October 16, 2024 • 40 mins
Revolutionize Your Floral Business with AI & ChatGPT!
You don’t have to be tech-savvy to explore AI solutions for your floral business. Join Sharon McGukin and Brandy Ferrer as they discuss the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on the floral industry.
Discover how AI tools, like ChatGPT, can empower florists by streamlining tasks, tracking trends, enhancing marketing strategies, creating social media campaigns, and aiding in employee training without replacing the artistry that defines your floral designs. Sharon and Brandy guide you through practical ways to integrate AI into your flower shop. Giving you more time for your creative flower passion and for staying ahead in the competitive floral market.
How we Bloom podcast is an oasis of flower ideas. Host Sharon McGukin of Smithers-Oasis North America interviews floral guests who dare to do things differently. We listen, learn, explore new opportunities and that's how we bloom!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brandy Ferrer (00:08):
I use ChatGPT as my little assistant that I don't
have to pay.
That's there 24 hours a day,seven days a week.
Sharon McGukin (00:28):
Welcome to How We Bloom, an Oasis of Flower
Ideas.
I'm your host, Sharon McGukinAIFD, AAF, PFCI and I believe
that every great success storystarts with one simple idea.
That's why we interview thosewho dare to do things
differently, inspiring peoplewho plant seeds, grow ideas, and
(00:53):
bloom to their full potential.
In this podcast, we listen,learn, explore new
opportunities, and that's How weBloom.
(01:14):
Remember when your flower shopgot its first computer?
No longer handwriting checks,orders, or signature cards.
Day to day management of thebusiness was locked, out of
reach, in a screen faced metalbox filled with wires and
wisdom.
And it was all run by a mouse,of all things.
(01:35):
The process felt uncomfortableuntil you gained confidence in
this mystifying electronic coworker.
Fast forward to today, when wecan't even imagine running a
business without our computersystem.
In an industry based on artistryrather than technology, learning
a new system can be challenging.
(01:57):
Uncertainty often inspires afear of the unknown.
That day has dawned again.
Our lack of understanding forthe complex technology known as
AI Artificial intelligence canbe a little overwhelming.
This new science of making amachine think like a human is
(02:18):
based on recognizing pattern.
Learned from data rather thanlearning from communication and
new experiences like people do.
Consumers worry.
Will it take my job?
Will it do my thinking for me?
And ChatGPT are user friendly.
(02:39):
Good news.
We're here for the learningcurve.
Today's guest, Brandy Ferrer,AIFD, CFD, TMF, is here to help
us understand how we can use AIas a tool designed to assist us.
Not replace us.
Brandy is passionate aboutblending the beauty of flowers
(03:01):
with the nuts and bolts ofrunning a successful business.
She isn't pedal deep in her EastTexas flower shop, Simply
Beautiful Floral Company, thisaward winning designer, tech
enthusiast, and workshop wizardloves a challenge.
Teaching the use of AI toflorists is her latest gig in a
(03:21):
long list of opportunities.
She's here to explain howflorists can get comfortable
with AI, and ChatGPT.
Thanks for joining us today toshare with our listeners how to
utilize AI and ChatGPT in theirday to day flower shop
operations, Brandy.
Brandy Ferrer (03:41):
Thanks so much.
I am so happy to be here today.
Sharon McGukin (03:46):
there's a lot to learn and we're glad you're
going to teach us, so let's jumpin with the discomfort.
Many florists feel intimidatedby AI.
How can we replace that fearwith function.
Brandy Ferrer (04:01):
Well, I want everyone to think about
artificial intelligence as anopportunity for you to be able
to utilize technology in a waywhere it's more human like.
So specifically ChatGPT, whichis kind of where it all started.
That is the program that camealong a few years back and it
(04:26):
just kind of grew from there asfar as being able to get AI into
the hands of the commonconsumer.
And, and people like us Andartificial intelligence really
is human like so people who arevery uncomfortable with
technology like Microsoft Excel.
(04:47):
And I mentioned Microsoft Excela lot because I cannot stand
having to remember formulas andthings like that for a program
like Microsoft Excel.
Well, ChatGPT and other AIprograms.
are so human like that if youcan have a conversation with it
and that's what you're doing.
(05:08):
And if you are able to describewhat you would like for it to do
for you, you can use it.
You don't have to know any typeof certain language or formulas
or coding.
And so it understands languageand it starts recognizing
patterns especially in theconversations that you have with
(05:29):
it.
Which makes it reallyinteresting.
It will remember thatconversation.
You can come back to it later.
And so I use things like ChatGPTto help me run my business
because I'm kind of a one womanshow.
I have employees, but as far asthe business operation aspect of
owning a flower shop, I'm prettymuch on my own.
(05:50):
It
Sharon McGukin (05:52):
couple of things that will be really interesting
to florists in ways that theycan use them is that ChatGPT can
help you make decisions.
It helps you to create optionsthat maybe are more efficient.
We tend to do what we've beendoing and it's a hard time
getting people to move away fromthat.
(06:13):
So I can see where when it helpsyou to make a decision it's more
efficient.
And also.
It can assist with employeetraining and management issues.
And that's something that we allhave on a day to day basis.
I like that you say it's havinga conversation that's human like
because it does feel like thatwhen you're working with it,
(06:35):
doesn't it?
Brandy Ferrer (06:37):
does.
I describe it as my littleassistant.
I joke all the time that theyhaven't figured out how to clone
people yet.
And, and I feel like as a momand a wife and a business owner
and a florist, I want to clonemyself.
And of course we don't havethose capabilities yet.
So I use ChatGPT as my littleassistant that I don't have to
(07:02):
pay.
That's there 24 hours a day,seven days a week.
So if I needed to take on thepersona of a real estate expert
or a CPA, Or a creativeassistant or an event manager.
I can have it take on thatpersona and then have a
conversation with it and getsome more knowledge.
(07:24):
Yes.
Work on decision making makeplans and come up with ideas
that I may not have even thoughtof by myself.
Sharon McGukin (07:34):
You know, I bet the kids of the world are
saying, don't clone my mom,because can you imagine if we
could clone all the moms of theuniverse, there would be clean
rooms everywhere.
Now, some of the basic thingsthat florists can use AI for,
like order processing.
Analyzing other trends.
What are some other things thatyour basic mom and pop shop
(07:57):
would find so helpful?
Brandy Ferrer (08:00):
Well, one of the ways that I have used ChatGPT I
have.
Of course, my website for myflower shop and something that
wastes a lot of my time, but isvery important is for example,
product descriptions.
So those descriptions of flowerarrangements on my website.
(08:23):
So, first of all, yes, they needto be descriptive, but they need
to be brief.
And they also need to be SEOenhanced, meaning there needs to
be certain keywords in thoseproduct descriptions so that
Google will detect them.
And I can start moving up in thesearch engine when people search
(08:43):
for red roses or flowers inGilmer, Texas, which is where I
am.
So what I will do is use ChatGPTto To help me create those
product descriptions my flowerarrangements.
It's, it's something that cansave me hours.
And so that's just one exampleof how I've used it for my
(09:07):
business.
Sharon McGukin (09:09):
So for people who fear that automation will
replace their jobs The good newsis it can just replace the
parts.
You didn't want to do anywayThat's very helpful.
Brandy Ferrer (09:21):
you only have 24 hours in a day.
And as a small business owner,you are on call 24 hours a day.
And a lot of those little timeconsuming tasks are what keep me
personally away from the designtable.
And I can get really bogged downin that part of owning a
(09:43):
business.
And so if I can use ChatGPT tojust replace a few of these time
consuming tasks so that I canget back to the design table and
work on my floral designs and,and nurture my creativity, then
it's worth it for me.
Sharon McGukin (10:01):
If you can trust this helper to take care of some
scheduling issues, deadlines,appointment management, if you
can turn those things over toanother system, This is an
affordable way to do it.
AI is not as expensive as hiringconsultants how ChatGPT benefit
(10:23):
your flower shop just in a dayto day?
Brandy Ferrer (10:28):
In a day to day way.
Well, of course, if I havesocial media.
Post that I need to do tocreate, it can help me create
social media captions veryquickly.
If I do have scheduling issues,if I have several different
employees and they havedifferent schedules and people
(10:49):
have different times, they needto be off, so on and so forth,
that's something that I can useto work through those problems.
Also, it's helped me to createschedules.
In my flower shop, I have notonly an employee handbook, which
ChatGPT helped me to createbased on my state laws, federal
(11:09):
laws, and my personalpreferences for certain things.
I also have a, what I call ourlittle Bible.
So we created to do lists.
Things that need to be done onMonday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and
I didn't have to come up withall of that information off the
top of my head.
(11:30):
I was able to use ChatGPT to putin a description of what I
wanted it to create.
Then it created me a draft.
Then I gave it some feedback andsaid, well, I want you to change
this.
We need to do this twice a week.
We need to put gas in thedelivery van on Fridays.
We need to so on and so forth.
(11:50):
And then it was able to go backand create another draft for me.
And then I just go from there.
So it, it just kind of itassists me with those tasks.
It's not replacing me, but it'sdefinitely saving me time.
Sharon McGukin (12:06):
Sometimes even if it's just a verification that
what you're doing is good.
We were rearranging deckfurniture outdoors on my deck on
Sunday and my son said, let mejust put it in to ChatGPT and
see what it suggests.
He put it in and it came backwith exactly the way it had been
(12:27):
previously set up, and said, andyou might want to add more green
plants.
So nice just even that it's averification that you're on the
right track.
Brandy Ferrer (12:38):
Right.
One of the ways that I used itrecently, and it kind of saved
my rear end.
I had a wedding that.
The reception was happening in a30 foot by 60 foot tent and the
bride had originally wantedgarland to be strung from one
(12:58):
side to the other.
So from the 30 foot side across,so that means I would have
needed about 32 feet.
To go from one side to the otherand let it kind of swag just a
little bit.
Well, she changed her mind andthen she wanted it crisscrossed.
So from one corner, thencrisscrossed like across to the
(13:21):
center on the opposite side ofthe 60 foot tent, and then
crisscrossed the opposite way tothe other end.
Well, I, I don't math very well.
Okay.
And so I was able to say, okay,I need to know how long these
garlands need to be.
If I have a 30 by 60 tent andI'm stringing it, you know, this
(13:44):
way.
And it, I would have thought itwould have been 32 feet because
it was to me in my head, it wasalmost the same, but it wasn't,
it was 43 feet or something likethat, and thank God that I did
that.
Because I would have gottenthere and I would not have had
enough garland.
So something as small as that,but it saved me so much time and
(14:08):
money.
And I didn't have to know anyspecial language or coding.
I just opened up a chat withChatGPT and said, I have this
problem.
Here's the deal.
Can you tell me how long thesegarlands need to be?
And it, it was perfect.
Sharon McGukin (14:25):
That's a point that I wanted us to cover when
you, quote,"tell it" and you'reusing your language, how
specific do you have to be ingiving the instructions?
Do you have any specificlanguage you default to when
you're working with any of theAI processes?
Brandy Ferrer (14:47):
if you are a beginner, I would say just go in
and experiment with open endedquestions.
And then as it gives youfeedback, you can you can
pinpoint exactly the ideas thatit comes up with that you would
like to further explore.
(15:08):
Now, as you become moreexperienced, you're going to
have what we call masterprompts.
Those are longer, more detailedprompts.
And you can tell ChatGPT to takeon the persona.
That's something you can do inthe beginning.
Actually, if you want it tothink like a certain person or a
(15:30):
certain think, I need you totake on the persona of a, an
accountant.
I need you to take on thepersona of a nurse, a doctor.
Then it will just kind of, okay.
Put it into that thought processand it will know that's where
the conversation's going.
(15:50):
There are more complex promptsthat are, I call them they're
like linking prompts.
So I start out with a certainidea and then it feeds into a
different one.
And so I kind of take ChatGPTthrough a conversation and then
I have it produce something forme in the end.
(16:11):
I'll give you an example.
At AIFD, I had one participantin my AI hands on workshop that
wanted to create an image thathad a very Marie Antoinette
esque floral design in it.
And she was putting that in, shewas typing in, create a floral
(16:33):
design that Marie Antoinettewould like.
And it really wasn't giving herwhat she wanted.
So I said, okay, start likethis.
Ask ChatGPT what the fashiontrends were and color trends of
the time period in which MarieAntoinette was alive.
(16:57):
And so then it produced someinformation.
And then the next prompt waswhat's a description of the
fashion sense of MarieAntoinette?
And then it gave her that.
And then I said, okay, now tellit to create an image.
(17:18):
of a floral design or a floralarrangement that symbolizes the
fashion sense of MarieAntoinette.
And then she got what shewanted.
So the wonderful thing aboutChatGPT is it has that AI image
creation kind of built into it.
It's called DALL-E.
(17:39):
So you can start a conversationand at any point in time in that
conversation, you can have it.
Create an image based on theconversation you've been having.
That's great for social mediatoo.
You have it developed like asocial media campaign for you
for Valentine's Day, and thentell it to create some images
that you could use on Facebookand Instagram, and then it will
(18:00):
do that based on theconversation that you've already
had.
Sharon McGukin (18:04):
Fantastic.
So it's just like any otherrelationship.
You have to learn how tocommunicate directly with that
entity so that you understandeach other.
Don't you remember that's how itwas when we started to Google
things?
Also, we had to learn what wordswould bring to us information.
The message we were looking forfor Google.
(18:24):
So I love that, that you justkeep asking for the information
until it's exactly what you'relooking for.
And you know, that could reallybe helpful in improving customer
service because when you say,take on this persona and what
are the trends and how can youdeliver something to this person
(18:48):
that's in sync with the thingsthat they like?
That's a great way to brainstormwith a machine.
Brandy Ferrer (18:56):
And think about this, a lot of.
flower shop owners businessowners in general do not think
about their customer personasand they don't think about
customer pain points enoughbecause you can put out there
all day long on social mediathat you're creating really
(19:16):
beautiful floral designs forValentine's Day but is the
language that you're usingactually for the customer that
you're trying to target.
So if you're trying to targetmen ages 25 to 65 for
Valentine's Day and their painpoints might be convenience,
(19:40):
Finding something unusual andpersonalized.
Maybe being on a budget.
I mean, because that's a totallydifferent that someone who's on
a budget, a man who's on abudget is totally different than
the guy who's looking for theluxury item is the language that
you're using in your emailmarketing, in your social media
campaigns.
(20:01):
targeted to that customerpersona.
Well, the great thing is, is youcan have ChatGPT, create that
language for the email that youneed to send out to this group
of customers and make sure thatit addresses those pain points.
(20:21):
That's what's great.
So that saves me time.
Otherwise I'm sitting therehaving to learn marketing.
I'm not a marketing major, but Ido need to know enough about it.
But ChatGPT can fill in theblanks, which is great.
Absolutely.
Sharon McGukin (20:35):
also when you're writing up your marketing
materials that you are writing,not ChatGPT, to be able to use a
writing assistant, to check thegrammar, to check the
pronunciation, to offer bettersuggestions as to how to phrase
it.
That's very valuable too.
Brandy Ferrer (20:55):
And the language, the style and tone of writing
that I use for my customers inrural East Texas.
is different than the style andtone of writing of a florist
that's in downtown Manhattan.
We have different customers,different cultures.
So the style and tone of writingmay be more relaxed and casual
(21:17):
for me, where it may be a littlebit more formal and trendy for
them.
So again, you can have And thisis where I would take ChatGPT on
that journey in a conversationif I have it create something
for me, a piece of writing.
And then I say, I need you tochange the style and tone of
(21:40):
writing to be more relaxed.
and add a little bit of humor toit, then it can rewrite that.
So now it's for my customerbase.
It can also mimic my ownwriting.
All I have to do is upload apiece of my own writing and say,
I need you to mimic my style,tone, and my grammar usage and,
(22:04):
and rewrite this draft of thisemail we just created in my
style and tone of writing.
And then it will do that.
As long as you've given anexample of how you want it to
write, it will write that way.
I have gotten it to do thatbefore.
So you know what?
It can be, your biggestcheerleader and it can be a
critic as well because therehave been times when I have
(22:27):
asked it to critique.
Some work that I did, whether itbe a proposal or a piece of
writing and boy, howdy, it canit can hurt your feelings if you
want it to.
I mean,
Sharon McGukin (22:39):
One thing that I noticed, Tech savvy florists
have been using this for us totrack trends.
But to your point about regionalmaterials being so important,
also regionally addressingtrends is very important because
trends hit the large citiesfirst and then they migrate out
(23:00):
into the rural areas.
So what's trendy in New YorkCity is most likely not trendy
in Gilmer, Texas.
And so it's very important thatyou feed in that regional
information when the process istrying to give you either
written materials, imagematerials, or making suggestions
(23:23):
for innovative new design ideas,because it's different in
different parts of the country,for sure.
Brandy Ferrer (23:30):
And this is where AI will never replace.
You as a business owner and as aflorist, because you have to
have a relationship with yourcustomers.
You have to know their likes,their dislikes, what they're
comfortable with.
And that's not anything thattechnology could ever replace.
(23:50):
But if I know those things aboutmy customers and what they're
comfortable with and, and thetrends I see coming down the
pipe and the trends that I wantto kind of kick out the door.
I can also use ChatGPT and otherAI programs to create those
(24:11):
marketing campaigns, to createthose dream boards for my brides
so that I know what they like,but I also want to push them
just a little bit.
And that's just where it cancome in and be my assistant.
Because that's a lot of time andenergy and to find those words,
that writing, those images for adream board, just so we can have
(24:33):
a visual that's where it canstep in and, and save me time.
Because I, my husband is anassistant superintendent of a
school district.
I'm a business owner with fiveemployees.
I have two kids that I try tokeep up with.
(24:53):
I am a leader in my community,Chamber of Commerce, Lion's
Club.
And then I love doing designcompetitions.
I am on the board for TSFA andSouth Central.
So that allows me to work onthose relationships and to
(25:15):
nurture those relationships andbe out in the community.
And this saves me time on thosemenial tasks that, that do not
matter.
Nobody cares if I wrote thatproduct description on my
website.
It, and actually it could do itbetter than me because I can
tell it to, you know, make itSEO enhanced.
And then I didn't have to dothat.
(25:37):
And then I spend my time workingon my art and working on my
relationships.
Sharon McGukin (25:44):
And you briefly alluded to your competitions
lately, so tell us about yoursuccess.
Brandy Ferrer (25:51):
Oh, wow.
I think I have an addiction.
I love the rush of acompetition.
I won Frankie Shelton last year,and then I won Texas designer of
the year this summer in SanAntonio.
And ChatDPT actually helped mewith my prop design.
(26:12):
I planned it for almost anentire year.
So that was an archivedconversation that.
Went on for months and monthsand months trying to come up
with that design.
And then I did Sylvia Cup and Ididn't place, but I had so much
fun.
And, I love doing competitionsfor the thrill of it and for the
(26:34):
camaraderie and therelationships that I developed
with other floral designers.
Sylvia Cup was amazing.
And then I just did Mid Americain Little R ock and I got second
place.
So yeah, well, andcongratulations to Sharon Ivey.
She is on a roll this year.
I tell you what,
Sharon McGukin (26:54):
so well.
Brandy Ferrer (26:55):
Amazing.
We were neck and neck.
She won first place in thewedding bouquet.
I got first place in casketspray, and then we tied for the
lapel boutonniere we had tocreate.
So we literally were neck andneck and I'm totally cool with
it because she's like the mostamazing designer and I've
(27:18):
learned so much from her.
She's such a sweetheart.
And.
So I'm just going to keep goingand I'm already making
preparations for next year,whatever comes down the pipe
next.
Of course I will be chairing theTexas Designer of the Year.
So I am creating all of my funstuff for that coming up with
(27:39):
new ideas for what I'm going tothrow at those designers.
And then I also run a studentcompetition here in East Texas
for Upshur County.
So all of our FFA students whoare in floral design and our 4 H
students can be part of theYamboree Student Floral Cup.
Sharon McGukin (27:56):
All exciting things.
And I love it that all of you ascompetitors realize when you hit
that design table in acompetition, you're really only
competing against yourself andthe scorecard.
And you all just enjoy thefellowship of being there and
cheering each other on.
And that, that's really lovely.
(28:17):
All of your parts.
So congratulations to you andalso to Sharon Ivey.
And we're just excited for allof you.
Oh, and Jackie
Brandy Ferrer (28:25):
lacey.
Sharon McGukin (28:26):
Jackie
Brandy Ferrer (28:26):
he was right next to me.
Yes.
He was, his table was right nextto me.
And at one point I looked overat him and I said, Jackie, I'm
ready to get my rear end kickedby you.
I was just like, you know, Itotally, I, I respect, Hey,
respect, man, you have beendoing this.
for a lot longer than me.
(28:48):
You are amazing.
And I just to be in the presenceof the great designers that I
competed against.
It's like a dream come true.
I mean, because three, fouryears ago, these are people that
I just, I saw them on socialmedia and said, wow, I want to
be like that, and here I amcompeting side by side with
(29:08):
them.
So I'm living my dream.
I don't care if I win or not.
I am having fun.
The thrill of the competition isgreat.
And I've learned new thingsevery single time I compete
Sharon McGukin (29:19):
And you're at the party.
And that's the fun part, thatflower party.
Jackie, of course, won SylviaCup.
And he is a master.
So that was well deserved.
Brandy Ferrer (29:31):
well deserved.
Sharon McGukin (29:32):
Early on and even today, some early adopters
think that AI is too technical,too expensive, a threat to jobs.
You've just given us all theways that really it saves you
money because it takes away someof the mundane and some of the
challenges just in every day fortime.
(29:52):
Any tips for beginners tellingpeople where they can start?
What advice would you offer tothe florist with"start here?" I
know you said earlier go toChatGPT and play around with
that.
But I'm thinking of simple taskslike writing assignments or like
(30:15):
doing couponing or membershipmail outs, that type of thing.
How would you start that?
Brandy Ferrer (30:24):
Well, here's the great thing.
So yes, ChatGPT is where it allstarted.
There are a lot of websites thatnow have, they have AI
components.
You've probably seen it.
Google has Bard.
Even Facebook has an AIcomponent.
(30:44):
And I'm a, Google girl.
Okay.
I use Google keep Google sheets,Google everything.
I'm an Android.
I know haters.
I'm sorry, Apple people.
But I am an Android girl and Ilove Google.
So I would say, just give it achance.
And I remember one of the firstthings that I use ChatGPT for
(31:08):
way back when is when I wastrying to figure out some health
problems I was in the past yeardiagnosed with Crohn's disease.
And I didn't understand what wasgoing on with my body.
And I had several differentdoctors that had different
(31:29):
opinions that didn't communicatewith each other.
So when I just went intoChatGPT, and yes, I know it does
not replace doctors.
I get that.
But sometimes, You need somehelp putting some of those
puzzle pieces together.
And so I just started describingmy symptoms and of course it
(31:50):
told me,""now I'm not a doctor,"this is not professional advice.
Yes, I know that.
But it will still give you somegreat information and you can
say, you can ask it, based onthe symptoms that I am
describing to you, what are someof the possibilities Or if you
(32:11):
know what you have, for example,now that I know I have Crohn's
disease, Celiac, Amyloid nodes,It can help me come up with a
diet plans.
I did autoimmune protocol dietfor a while, phase one.
Now I'm in phase two.
I have certain foods that I knowI can't eat.
So if I say I need you todevelop me a meal plan for this
(32:35):
week based on keto or this orthat and in my case, I have very
specific dietary restrictions.
It can do that.
Gosh, I've even seen people say,okay, I have these five items in
my fridge.
Give me some recipes of what Ican create with just these five
(32:56):
items.
Sharon McGukin (32:57):
Google also.
Recipe, comma, and then justlist with a comma after each one
the ingredients you have and itcomes up with great meals.
Brandy Ferrer (33:06):
Absolutely.
And, and we're so used toGoogle, and yes, I use Google
all the time.
The difference, you can useChatGPT like a search engine.
And instead of having to Googleand then, you know, Kind of look
down through the list of thingsthat it comes up with and say,
(33:27):
okay, well, maybe I'll go hereand look, Oh, no, that's not
what I need.
And then you go back to the listof things that comes up with, if
you're having that conversationwith ChatGPT, it can combine all
the information in real time.
And then it can give you links,but it will like summarize.
(33:48):
From multiple websites, multiplepieces of information and, and
cater create an answer thatcaters to exactly what you're
asking it for and so it's moreefficient.
Sharon McGukin (34:03):
Did you ever think you would be brainstorming
with a machine?
Brandy Ferrer (34:08):
No, I did not.
But I tell you what, I reallylike it because it does, it's,
it's very non judgmental most ofthe time, so I can come up with
crazy junk and it will just belike, okay, well let's try it,
you know,
Sharon McGukin (34:21):
now, some people fear that AI will, in the flower
shop, replace their artistictouch, but realistically, while
AI can generate ideas andimages, the florist's personal
touch, their expertise, theirartistic, Interpretation, their
time and talent invested willalways be the true beauty of a
(34:45):
design.
No matter how we change the waywe approach our customers, we
always, always go back torelationship selling.
That has been the strength ofour industry.
And I don't see this.
Taking away from that in anyform.
I think you have given us greatsuggestions of how rather than
taking away, it's just buildingon and freeing up time and
(35:09):
allowing us to, to have newthoughts and new concepts that
we hadn't looked at before.
I think one of the main thingspeople are going to want to know
is how do I learn more?
Where are the resources forcontinued learning here?
Where can they go to learn howto integrate AI into their
business?
And I would suggest reaching outto Brandy at her website, www.
(35:34):
bloomwithbrandy.
com.
That'll be in the transcript forthis podcast.
And we will also do a blog fromthis podcast and it will be a
link in the blog This will giveyou floristry resources,
tutorials, upcoming AI trainingsessions, and you can look with
Brandy and also online forwebinars, workshops, online
(35:57):
courses that can help you getcomfortable with AI tools like
ChatGPT.
Brandy, do you have othersuggestions for exploring this
process
Brandy Ferrer (36:10):
Well, when I first started playing around
with ChatGPT and AI I wouldjust, seriously, I use TikTok
sometimes as a library so I cando a search for AI tools on
TikTok and people have videos onthere and, and I'm starting to
do it too just showing, hey,look at this AI tool.
(36:33):
I mean, Grammarly has beenaround forever and yes, and it's
now just more intuitive.
Canva has AI components.
If you're a Canva user, thereare videos out there of people
who are Canva experts that willshow you how to use the AI
components of Canva.
(36:56):
Then you have HubSpot, you haveyou have all of these different
ones.
Tango is one of my favoriteones.
So Tango is.
If I need to create like a stepby step handout, I guess you
would say like a PDF document ofstep by step how to do
(37:16):
something.
For example, my new customerservice employee did not know
how to how to add payments tohouse accounts.
on our POS system.
Well, I use Tango, which isfree.
And one time I took her throughthe process, click here, click
here, click here.
(37:36):
Well, Tango was following me thewhole time.
And at the same time I wasshowing her, It was creating a
step by step handout that hadthe instructions and snapshots
that will go nice, clean PDFhandout.
So by the time I was done, Iclicked done and it had created
(37:57):
it for me.
I know we used to takescreenshots and then crop, you
know, and then cut and pasteonto a Microsoft Word document,
then type out instructions.
Yep.
Nope, no more.
Tango can do that for you.
And yes, I am slowly starting toput out information as to how
(38:18):
you can use AI.
I do, I have some resources thatI will make sure that you have.
There is an introduction toChatGPT E-course on my website.
That is free.
There's a little E-book if youwant to get started and then
I'll start putting out otherthings very soon.
Sharon McGukin (38:36):
You have been such a great resource of
information.
And I just thank you so much forbeing with us and sharing
everything that you've learnedabout AI and encouraging us to
delve deeper into it.
Brandy Ferrer (38:48):
Thank you so much for having me.
I really appreciate it.
And I was so excited to be ableto share this with you today.
Sharon McGukin (38:56):
And you did it beautifully.
Thank you.
To our audience, Smithers OasisNorth America, Brandy and I want
to thank you for joining ustoday.
If you've enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend
(39:17):
and be sure to hit subscribe.
You don't want to miss theinspired solutions our guests
will share with you for yourpersonal or business growth.
If you have topics or guests youwant to hear, please message me.
We love to hear from you.
Until next time, I'm SharonMcGukin reminding you that like
the unfurling petals of aflower, we grow by changing
(39:40):
form.
Soaking inspiration in likeraindrops.
Absorbing energy from otherslike warmth from the sun.
This growth opens us up to newideas and that's How we Bloom.
I use ChatGPT as my little assistant that I don't
have to pay.
That's there 24 hours a day,seven days a week.
Sharon McGukin (00:28):
Welcome to How We Bloom, an Oasis of Flower
Ideas.
I'm your host, Sharon McGukinAIFD, AAF, PFCI and I believe
that every great success storystarts with one simple idea.
That's why we interview thosewho dare to do things
differently, inspiring peoplewho plant seeds, grow ideas, and
(00:53):
bloom to their full potential.
In this podcast, we listen,learn, explore new
opportunities, and that's How weBloom.
(01:14):
Remember when your flower shopgot its first computer?
No longer handwriting checks,orders, or signature cards.
Day to day management of thebusiness was locked, out of
reach, in a screen faced metalbox filled with wires and
wisdom.
And it was all run by a mouse,of all things.
(01:35):
The process felt uncomfortableuntil you gained confidence in
this mystifying electronic coworker.
Fast forward to today, when wecan't even imagine running a
business without our computersystem.
In an industry based on artistryrather than technology, learning
a new system can be challenging.
(01:57):
Uncertainty often inspires afear of the unknown.
That day has dawned again.
Our lack of understanding forthe complex technology known as
AI Artificial intelligence canbe a little overwhelming.
This new science of making amachine think like a human is
(02:18):
based on recognizing pattern.
Learned from data rather thanlearning from communication and
new experiences like people do.
Consumers worry.
Will it take my job?
Will it do my thinking for me?
And ChatGPT are user friendly.
(02:39):
Good news.
We're here for the learningcurve.
Today's guest, Brandy Ferrer,AIFD, CFD, TMF, is here to help
us understand how we can use AIas a tool designed to assist us.
Not replace us.
Brandy is passionate aboutblending the beauty of flowers
(03:01):
with the nuts and bolts ofrunning a successful business.
She isn't pedal deep in her EastTexas flower shop, Simply
Beautiful Floral Company, thisaward winning designer, tech
enthusiast, and workshop wizardloves a challenge.
Teaching the use of AI toflorists is her latest gig in a
(03:21):
long list of opportunities.
She's here to explain howflorists can get comfortable
with AI, and ChatGPT.
Thanks for joining us today toshare with our listeners how to
utilize AI and ChatGPT in theirday to day flower shop
operations, Brandy.
Brandy Ferrer (03:41):
Thanks so much.
I am so happy to be here today.
Sharon McGukin (03:46):
there's a lot to learn and we're glad you're
going to teach us, so let's jumpin with the discomfort.
Many florists feel intimidatedby AI.
How can we replace that fearwith function.
Brandy Ferrer (04:01):
Well, I want everyone to think about
artificial intelligence as anopportunity for you to be able
to utilize technology in a waywhere it's more human like.
So specifically ChatGPT, whichis kind of where it all started.
That is the program that camealong a few years back and it
(04:26):
just kind of grew from there asfar as being able to get AI into
the hands of the commonconsumer.
And, and people like us Andartificial intelligence really
is human like so people who arevery uncomfortable with
technology like Microsoft Excel.
(04:47):
And I mentioned Microsoft Excela lot because I cannot stand
having to remember formulas andthings like that for a program
like Microsoft Excel.
Well, ChatGPT and other AIprograms.
are so human like that if youcan have a conversation with it
and that's what you're doing.
(05:08):
And if you are able to describewhat you would like for it to do
for you, you can use it.
You don't have to know any typeof certain language or formulas
or coding.
And so it understands languageand it starts recognizing
patterns especially in theconversations that you have with
(05:29):
it.
Which makes it reallyinteresting.
It will remember thatconversation.
You can come back to it later.
And so I use things like ChatGPTto help me run my business
because I'm kind of a one womanshow.
I have employees, but as far asthe business operation aspect of
owning a flower shop, I'm prettymuch on my own.
(05:50):
It
Sharon McGukin (05:52):
couple of things that will be really interesting
to florists in ways that theycan use them is that ChatGPT can
help you make decisions.
It helps you to create optionsthat maybe are more efficient.
We tend to do what we've beendoing and it's a hard time
getting people to move away fromthat.
(06:13):
So I can see where when it helpsyou to make a decision it's more
efficient.
And also.
It can assist with employeetraining and management issues.
And that's something that we allhave on a day to day basis.
I like that you say it's havinga conversation that's human like
because it does feel like thatwhen you're working with it,
(06:35):
doesn't it?
Brandy Ferrer (06:37):
does.
I describe it as my littleassistant.
I joke all the time that theyhaven't figured out how to clone
people yet.
And, and I feel like as a momand a wife and a business owner
and a florist, I want to clonemyself.
And of course we don't havethose capabilities yet.
So I use ChatGPT as my littleassistant that I don't have to
(07:02):
pay.
That's there 24 hours a day,seven days a week.
So if I needed to take on thepersona of a real estate expert
or a CPA, Or a creativeassistant or an event manager.
I can have it take on thatpersona and then have a
conversation with it and getsome more knowledge.
(07:24):
Yes.
Work on decision making makeplans and come up with ideas
that I may not have even thoughtof by myself.
Sharon McGukin (07:34):
You know, I bet the kids of the world are
saying, don't clone my mom,because can you imagine if we
could clone all the moms of theuniverse, there would be clean
rooms everywhere.
Now, some of the basic thingsthat florists can use AI for,
like order processing.
Analyzing other trends.
What are some other things thatyour basic mom and pop shop
(07:57):
would find so helpful?
Brandy Ferrer (08:00):
Well, one of the ways that I have used ChatGPT I
have.
Of course, my website for myflower shop and something that
wastes a lot of my time, but isvery important is for example,
product descriptions.
So those descriptions of flowerarrangements on my website.
(08:23):
So, first of all, yes, they needto be descriptive, but they need
to be brief.
And they also need to be SEOenhanced, meaning there needs to
be certain keywords in thoseproduct descriptions so that
Google will detect them.
And I can start moving up in thesearch engine when people search
(08:43):
for red roses or flowers inGilmer, Texas, which is where I
am.
So what I will do is use ChatGPTto To help me create those
product descriptions my flowerarrangements.
It's, it's something that cansave me hours.
And so that's just one exampleof how I've used it for my
(09:07):
business.
Sharon McGukin (09:09):
So for people who fear that automation will
replace their jobs The good newsis it can just replace the
parts.
You didn't want to do anywayThat's very helpful.
Brandy Ferrer (09:21):
you only have 24 hours in a day.
And as a small business owner,you are on call 24 hours a day.
And a lot of those little timeconsuming tasks are what keep me
personally away from the designtable.
And I can get really bogged downin that part of owning a
(09:43):
business.
And so if I can use ChatGPT tojust replace a few of these time
consuming tasks so that I canget back to the design table and
work on my floral designs and,and nurture my creativity, then
it's worth it for me.
Sharon McGukin (10:01):
If you can trust this helper to take care of some
scheduling issues, deadlines,appointment management, if you
can turn those things over toanother system, This is an
affordable way to do it.
AI is not as expensive as hiringconsultants how ChatGPT benefit
(10:23):
your flower shop just in a dayto day?
Brandy Ferrer (10:28):
In a day to day way.
Well, of course, if I havesocial media.
Post that I need to do tocreate, it can help me create
social media captions veryquickly.
If I do have scheduling issues,if I have several different
employees and they havedifferent schedules and people
(10:49):
have different times, they needto be off, so on and so forth,
that's something that I can useto work through those problems.
Also, it's helped me to createschedules.
In my flower shop, I have notonly an employee handbook, which
ChatGPT helped me to createbased on my state laws, federal
(11:09):
laws, and my personalpreferences for certain things.
I also have a, what I call ourlittle Bible.
So we created to do lists.
Things that need to be done onMonday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and
I didn't have to come up withall of that information off the
top of my head.
(11:30):
I was able to use ChatGPT to putin a description of what I
wanted it to create.
Then it created me a draft.
Then I gave it some feedback andsaid, well, I want you to change
this.
We need to do this twice a week.
We need to put gas in thedelivery van on Fridays.
We need to so on and so forth.
(11:50):
And then it was able to go backand create another draft for me.
And then I just go from there.
So it, it just kind of itassists me with those tasks.
It's not replacing me, but it'sdefinitely saving me time.
Sharon McGukin (12:06):
Sometimes even if it's just a verification that
what you're doing is good.
We were rearranging deckfurniture outdoors on my deck on
Sunday and my son said, let mejust put it in to ChatGPT and
see what it suggests.
He put it in and it came backwith exactly the way it had been
(12:27):
previously set up, and said, andyou might want to add more green
plants.
So nice just even that it's averification that you're on the
right track.
Brandy Ferrer (12:38):
Right.
One of the ways that I used itrecently, and it kind of saved
my rear end.
I had a wedding that.
The reception was happening in a30 foot by 60 foot tent and the
bride had originally wantedgarland to be strung from one
(12:58):
side to the other.
So from the 30 foot side across,so that means I would have
needed about 32 feet.
To go from one side to the otherand let it kind of swag just a
little bit.
Well, she changed her mind andthen she wanted it crisscrossed.
So from one corner, thencrisscrossed like across to the
(13:21):
center on the opposite side ofthe 60 foot tent, and then
crisscrossed the opposite way tothe other end.
Well, I, I don't math very well.
Okay.
And so I was able to say, okay,I need to know how long these
garlands need to be.
If I have a 30 by 60 tent andI'm stringing it, you know, this
(13:44):
way.
And it, I would have thought itwould have been 32 feet because
it was to me in my head, it wasalmost the same, but it wasn't,
it was 43 feet or something likethat, and thank God that I did
that.
Because I would have gottenthere and I would not have had
enough garland.
So something as small as that,but it saved me so much time and
(14:08):
money.
And I didn't have to know anyspecial language or coding.
I just opened up a chat withChatGPT and said, I have this
problem.
Here's the deal.
Can you tell me how long thesegarlands need to be?
And it, it was perfect.
Sharon McGukin (14:25):
That's a point that I wanted us to cover when
you, quote,"tell it" and you'reusing your language, how
specific do you have to be ingiving the instructions?
Do you have any specificlanguage you default to when
you're working with any of theAI processes?
Brandy Ferrer (14:47):
if you are a beginner, I would say just go in
and experiment with open endedquestions.
And then as it gives youfeedback, you can you can
pinpoint exactly the ideas thatit comes up with that you would
like to further explore.
(15:08):
Now, as you become moreexperienced, you're going to
have what we call masterprompts.
Those are longer, more detailedprompts.
And you can tell ChatGPT to takeon the persona.
That's something you can do inthe beginning.
Actually, if you want it tothink like a certain person or a
(15:30):
certain think, I need you totake on the persona of a, an
accountant.
I need you to take on thepersona of a nurse, a doctor.
Then it will just kind of, okay.
Put it into that thought processand it will know that's where
the conversation's going.
(15:50):
There are more complex promptsthat are, I call them they're
like linking prompts.
So I start out with a certainidea and then it feeds into a
different one.
And so I kind of take ChatGPTthrough a conversation and then
I have it produce something forme in the end.
(16:11):
I'll give you an example.
At AIFD, I had one participantin my AI hands on workshop that
wanted to create an image thathad a very Marie Antoinette
esque floral design in it.
And she was putting that in, shewas typing in, create a floral
(16:33):
design that Marie Antoinettewould like.
And it really wasn't giving herwhat she wanted.
So I said, okay, start likethis.
Ask ChatGPT what the fashiontrends were and color trends of
the time period in which MarieAntoinette was alive.
(16:57):
And so then it produced someinformation.
And then the next prompt waswhat's a description of the
fashion sense of MarieAntoinette?
And then it gave her that.
And then I said, okay, now tellit to create an image.
(17:18):
of a floral design or a floralarrangement that symbolizes the
fashion sense of MarieAntoinette.
And then she got what shewanted.
So the wonderful thing aboutChatGPT is it has that AI image
creation kind of built into it.
It's called DALL-E.
(17:39):
So you can start a conversationand at any point in time in that
conversation, you can have it.
Create an image based on theconversation you've been having.
That's great for social mediatoo.
You have it developed like asocial media campaign for you
for Valentine's Day, and thentell it to create some images
that you could use on Facebookand Instagram, and then it will
(18:00):
do that based on theconversation that you've already
had.
Sharon McGukin (18:04):
Fantastic.
So it's just like any otherrelationship.
You have to learn how tocommunicate directly with that
entity so that you understandeach other.
Don't you remember that's how itwas when we started to Google
things?
Also, we had to learn what wordswould bring to us information.
The message we were looking forfor Google.
(18:24):
So I love that, that you justkeep asking for the information
until it's exactly what you'relooking for.
And you know, that could reallybe helpful in improving customer
service because when you say,take on this persona and what
are the trends and how can youdeliver something to this person
(18:48):
that's in sync with the thingsthat they like?
That's a great way to brainstormwith a machine.
Brandy Ferrer (18:56):
And think about this, a lot of.
flower shop owners businessowners in general do not think
about their customer personasand they don't think about
customer pain points enoughbecause you can put out there
all day long on social mediathat you're creating really
(19:16):
beautiful floral designs forValentine's Day but is the
language that you're usingactually for the customer that
you're trying to target.
So if you're trying to targetmen ages 25 to 65 for
Valentine's Day and their painpoints might be convenience,
(19:40):
Finding something unusual andpersonalized.
Maybe being on a budget.
I mean, because that's a totallydifferent that someone who's on
a budget, a man who's on abudget is totally different than
the guy who's looking for theluxury item is the language that
you're using in your emailmarketing, in your social media
campaigns.
(20:01):
targeted to that customerpersona.
Well, the great thing is, is youcan have ChatGPT, create that
language for the email that youneed to send out to this group
of customers and make sure thatit addresses those pain points.
(20:21):
That's what's great.
So that saves me time.
Otherwise I'm sitting therehaving to learn marketing.
I'm not a marketing major, but Ido need to know enough about it.
But ChatGPT can fill in theblanks, which is great.
Absolutely.
Sharon McGukin (20:35):
also when you're writing up your marketing
materials that you are writing,not ChatGPT, to be able to use a
writing assistant, to check thegrammar, to check the
pronunciation, to offer bettersuggestions as to how to phrase
it.
That's very valuable too.
Brandy Ferrer (20:55):
And the language, the style and tone of writing
that I use for my customers inrural East Texas.
is different than the style andtone of writing of a florist
that's in downtown Manhattan.
We have different customers,different cultures.
So the style and tone of writingmay be more relaxed and casual
(21:17):
for me, where it may be a littlebit more formal and trendy for
them.
So again, you can have And thisis where I would take ChatGPT on
that journey in a conversationif I have it create something
for me, a piece of writing.
And then I say, I need you tochange the style and tone of
(21:40):
writing to be more relaxed.
and add a little bit of humor toit, then it can rewrite that.
So now it's for my customerbase.
It can also mimic my ownwriting.
All I have to do is upload apiece of my own writing and say,
I need you to mimic my style,tone, and my grammar usage and,
(22:04):
and rewrite this draft of thisemail we just created in my
style and tone of writing.
And then it will do that.
As long as you've given anexample of how you want it to
write, it will write that way.
I have gotten it to do thatbefore.
So you know what?
It can be, your biggestcheerleader and it can be a
critic as well because therehave been times when I have
(22:27):
asked it to critique.
Some work that I did, whether itbe a proposal or a piece of
writing and boy, howdy, it canit can hurt your feelings if you
want it to.
I mean,
Sharon McGukin (22:39):
One thing that I noticed, Tech savvy florists
have been using this for us totrack trends.
But to your point about regionalmaterials being so important,
also regionally addressingtrends is very important because
trends hit the large citiesfirst and then they migrate out
(23:00):
into the rural areas.
So what's trendy in New YorkCity is most likely not trendy
in Gilmer, Texas.
And so it's very important thatyou feed in that regional
information when the process istrying to give you either
written materials, imagematerials, or making suggestions
(23:23):
for innovative new design ideas,because it's different in
different parts of the country,for sure.
Brandy Ferrer (23:30):
And this is where AI will never replace.
You as a business owner and as aflorist, because you have to
have a relationship with yourcustomers.
You have to know their likes,their dislikes, what they're
comfortable with.
And that's not anything thattechnology could ever replace.
(23:50):
But if I know those things aboutmy customers and what they're
comfortable with and, and thetrends I see coming down the
pipe and the trends that I wantto kind of kick out the door.
I can also use ChatGPT and otherAI programs to create those
(24:11):
marketing campaigns, to createthose dream boards for my brides
so that I know what they like,but I also want to push them
just a little bit.
And that's just where it cancome in and be my assistant.
Because that's a lot of time andenergy and to find those words,
that writing, those images for adream board, just so we can have
(24:33):
a visual that's where it canstep in and, and save me time.
Because I, my husband is anassistant superintendent of a
school district.
I'm a business owner with fiveemployees.
I have two kids that I try tokeep up with.
(24:53):
I am a leader in my community,Chamber of Commerce, Lion's
Club.
And then I love doing designcompetitions.
I am on the board for TSFA andSouth Central.
So that allows me to work onthose relationships and to
(25:15):
nurture those relationships andbe out in the community.
And this saves me time on thosemenial tasks that, that do not
matter.
Nobody cares if I wrote thatproduct description on my
website.
It, and actually it could do itbetter than me because I can
tell it to, you know, make itSEO enhanced.
And then I didn't have to dothat.
(25:37):
And then I spend my time workingon my art and working on my
relationships.
Sharon McGukin (25:44):
And you briefly alluded to your competitions
lately, so tell us about yoursuccess.
Brandy Ferrer (25:51):
Oh, wow.
I think I have an addiction.
I love the rush of acompetition.
I won Frankie Shelton last year,and then I won Texas designer of
the year this summer in SanAntonio.
And ChatDPT actually helped mewith my prop design.
(26:12):
I planned it for almost anentire year.
So that was an archivedconversation that.
Went on for months and monthsand months trying to come up
with that design.
And then I did Sylvia Cup and Ididn't place, but I had so much
fun.
And, I love doing competitionsfor the thrill of it and for the
(26:34):
camaraderie and therelationships that I developed
with other floral designers.
Sylvia Cup was amazing.
And then I just did Mid Americain Little R ock and I got second
place.
So yeah, well, andcongratulations to Sharon Ivey.
She is on a roll this year.
I tell you what,
Sharon McGukin (26:54):
so well.
Brandy Ferrer (26:55):
Amazing.
We were neck and neck.
She won first place in thewedding bouquet.
I got first place in casketspray, and then we tied for the
lapel boutonniere we had tocreate.
So we literally were neck andneck and I'm totally cool with
it because she's like the mostamazing designer and I've
(27:18):
learned so much from her.
She's such a sweetheart.
And.
So I'm just going to keep goingand I'm already making
preparations for next year,whatever comes down the pipe
next.
Of course I will be chairing theTexas Designer of the Year.
So I am creating all of my funstuff for that coming up with
(27:39):
new ideas for what I'm going tothrow at those designers.
And then I also run a studentcompetition here in East Texas
for Upshur County.
So all of our FFA students whoare in floral design and our 4 H
students can be part of theYamboree Student Floral Cup.
Sharon McGukin (27:56):
All exciting things.
And I love it that all of you ascompetitors realize when you hit
that design table in acompetition, you're really only
competing against yourself andthe scorecard.
And you all just enjoy thefellowship of being there and
cheering each other on.
And that, that's really lovely.
(28:17):
All of your parts.
So congratulations to you andalso to Sharon Ivey.
And we're just excited for allof you.
Oh, and Jackie
Brandy Ferrer (28:25):
lacey.
Sharon McGukin (28:26):
Jackie
Brandy Ferrer (28:26):
he was right next to me.
Yes.
He was, his table was right nextto me.
And at one point I looked overat him and I said, Jackie, I'm
ready to get my rear end kickedby you.
I was just like, you know, Itotally, I, I respect, Hey,
respect, man, you have beendoing this.
for a lot longer than me.
(28:48):
You are amazing.
And I just to be in the presenceof the great designers that I
competed against.
It's like a dream come true.
I mean, because three, fouryears ago, these are people that
I just, I saw them on socialmedia and said, wow, I want to
be like that, and here I amcompeting side by side with
(29:08):
them.
So I'm living my dream.
I don't care if I win or not.
I am having fun.
The thrill of the competition isgreat.
And I've learned new thingsevery single time I compete
Sharon McGukin (29:19):
And you're at the party.
And that's the fun part, thatflower party.
Jackie, of course, won SylviaCup.
And he is a master.
So that was well deserved.
Brandy Ferrer (29:31):
well deserved.
Sharon McGukin (29:32):
Early on and even today, some early adopters
think that AI is too technical,too expensive, a threat to jobs.
You've just given us all theways that really it saves you
money because it takes away someof the mundane and some of the
challenges just in every day fortime.
(29:52):
Any tips for beginners tellingpeople where they can start?
What advice would you offer tothe florist with"start here?" I
know you said earlier go toChatGPT and play around with
that.
But I'm thinking of simple taskslike writing assignments or like
(30:15):
doing couponing or membershipmail outs, that type of thing.
How would you start that?
Brandy Ferrer (30:24):
Well, here's the great thing.
So yes, ChatGPT is where it allstarted.
There are a lot of websites thatnow have, they have AI
components.
You've probably seen it.
Google has Bard.
Even Facebook has an AIcomponent.
(30:44):
And I'm a, Google girl.
Okay.
I use Google keep Google sheets,Google everything.
I'm an Android.
I know haters.
I'm sorry, Apple people.
But I am an Android girl and Ilove Google.
So I would say, just give it achance.
And I remember one of the firstthings that I use ChatGPT for
(31:08):
way back when is when I wastrying to figure out some health
problems I was in the past yeardiagnosed with Crohn's disease.
And I didn't understand what wasgoing on with my body.
And I had several differentdoctors that had different
(31:29):
opinions that didn't communicatewith each other.
So when I just went intoChatGPT, and yes, I know it does
not replace doctors.
I get that.
But sometimes, You need somehelp putting some of those
puzzle pieces together.
And so I just started describingmy symptoms and of course it
(31:50):
told me,""now I'm not a doctor,"this is not professional advice.
Yes, I know that.
But it will still give you somegreat information and you can
say, you can ask it, based onthe symptoms that I am
describing to you, what are someof the possibilities Or if you
(32:11):
know what you have, for example,now that I know I have Crohn's
disease, Celiac, Amyloid nodes,It can help me come up with a
diet plans.
I did autoimmune protocol dietfor a while, phase one.
Now I'm in phase two.
I have certain foods that I knowI can't eat.
So if I say I need you todevelop me a meal plan for this
(32:35):
week based on keto or this orthat and in my case, I have very
specific dietary restrictions.
It can do that.
Gosh, I've even seen people say,okay, I have these five items in
my fridge.
Give me some recipes of what Ican create with just these five
(32:56):
items.
Sharon McGukin (32:57):
Google also.
Recipe, comma, and then justlist with a comma after each one
the ingredients you have and itcomes up with great meals.
Brandy Ferrer (33:06):
Absolutely.
And, and we're so used toGoogle, and yes, I use Google
all the time.
The difference, you can useChatGPT like a search engine.
And instead of having to Googleand then, you know, Kind of look
down through the list of thingsthat it comes up with and say,
(33:27):
okay, well, maybe I'll go hereand look, Oh, no, that's not
what I need.
And then you go back to the listof things that comes up with, if
you're having that conversationwith ChatGPT, it can combine all
the information in real time.
And then it can give you links,but it will like summarize.
(33:48):
From multiple websites, multiplepieces of information and, and
cater create an answer thatcaters to exactly what you're
asking it for and so it's moreefficient.
Sharon McGukin (34:03):
Did you ever think you would be brainstorming
with a machine?
Brandy Ferrer (34:08):
No, I did not.
But I tell you what, I reallylike it because it does, it's,
it's very non judgmental most ofthe time, so I can come up with
crazy junk and it will just belike, okay, well let's try it,
you know,
Sharon McGukin (34:21):
now, some people fear that AI will, in the flower
shop, replace their artistictouch, but realistically, while
AI can generate ideas andimages, the florist's personal
touch, their expertise, theirartistic, Interpretation, their
time and talent invested willalways be the true beauty of a
(34:45):
design.
No matter how we change the waywe approach our customers, we
always, always go back torelationship selling.
That has been the strength ofour industry.
And I don't see this.
Taking away from that in anyform.
I think you have given us greatsuggestions of how rather than
taking away, it's just buildingon and freeing up time and
(35:09):
allowing us to, to have newthoughts and new concepts that
we hadn't looked at before.
I think one of the main thingspeople are going to want to know
is how do I learn more?
Where are the resources forcontinued learning here?
Where can they go to learn howto integrate AI into their
business?
And I would suggest reaching outto Brandy at her website, www.
(35:34):
bloomwithbrandy.
com.
That'll be in the transcript forthis podcast.
And we will also do a blog fromthis podcast and it will be a
link in the blog This will giveyou floristry resources,
tutorials, upcoming AI trainingsessions, and you can look with
Brandy and also online forwebinars, workshops, online
(35:57):
courses that can help you getcomfortable with AI tools like
ChatGPT.
Brandy, do you have othersuggestions for exploring this
process
Brandy Ferrer (36:10):
Well, when I first started playing around
with ChatGPT and AI I wouldjust, seriously, I use TikTok
sometimes as a library so I cando a search for AI tools on
TikTok and people have videos onthere and, and I'm starting to
do it too just showing, hey,look at this AI tool.
(36:33):
I mean, Grammarly has beenaround forever and yes, and it's
now just more intuitive.
Canva has AI components.
If you're a Canva user, thereare videos out there of people
who are Canva experts that willshow you how to use the AI
components of Canva.
(36:56):
Then you have HubSpot, you haveyou have all of these different
ones.
Tango is one of my favoriteones.
So Tango is.
If I need to create like a stepby step handout, I guess you
would say like a PDF document ofstep by step how to do
(37:16):
something.
For example, my new customerservice employee did not know
how to how to add payments tohouse accounts.
on our POS system.
Well, I use Tango, which isfree.
And one time I took her throughthe process, click here, click
here, click here.
(37:36):
Well, Tango was following me thewhole time.
And at the same time I wasshowing her, It was creating a
step by step handout that hadthe instructions and snapshots
that will go nice, clean PDFhandout.
So by the time I was done, Iclicked done and it had created
(37:57):
it for me.
I know we used to takescreenshots and then crop, you
know, and then cut and pasteonto a Microsoft Word document,
then type out instructions.
Yep.
Nope, no more.
Tango can do that for you.
And yes, I am slowly starting toput out information as to how
(38:18):
you can use AI.
I do, I have some resources thatI will make sure that you have.
There is an introduction toChatGPT E-course on my website.
That is free.
There's a little E-book if youwant to get started and then
I'll start putting out otherthings very soon.
Sharon McGukin (38:36):
You have been such a great resource of
information.
And I just thank you so much forbeing with us and sharing
everything that you've learnedabout AI and encouraging us to
delve deeper into it.
Brandy Ferrer (38:48):
Thank you so much for having me.
I really appreciate it.
And I was so excited to be ableto share this with you today.
Sharon McGukin (38:56):
And you did it beautifully.
Thank you.
To our audience, Smithers OasisNorth America, Brandy and I want
to thank you for joining ustoday.
If you've enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend
(39:17):
and be sure to hit subscribe.
You don't want to miss theinspired solutions our guests
will share with you for yourpersonal or business growth.
If you have topics or guests youwant to hear, please message me.
We love to hear from you.
Until next time, I'm SharonMcGukin reminding you that like
the unfurling petals of aflower, we grow by changing
(39:40):
form.
Soaking inspiration in likeraindrops.
Absorbing energy from otherslike warmth from the sun.
This growth opens us up to newideas and that's How we Bloom.
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