Covid Continues: How are YOU doing?
Vonda woke up before this recording with an old Anne Murray song stuck in her head: "A Little Good News." That about sums up where the industry was in late summer 2021 — sales reports dipping in July with the Delta variant, everyone back in masks, and shop owners wondering how much longer they'd have to hold on. This is a check-in episode, honest and unpolished, about how we're all really doing — and what flower shops can still control.
Round two is a different kind of tired
Lori put it plainly: in 2020, everyone white-knuckled it toward 2021, half-believing there'd be a magic button that made everything go away. Instead, 2021 answered with "anything you can do, I can do better." She recalled a Flower Clique shop talk meeting from March 2020 where one member said through tears, "I can handle anything, no matter the severity of it. I just need to know an end date." A year and a half later, that's exactly how the hosts felt — not going backward, but stuck in a holding pattern.
The fatigue shows up in small stolen freedoms: the exercise classes that disappeared, the quick Target run that no longer feels worth the risk, the eerie experience of delivering flowers to a nearly empty office building. Meanwhile, Vonda's recent flights were packed — proof that people are either staying in completely or bursting to get out.
Compassion fatigue is real — for you and your customers
The hosts named something a lot of owners were feeling but not saying: compassion fatigue and empathy fatigue. Frontline nurses, teachers, and yes, flower shop owners — the servants of the world — are exhausted. Business owners don't get the option of taking a day off from the pandemic; they have to wake up and open the shop to keep it alive, and Vonda and Lori made a point of saying how much they admire that drive.
They also touched the hardest conversation of the moment: vaccines and masks, including owners asking longtime employees to follow shop protocols. Their advice was careful and kind — whatever you decide, talk to your own physician rather than an internet algorithm that only feeds you what you already believe, and know that no listener is loved any less for their choice. Your shop can still be your safe space when you set the protocol and control the environment.
Free marketing that spreads a little good news
Then the episode turns practical, because you can still be successful in all of this. Two ideas you can use this week:
Market to last year's love-senders. You have records of everyone who sent flowers during 2020 — holidays, birthdays, just-because orders. Those customers already understand that flowers are virtual hugs. Pick up the phone: "I think Aunt Susie could use a little pick-me-up. Can we send something out to her today?"
Target teachers and nurses on social media. Post on Instagram and Facebook: "Who has a teacher or a nurse in their life who needs flowers this week?" Back-to-school teachers are exhausted and nurses are beyond busy — and you never know who will see the post and think of their cousin. Lori, a former teacher, vouched for the impact: nothing makes you feel more loved at school than a delivery showing up in front of your students. Vonda's shop used to send one big arrangement to each school office with a thank-you note — and the notes (and orders) that came back proved it worked.
Designing is hard — and that's the point
The episode closes with a laugh at Lori's expense: it took her a solid hour to arrange three flower bundles into a version of the Cloud Nine design with fragrant Miya garden roses, and it spiked her anxiety the whole time. Her fresh respect for designers led to a bigger point the hosts share: floral design is an art, not a "craft." That word downplays the creative talent this industry runs on — and every once in a while, it's good to be reminded just how skilled your designers are.
Key takeaways
- Don't get discouraged — find the thing that brings you joy, even if it's just flowers on your own kitchen counter.
- Empathy fatigue is normal right now; give yourself and your team grace, and stay patient with people who see things differently.
- Mine your 2020 customer records — the people who sent flowers last year are your warmest marketing list.
- Post a teacher-and-nurse appreciation prompt on social media; it costs nothing and reaches buyers who want a reason to send.
- Keep your shop a safe space: set your protocols, control your environment, and keep spreading smiles with flowers.