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Rhiannon Bosse: Follow the Joy in Your Business
APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY Anyone who knows me knows I have a soft spot for floral design! Ever since my work with Amy Osaba (where we quickly learned I didn’t have a future in florals but I did have one helping entrepreneurs with their finances), I’ve loved this industry – which is why it was such a […]
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APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY
Anyone who knows me knows I have a soft spot for floral design!
Ever since my work with Amy Osaba (where we quickly learned I didn’t have a future in florals but I did have one helping entrepreneurs with their finances), I’ve loved this industry – which is why it was such a treat to have Rhiannon Bosse on the show.
Rhiannon is a wedding florist and designer with nearly 15 years of experience in the luxury and destination event industry. Her work has been recognized by BRIDES, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Vogue Magazine.
We talked about everything from niching down to financial goal setting, including why Rhiannon has chosen not to pursue a 7-figure business right now.
This conversation was such a breath of fresh air! Press play to listen or keep reading below.
Graduating into a Recession
Rhiannon graduated from journalism school in 2008 with limited career options. Her Canadian visa required her to work within her field of study, but the recession made that next to impossible. So she created her own journalism job: writing a blog.
“I always credit the blog as the spark that lit the flame,” Rhiannon says. At first, she wrote about lifestyle and home decor, but when she got engaged the focus naturally turned to weddings.
In planning her wedding, Rhiannon saw the need for a liaison between planners and vendors – and decided to fill the gap herself.
From Blog to Business
Rhiannon’s business started as an extension of her blog, where she offered wedding coordination services, and later full wedding design and planning.
But at every wedding she planned, there was a common theme: the first thing guests commented on was the flowers.
Rhiannon was always passionate about floral design, but it was an entirely different industry than wedding planning. So she took a year to learn everything she could before offering it as a service to her clients.
All that hard work paid off when her first floral wedding was featured in Martha Stewart!
Niching Down to Floral Design
Rhiannon Bosse Celebrations continued as a full-service planning and floral design company. But the more time went on, the less Rhiannon enjoyed the planning side.
“Why am I putting myself through the emotional toll it takes to be a wedding planner when the part that brings me the most joy is the flowers and how the wedding looks?”
Rhiannon decided to remodel her business based on that joy. She made the announcement in January 2020 and when Covid hit a few months later, that gave her the space she needed to transition.
By 2021, Rhiannon had successfully transitioned to a boutique floral and event design studio. It turned out to be the right decision. In 2022, she had her highest profit year yet.
Weighing the Opportunity Cost
Although Rhiannon knows wedding planning could add more revenue to her business, it doesn’t fit with this season of life, when she wants to spend as much time as possible with her husband and kids.
“To go to the next tier, whether that be in profit, opening a floral shop, or hiring a full-time employee – that would require more than I’m willing to give right now. And I have to be okay with that trade-off. This is the choice I’ve made for now, not forever.”
“I have to run a business that fits into my life,” Rhiannon says. “Not live a life that fits into my business.”
Choosing NOT to Pursue 7-Figures (At Least For Now)
Despite the online noise telling her that 7-figures is the goal to aim for, Rhiannon is taking things at her own pace. “Once I understood taxes, net profit, pricing…it was easy to decide that the operations it would require to make a 7-figure salary didn’t align with the kind of life I wanted to live.”
It’s easy to get sucked into the comparison game of social media (one of the reasons I quit Instagram back in 2017!) and think you need to make 6- or 7-figures to be successful.
But the only goal that matters is reaching your enough number – that beautiful place where abundance and contentment meet.
Defining Your Enough
“If those needs are met, I don’t care what I’m making after that,” Rhiannon says. “So much you see on Instagram, you have to take with a grain of salt because everyone’s circumstances are different.”
Your personal and family needs are unique – and your business is tooam. Profit margins can vary wildly depending on your business model. If you want to learn more about calculating your enough number and how to meet it, check out The Blueprint Model!
Launching a Soap Company
When Rhiannon started experiencing health issues in 2017, she turned the setback into an opportunity.
Searching for ways to live a healthier lifestyle, she learned about the beauty industry, and how unnatural so many of the products are. So she taught herself how to make soap and started handing out her creations to friends and family. Before long, she was selling her products online.
Making soap is a fun creative challenge, but it also gives Rhiannon a new revenue stream she has more control over. She can’t choose when her floral design clients get married, but she decides when to launch new capsule soap collections.
“It fills in the blanks when weddings get slow. It’s a nice security net.”
Tackling Money Avoidance
We all have stories we tell ourselves about money. For Rhiannon, that story was “more money, more problems.”
For years, she avoided looking at her bank statements because she didn’t want to know how much her business was making or losing. “I had to train myself almost like you train yourself to get up at 5 am to go workout.”
Know she knows: “Money shouldn’t be a scary thing. If it is, uncover why and fix that.” It’s not always easy, but it is worth it.
Present Over Perfect
Like every mom entrepreneur I’ve ever spoken to, Rhiannon finds herself pulled in two directions. She wants to be with her kids and grow her business. When she’s working, she feels guilty. When she’s not, she feels unfulfilled creatively and professionally.
What’s worked for Rhiannon is to let go of control and focus on being present. “I’ve got to stop living my days wishing for the other side, only to get to the other side and want to ping pong back. These motherhood years go fast, so don’t wish them away.”
Rhiannon has come a long way from the blog she started in 2008. She’s changed niches, pivoted, and started a second company (not to mention getting married and becoming a mother!). Through it all, she’s built a business and a life that truly brings her joy.
More from this Episode
To hear the full story and more about Rhiannon, press play on the player above for the full interview or click here to download the transcript.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
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Rhiannon Bosse
Rhiannon Bosse is a multifaceted wedding florist and designer with nearly 15 years of experience in the luxury and destination event sphere. With a charming and refined style that focuses on the intentionality behind her client’s desires, her diverse work has been recognized by the likes of BRIDES, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Vogue Magazine. She also owns an artisan soap making company, RB Soap Co. where she blends science and art into the most beautiful soap on the market. Professional accolades aside, and perhaps her most favorite accomplishments of all, is being a wife, mother, and a passionate advocate for a healthy body, mind, and spirit.
CONNECT WITH RHIANNON:
Website | Soap Shop | Instagram | RB Soap Co. Instagram
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May 2, 2024
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