Dolla Dolla Bill...Ya'll

So sorry about that title. It’s what came out….I went with it.
Let’s talk money though. SHUDDER.

It’s ok…keep reading.

Let's talk about pricing specifically. Regardless of inflation, as an industry, whatever industry you may be a part of, it is imperative to remember a few things when you're pricing your goods. In order to maintain a successful business, you need to price sustainably, meaning you're not in a race to the bottom and in that same stride not undercutting your industry. Doing so is a recipe for failure.

I've talked about this before but it can't be stated enough. Undervaluing your product is bad for everyone. You, your customers, and your entire industry. Let's tease this apart a bit.

Sustainable pricing means you're A) covering your own cost to produce the product. If you're not covering this cost...I mean, you're losing money. Literally. Simple as that. You can't do that for long. And why would you want to? B) Consider your time and labor that goes into your product. Few people can work for free. C) What is the cost to bring your product to sale? There is a cost to produce but you should include and consider any additional costs to bring said product to sale as well. For me, there is a cost to produce each variety of flower but then there is also significant time in harvesting, processing, and bouquet costs (paper wrapping, stickers, rubber bands, vases, etc.). D) Once you see these costs for yourself, you may realize you can't be sustainable AND undercut the rest of your industry. It's usually not possible.

If you're just tinkering in your industry or just starting out, you may feel like you shouldn't charge "that much". This is tricky. If you're not producing a product to the highest quality possible it certainly won't be as worthy to a consumer. And that’s not fair to them either. However, if you're attempting to produce the highest quality possible you should be charging appropriately. In the case of cut flowers, harvesting at the correct time (not too late, not too open etc. ...Every single variety is different) and processing right into your customer's hands or into a cooler to prolong vase life, those are probably some quality flowers. Don't give them away unless you want to give them away. By that, I mean literally give them away OR sell them at a sustainable price that isn't undercutting your industry. I do both. Obviously, I am in the business of selling flowers, however, if I have flowers that I feel are not up to selling standards, I either keep them or give them away either to friends or family or to hospice patients, nursing homes, etc. It makes me feel good, makes them happy, and I don't sell lower quality stems at my appropriate price to my valued customers.

With that said, not every customer is necessarily for you and that is OK. It's much easier said than done to realize that. Some people may comment or scoff at your pricing. That's OK...as long as you've done your part to price appropriately based on all of the above mentioned factors.

My flowers are not imported flowers. My flowers are grown here in our community with 99% manual labor (we use the tractor for occasional tilling and bed building but never for harvesting, amendment application, etc.) in a progressively more regenerative manner. We care. We love our flowers. We love the Earth. We care about what goes in and on both of those things. That means they are not the cheapest flowers. Cheap is never the highest quality. If that matters to you, you are my customer.

Of course, there is always a fine balance. This is meant as a learning post, not as a finger pointing or scolding post. I am a firm believer in when you know better you do better. If you don't know then you simply do not know. But now you know a little more.

Keep growing, keep learning, keep moving. Thanks for reading!