MAKING MONEY BY SPREADING SOME ARTIFICIAL GRANDEUR WITH ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS...

If you enjoy creating your own flower arrangements and receive compliments on your projects, you will probably succeed in selling them. With a bit of creativity, you can turn your hobby into a business. Selling artificial flowers and trees could give you an opportunity to make money while enjoying your hobby at the same time.

Reach out to the event and wedding planners in your area to form business relationships. These professionals can lead you to potential customers and vice versa. A touch of green can make any room or commercial indoor to come alive, and also give your place a serene effect. Artificial plants, flowers, and trees are vivacious and add warmth to your home décor.

We are not at all of the opinions that natural plants are no match to the silk variety, but knowing the disadvantages of real plants, and hassles of maintenance associated with it, it can really give a homeowner hard time taking care of them.

If you are the one who loves to have decorative accessories in and around your home and office and are keen to have greenery, then there can’t be an ideal option than silk plants.

Learn all you can about Artificial Foliage and its Uses...

To gain knowledge and access to the world of artificial plants, first, you need to brush up your skills regarding the designs of floral arrangements.  For this, you can go through home décor magazines, websites or read blogs, and maybe go on a few courses. 

Doing so will make you come across artificial plants and flowers of many styles and types. Fire retardant foliage, artificial greenery, hanging bush and grass, silk orchids, silk flower topiaries, tropical plants, containers, planters, and succulents are just a few varieties among the largest collection of these faux beauties.

The trend of designing and decorating the indoor and outdoor landscaping changes every year, if not every season, hence, it is important for you to know the latest trends and only then progress to decorate your home stylishly.

Artificial Plants let you Celebrate Every Season...

When you decide to purchase artificial flowers make some rules for buying. The first thing you should know is to go over the top with your designs. Be with the trends, try not to use big roses and huge sunflowers, this makes your home dated. Small sized Hydrangeas or a Cymbidium orchid in peach and white hues always look good in any home. And the best part is they are natural looking.

A second point to remember is having good containers and planters to place these silk beauties. Silk flowers are so adaptable that they can be placed in any room of a house, the bedroom, bathroom and even the kitchen will look nice after adding some fake plant to uplift the mood. Choose pots, containers that have been designed to place a particular plant. This way you won’t ruin the look of the decorative accessory.

Silk Plants look better than Natural Ones...

The highest quality designing technique has enabled silk plants to look more natural and lifelike than real plants. When purchasing artificial flowers, trees, and plants you should always go for natural looks. Pay good attention to the texture of the leaves and petals and also to the quality of the colors. 

The highest quality designing technique has enabled silk plants to look more natural and lifelike than real plants. When purchasing artificial flowers, trees, and plants you should always go for natural looks. Pay good attention to the texture of the leaves and petals and also to the quality of the colors.  It is this lifelike quality that has made artificial flowers a hit among the masses and the classes. You must have observed it many times that people are so astonished that the shade under which are standing is an artificial tree. The combination of high-quality manufacturing, design, texture, color combination and the cost of the product has totally evolved the process of keeping our surroundings beautiful. Study flower arranging through florist school or garden clubs that offer training in the art of floral design. Pay attention to the trends in home décor and art. Establish yourself as an expert on fake flowers then you could also make money out of offering classes and teaching others about the art of artificial flowers. The opportunities in the artificial flowers business are massive, the world is your oyster.

HOW TO MAKE MONEY FROM AFTERNOON TEA...

The quintessentially British Afternoon Tea is big business now and is something you could tap into quite easily.

If you don't have a coffee or tea shop then you could always use pop up sites and rent a place once a month or stand at exhibitions all over the UK. If you have space then hold a themed afternoon tea at your own home.

The quickest and easiest way to make money from 'Afternoon Tea' is to theme your event.

To get ideas on themes just look what is on at the Cinema/Theatre at the moment which is very fashionable or you could go down children's book themes.

Some examples include:-

Mad Hatters
Star Wars
Disney
Vintage
Charity
Chocolate
Japanese Inspired
Harry Potter
Great Gatsby
Tennis
Sherlock Holmes
Halloween

The list can be endless and can include events that are happening around the UK throughout the year. A bit of imagination can soon create something a bit different to go with your theme.

Even a simple beef sandwich could be changed to a 'hound of Baskerville with roast beef and English mustard'. Make it as quirky, opulent and as stylish or outrageous as you can think. The more exotic the more popular it will become. 

Raise funds for a local charity, have regular or one-off themed afternoon teas. If you haven't got the correct cups and saucers to start you off then hire them.

#HOW TO MAKE MONEY FROM SETTING UP A MEMBERSHIP CLUB...

Following on from my previous post. I decided I would start a Ladies Friendship Club with the motto 'Friendship – being friends or a friend, goodwill, benevolence' I wanted it to be exclusive so I had some gold credit card style membership cards made. For £20 per annum (which is what I charged when I first set it up) they were given the card plus a quarterly hand-made newsletter (see picture above) which I made myself. It had a diary of our events which varied from coffee mornings, luncheons, outings, cookery classes, acceptance slips with return envelopes and also feedback from previous events. Our other motto down the side of the newsletter read“Forget the Feng Shui, Forget the personal trainer, and stop the housework. Ladies who Lunch is the new Therapy”

I got speakers for the luncheons and we went to different Hotels/ Restaurants/Stately Homes/and Tea Shops. I remember vividly at the first luncheon I had only 12 ladies coming for lunch. I was absolutely terrified at having to stand up in front of 12 ladies and talk on my ideas for the club. Over the following couple of years I soon became a pro at standing up in front of large numbers of ladies.

Below was feedback from some of our events, which I put in the Newsletter - the remarks are what club members wrote in our club diary.

3^rd March – Our 3^rd Anniversary Luncheon with a chocolate theme to it –“Fabulous food and company with not much chat over the “Tarte au chocolat”! Excellent speaker as well.

8^th March – Our first walk to celebrate International Women’s Day, through Bestwood Park and lunch at The Griffins Head at Papplewick – A very nice walk and lovely company.

16^th March – Virgin Vie coffee morning – I had the make-over this time and enjoyed every minute of it – Always enjoy the coffee mornings- thank you xxxxx.

17^th March – The launch of our in house Book Club – see later in the Newsletter for reviews.

30^th March – Day trip to Leeds superb shopping facilities – Harvey Nicks here we come – thanks for a fabulous day out to Leeds.

27^th April – Cookery Demonstration  – Excellent Day, food delicious, excellent demonstration – when are we going again?

30^th April – Coffee Morning at Portland College – Not many of us today, but as always good company.

6^th May – Walk in Newstead Abbey– what a gorgeous house, lovely walk and lunch as well.

12^th May – Trip to Japanese Garden and Thoresby Hall Courtyard Shops with afternoon tea in the Hall – Lovely gardens, good shopping and afternoon tea in the hall – it was all very enjoyable.

18^th May – The club’s surprise trip to Castle Howard with lunch and afternoon tea in The Great Hall – Another triumph xxxxx, an excellent day out and the weather was kind to us as well !!

25^th May – Cookery Demo  – Excellent, superb food and domo.

3^rd June – planned trip to Lyme Park ended in an unplanned trip to Bramhall Hall in Cheshire- Brilliant change of venue – quick thinking xxxx, even managed to do some shopping didn’t we !!!!!!

8th June – Garden Party – A glorious day in lovely surroundings with pleasant company and food. That’s what I call retirement !

15^th June – Nottingham Open Tennis and 17^th June Gardeners World Live – both excellent

Fast forward 24 months and I had over 100 members and had approached a number of businesses who offered my ladies discount on goods when they showed our gold card. The club was expanding so fast that I couldn't keep up with all the paperwork and decided to put a stop on the membership and have a waiting list for it instead.

But I knew it had the makings of something big so I went to my local County Council who ran Business events/training days to help start ups. They said if I put a good business plan together then there could be some funding come my way. I wrote a business plan and constitution where I put my aims and objective to develop the club district wide, to provide ladies with friendship, educational courses and social activities in a safe environment.

They loved it and I was sent to pitch in front of some funding companies that helped out small/new start up businesses.  I couldn't believe it when they said they would pay for a website for the business. It was set up exclusively for 'members', where they could catch up on the clubs news, events and pictures of where we had been. 

I suppose I like to think of the ladies club as a life changing community project. My ambitions for the future of the club included, educational courses in computers, reflexology and crafts, awareness of working in the voluntary sector as well as the usual dose of coffee mornings, day trips and luncheons. 

I felt that the events transported my ladies away from everyday routine to escape into a world of feminine fun. Little things meant so much more to me then. I didn't seek praise but if people thanked me for what I had done, it made my day very special and I treasure my written thank you’s that I have collected over the years. But I was beginning to realise that I could do with some more help with the ever expanding membership. So I put together an advert for consultants to help me expand the business.

I felt ready to expand and grow big and I was keeping on top of all my health problems with medication and some physiotherapy but I still needed further help with my neck pain. I was booked in for a spinal injection which was similar to one I'd previously had in my lumber spine which really helped and had no complications.

Unfortunately this time it was not the same. In fact it turned into a  life threatening episode and I was too ill to attend one of our biggest days out the following week. I had two full coach loads of ladies all going for a day trip to Althorpe House (Princess Diana's resting place), followed by an Afternoon Tea stop on the way home. This was my lowest point and honestly thought, why bother!! But, with the help of friends the club continued to plod along nicely. However, I was missed, everyone said it wasn't the same without me and I couldn't work up the enthusiasm to want to join them for anything.

I soon learnt to not be my worst enemy and take time out for myself and let go of trying to be 100% perfect all of the time. The family were not happy and sat me down and said I needed to work less and rest more. This particular episode frightened me so much that I needed hypnosis to help erase the memories that were keeping me awake at night.   

I was then also diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (an incurable, painful condition which includes fatigue, insomnia, stiffness, IBS and pain throughout the body) and I realised that the time was right for me to try and just sit back and relax. 

The last outing was our Christmas luncheon which was always very well attended and although I had told members that I was 'putting it on hold' for a while most knew this was the end of the Club. It was an emotional lunch but the feeling of relief and total exhaustion afterwards confirmed to me that I had made the right decision. 

I really didn't want to sell the business this time as I guess I felt that ' you just never know' and might regret it if I sold it. This was, after all, my fifth business but something a friend had said to me stuck with me, she said ' At the end of the day you should be really proud of yourself, none of your businesses have failed, some are still up and running. It's your health that has failed you and the way you have dealt with it should be an inspiration to anyone'.

So that was the end of my Ladies Club but I'm sure by now you will have realised that it would probably not be the end of my entrepreneurial spirit. 

#FIGHTING BACK AND START ANOTHER BUSINESS IS THE ONLY OPTION...

They say back pain affects 80pc of the population at some point in their lives. Mine, started in my late 20’s with extremely debilitating low back pain. Treatment in the first years consisted of physiotherapy and manipulation by an osteopath and chiropractor but eventually surgery was the only option. Sarah Key's Back Sufferers' Bible is an excellent book on the subject.

It was my fourth operation that soon made me realise that time is a gift after I developed an infection and was off work for nearly six months. Brides were phoning me in hospital to check everything was still going to plan for their special day. Of course I never let anyone down, but I had to find some more staff to help run the business which during that time was being run with the help of all my family.

Many a day I’d felt despair, rage and profound disappointment that I could not do certain jobs. I looked like a question mark, bent like someone 20 years older, I felt like an object of pity, an old women in black. Pain is introspective; it doesn’t give a dam about the rest of the world.

My life has changed so much over the years that I can hardly believe it. One minute I was planning on expanding my latest business and then the next I was planning on selling it.

But one thing for sure I was no 'quitter' and knew I would get around my problems one way or another. I sold the Balloon Business to my best friend's daughter who had been working for me for over a year. Selling it to someone who worked for me made it easier to let go. I could pop over and help a little if she needed it, and still felt involved when she rang for some advice and for well over 12 months I still had customers phoning me about events they wanted sorting, but slowly I let go.

Time was the key, how I used it and whom I spent it with became very important to me.

I loved writing things down and have kept many a diary. Some diary entries would sound very depressing but on the whole I knew my limits and found the tiredness the hardest to control with an overwhelming urge to sleep. The simple act of writing my thoughts down filled me with a sense of purpose, to pursue my goals. I would read inspiring stories of ladies working from home and knew it would not be long before I had an idea for myself.

I didn’t know where to settle, what to do, I felt frightened and lonely. Deciding my future, fearful of depression setting in was probably one of the hardest decisions I had had to make. It was strange to discover that I was the same person, had the same enthusiasm and woke up with equal excitement to face the day ahead even though I was in constant pain.

I took on a small writing job for my local newspaper covering community events but most days I just loved the comfort of my own chair,  I constantly scrutinized magazines for ideas and inspirations on what to do and came up with the idea of a club designed especially for ladies to develop friendship and shared interests in a safe environment. I set the club up in 2001 initially just as a hobby but the entrepreneurial side of me took over and it wasn't long before I had another good business up and running. I will cover this in my next post. 

I hope you will get one very important message from this post and that is to NEVER, EVER, GIVE UP'.

#HOW TO SET UP A BALLOON DECORATION BUSINESS...

Balloon decoration is an exciting profession and a business that makes people happy. It's not only fun but you can make a profitable business out of it.

If you fancy balloon decoration as your next career then the first step is to go on a balloon decoration course. There are a number of balloon decoration courses available throughout the UK and around the world. 

The Balloon Training Academy run a NABAS Beginners Balloon Decoration Course which is designed to help those of you that are just starting out. Starting with the basics you are taught how to use specialised equipment safely, how to correctly tie and size balloons and inflate them using helium. It's a Certified course with practical hands on learning that is second to none.They also do event decoration courses. 

NABAS is the original and credible trade association for the party and promotional balloon industry in the UK, representing balloon decorators, retailers, wholesalers and manufacturer. Its members also include suppliers of balloon -related services such as accessories, inflators and balloon gas and is well worth joining. You can then have this authentication on your site. 

The association acts as the voice of the balloon industry, providing a comprehensive source of information and education for all industry concerns. They also offer ongoing business support, organising various events throughout the year where members can display their skills and make valuable business contacts. I found them a great help for my company and there shows are well worth a visit. 

Qualatex are one of the top suppliers of balloons and accessories and they also have training days and have a team of dedicated instructors who are constantly updating their course, working with the latest new products and techniques to give the best experience and build your confidence to expand your portfolio.If you don't think you have the time to go on one of these courses then another company Balloon Training have an online course you could take.

Once your up and running then it's time to get your name established. The best way to get known for weddings is to stand at a Wedding Show, of which there are many throughout the year. A bit of cold calling into your local pubs and Hotels can also bring you some business and maybe offer a free decoration for a Charity Event which could potentially bring you a lot more business. 

There are so many add on's to Balloon Decoration as it can cover so many avenues, from weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, valentines day, mothers day, new born, Christmas, you name it there is always something happening all the time. I found the balloon business easy to run around my children at home as I mainly decorated at weekends and while they were at school then if I had an event in the school holidays I would just take them along with me.

Other ideas leading on from your Balloon Decoration service could be the 'Hire' of chair covers, or top table garland. You could also sell wedding favours, and children's party theme events. And don't forget the endless list of theme nights which could be done at Hotel's or Community Halls. 

There are now balloons for every occasion from theme collections, to seasonal balloons like Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas, and reunions. People are celebrating something all the time and once you get your business up and running you will find your referral work is all you will need to keep you going. During the Christmas period as I had said in my last post you could go into Christmas Tree Decoration Hire. If you train well and come up with some original ideas you can make a lot of money in the Balloon Decoration Business. 

  

SETTING UP AN #EVENT DECORATION BUSINESS ...

I started getting a bit restless at not being able to do more clients but thinking of something that I could do with my health related problems and also being home for the children was becoming a bit of a challenge. Then one day while chatting to one of my clients about my situation she jokingly said that I ought to go into the balloon business as you could not get anything lighter than a balloon. The seed was planted and I started finding out all I could about helium balloons for events. This was before you could just tap into 'Google' and find out anything you wanted to know.

The client who had given me the idea of a balloon business ran a successful local bridal shop. She also did balloon decorations for her brides weddings but was struggling to manage both. I think you can probably guess what happened next.

The deal was done and I went along with them to a few weddings to learn all about my new business. I went on a number of courses to learn even more about balloon decorating and the business well and truly took off (literally).

The balloon business went from strength to strength and I won some awards along the way -

• 1991 Runner up Nottingham Evening Post “Business Woman of the Year”
• 1996 Vice President of North Nottinghamshire Business Women's Network
• 1998 North Nottinghamshire Winner “Business Woman of the Year”

But the dark clouds were starting to roll in slowly but surely. I was in a serious amount of pain not only in my lumber spine but also in my cervical spine. I saw a specialist who advised another spinal surgery on my cervical spine using bone from my hip to fuse it together. So I had to plan well ahead when the best time would be for me to have the surgery.

This was difficult as I had brides booked for 1 and 2 years ahead for their weddings. But what I did have a great team behind me and with the help of them and my family I sailed through my third spinal surgery and it wasn't long before I was back in the saddle and back to normal. 

I expanded into Christmas Tree hire for the winter months as apart from the odd bookings for bunches of balloons for birthdays/anniversaries etc the business went much quieter over the winter period. 

The Christmas Tree hire business took off well and we also decorated the trees for them which were mainly used in Hotels etc but the repeat business gave us a lot of work when things were quiet.

My health started to suffer (again) and I had to have further surgery to my lumber spine, using a new technique which involved having a cage put in my spine with nuts and bolts to support it all.

Sadly this time everything did not go according to plan, and I ended up needing surgery for a massive haematoma in my stomach and then ended up in hospital for nearly three months with an infection.

My children both had cars so they managed to hold the fort and work with my other to keep the business running. But it really affected my confidence and I really worried about things going wrong and felt I was really letting the brides down when I had assured them that I would be personally decorating their events.

My family saw me slipping and together decided to sit me down, and made a suggestion that maybe this was the time to retire. After ten years of seeing the business going from strength to strength and winnings lots of awards on the way I truly did NOT want to give it up, but deep down I knew it was the right thing to do.

Now the helium balloon business's do far more technical things with exploding confetti bombs and balloon sculptures and although I don't think it's as popular for weddings now as it was back then, decorating venues for events will always be a good business to work in. The list of different types of decorations you could go into is long and I will cover some others at a later date. 

As I have written before on most of my posts, a good business plan is essential and help with funding for something like this could be found through websites like Gov UK, or Business Angels, Crowd Cube, or UK Business Angels Association.  If you look you will find funding is available for new business start ups no matter what part of the country you live in. With the right pitch and business plan you could soon find help available.  Thinking of a catchy name for this sort of business is also essential. I called mine 'Bubbles Balloons' and was known as 'Bubbles' by most of my clients.

In the next post I will cover the basics to start an event decoration business.