HollyAnn of Hop Rabbit Flowers and Pretty Dead Flowers

HollyAnn is a fellow Steamboat maker who owns and runs a luxury floral business, Hop Rabbit Flowers and her new business repurposing the old flowers, Pretty Dead Flowers. It was such a joy chatting with HollyAnn and getting a peek inside her process. We talk about how her business came to be, the power of saying no, and how branding yourself well and being uniquely you can be huge drivers for your business.

The Beginnings

Even as a kid, HollyAnn always said she wanted to own a flower shop when she grew up. While working at a restaurant several years ago, she finally got a chance to explore this dream. She started doing weekly flower arrangements for the restaurant and when her friend got engaged, she asked HollyAnn to do the flowers. With no formal experience, HollyAnn jumped at the opportunity, ended up connecting with a local wedding planner and the business began and took off from there.

On Growth, Inspiration, and Connection

We both attribute a lot of our success to living in a small town. Creating connections and diving into the community has really helped our businesses grow. HollyAnn said she likes to sign herself up for things months adanvacnce and has the “i’ll figure it out” kind of attitude. There is a certain element of accountability in that, and once you commit yourself, you WILL figure it out!

“There is so much power in asking questions.

We can learn how to do almost anything on the Internet if you’re passionate and put the time into it.”

HollyAnn said she loves branding because its a reflection of you. Learning who you are and learning how to express what that is and what makes you unique is so important. She describes her brand as whimsical, young, and organic. She wants everything to feel as if it could have just popped up naturally and tying everything back to the natural world. That’s a lot of where her inspiration comes from. Be uniquely YOU. Going on the business journey and figuring out her brand has also helped her get back in touch with who she is are and she sees herself.

HollyAnn grew up in Colorado and her parents were always very outdoorsy. She grew up a tomboy and playing outside and it is very much a part of who she is. She says she thinks about it a lot when it comes to breaking rules in her designs and creations. HollyAnn tries to think of creating and designing as breaking rules in traditional design and looking to nature for some of these inspirations.

“We like things in threes, but in nature, there are a lot of things that occur in fours or twos.”

When coming up with new arrangements and designs, she often asks herself, “Would this occur naturally?” If it did, how would it look? Challenging herself this way has really helped keep her inspired and push her forward. Some of HollyAnn’s favorite elements to incorporate into her work are foraging. It makes things interesting and unique and extra special.

On Being True to You

When doing a project outside of her normal “brand,” HollyAnn still likes to incorporate elements that make it true to her. We think we want to appeal to everyone, but in reality we want to appeal to a very specific audience that is totally aligned with your values and vibe. Learn to get comfortable with saying no to things you don’t align with. Say yes to things you can do joyfully. We put the pressure on ourselves to keep growing by saying yes, but what we should be doing is check ourselves and figure out what we really want and brings us joy. Saying no allows you to have better work life balance. You have to prioritize your time. As a small business owner, you need to give yourself boundaries so that you don’t burn out.

She also says that you want to attract those who align with you and repel those who don’t. This allows everyone to have a positive experience when working together. By having strong branding that is representative of you and repelling the wrong audience, you’re setting the expectation of what they will get when buying from and working with you.

On Instagram, HollyAnn said she’s unfollowed a lot of the big time florists because she felt it was more of a distraction and didn’t want her work to be influenced by someone else. She’s followed a lot of creators in other niches for inspiration such as fashion designers, etc.

“Be aware that we will be influenced by others but take the steps to make sure we are still true to ourselves.”

In regards to her competitors and peers, she says that competition is great and drives growth and development.

“If you feel envious or jealousy, maybe that is an area that you want to cultivate in yourself or be better in.”

What is Your Definition of Success

HollyAnn says this question changes for her everyday. At the beginning it was very financially focused goals. Now, it’s to make enough money to have everything she needs, everything she wants, and to overall be happy!

Creating a job that you love to do and that follows your passion, then figuring out how to reduce the time that you are working is the goal.

What is Your Biggest Business Struggle

The business side of business. She describes herself as an artist running a business, not a business person trying to be creative (too true!) Her strengths and weaknesses in business has helped her grow in both her business and her personal life.

For Those Starting Out on their Maker Journey

“Figure out what makes you unique and what makes you special. You don’t need permission from anyone else, you can just do what you want and create something for yourself. “

I love this chat with HollyAnn. She was so easy to talk to and had so many awesome perspectives to share. Watch the entire interview below!

You can find her on Instagram @hoprabbitflowers and @pretty_dead_flowers

Website: https://hoprabbitflowers.com