Make Your Work Hours Count!

The years 2011 - 2014 are a bit of a blur. I don't remember everything, but I remember the way I felt after coming home from work each day. I remember crawling in bed night after night thinking to myself, "I just worked my tail off, but did I actually accomplish anything? I worked hard, really hard for 12 hours today, but did I even make any money? Why am I working so hard and have nothing to show for it?" During those years, I could have won an academy award for my act. "How's business?" they would ask ...

Tough Love

I need to speak to those of you who are working from home. Those of you who have little ones running around while you are simultaneously trying to build your own business. Those of you who are preparing lunch for your kids while you answer client calls.

The Business of Selling Books: Under the Cover

Today on Zimmerman Podcast, we’ve got a crossover episode on our hands! We’re talking business and books as I walk through the process of using my marketing prowess to get this self-published book in the hands of readers around the world!

Everything I’ve learned about marketing and business has helped make this book launch a success, and it just goes to show that some marketing strategies really can be used in any industry!

What's the Good Life and How do You Get It

Welcome to Zimmerman Podcast, a place for wedding professionals and creative entrepreneurs.

If you're new around here, I'm Jessica Zimmerman. In the past five years, I've transformed my nearly bankrupt business into a seven-figure career.

A few years ago, I discovered the life-changing power of sharing my story. It includes face-plants and pit-falls, mistakes and triumphs.

PodcastJessica ZimmermanNovember 4, 2019business, jessica zimmerman podcast, mentoringComment

How to Get Started With Your Floral Business

First ask yourself:

Do you really want a floral business? It’s okay to have a hobby and for it to be simply a hobby. My greatest passion is travel, but I wouldn’t enjoy it as much if every time I traveled, I also had to write a feature about it.

I think it’ really important to know that owning your own floral business doesn’t mean you are doing flowers all day. There is a reason only 5% of small businesses succeed. The business-side of it takes up the majority of your day.

My Set-up and Delivery Checklist

EMERGENCY KIT:

floral tape - waterproof and boutonnière
scissors - regular and ribbon
snips
wire cutters
wire - varied sizes plus thin gold
fishing line
glass cleaner
paper towels
shwizzles (aka pipe cleaners)
pins

8 Tips to Take Control of Your Email Inbox

1. Don’t let other people dictate your work day.

I used to think checking my email first thing meant I was working hard. It meant I was being productive! I think most of us think this way. We have clients or coworkers or bosses who need to hear from us. Sound familiar?

You know the phrase, Ignorance is bliss - well it’s especially true when it comes to email! When I became ignorant to what was going on in my inbox - guess what happened? I actually had time to focus on my own to do list which led to productivity which led to profitability. I’m not denying the fact that, yes, it is important to check my email.

How Writing Down your Goals Helps your Future Business

Four years ago, I wrote down where I wanted to be in five years. Here's a little snippet from the six page entry:

"I hope to be in a place where I am able to choose which clients I want to work with. I hope to be in a place where my clients trust me to execute their vision and give me creative freedom to do so. I hope to be in a place where I only have to do a handful of weddings a year and still exceed my sales goal. I hope to be in a place where I can blend my love of travel with my work."

Ordering Flowers WAS my Least Favorite Thing to do...

Ordering flowers was always my least favorite thing to do. I hated writing recipes and counting how many stems I needed. I would put off ordering until the last possible minute.

Having three small children, I really value my time, so anything that takes way longer than I think it should, I dread. Ordering flowers took me at the very least an entire work day (sometimes it took me two or three!) to complete. I

My Least Favorite Thing to Create

Boutonnières are not my favorite to make simply because there always seems to be a large number of them to produce and monotony is not my strength. I get bored after the second one. I do, however, adore how they look when they are all completed, when we line them up on a beautiful backdrop and photograph them.

How to Focus on YOUR Goals

Have you ever thought any of these things:

“There are new wedding planners/floral designers popping up in my town everyday.”

“It seems to be the new trend in my area to become a wedding planner.”

“There are so many people in my area doing higher budget weddings and I don’t know what they have that I don’t have.”

“This person is doing styled shoots and posting everyday on social media so maybe I should be doing that too.”

Pain and Perspective

This week was hard. It was really hard. It was one of those weeks where nothing went right, no matter how much I tried. It was one of those weeks where my team needed things from me and I was constantly behind schedule. I'm a person who admittedly likes to be in control and there was a lot out of my control this week.