Episode 3: Part 2: Small Changes, A Better You, & Better Business for 2020
Homework check! Last week Vonda and Lori shared five small changes for a better 2020 — and this week they open by grading themselves. Both picked accountability: Lori by running decisions past Vonda and teammate Kami, Vonda by checking in on everyone building the new company. Then it's on to part two of the list — five more shifts that are a little more challenging, but worth it for any flower shop owner heading into a new year.
Track your time on tasks
How long did that design actually take? How long did "five minutes of email" actually last? Vonda has taught productivity in the flower shop for years, and her point is that time warps on us — one website leads to another, and suddenly 5 minutes is 35. Her practical fix from her shop-owning days in Dixon, Illinois: announce it. "I'm going into the office for 30 minutes to do book work. Take messages, hold anything that isn't pressing." Setting those boundaries out loud is itself a way of tracking time. And once you can see where your hours really go, Lori adds, you can ask the follow-up question: do I even enjoy this part of the job — or should someone else be doing it?
Nix (okay, reduce) the multitasking
Lori confesses this is her biggest weakness — ten browser tabs open, sending emails during a meeting, then having to ask the question again because she missed the answer. She cites a Forbes article referencing a Stanford study: heavy multitaskers don't pay close enough attention and don't do everything well. But the hosts are realistic. Telling a short-staffed shop owner to stop multitasking entirely is fantasy. The goal is moving the needle: ten tabs down to five, four simultaneous jobs down to three. As Vonda puts it, it's not about being perfect — it's about doable.
Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize
A list of three things gets done; a list of ten does not. Lori loves a reframe she saw online — skip "resolutions" and name your motivation for 2020 instead of stacking up mini goals you'll feel bad about in December.
What does prioritizing look like on the shop floor? Lori poses a scenario: a sympathy family, a bridal consultation, and a walk-in customer, with only two employees. Vonda's answer is a masterclass in triage — greet everyone and make each feel important first, seat the sympathy family (they're the priority), book the bride a dedicated appointment for another day, and take care of the walk-in. Bigger picture, she challenges owners to work on the business, not just in it: marketing, grooming that next employee, the big event on the horizon.
And sometimes priorities aren't business at all. Lori shares a conversation with a shop owner caring for her declining mother — and Vonda reflects that she and her husband opened their shop for "family, fun and trends" in the first place. You can hire someone to make designs; you can't hire someone to love your family, and you can't get the time back.
Treat others how you want to be treated
Cliché? Sure. True? Completely. Lori, raised by a kindergarten teacher of 37 years, still hears her mom asking "is that kind?" — and admits her own kids notice when phone-Lori is nicer than mom-Lori. In the shop, that means not attacking an employee who genuinely tried and failed, and extending grace to the angry customer, too. Lori's grandma Modine Boone had the best image for it: keep extra cups of love on a shelf, and when a difficult person shows up, go get one and pour it out on them. Every shop owner needs that shelf during holiday week.
Be an essential part of the team
Everyone on your team needs to feel they matter — and that starts with hiring people who are different from you, not clones. The four Flower Clique women are wildly different, and that's the point: complementary gifts beat matching personalities. Vonda flips the question back on owners: are you an essential part of the team — pulling your weight, listening, participating — or just booming down decisions from above? Lori closes with a story from a Donald Miller podcast: a speaker walked on stage and silently stared at the ceiling until two thousand people stared with him. His point — people follow the leader, whether you're doing something worthwhile or something stupid. If your team trusts you, they'll look where you look. Lead accordingly.
Key takeaways
- Track where your time actually goes — then delegate the tasks you dread.
- Don't quit multitasking cold turkey; just cut it back. Ten tabs to five is a win.
- Keep your daily list to three priorities — long lists don't get finished.
- Greet everyone first, then triage: sympathy families now, brides by appointment, walk-ins served.
- Hire people different from you, and make sure you're a working member of the team — not just the decision-maker.
Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist