Building a Supportive Community and Sustainable Business - an interview with Nadine brown
I’m thrilled to introduce you to Nadine, a friend and fellow creative whose work and values resonate so deeply with my own. Nadine and I first connected through Instagram, that beautiful web where creatives so often find each other. Since then, our paths have intertwined through a shared love for sustainable practices and creativity.
From our first conversations, it was clear we were on the same wavelength—whether in our personal lives or in our businesses. I’d love to share our chat via YouTube here.
Meet Nadine: A Florist Rooted in Purpose
Nadine is a florist, mentor, and the visionary behind The Ivy Institute, an educational platform and community dedicated to sustainable floral design. Just outside Sydney, she creates beautiful, earth-friendly floral designs that emphasize local, seasonal blooms and innovative techniques that reduce waste. With over 30 years of experience, Nadine is a leader in what she calls “natural floristry.” She’s not only helping florists find creative ways to avoid plastic and foam in their designs but is also on a mission to revive floristry practices that honor nature.
In our interview, Nadine shared her journey from traditional floristry to running a thriving business aligned with her values, and I left feeling incredibly inspired by the intentional choices she’s made to redefine what it means to be a florist today.
Balancing Business Ventures and Creativity
Nadine wears many hats—florist, educator, mentor, and community leader. She’s created a dynamic business model with offerings that range from in-person workshops to online memberships, allowing her to support florists at different stages of their journey. Her Ivy Institute membership is her “big baby,” as she lovingly calls it. Here, she provides high-touch support to her members through live sessions, online chats, and an ever-growing library of tutorials, designed to bring sustainable floristry into mainstream practice.
Nadine sees her membership model as more than a business—it’s a way to make floristry more accessible while creating a community around sustainable practices. She explains that the membership’s scalability has allowed her to reach more florists who are looking to build creative, values-driven businesses that thrive without harming the earth.
Building a Supportive Community through Genuine Connection
What truly sets Nadine apart is her dedication to creating a sense of community. In a world where social media can often feel transactional, Nadine focuses on authentic connection. “You can’t just show up to sell something,” she explains. “It has to be about sharing what you have to offer genuinely.” From community workshops to personal one-on-one mentorship, she fosters a spirit of camaraderie that makes people feel valued and understood.
To connect with her audience on a more personal level, Nadine hosts monthly community classes on a “pay-what-you-feel” basis, where participants are invited to gather, create, and enjoy the present moment together. This community-centered approach is an extension of Nadine’s belief that connection, not profit, should come first. These workshops are a chance for women to get together, experiment with floristry, and enjoy the experience without pressure. Some attendees even pay with items like pumpkins from their garden or homemade jam, adding a layer of authenticity that Nadine loves.
Tips for Building a High-Touch, Engaged Community
Nadine’s approach to building a loyal, engaged community provides valuable insights for anyone in a creative business. Here are a few tips from our conversation:
Show Up Consistently and Authentically
Nadine emphasizes the power of consistent presence. “Showing up on camera, sharing openly, and engaging with people helps them see you as a person, not just a brand,” she says. By sharing her journey and insights regularly, she has created a space where people feel they know her personally.Host Community Events
Nadine’s workshops and community events create a space for people to come together and connect in a way that feels organic. These gatherings are low-pressure and about nurturing relationships first and foremost, with any sales or sign-ups that come from them being secondary.Balance Generosity with Boundaries
While Nadine gives freely of her time and knowledge, she has learned to set boundaries to prevent burnout. For example, she ends her live sessions at a set time and gently redirects lingering questions to the next session. This approach allows her to give generously without compromising her well-being.
Navigating Sustainability in Business
Sustainability is at the heart of Nadine’s work. She offers a simple framework she calls “the three Es of sustainability”—Ethical, Environmental, and Economical. Ethical choices involve knowing where products come from and supporting local, small businesses whenever possible. Environmentally, Nadine avoids single-use plastics and thinks carefully about each material’s life cycle, considering how it will return to the earth. The economic aspect of sustainability can be challenging, she admits, but she has found creative ways to make sustainable choices affordable, such as sourcing second-hand vessels for workshops.
Nadine doesn’t shy away from the challenges of running a sustainable business and encourages others to do the best they can without striving for perfection. “We have to let go of judgment and help each other make gradual changes,” she says.
The Future of Online Learning
As someone who started The Ivy Institute during the pandemic, Nadine has a keen sense of the shifts happening in online education. She sees a move toward more interactive and accountable formats, like live challenges and gamified content. Nadine explains that “giving members a bit of structure and regular feedback makes a world of difference,” and she’s experimenting with short-term challenges to boost engagement.
For anyone building an online course, Nadine suggests exploring ways to create community, even in digital spaces. She has found that these personal touches not only increase engagement but also help her connect deeply with her members, creating a loyal and enthusiastic audience.
What’s Next for Nadine and The Ivy Institute?
Looking to the future, Nadine has some exciting projects lined up. In March, she’ll be participating in the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, where she’ll lead events and advocate for sustainable practices in the floristry industry. Later in the year, Nadine and I will be traveling to Italy for a special retreat, where she’ll lead workshops and I’ll have the honor of documenting the experience. It’s a full-circle moment for both of us and a dream come true.
Nadine is also working with a digital creator to develop a CRM for florists, streamlining the wedding floral planning process. Her commitment to serving her community shines through, and I can’t wait to see how these projects evolve.
Final Thoughts
Nadine’s approach to business and community is a reminder of the power of authentic connections and sustainable values. She is reshaping the floral industry from the inside out, bringing a deeply personal touch to her work and helping others do the same. For anyone looking to build a creative business that stays true to their values, Nadine’s story is a guiding light.
Thank you, Nadine, for sharing your journey with us. I hope this interview brings as much inspiration to you as it has to me.ues.
Nadine Brown’s details, her website and Instagram account.
Thanks for turning in, Honey x
You can check out my bio here.
Photo of Nadine used in thumbnail & YouTube clip by: Flore Vallery-Radot.
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Video YouTube transcript:
Honey Atkinson (00:49.986)
So, hi everybody, I'm here today to chat to Nadine and she is a florist and educator and mentor and she's just based outside of Sydney. Nadine is a really strong advocate for sustainable forestry and she creates lots of really useful tutorials via her Instagram and some of them, even though not a florist myself, I really find useful and interesting seeing just really simple and innovative ways of doing forestry without using plastics. And she's also really passionate about lifting up other florists.
and really helping them create a business that's sustainable, profitable and also is really creative as well. yeah, I first met Nadine like a lot of people, a lot of creatives on here via Instagram. And I think it's sort of a common theme. A lot of creatives tend to connect in spaces like this. It's like an easy way to meet up. And I also had a coaching session with her to do with my business. And we've also run a workshop together. And I think I felt like an instant connection with Nadine.
because I think we've got really similar values like personal and business about our ethos around, you know, just sustainable living and just being more green and also operating in a way our businesses that are really human and honest and kind of authentic and don't have that difference between when you're your work face and your personal face and so I think that's kind of where that connection lies. I've got Nadine on today to have a chat about the topic of how to build a supportive community and a sustainable business model and so
Even though Nadine is specifically in the floristry area, I'm wanting to kind of just ask general questions that relate to how we can all build a sustainable business and a really strong community. So yes, thank you Nadine for agreeing to come on today. I'm very grateful. Would you be able to give me a... thank you.
Nadine (02:35.685)
Thanks so much for having me. Yeah, just so nice to be on here with you, honey. Feels just like a girl best friends chat. It's all the stuff we talk about anyway. So yeah, it's a real pleasure to be here.
Honey Atkinson (02:46.196)
Yes, definitely, It is, yep. thank you. And so in the background you can see where Nadine is. This is where we've run one of the workshops before together and she runs them regularly each week. And it's the most incredible space. It's like a dream. It looks like something out of a storybook. There's ivy growing everywhere and there's little bits of light coming through and yeah, like it's lush as.
Nadine (03:07.853)
Yes, there is.
Honey Atkinson (03:11.936)
always flowers and vases and plants and stuff growing. Yeah, so it's definitely got real feeling about it. It's a true reflection of you and your brand new personality. Yeah.
Nadine (03:12.194)
You
Nadine (03:22.833)
Yeah, I'm very lucky to call this my office every day. just, yeah, it really is my favourite place to be. Little hundred year old shed that's a bit rickety and really held up by the ivy, I think. I think that's what's holding it all together.
Honey Atkinson (03:37.592)
Yeah, definitely. But such a great space to work in. think that not working in a white box when you're creative is so good for your creativity. I'd love you to give me an idea for people listening a little bit about your business and how it's structured because when you read your Instagram profile and also your website, you've got a lot of things going on. So could you break down what percentage is what and how you...
Nadine (03:48.989)
Yeah, 100%. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (04:07.471)
how you kind of balance those.
Nadine (04:09.222)
Yep, I guess I have a balance of in-person and online business these days. I still really love in-person and if I can you know create retreats and experiences both here in the you know in the greenhouse and elsewhere, beautiful locations then I still really love that although it is a smaller part of my business these days.
and within my mentoring and coaching which I really love but that's more of a one-on-one based and usually online although I do offer sessions in here as sort of business slash design coaching and training but the biggest part I guess of my business is my online membership
which is probably my big baby, the one that I work really hard on and obviously is the element of my business that can be scalable. you know, when you're a one man band, woman band, you know, I think to have some element of scalability in your business is really important if you want to, if, if, if, you know, if your goal and your version of success is to, is to grow and
grow your revenue in a way that you can't with hours spent per one person. And it also allows me to make a bigger impact, which is obviously my main thing is to be able to bring natural florescent back to the fore. it's, guess, something that, and I'm sure we'll talk about sustainability later, but it's something that people, I don't think.
really understand is how unsustainable and how non-earth conscious a lot of florestry is and so you know on my mission I guess is to be able to help women create a really aligned and you know I don't know heartfelt business that is is a reflection of their values but also
Nadine (06:20.083)
is profitable and sustainable in the way they run it but also sustainable for the planet which is the very nature we work with every day as a designer you know and it's so it's how we can do that in respect for those for that nature and those blooms that we're using and so yeah I guess that's really the kind of the way I've created it.
Honey Atkinson (06:30.392)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (06:39.352)
I love that. Yeah, I love that how it's such a...
Yeah, it's such a good point about the fact that being a florist, you know you are working so closely with nature and how the old school way of doing things is so removed, like the products and things that you use. That's an interesting thing. It seems like it makes so much sense to think like that, doesn't it? But it's not how the majority or how the kind of standard floristry works. Yeah.
Nadine (06:58.679)
Yep.
Nadine (07:03.645)
So...
Yeah, and you know, I was that florist for a very, very long time. You can't be in an industry for 30 years and not have used all those plastics, imported flowers, floral foam, all the things that are really harmful to the environment and to nature. So I guess I come across from as much as I possibly can from no judgment. I was that person. I was that florist working in that way.
Honey Atkinson (07:23.532)
Yes.
Nadine (07:35.007)
But now that I'm on the other side and I'm just so aware of the way I used to think, but how important it is for us all to kind of move away from that. And we have to become like every business, know? Every business has got a sustainability program or something now like they should have. So yeah, that's pretty much what I do.
Honey Atkinson (07:50.198)
Yes. Yes.
Honey Atkinson (07:56.664)
Yes, yeah. Great. Thank you. So when I kind of observe everything that you do online, like on your website and on Instagram, it sort of looks like you've got a really strong and supportive community and that kind of engagement, I feel like it's really clear that you've got the sort of group of people around you that really love what you do. I'd love to know from giving advice to other business owners, even outside the florestery industry, how you kind of like
sort of tips and ideas on how to sort of build that sense of community where it doesn't feel like it's like, you just got people on board so that you can make money off them, but it's like genuine connection, but also without burning out because obviously being that person in that community role who's sort of there to answer people's questions and be so helpful, sometimes it can probably be easy to sort of feel exhausted from it. So I'd love to know sort of some tips on.
ways to sort of build a community so then it doesn't ever feel like you're selling to people it just sort of it feels more organic.
Nadine (08:55.977)
Yep, I think the first part of that, I was thinking about that this morning, is the fact that I was craving that for myself because I'd had my retail space for the first part of my career, very interactive like any retail is. Then I went into formal teaching for 17 years, so in front of a classroom, you you're getting that instant feedback and that personal connection.
And then when I left that to start, you know, this sort of what's evolved into the Ivy Institute is predominantly online. I was craving that for myself. I was like, how can I, like, I need that more, more than they do kind of thing. So it was like, how can I create an online business that's as high touch and as personal as it probably possibly can be. And so there was a few different ways that I did that. I think,
One of the important factors I think is just showing up consistently. Like you really have to put yourself out there. You have to get in front of the camera. You have to speak your words, not just have them written in a text. Like you have to, and if you have got issues with that, like many women do, they just, I love making the thing, but I don't like showing up. It's not showing up to sell it. It's just showing up to share what you have.
and the goodness you have to share and changing your mindset around that to be if I just keep it to myself then it's of no benefit to anyone and it's not helping anyone so that rather than you feeling like you're selling you're actually offering somebody an opportunity to grow or to expand or learn and how dare you keep that gift for yourself like I just think if you can kind of
It makes it more about them than and not you just lining your own pocket, I guess. And so a few different ways that I did that. Well, yeah, one is showing up and being consistently doing that. So people build that trust around you and feel that they're talking to the person and not just a brand. And another way that I did that was community classes. So and I highly recommend people do this if you've got.
Nadine (11:21.476)
business where you can have the opportunity to interact with people. This came out of you know 2020 the year that was and I just felt like people needed to gather together they needed to reconnect with each other and they needed to reconnect to their creativity but they I could see that they were also really craving connecting with nature and the florals
floral industry went absolutely, had an explosion over that time, which was really fascinating to me because, especially when weddings and events had been wiped off the calendars for everybody, people returned back to nature, they planted in their gardens, they sent flowers to their friends. It was just this innate, like in crisis, the human psyche went back to the...
the earth in some capacity. I thought that was really fascinating and interesting. so I created these community classes that were once a month and a pay as you feel, just to pay what you feel. So that obviously runs the risk of no one paying. That's fine. That wasn't about making money. It was just about gathering predominantly women together.
and they would pay me either in cash or bring me wine and a pumpkin out of their garden or some honey or whatever and I'd make soup and hot bread and I'd forage for most of my materials like from a business point of view I get that you can't you know invest in a ton of product for something that you don't you can't necessarily maybe afford and you know you don't know the return you're going to get.
So it was a different design every time. I never told them what they were making. I thought people would mind that they didn't know what they were making. They did not care. They just wanted to come, gather, make something with their hands, chit chat about general stuff, and skip out. And they absolutely loved it. And I really thought, you know, like,
Nadine (13:34.53)
that was just a little bit of my time. I really enjoyed it myself and I was sharing this beautiful space with people and I just, if you have an opportunity to do some sort of community night within your business, I highly recommend that you do and it's very interesting how generous people are when you don't put a price on what you're offering them. Like sometimes there'd be
hundreds and hundreds of dollars in that little bowl that I would never have charged that much for that experience. But when you let the person decide the value, very interesting to see what people sort of come up with. So that was another thing that I think if you can, and I'm really happy to help someone set that up if you want. There's a few little things that would make it easier, but.
That was really good. And I think when I started creating the online, especially the membership, I wanted that to be as high touch as possible and as connected as possible. So I have, you know, a live that I run every month and we have an online chat and I know those things are available in other things, but I guess I just want to make sure that I'm really available and visible. But yes, you do need to set perimeters around your time with that.
Like I totally get that. You know, I don't answer those chats any time after four o'clock. don't, you know, I go for the hour when we do the live. They've still got questions. I'm like, let's all save that for next month and wrap it up. Like I'm mindful that I'm not just leeching out my energy 24 seven.
Honey Atkinson (15:23.474)
And do think that you've gotten better at that over time? Do you think that did you allow things to go a more over and then through experience you've sort of refined that? Yeah.
Nadine (15:32.812)
Yep, definitely, definitely. And you can do it in a way that's not cutting people short. It's just, actually I've got so much more I want to share, but let's save it for next month because, you know, and people are like, yes, no problem. You know, they're not feeling like you're just, yeah, yeah, that's fine.
Honey Atkinson (15:43.266)
Yeah. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (15:50.392)
You're not saying no, you're just saying next time. Yes, yeah. I'm really loving the idea of the community events. It's really got my mind going as well for my business. And also because I've got a studio space now in a town, so it means that they've got that accessibility. And it's just an interesting, I'd always wondered how you make them work. I love the looseness of it and the fact that, because I feel the same way.
because I've got an online course and it's the same thing. feel really like I don't have that community aspect to it. So it's like people sign up and I don't have that human touch. Whereas I used to run much more workshops in person. And so I get that juice, that creative connection from when you're helping someone and that human side. And I really miss that. And so yeah, I think I might take that on board. So thank you. Yeah.
Nadine (16:32.802)
Yeah.
Nadine (16:40.79)
Yeah you could easily. I just used to run it on Instagram, just a Canva tile, community classes are back on, this is the date, this is the time, two hours on a Wednesday night. You know a night that suited me. I was making soup for my family anyway. Like sometimes I'll do a salad if it's you know a different time of year, you wouldn't even have to do it every month.
Honey Atkinson (16:55.895)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (17:05.143)
Yes.
Nadine (17:06.058)
I haven't done it even as much this year because I've had been too busy and the girls are like that's okay Whenever you're ready, we'll be back, you
Honey Atkinson (17:13.245)
So do you get regular people coming more than new people?
Nadine (17:16.49)
It has been but I was really mindful at the start because I had somebody ask could they book in for the whole year and I was and I said no I'm sorry you can't this is a first in first in basis because how it felt for me was just energetically the people that saw it were the ones that needed to come and so I put it up on Instagram DM me for your spot the first ones that DM'd
Honey Atkinson (17:23.537)
Okay, yeah.
Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (17:30.423)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (17:39.808)
I agree. That's a great way.
Nadine (17:47.086)
get their phone number, write them down in the book and I take seven people and that's it. Because that's all that I can comfortably have in the studio. I have done bigger ones. One day I'll just let it run and it went to 15 and I do have another space, you know, you've worked with me in that other space up at the barn. But what was really interesting about that is that of course it turned into a full fledged workshop. There was a lot of product that I provided. There was...
Honey Atkinson (17:53.378)
Amazing.
Honey Atkinson (18:02.913)
Yes.
Nadine (18:15.998)
none of this lovely intimate banter it was just someone talking to their friend and
Honey Atkinson (18:20.408)
Yeah.
Nadine (18:24.612)
it was harder to manage obviously it's more expensive for me to run as far as food and all of that kind of thing and if i want to talk about it from a business point of view of what i received i actually got way less that night than i do when i've got my seven so i was just like okay that's never happening again i'm just gonna run my seven in here that's it and
Honey Atkinson (18:44.748)
Yes, yeah, yeah.
Nadine (18:50.914)
They drive up, they walk in, they tell me how they want to bring their bed and just live here. And pop their money. I just put it in a like a timber bowls that you can't see. Like it's just, I don't even see them do it. I don't even know when they put their little envelope in or whatever. I don't know who pays. I don't know who doesn't. I don't know how much anyone's given me unless they give me a product, you know, a pumpkin.
Honey Atkinson (19:06.646)
Yes. Yes.
Honey Atkinson (19:18.87)
Yes. Yeah.
Nadine (19:20.706)
But it's, not all those ladies, if I were to be really honest, not all those ladies have joined my programs or whatever. This is very community based, know, and what I deliver is far more business and I guess more high end skills in what I do. But again, it was never about that. It was just...
Honey Atkinson (19:32.312)
Mm.
Honey Atkinson (19:42.541)
Yeah.
Nadine (19:45.718)
it was just giving the gift of nature and creativity to people who really loved it and wanted it. So in saying that though, I do have probably a core of five women who I swear have my Instagram on like priority or something because as soon as I put it up, they were the first ones to book in. think, well, I've got my same ladies who I loved anyway. Like they're my girls and
Honey Atkinson (19:48.802)
Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (20:03.806)
You
Honey Atkinson (20:07.188)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Nadine (20:14.048)
and they just and they're the ones that are most generous because they really really appreciate being here so so that's how that sort of worked but you could easily do that for a you know just a tiny get to know your camera or a little take portraits of each other or something that's really small but for you those the right people would be craving that next level of education.
Honey Atkinson (20:19.33)
Yes, yeah.
Honey Atkinson (20:29.581)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (20:41.248)
Yes. Yeah.
Nadine (20:42.112)
Mine my ladies aren't going out and starting florist business. You know what I mean? But yours yeah, but yours could potentially Would be a really lovely sandpit into Into your course potentially, you know, so it's just time It's just time that you're allocating, you know away from your family and I get that
Honey Atkinson (20:45.577)
Yes, yeah, they're having fun, yeah.
Honey Atkinson (20:53.452)
Yeah, love it. yeah. Yes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it's just that, I think it's all about the intention with what you're talking about. So it's the going in there with that open heart. You just want to have a connection with people and not have a strings attached or an outcome. And I think that's where the magic lies in it and having that small group. So I think there's lots to take away from that, that I feel really inspired by.
Nadine (21:08.516)
Hmm.
Nadine (21:17.795)
Yes.
Nadine (21:23.234)
Yeah yeah it felt really joyful and I've recommended like a lot of my retail florists to do this like I see how that model just would work so so well in the retail space similar to you.
Honey Atkinson (21:27.18)
Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (21:36.632)
It would, well I think any past face having people coming in to whether it was like, I know even though like a coffee shop you could have people coming in and like okay this is how you make, know like do like an art on the coffee so you're never giving up someone making coffee because someone, yeah exactly it's just you're all, you know some type of like I don't know whether it's like a clothes shop that you're coming in and it's like okay this is how you'd style stuff for the day and it's like you're not, I think it's like that mindset about not thinking that you're giving up on
Nadine (21:40.578)
That's like instant customers.
Yep.
Nadine (21:51.5)
All your secrets, no.
Honey Atkinson (22:06.818)
your potential customers or giving them too much that they wouldn't come back to you. You're just being generous and open and a way of building community and also raving fans. It's like those people may not, those women may not book with you onto one of your memberships, but they might know someone that you don't even know who's come to you indirectly through them. So yeah, it's really special. think it's.
Nadine (22:15.415)
It is.
Nadine (22:21.656)
They tell everyone else how great you are. Yeah. Yep. And if you've got product for sale in that space, you know, at the time actually when I first started doing this, still had, I was still doing, I had my own candle scent made by a local candle maker and they were in beautiful little ceramic, sort of like these little ceramic cups that could be used later as a coffee cup or a nut bowl or olive bowl or something.
and I had those in here, they all sold in the first one first lesson because someone I had one burning issue I love that you know they it creates this feeling of they want to give back and they want to reciprocate your time and so if you were in a retail space there is no chance that everyone would come and not pay you and not buy something like that would be a given so
Honey Atkinson (23:04.982)
Yes, yeah the generosity that you're giving.
Honey Atkinson (23:17.186)
Yeah. Yes. Yeah.
Nadine (23:20.672)
Yeah, you know, anyway, that's a good, it's a real, I think it's beautiful community builder. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (23:23.628)
I like it's a great, yeah, think it's such a great base. I think it is too, yeah. It's a really good way to get energy flowing, I think, when you're feeling a little bit stagnant. I would love to know, so, because you've been running kind of a membership model for a while, and you're also really like in that kind of online space with how things work, as far as, like, do you have any sort of predictions for the future about online learning? Because I know that there's a lot of...
for standard online courses. know there's a lot of information now about the high percentage of people not finishing things without having that kind accountability or that kind of human connection. And then how sometimes membership models are quite taxing. Do you see any kind of trends moving forward or have you done any courses yourself or workshops or online courses where you think that, that's, I think it's where the direction is heading for other business owners.
Nadine (24:15.543)
Yeah I have. It was a massive steep learning curve I tell you and it all came about again another 2020 project but I just just to give you some context of how this created and how quickly I created it without the like all my knowledge behind me. 2020 happened but 2019 actually left formal teaching at TAVE so great steady job, good pay, all the things.
Honey Atkinson (24:18.848)
Yeah, okay.
Nadine (24:44.727)
educating which I love, lots of disalignment there. After 17 years I just needed, I needed to be able to teach in a way that was 100 % more sustainable than what it was there and the type of content I was creating was just... Anyways, I won't go into the whole how stuck tape is in its ways but anyway I wanted to teach in a different way and so I did that and of course
2020 happened. I lost all my weddings all my workshops everything that I was creating as this new business Was done my calendar was wiped and I was like, wow, okay That was great timing but what it did do was And Rob my husband forever my biggest cheerleader. Thank the Lord. He's always been there to just be just so supportive and
Probably 15 years ago, I was looking at and I'd gone really deep into this creating a online presence of in my mind, creating designs down in the creek like a bit Jamie Oliver in the bush kind of vibe. If everyone knows who Jamie Oliver is, I'm sure you do as a chef. So a bit like that except with flowers instead of food. But the way that I'd be doing that was gonna be...
burning them onto discs, printing out the labels, packaging them up and posting them out. So thank goodness I waited for the internet to come along because that just like hurts my brain thinking about how the logistics of putting that together.
Honey Atkinson (26:19.448)
Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (26:26.077)
Me too.
Nadine (26:28.509)
Anyways, I shelved it for whatever reason. I don't know what happened but it was just like that. Anyway, so that happened and Rob said to me, hey why don't you do your online idea again? That was a good idea, you should do that. Now I like the internet so I'm like yeah actually I should do a membership. And so I invested in a whole bunch of learning how to put a membership together, the platform it needed to be on, the way you deliver it, launch, you know all the things. Found a film...
maker that I absolutely adore which is Floor Valerie Rodeau who we've worked together the whole time and created now over 70 tutorials that are all professionally filmed here inside the greenhouse and on the property. I wanted it to be very educational but also really beautiful and cinematic to watch so of course that came with a lovely high price tag as well. So yeah I did invest a lot of time money and energy and into creating what
I wanted that membership to be. And it's had some iterations as we've moved along. You it's now four years old, so it changed along the way. But I guess I just tried to pivot where I could see, I could offer it in a better way, or at one point my platform wasn't big enough to house what I was creating, so I had to like...
kicked down my sandcastle and basically build it again from scratch. That nearly killed me. So it's not been easy by any means, but at the core of it has been creating a community space and one that's very supportive, not toxic at all. And it has been really supportive and beautiful. But I do see memberships shifting because
I find that too, even though I'm as high touch as I can be in regards to the monthly lives and the online group and all of that, there's this sense of, and I don't know if it's the way just our society is right now, but there's this sense of consuming without application. And I know mine's really beautiful to watch, so.
Nadine (28:49.033)
they tell me they binge it like a Netflix series while their husband's watching footy and they love it. It's like okay great but did you make something? Did you use that technique to do something else? And because obviously I'm not sending them product to to do it with I'm just showing them you know where they can get it from and all of those kind of things.
Honey Atkinson (28:58.51)
Yeah, did you do the work?
Nadine (29:17.161)
that part of it it's like okay well if you think about it they've still paid you with money you know they've still got nice feedback for it but from a personal point of view you want that transformation for people like there's just a whole reason you're giving your IP out you know you you've got 30 years worth of experience like i want to i want them to actually use it and so i'm in that process now of exploring how to do that whether i gamify it
whether I include a three week live challenge. I love the idea of that. I actually just did that recently with another designer in Canada and I loved that format. She just showed up for three live sessions. She made a whole bunch of designs and in the online group we had a challenge every week where we had to adapt that new technique into some sort of design.
And then at the end there was a review session where you could send in one lovely piece that you'd made and she did a whole series of different times being an international time zone and gave you real time, know, 10, 15 minutes of her time to talk about your design elements, the materials you used, how you could do it better. What was, and it was so fun. It was...
short three-week thing I Couldn't believe how obsessed I was about getting the work done like I was just like I can't not be that person that signs up to this and then not does it Because I want to be I want to be the stuff student that gets it all done, you know I'm not competitive at all Actually, I'm not but the fact that people don't finish my stuff sometimes Made me not want to be that person for her. So I was like no I am hundred percent showing up
Honey Atkinson (30:56.054)
Yes, I hear you. I'm exactly the same.
Nadine (31:15.951)
and I loved it and I thought right how can I integrate that into my offerings even my online courses because I've got small courses that you can buy just on their own. Yeah so there's a shift coming I can feel it because I do see that there's a lot of commitment for someone to join a membership. Memberships are daunting for people even though you can leave anytime and there's no contracts.
I get that one, people don't know if they've got the time to invest in it, so is it worth the money? albeit my library's massive now, so that can be even a drawback when you have too much content because people feel like, they feel bad that they haven't got it done and so they feel like they're wasting their money.
and mine isn't set up like say a guitar membership where you you're rubbish on day one and then by week five you can play a riff. There's that beautiful progression so you know they get in the library and they can just pick that one off the shelf and that one off the shelf and so yeah.
Honey Atkinson (32:15.404)
Yes, yeah, it's a hard, it's not a lateral part. Yeah, yeah, yes.
Honey Atkinson (32:27.753)
So that almost, maybe there needs to be more of a pathway so that you hold people's hand through that process. Yes.
Nadine (32:32.531)
I've got yeah but I've got people coming in from such different skill sets you've got you know florists that have been a florist for 20 years they already know the basics and the design fundamentals they want to go straight into the advanced design section or yeah so I'm absolutely no expert at memberships I I love it but I've learnt a lot and I'm still learning
Honey Atkinson (32:48.608)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (32:54.348)
but you've also put a lot of energy into them and yeah, it's incredible. Yeah.
Nadine (33:01.559)
I'm still learning and I'm still trying to see what people want and you know last year I I have some founding members I think 25 or so founding members that have been with me from day one and so last year I rang them all in January and said I'm offering a like a free coaching call like book one in here's the booking link and not all of them did but most of them did and they loved that.
Honey Atkinson (33:14.626)
beautiful.
Nadine (33:28.681)
like they said this is so thank you so so much they just you know was a half an hour it wasn't and it was really nice for me to catch up with them but it gave me a lot of intel into what they're loving about it what they feel like it might need and that's exactly the people that i'll be calling in january this year to go okay there's a shift coming for the membership what what
Honey Atkinson (33:53.58)
Yes.
Nadine (33:57.067)
would be the most worthwhile for you and what would make you stay. Like what, why are you still staying four years in and what would be really helpful for you? And just let them guide me to what, what I should do next with it because I'm definitely not letting it go because I love it. And I've created a lot of, you know, I'm very proud of the quality of it all, but it's, it's sometimes hard to grow if I'd be really honest.
Honey Atkinson (34:03.405)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (34:16.883)
Mmm, yeah.
Honey Atkinson (34:25.676)
Yes, yeah, yeah. It's so valuable having that core group of people that you've got that, you I love that you've got that such deep connection with them and then you're offering them value and then they're giving it back again. So it's this mutual exchange of what's going on. And then like how good it feels to, like I know I'd be the same, like if someone, you know, had the offering of a call like you have and they've got to explain the things I loved about it and then they...
Nadine (34:26.923)
they're sometimes hard to grow memberships.
Honey Atkinson (34:54.092)
gave me some help, like it's just such a lovely way of doing it. And then I feel like that those core members are probably a great reflection of the wider community. They represent so many different areas of your business.
Nadine (35:07.159)
Yeah they do and you know they're the first ones to sign up to like Italy. You know I'm going to Italy next year for a retreat. There's probably half of the women that are coming are greenhouse members. You know so they're and they've engaged mentoring sessions with me and if they've you know as far as their long their lifetime spend they're they're totally well they're your raving fans right and they're
Honey Atkinson (35:12.823)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (35:34.668)
Yes.
Nadine (35:35.753)
and you can't create those without giving of yourself. You don't get that just from an online course where there is no touch and feel. So yeah, even with my online courses now, because I'm repurposing some of the content into some small bite-sized kind of online courses, because I thought, that content really needs to be used in other ways.
Honey Atkinson (35:40.16)
Yes, yes.
Honey Atkinson (35:54.061)
Mm-hmm.
Nadine (36:01.045)
how else can it do if that membership isn't got 5,000 members in it, which would be delightful, then what else can happen? And so there's sort of more of a stepping stone to get to the membership, which is my premium offering. And that's a lower price point. But again, you know, you want to see that progression. And so that's where I think those little three week challenges could really be something that I could embed into those.
Honey Atkinson (36:07.552)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (36:17.698)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (36:25.4)
Mm.
Nadine (36:30.775)
you know the people that have bought the course can come in at a just a tiny upgrade and but it can be open to anyone to come and join that little challenge and then yeah I love I really love the experience for myself so I'm currently December when I sign off for everything and have a break that's what I'll be doing in December and January is just kind of nutting this out how I can
Honey Atkinson (36:39.968)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (37:00.194)
Nice.
Nadine (37:01.267)
revamp things. Anyway, I've told you all my thoughts on what I'm
Honey Atkinson (37:02.7)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (37:08.576)
No, I love it. I love that. I also love that you're building the next version of what it is around what people want rather than just what you think people want, which is, think, a issue that we have sometimes in business as business owners. Like we're always thinking, I'd like to do this. And there's always that balance. Of course, you want to be able to do what you love in your job. But there's also you have to be able to give the people, your audience and the people out there, you've got to check that that's actually what.
they want as well so that someone to actually buy your product. Yes, definitely. Yes.
Nadine (37:36.855)
And you know where I've kind of learnt that is from someone we both have worked with in the past, Danny Gardner, the Quiet Marketer and exploring human design, which I'm no expert at, but as a manifesting generator, I love creating content and I love creating things, but I had done that in the past and I still have to check myself now.
Honey Atkinson (37:57.249)
Yes.
Nadine (38:06.579)
in doing what I think they need rather than listening to what actually they want. And so that's part of that strategy for me is to go, okay, where can I tap into what's universally getting talked about around me? Where can I tap into my audience that already have and ask them what they want without just sending endless surveys? And that's what these kind of...
Honey Atkinson (38:28.77)
Yes.
Nadine (38:32.887)
you know, calls are. And the other thing that I do within the membership that I just remembered, I forgot about is every month I just pull someone randomly off the list and tell them they're, they're, they're the monthly mini coaching call recipient. Here's the, here's my calendar link to book in a session. And it's just a literally a 20, 30 minute phone call. And I can do that in the car. I can do that anywhere.
but they have been brilliant because
Honey Atkinson (39:05.282)
Wow. And are they shared so that other people can watch them or are they just for that member? Yep. It's amazing.
Nadine (39:08.863)
No, just for that member. But it gives me again a lot of intel into what they're struggling with. Just what I can help them with. A little bit of a story that I can share with other people. Not with their names, but just, you know, I had a chat to one of our members the other day and she's really struggling with blah blah blah. And it's usually something that's universal, or you know, more than one person is.
Honey Atkinson (39:25.88)
Mm.
Honey Atkinson (39:35.296)
Of course. Yes.
Nadine (39:38.269)
And so it just again gave me content and a way to connect deeply with my members but a 20 minute call out of you know of my time which is nothing but it gives me a lot of information and so I'll keep doing them.
Honey Atkinson (39:49.88)
Mm.
Honey Atkinson (39:54.134)
Yeah, it's funny, like you say, you say not an expert in the membership model, but you've created so many amazing touch points, like, you know, like through, it's all about, it's all about human connection, like you're giving value all the time. And I, yeah, I think that's the big takeaway from the way you operate. It's just that really like, that's what people, why people are drawn to you and why people stay and why you do have that core community because of all that giving, that generosity that you come from.
Nadine (40:02.474)
try.
Definitely.
Honey Atkinson (40:23.997)
Sustainability. So I'd love to know your thoughts on that. So I think it's something I noticed as far as I order a lot of things from small businesses online, you know, not necessarily just floral stuff, but just, you know, small companies and often their packaging, you know, comes in sustainable packaging and it's wrapped up in things like compost. And what I noticed is that like small businesses seem to be doing a great job of, you know, doing green stuff. But I know how much it costs. And I've also had conversations with other business owners about
Nadine (40:24.321)
Thanks.
Honey Atkinson (40:53.09)
Like it's so expensive for them to do that that way, whereas in those big companies out there that have got all the money in the world and they're still sending things without thinking about it. But it's, know, there's all these amazing small business owners because they care and they've got heart. So I'd love to know like some tips that you have, I guess, about building sustainability into your business model and then how you kind of price for that so that you're not sort of doing yourself out of pocket kind of thing.
Nadine (41:20.701)
I
There's three elements to sustainability for me and I think this is something that I teach with my clients and everything that I do as well. You've got the ethical side of sustainability, so who are you supporting? every decision I make, I think about who I'm buying it off and where's my money going. And I'm like you, I buy off small people as much as I possibly can. So in floristry that's...
you know, buying locally grown flowers instead of buying an imported product that's exactly the same. You know, it's like buying oranges from California or Australian oranges. Like why wouldn't you be buying the Aussie ones, you know? So that sort of thing is, is who am I ultimately supporting at the end? The other one is that is environmental obviously. So I'm using, you know, as least amount of plastics as I possibly can.
Honey Atkinson (42:05.474)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (42:11.885)
Yes.
Nadine (42:21.804)
Thinking about again that circular economy, like when I purchase something, then I use it, then it goes to the client. Say for instance, if I was still in retail, goes to client or the customer, then what do they do with it? So have I created something beautiful in a way that it could go, every single thing could go into their compost bin or they could reuse the vessel for something else. So.
that's the kind of message I try to give to my florist clients is like you have to think what happens to that design beyond you and how is that going back to the earth because ultimately everything goes back to the earth including us so in what way is it doing that and then the other one
Honey Atkinson (42:50.69)
testing.
Honey Atkinson (42:59.672)
Mm.
Honey Atkinson (43:05.911)
Yes.
Yeah, I really like that way of thinking as far as, like I was just thinking like a really narrow view of kind of like, whereas you were talking about if you're stepping back from a wider perspective, it's like when you, where you get that from and you touch it and then everything that you do with it and then where it ends up, that's the part that I, I wasn't thinking about the circle part, I was just thinking about, you know, I buy the thing and then give it to it. So it's a really, it's a much wider way of looking at it.
Nadine (43:32.428)
Yeah, yep. And then, economical is the other E for sustainability. There's three Es. So, the economical side of the thing is, can be the tricky part. Like that can be the sticky part. And I've had lots of like little, you know, back and forth with florists on social media that would, know, totally...
bag out of florists that's buying imported flowers because you should only buy local and I only buy from 20k's around my house so save on fuel and all that. But some florists are in a situation where they don't have access to flower growers they don't have access to that product they have to get imported product like otherwise they don't have a business. We have to still do things that keep us in business like you can't completely go down a road where
Honey Atkinson (44:19.842)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (44:24.76)
Mm.
Nadine (44:29.006)
you've priced yourself completely out of the market because of the choices that you're making of being sustainable because then you haven't got a sustainable business. You've got a business that's doing a nice thing for the environment but you're broke and you can't feed your family and that's not right either. I guess I don't have sort of lines in the sand as far as that part goes because and I know the purists do and they would argue with me on some of those points but
Honey Atkinson (44:35.928)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (44:40.79)
Yes. Yeah.
Nadine (44:58.231)
my and i've done that to myself like for instance with a wedding for instance now in here i've got the luxury of going and getting my vessels from an op shop which i do pretty much every workshop everyone just gets a surprise vessel to work in because i just go and get some things from the op shop which i love anyway and then i find some treasure for me to go on that shelf amongst my hoarding of vases but for a wedding
which I was a wedding and event florist for many many years you know there's a price point you've got to stick to and you've got 30 table centres to do and you want most of the value to be in the flowers not in the vessel so can you afford to go and get handmade ceramic bowls for that? No you can't the bride just cannot see the value of a $50 vessel as opposed to the $5 glass one you can get from China
So what I prefer to use the $50 vessels for her 100 % but that's she's now it's just priced way out of her budget and she can't have flowers and so I've lost the job. So you know there's moments where I think in business we have to make a you know economic decision to purchase a certain thing but I always
Honey Atkinson (46:10.412)
Yes.
Nadine (46:27.987)
had in my mind and what I recommend to my clients that I'm mentoring is that is there something a better decision you can make somewhere else? Is there a charity that you could offer 1 % of your profits to? Can you plant a tree for every wedding that you do? Is there something else you can do as a give back over here for doing a not so good thing over here?
Honey Atkinson (46:50.392)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (46:53.901)
Mm.
Nadine (46:54.264)
Is there a way that you can give back? Is there other decisions that you're making along the way that you're changing? You know, yes I'm using the glass but this design, this whole wedding doesn't use any floral foam or this whole wedding is only using local product or whatever.
Honey Atkinson (47:06.7)
Yep, yes. Yeah. So rather than being black and white about it, just figuring out how you make up for that and not being so, yeah, intense about it all. I think that's the same thing with any level of sustainability. I think when you first start learning about it, you can become quite intense and like, you know, black and white. And I think the longer, and the more you read about all sorts of, you know, the way you live and the way you run your business is that things just aren't that black and white.
Nadine (47:21.542)
Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (47:36.396)
someone buys their flowers from overseas, it doesn't mean that they're a bad person, they're just trying to survive and it's like not being so kind of regimented. Yeah, I agree. Yes, yes, yeah, yeah. Because we're all doing the best we can. Yeah, totally.
Nadine (47:36.838)
They're not.
Nadine (47:42.217)
Yeah. I think we should need to stop being so judgmental on each other about it too and for ourselves. Like we're all just trying to do our best right and and the ignorant person doesn't mean that they're bad they just don't know any better and I didn't either like I was using all the stuff so and there's probably me five years down the track I'm probably going to look at even some things I do now and think god I was doing that and I didn't even realize you know so I think it's an evolution.
Honey Atkinson (47:58.038)
Yeah. Yes.
Honey Atkinson (48:09.014)
Yeah, and it's an evolution.
Nadine (48:12.148)
I think we need to give grace to ourselves, to each other and just help each other by sharing what we're doing like hey I just got rid of this out of my practice because of XYZ and now I'm doing this, this could be helpful for you too. Like I think that's the whole kind of where I'm coming from anyway and for us as an industry sustainable is actually way cheaper. So
Honey Atkinson (48:33.558)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (48:39.136)
Yeah, okay. Yeah, because you're reusing things. Yeah.
Nadine (48:42.196)
Yeah and like I remember seeing about a year or so ago I was somewhere and I saw this gorgeous bouquet you know it was just given to someone at the restaurant and it was wrapped in brown paper which I did for years you know instead of cellophane and plastics but what was really gorgeous was there was a like a long strip you know ribbons and are really in right now but there was this long strip
with frayed edges of a Liberty fabric. Like a big wide, now I quizzed her about that and she said, I go to the, I go to the op shop and get all the old fabric that's just, you know, someone's wrapped up fabric or a big old dress or whatever that no one's going to wear. No one's with someone's nanners at some point. And she says she just threads it.
Honey Atkinson (49:31.159)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (49:37.526)
Yes, yes.
Nadine (49:41.046)
and just ends up with all of these beautiful ribbons as fabric. And if you've been given flowers as a really like, you know, a special occasion, which it usually is, what a gorgeous keepsake to have this beautiful little Liberty print, you know, fabric. And I was just like, genius. If I was still in business, yeah, if I was still in business now in a retail space, I would 100 % be doing that.
Honey Atkinson (49:54.284)
Definitely.
Honey Atkinson (50:00.246)
Yeah it is and she'd probably like to use that again. Yes.
Honey Atkinson (50:08.566)
Yeah, love it.
Nadine (50:10.23)
So you know, there's so many things that are way cheaper than a, you know, $5 a meter ribbon.
Honey Atkinson (50:12.141)
Mm.
Honey Atkinson (50:17.378)
Yes. So it's really about being creative, isn't it? Yeah. I would love to know if you have any advice, like one or two things that you think sort of would move the needle for people, for other business owners out there to sort of gain a few extra clients or customers, what some sort of effective, you know, things that you can just do that, yeah, just help to kind of gather some momentum.
Nadine (50:21.802)
Yep, yep, 100%. And it doesn't have to be more expensive.
Honey Atkinson (50:47.02)
Hard question maybe.
Nadine (50:48.444)
It is, I think it comes down to really knowing your mission and being very clear about what you want to bring into the world and speaking from that in a really authentic way. Like I feel like that type of messaging and conversation now is
so shiny and bright for people because they're so used to getting just like the media and large corporations and things like that just feed them such BS that real authenticity is so shiny and I don't know it stand really does stand out so and
Honey Atkinson (51:38.424)
Yes.
Nadine (51:41.514)
It takes a lot of, still working on that now, you know, and I help others to work on that too. And it can be hard, but I think if there's a way that you can make your business as personal as it possibly can be, that's so important. Like if I can give you an example from the, from the floristry world, I suppose, is that something that happens in floristry with weddings is that the bride will go around.
Honey Atkinson (51:44.48)
Yes. Yeah. Yes.
Nadine (52:10.636)
to be, we'll go around and know, shop, I guess, say five different florists for a quote for wedding flowers. You know, they go through the inquiry form and it's all online and there's no high touch, there's no phone call, there's no nothing, there's an email back, all of that. And one of the biggest problems that florists have is this ghosting. You know, they get the inquiry, they answer back or they give them a quote and then you don't hear a thing.
And this seems to be this pain point for people and it got me thinking like what did I do differently because I ran a wedding and events business for 20 years and at very beginning obviously there was no computer, it was all high touch because that's the only way that people communicated back then. But what I did even then was as soon as I got an inquiry there was a phone call.
Honey Atkinson (52:57.323)
Yes.
Nadine (53:09.284)
and it only took like five ten minutes and that was the phone call that we teed up when we were going to meet and I used to do you know meet in cafes go to their home whatever to do the quote now for that little bit of effort I would get 99.9 % of the quotes was an acceptance you know and I've said that to my girls now is there a way in that first initial like connection
Honey Atkinson (53:28.056)
Yes.
Nadine (53:38.757)
Can you do something where it's a Zoom or a phone call or a personal voice note on a text or anything that gets you to be more personalized and build that rapport as quickly as you possibly can because every other business they deal with in this process, the cake, the photographer, probably not you, the venue, the venue, everything is no personal touch. It's just online.
Honey Atkinson (53:42.552)
Mm.
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (54:06.56)
Yes, and so that's what makes you stand out. Yes.
Nadine (54:09.387)
So are they less likely to ghost you once they've had a conversation you've had a little bit of banter You've got excited for them. You're talking about how gorgeous May is and tell me about your dress and Like what's the chances they're gonna book with you like now a very high percentage compared to have what they're thinking about someone else There's a whole lot of other factors involved in that but I just think from my experience
Honey Atkinson (54:30.72)
Yeah. Yeah.
Nadine (54:36.367)
from back then and how I can see that working now is those if have a look at your customer flow from the moment they interact with you or how they find you is there an area through that whole flow to them actually purchasing from you or buying spending their money with you is there a is there somewhere in there that can and again I'm mindful of your time
Honey Atkinson (54:37.864)
Mm. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (55:05.432)
Mm.
Nadine (55:05.743)
but is there a space in there that can involve some kind of human connection and rapport building?
Honey Atkinson (55:15.412)
Yes, I think that seems to be the same theme for you. That's what you do naturally, I think. That's what's interesting. That's probably why for other people, they find it a bit confusing because it's not innate. You have got that really personable and you also come from a position when you first started your business where that was really normal. so whereas some people starting out only kind of recently, maybe in the last five years, it's less normal to have that, where you have a phone consult with someone that's just like...
Nadine (55:19.641)
Yeah, it is.
Nadine (55:36.273)
Yeah, totally normal.
Honey Atkinson (55:43.416)
reply to an email, standard reply, blah blah blah, here's the price. So having that, yeah, that human connection is really something that we're all missing, which is those community classes that you run. But yeah, it does. Mm. Mm.
Nadine (55:49.351)
Yes.
Nadine (55:53.917)
It stands out. It stands out so much and you know they're about for me you know I don't do many weddings anymore but they're about to spend thousands and thousands of dollars with you. There's a needs a real high level of trust to be able to do that. They've never gone through this process before so most likely when your client is buying from you they've never done this before unless they're obviously you know especially in the wedding world. Probably. I have done a few.
Honey Atkinson (56:08.129)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (56:17.861)
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Nadine (56:21.501)
I've done a few re-marriages down the track. But even, totally agree with the online inquiry form, 100%. You wanna refine and automate your process. I totally get that. But a way to get around that is just straight back after that is there's actually, for me to be able to give you a really detailed and more specified quote.
Honey Atkinson (56:33.144)
Mm.
Nadine (56:48.679)
It'd be great if we could get on a call because I've got a couple of extra questions I wanted to ask you.
Honey Atkinson (56:52.716)
Yes, yeah, yeah, which is perfect. Yes, yeah, because you're offering to help.
Nadine (56:54.333)
And no one is going to say no to that. If they are a tie kicker for instance then they are going get back to you. Then don't worry you saved yourself a whole bunch of time and effort. But if they are genuine then that's the perfect little step to give them for them to really show you whether they are genuine.
Honey Atkinson (57:01.794)
Mm.
Honey Atkinson (57:05.29)
Exactly.
Honey Atkinson (57:10.092)
Yeah.
Nadine (57:21.317)
I think it's also important that you have that moment and you can easily do that over the phone to work out whether that client is actually the right one for you.
Honey Atkinson (57:31.222)
Yes, yeah for sure it goes both ways. Yeah, yeah.
Nadine (57:33.729)
Yeah and you can you can hear the way what they're asking you know that if they're wanting an absolute massive thing for the no money, the tiny budget you can tell the type of style they want you're like yeah I think that's really my jam and you can easily say look you know I have got a booking on that date
Honey Atkinson (57:43.446)
Mm.
Honey Atkinson (57:49.004)
Yes. Yes.
Honey Atkinson (57:56.653)
Yes.
Nadine (57:57.697)
But I'm really happy to refer you to someone else that will be able to help you use this other business, you know? Yeah, and how do you do that online?
Honey Atkinson (58:01.88)
Yeah, yeah, so you've got to weigh out.
Yes, yes, it's so true.
Nadine (58:11.36)
You can't do that at all. Next minute you know you're way too deep in and you can't get back out of something that you actually don't want to do. So yeah, that's my biggest piece of advice I reckon. Keep it personal.
Honey Atkinson (58:16.536)
Mm.
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (58:25.12)
Yep, love it. I'd love to know what is next. What are you excited about in your business Nadine, moving forward? Yes, good. I was hoping you'd mention that. Yes, yes, yes.
Nadine (58:35.104)
lots actually, I've got a lot on. One of them is going to Italy next year. Can we say? Are we allowed to say? and Honey right here is joining me as my photographer, videographer and also conducting a workshop over there for our attendees, photography workshop. So we're just a little bit excited to go aren't we?
Honey Atkinson (59:00.664)
So excited, yep. And funnily enough Nadine, she remembers me mentioning a few years ago, I mentioned maybe it was online or and maybe also in person that it's my dream to, I really was putting it out there to the universe and also publicly, you know, like I'd love to do work in Italy sometime and Nadine remembered that. cause you said that didn't you? That it stuck in your mind, but yeah.
Nadine (59:23.456)
Yeah I just, I just and I knew as soon as I put was putting it together and it's something I've been thinking about for a while because it's just one of my favorite places in the world to be and yeah I just knew that I wanted, I thought who would I want to come with me? was like honey has to come for this I hope she can come so I love the way we work together and I know that yeah we're going to create magic together in that beautiful place.
Honey Atkinson (59:43.318)
Yay!
Nadine (59:52.676)
So I'm very excited about that in May. I've got MIFCUS coming up in March, which is the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. Last year I was brought in as their sustainability consultant and educator for the show because they've moved it into, for the very first time, into a more sustainable space, which is huge for us as an industry because it's our largest show.
over 100,000 people go through the show and for us as an industry, Flouristry, it's probably our biggest platform and the place that can make the most change. So to be given that role of rewriting the judging criteria across the whole show to include an environmental impact section, like that was such an honour and something I'm really proud of doing. this year I'll come, obviously that's...
was one and done, know, that's been created and doesn't need doing again. But I'll be coming in in a different capacity this year, running some events, industry style panel type events that I'm just putting together now. So we don't really have that as an industry at the moment, places that we can gather together and learn off each other and kind of listen to designers that are quite well known. So.
yeah I would really like to host and create that sort of environment for us. Again back to the whole personal theme isn't it now that I'm thinking about it. I'd like to do another two-day workshop in Tassie next year at the end of the year that's a place I love and so I'd love to go back down there and do a really wedding focused event down there.
Honey Atkinson (01:01:23.628)
Yes, it is. Yeah, it's wonderful. Yeah.
Nadine (01:01:44.631)
build my greenhouse up even more and I've just partnered with someone creative who's actually creating a CRM for me for the wedding forest client who wants to be able to take their brides through a really again beautiful high touch
automated sequence that's very professional and has inquiry form proposals, payment gateways, everything attached which seems to be something that's not readily available for the wedding florists so I'm currently collaborating with an online digital creator who's building that out so that will be ready to launch in January that's the hot scoop I haven't talked about this to anyone yet!
Honey Atkinson (01:02:34.488)
Wow.
That's, that's, that's amazing. You've got so many different things going on. Yeah.
Nadine (01:02:44.264)
yes, and then I've got a very exciting project in Melbourne, which I haven't, we're releasing very soon too, which is another collaboration. Actually the start of this year, collaboration just kept coming up for me, you know, when you're thinking about your words for the year, I don't know if anyone else does that. And partnerships and collaborations just seemed to be like, I think where I consciously wanted to go, but it just seemed to keep popping up. And this,
whole year even up until this last recent one that just literally came out of thin air has been just partnerships and collaborations with other amazing women and I've just embraced them all like it's just been so fun it's just I've really really enjoyed it and the projects that have come out of it have been things that I hadn't even dreamed up.
they're just, they're just like morphing on their own. And so, yeah, I've a real, I've just become a real advocate for partnerships and collaborations now. I mean, I've done that obviously in the past with you and with lots of other people. Every year I do some sort of collaboration, but this year has really like, I don't know, opened up, yeah, lots of different partnerships and things that I didn't even realize were available or just can ask.
Honey Atkinson (01:03:55.874)
Yes.
Honey Atkinson (01:04:00.984)
Like really opened. Yeah. It's great. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (01:04:09.878)
Hmm. Yeah, I feel like that energy, I think when you work by yourself all the time, it's so important to have that energy exchange with other creatives, not necessarily just with your clients, so that you're kind of seeing bigger ideas and pictures that you just never could have imagined yourself. And then the two people to combine, yeah, that energy is really special. Yeah. Yeah. So where is the best place to find you, Nadine? Online? Instagram?
Nadine (01:04:11.558)
you know, just reach out to people.
You
Nadine (01:04:27.346)
Yeah.
Nadine (01:04:30.79)
Yeah, rising up each other, definitely.
Nadine (01:04:36.456)
Instagram I love that I love that platform still I know it's got some quirky things going on at the moment that's a bit hard to be seen but I still really love it so that's the underscore ivy Institute the ivyinstitute.com.au my website which houses all the things it's a big house
Honey Atkinson (01:04:42.144)
Yes, yes.
Honey Atkinson (01:04:47.926)
Yeah. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (01:04:54.488)
That's right.
Honey Atkinson (01:05:02.828)
Yes, yeah, it is, it's amazing.
Nadine (01:05:04.988)
It's a big mansion now. And Nadine at theivyinstitute.com.au for email if you want to get in touch. Really happy to help all sorts of businesses. That doesn't have to be just forestry, but I guess sustainably focused businesses is kind of who I, yeah. Creatives that have that kind of ethos, I think really gel.
Honey Atkinson (01:05:15.256)
Great, amazing. Well, thank you.
Honey Atkinson (01:05:22.902)
Yes, yeah well we've had a conversation too. Yeah, yeah so it's exactly right. Yes, well thank you for your time, I'm so grateful.
Nadine (01:05:34.568)
you
Thanks so much for having me. I've had a blast. Thanks, Honey.
