Today we’d like to introduce you to Tami Sebastian .
Hi Tami, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
For years, I wanted to start my own business. I had no idea what kind of business until I saw an article about Amelia’s Flower Truck. Her business was brilliant! The owner, Mattie Bush, sells flowers from her VW Type 2 pickup in Nashville. I began researching the hows and whats necessary to start a similar business in Austin. I returned to school, enrolled in a floral design program, and started the search for my flower truck. I found my truck on eBay. It was a 1956 F600 Dually with a dump bed. I paid just under $3000 for the truck. She was shipped from Fargo, North Dakota, to my father’s home in Southern California. I purchased the truck based on pictures only. When it was finally delivered, I quickly realized she was big, really, really big, too big. Fortunately, a local winery made a wonderful offer, and off she went. I then used the profit from the truck sale to purchase my beautiful 1978 Type 2 VW Bus, with enough left over to purchase my floral refrigerator. I hired an amazingly talented young woman, Erika Campbell, to design my logo. My wonderful brother designed my website, I secured my business license, and I was off. I enjoyed some small successes the first year I started. I don’t have a brick-and-mortar, so I learned to use social media for advertising and to establish my brand. Roadside pop-ups also helped introduce myself, my floral arrangements, and my “Sunshine Beast” to our local community. Yes, my bus is the “Sunshine Beast.” I have people of all ages stop at my pop-ups for flowers and selfies with her. At least 5 people will throw a peace sign at me whenever I take her out. I’m regularly chatted up at stop lights and parking lots. People love my bus. Then, Covid happened. My tiny business almost came to a complete halt. Not having a brick-and-mortar saved my business. I had to rethink how I was going to sell flowers. I saw advertisements for small businesses to have their products sold and delivered via delivery apps. That was the answer. I signed up with DoorDash. So, I take orders via DoorDash and DMs through Instagram. I still have roadside pop-ups, and I also have pop-ups in the Barton Creek Nordstrom. I have a regular stream of weddings, and most come from references. It took a few years, but my little business is finally gaining traction, and I get to play with flowers! I also love that my arrangements make people happy and my bus.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a relatively smooth road. Covid forced me to rethink how to sell and advertise. I’m learning daily that being a virtual business has its pros and cons. I had to learn to become firm with some customers. While I strive to make everyone happy, I’ve had situations where customers want to haggle my prices down. Flowers are expensive, even at wholesale prices, vases, cards, floral picks, ribbons, travel boxes, and most importantly, me. My design, my time, the love and care I put into every arrangement; when I have customers wanting to pay half of my asking, it’s being told that my work isn’t valued. I’m now good with saying no and suggesting they would be better off purchasing elsewhere.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I make floral arrangements and installations for events. I love creating for weddings. My specialization is creating a bride’s vision within her budget. I love a challenge. I’ll spend days and weeks researching how to create a mood, a theme, and a setting. I begin with rough sketches and “McGyvering” the hard components of the installation. I consider the weather, safety, venue restrictions/requirements, and transportation. I’m proud of my barn ceiling installation and the outdoor aisle garland. The barn installation took 2 days and a ridiculous amount of pepper tree and eucalyptus branches. It was beautiful, and it broke my heart to take it down. The outdoor aisle garland/runner took 3 days of building and filling. Because I had a limited setup time for this wedding, I had to design this garland to be easily transported and provide water to flowers/greenery during the wedding and reception. This particular wedding took place outdoors during 100+ degree heat. These aisle runners needed to look fresh. I built the runners from the 2x4s to which I painted and attached floral trays. They were quick to set up and remove, and they looked beautiful. My big personality sets me apart from others! But, more importantly, I work hard to create a couple’s vision. Sometimes the original idea isn’t feasible, but I always do everything possible to get close or suggest something better.
What does success mean to you?
Success is being proud of my work and having others love my work and want to hire me. Recognition and growth are a sign of success.
Contact Info:
- Website: Mortyjoeflowers.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/mortyjoeflowers?igshid=YWJhMjlhZTc=
Image Credits
Samantha Perl
