Reasons my flower farm didn't fail (and why yours won't either) (SFFF69)
Building a flower farm is not for the faint of heart. There are endless to-do lists, unpredictable weather, and moments that can knock the wind right out of you. I’ve had my fair share of disasters and setbacks, but my farm is still standing strong years later. Looking back, there are a handful of choices and habits that truly kept my flower farm from failing. These are lessons every flower farmer can lean on to build something resilient and profitable.
Keeping Costs Low and Prioritizing Cashflow
When I started my flower farm, I didn’t have money for shiny equipment or fancy infrastructure. My tractors were all used and at least 60 years old. My first cooler was the back of a freezer truck I bought off Craigslist for $1,000. My first greenhouse was a bent-up frame from another farmer. It wasn’t glamorous… but it worked!
By keeping my overhead low, I avoided the crushing weight of big loans and high monthly payments. Cashflow was my lifeline. I focused on selling flowers before I spent more money, and that scrappy approach gave me flexibility in those fragile early years. If you’re starting out, resist the temptation to buy it all at once. Grow with what you can afford, and let your customers fund your next step.
Hiring Help That Matters
For a long time, I resisted hiring help. I thought I needed to do it all myself, but that mindset nearly burned me out. When I finally started building a team, everything shifted. The key was being very intentional about who I hired. I looked for responsible, reliable people who cared about the work and shared my values.
Some hires didn’t work out, and I had to make tough decisions to let them go. That’s part of leadership. The hires who stayed made my business stronger. The right people free up your time to focus on revenue-generating work or to simply breathe. Even starting with one part-time helper can make a huge difference in your ability to grow your flower farm.
Getting Obsessed With the Business Side
Pretty flowers don’t sell themselves. As much as I love being in the field, what really made the difference was learning to love the business side. I tracked sales numbers, studied marketing, and paid attention to what was actually moving the needle. I learned how to analyze offers, customer behavior, and profit margins.
It’s tempting to bury your head in the sand and hope the flowers will sell just because they’re beautiful. The truth is, sustainable flower farming requires curiosity about numbers and strategy. When you understand your conversions, pricing, and market, you can make smarter decisions that lead to growth instead of burnout.
Perseverance Through the Hard Stuff
I’ve been knocked down more times than I can count. Crop losses, customer complaints, dips in sales, even people spreading rumors about me. Each time, I let myself feel the disappointment, then I got back up and kept going. Perseverance is the skill that separates flower farmers who succeed from those who give up.
Setbacks are not signs that you’re failing. They’re feedback, experience, and data. Every farmer has rock-bottom moments. What matters most is whether you keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Listening to Customers and Growing What They Want
I used to grow practically every flower under the sun! 100s of different flowers and foliage, from blush for weddings, bright colors for markets, trendy new varieties just because I thought they were cool. But the turning point came when I started asking my customers what they actually wanted.
Through conversations, surveys, and simply watching buying habits, I learned to focus on the colors and styles my customers loved most. That feedback shaped my crop plan year after year. It’s not about what you want to sell. It’s about what your customers are hungry for. Listening to them can be the difference between slow sales and steady growth.
Mindset as the Foundation of Success
Flower farming is tough, and the biggest battle often happens in your own head. I’ve struggled with doubt, comparison, and the constant feeling that I wasn’t doing enough. But investing in my mindset through journaling, mentorship, and coaching has kept me moving forward.
Your thoughts shape your results. When setbacks happen—and they will—having the mindset tools to reframe challenges into opportunities makes all the difference. You don’t have to be perfect, but you do need to believe in your ability to get back up and keep trying.
These lessons are why my flower farm is still thriving today. They’re also the same principles that can keep your farm from failing, no matter how rocky the road feels right now. If you want to dive deeper into this topic and hear all the behind-the-scenes stories, tune in to Episode 69 of the Six Figure Flower Farming Podcast.
