event start to change.

And that’s where we really started. Really, really creates the magic behind it all. So my days are more so filled with business development growth and just managing my team overall. So it’s changed quite a bit from, you know, having to process, having to design everything, having to deliver and set up everything, and having to break down everything. 

Now, we have a lot more assistance, a lot more staff helping them. So I’m able to focus on being a true creative. Right now we probably have about 12 people on the team and that is between processors, strikers designers, and people who come in and clean the glassware and reset.

How do we take “luxury” and transfer it into our brand while staying authentic and personal?

Bron [30:05]

It’s been a road to get there. Trust me, and even giving up the control and loosening the reins for my team to take those roles over has been, you know, quite a steady commitment and ongoing development for me to continue to let it happen.

But it’s the only way that I can continue to love what I do and continue to grow the businesses. If my calendar is able to be filled with things like this, in meetings with other people versus, you know, having to meet with every single person two and three times, it’s just, there’s not enough time in the day.

What exercises can we do to help us define what “luxury” means to us and our clients?

Bron [37:46]

I think unpacking the misconceptions of what has been to you. For example, you know, for me, I had a very similar industry understanding of what luxury was. I thought that it was simply price point dollar bills, how much money did it cost. And so I had to shift my priorities to the things that were important to me first. And even if I wasn’t a florist, I appreciate good service, whether it’s housekeeping, whether I’m in a department store, how I’m greeted and the things that I’m offered, all of those things are so important to me.

So instead of me focusing so much on the luxury price point side of it, I focus on my interpretation of luxury, which was the service. And so I think that the headspace required to get there is to just unpack your definition, disprove your definition, and really identify what luxury is to you.

If your client is generally asking for one thing, figure out how to get every bit of the juice from that berry, from that thing that these clients are typically asking you for that no one else does. And you being the one person to offer that specified service or that specific service makes you luxury because you’re the only person that has it. It’s almost like FOMO. So I really want you to challenge your own beliefs about something. And if that’s not serving your current client, figure out what your clients want, what you’re passionate about, and align your services to reflect those things. And that to me is personalizing luxury for you and your client.