July 27, 2025 • 19 mins
Have you ever wondered what happens to those gorgeous wedding bouquets after the big day ends? Meet Andrea Cole, the artistic entrepreneur behind DB Andrea, who has built an impressive business turning bridal bouquets into stunning keepsakes that last a lifetime.
In this captivating conversation, Andrea reveals how she accidentally discovered flower preservation after finding a decades-old pressed flower in her husband's book. What began as a personal creative project blossomed into a thriving business when someone asked her to preserve their bridal bouquet. Through her unique preservation techniques using resin and pressing methods, Andrea creates beautiful pieces of art that allow couples to hold onto their wedding memories forever.
Andrea shares the fascinating chemistry behind her preservation process, explaining how timing, temperature, and humidity all play crucial roles in creating the perfect keepsake. Her journey from experimental hobbyist to business owner offers valuable insights for anyone looking to transform their passion into profit. While social media initially helped launch her business, Andrea emphasizes that providing exceptional customer service and maintaining quality standards have been more important for sustainable growth than chasing viral trends.
We also explore Andrea's role with the Wedding Industry Professionals Association (WIPA), where she serves as a board member for the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter. Her perspective on networking is refreshingly honest – it's about building genuine connections and serving others rather than direct self-promotion. This philosophy has helped her create meaningful relationships that naturally lead to business growth. As Andrea wisely advises her younger self: "Stop, stare, appreciate." In the constant pursuit of the next achievement, entrepreneurs often forget to celebrate how far they've come.
Ready to preserve your wedding memories or connect with other wedding professionals? Visit dbandrea.com to see Andrea's beautiful work or reach out about joining WIPA's supportive community of wedding industry experts.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to Wedding Empires.
I'm your host, jack Bowie, andI'm thrilled to be joining you
today with a very special guestall the way from Dallas, fort
Worth.
Her name is Andrea Cole, andAndrea has a really interesting
business.
I've not come across a businesslike this in the wedding space,
so I'm really excited to spendthis time with her and explore
(00:23):
her business, which is in thespace of flower preservation,
and get some insight into WIPAright Now for those of you like
me in Australia no, it's notFitzy, and WIPA it stands for
the Wedding IndustryProfessionals Association, and
Andrea runs a branch for WIPA inDallas, fort Worth.
So we're going to talk aboutall of that as well and, I guess
(00:46):
, how those things combine soshe can lead with passion and
purpose and create a weddingempire.
So, andrea, so lovely to haveyou.
Thank you so much for having meon.
Let's start with the business.
It's called DB Andrea and all Iknow is flower preservation.
So tell me, I guess, how doesthis work?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yes, of course.
Well, if you have not heard offlower preservation, I actually
have a piece here to show you.
These were some of myanniversary flowers.
So, as you can see, it's ablock that looks very similar to
almost like glass, but it's not.
It's a little bit less heavy,but it's plastic.
It's a hard plastic and you cancapture your amazing wedding
(01:28):
flowers basically forever as apiece of art that's amazing.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
So, yes, we have a lot ofdifferent shapes and sizes.
We even do pressed flowers,kind of like what you can see
back in the background.
So the way it works is how itsounds right Preserving the
essence of the flower forever.
So there's a lot of ways to doit, there's a lot of easy ways
(01:48):
to do it, there's a lot of hardways to do it, but the essence,
and again the goal, is topreserve the flowers from our
brides, just so they can get apiece of art forever.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I love that.
And how did you come up withthis idea, like what led you to
do this?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
So it was kind of like by accident.
I was actually in the libraryand I saw a book and it was
actually my husband's and Iopened it and there was a huge
pansy that was entirely flat,entirely brown, that had been
preserved for about threedecades.
So his grandmother actuallyused to press flowers in books
and I had.
I just had no idea that youcould do this Apparently, here
in the United States some peopleare taught that through school.
(02:25):
I grew up in Mexico, so I hadno idea that was a thing.
After a few months he gifted mea beautiful bouquet of flowers
for Valentine's and obviously Iwanted to preserve them,
especially since I've alwaysconsidered very artistic myself.
So I basically got to work andstarted pressing flowers.
A little after I was able toput some coasters together and
(02:45):
just like a beautiful picture, amini picture of you know, like
some fashion sketches with thedresses that were actual flowers
.
And again, it was kind of likean accident.
I was just, you know, beingcreative, being myself, and it
kind of like took off from there.
It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So can I ask how it works?
Like what's inside that glass,whatever it is?
Speaker 2 (03:06):
so there's as I mentioned earlier, there's
different types of preservation.
This is called resin.
So basically, resin it's twodifferent compounds that you mix
together, so it's kind of likeliquid, but they're very thick.
You mix them together and ithardens.
There's obviously it's it'schemistry right, so you have to
be very careful on the timing oryour temperature, your humidity
levels and so on.
Obviously it's it's chemistryright, so you have to be very
careful on the timing or yourtemperature, your humidity
(03:27):
levels and so on.
So it's kind of like anexperiment in the beginning.
Once you nail it down, you justhave to basically repeat
everything that's worked for you.
But it hardens into thisplastic.
So again, you can kind of likehere, that is not glass, it's
just a really hard plasticbeautiful.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Okay, so a fun thing to do that you clearly enjoy.
How did you turn that into abusiness?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Well, so, as I mentioned, I kind of just
started doing a little bit oflike pieces for myself.
And actually my husband was theone who came home once and he
was like you could sell that.
I'm like who's going to?
Who's going to buy a littlesomething out of flowers that
you gave me?
Right?
But, as I mentioned, I put itbasically on facebook and a lot
of people, a lot of my friendsand family, started inquiring
about doing something with theirflower and I kind of like
(04:10):
started just selling pieces ofart.
It wasn't I.
I actually went to a lot ofmarkets, you know, like the
farmer's market and so on, justselling pieces that I have made,
and I just couldn't believethat people would be interested
in buying something that I hadso much fun creating.
And it wasn't until a littlebit after, like a few months
after all of this happened, thatsomebody contacted me to
(04:30):
preserve their bridal bouquet.
Of course, in that moment I'mlike, oh my gosh, people are
getting married year round.
If I can find a way for peoplethat are in Dallas to find me
and, of course, like anywhereelse from the United States, if
they can ship their flowers tome, if I can preserve their
flowers.
They're going to really want topay for this, you know, because
now it's not just randomflowers that I picked in my
(04:51):
garden or my husband gave me.
These are your flowers, youknow.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
I love it.
I'm kind of wishing that I hadyour details earlier.
I know I'm on to husband numberthree, so I've had a few
bouquets that I would have liked.
There's no number four that ifthere is, I will.
If there is, I'll let you know.
Yes, I'll have you on speeddial ready.
This is great, and is itsomething that you'd like?
(05:16):
Did you dabble with Etsy aswell?
Is that the space that you sortof played in?
Yes, I imagine it would be hugeon that.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Yes, I'm on Etsy, but Etsy is certainly not where I
sell my stuff anymore.
I feel like it's a great toolfor you to get started, for sure
, and I used to sell a lot there, so I used to sell a lot in
person.
I used to sell on my websiteand again Etsy.
I just don't use it as muchanymore.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Yeah, okay.
So let's talk about how you'veadvertised your business and
you've attracted these couples.
What was your strategy andwhat's worked and not worked for
you?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
So, in the very beginning, etsy you know Etsy is
a great platform for beginners.
I think, most more likely Iwould say that social media was
really nice to me back in theday when I started.
I started pressing flowers in2016 and the algorithm is not
what it is now.
You know you would just themore you post, the more you
would get traction.
People would definitely see Imean, it was like a timeline Do
(06:12):
you remember that right?
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
You posted at the right time, Everybody would see
it, and so I would say I wasvery lucky to be able to start
when you know, when the reachwas great and I just started
spending a lot of time onInstagram and reaching out to
people like that.
And again, I had differentmarkets where I was actually
meeting with people one on one,even if they were not getting
married.
Most people know somebody who'sgetting married, somebody who
(06:36):
has passed away, you know,because we obviously do any kind
of flowers, from weddings tomemorials to anniversary and so
on.
So Instagram I would say waswas probably the best way for me
to start.
Right now we're doing, ofcourse, Instagram ads, social
media ads and, of course, as youmentioned earlier, WIPA.
Like there's a lot ofnetworking that needs to happen,
(06:57):
especially in the weddingindustry, because it's all about
relationships.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Well, why don't we talk about WIPA?
What is it first so?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
WIPA, as you mentioned, is Wedding Industry,
wedding industry professionalsassociation here in the united
states.
Basically, it's like a groupwhere people are members and
they pay a fee yearly and theyget to go to all the events that
the whip up board produces foreverybody, right, so they are
able to learn a lot.
There's a lot of like um,experimental, like classes, and
(07:27):
then classes, and then obviouslya lot of inspiration as well,
because the board is producingthe best of the best.
You know they are bringing inthe best partners within each
city or each chapter and againit's just a fabulous event and
typically they have, like guestspeakers, designers, you know,
all kinds of different partners.
(07:47):
So this organization is, Iwould say, one of the best in
the United States and we have 22chapters, so every major city
has its chapter.
So if you're a member, you canactually attend anybody, like
any of the chapters, not onlyyour cities, you know.
So if you are a photographerthat travel a lot, you can go to
New York and attend.
(08:08):
I thought it would be, you know,my first years.
(08:30):
I would say I was just laserfocused on growing my business,
especially like across theUnited States, that I just
didn't have time to go to eventsand to me it almost felt like I
was cheating.
You know, to go to a networkingevent and be mingling with a
cocktail in your hand, like Idon't have time for that right.
But looking back I'm like, ohmy gosh, I just so wish that I
(08:53):
had started sooner.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Absolutely.
I'm a former business owner ofa business networking brand, so
I'm very big on businessnetworking.
Yeah, wow, maybe I should starta chapter of WIPRA in Australia
.
I think that that's something,that it's incredible.
I went to one wedding networkingevent in a previous city that I
lived in and it was put on by agroup of celebrants that had
(09:18):
sort of come together andcreated this celebrant
collective and they organizedthis one-off event.
And I tell you what there werecelebrants that got up and sort
of spoke at that event that Ibooked and booked, and booked
and booked as a wedding plannernot having seen them at a
wedding, but just met them thatnight and created that
(09:39):
connection.
So I think you're right.
I think, yes, we build ourconnections when we attend a
wedding and somebody does agreat job and we make that
connection on the job.
But you know, this is justanother way to do that right,
it's another way to get thatconnection and there's nothing
more powerful than a weddingprofessional saying to a couple
(09:59):
I personally love this person.
You know that sort of referral,you know.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
You just and something to keep in mind is
somebody like me.
I don't go to the weddings, I'ma post-wedding kind of person.
There's a lot of theinvitations and all the
stationery.
They don't get to see the brideand the groom.
They don't get to meet themsometimes.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
They're not true.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
So all of these vendors, that they don't even
get to interact with each other.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
It's a perfect place for them to start meeting people
, because at the end, I meanreferrals is, as you mentioned,
is like the best type ofmarketing, you know, yeah, yeah,
okay.
So talk to me about yourjourney with WIPA.
You started as a member, butnow you're running a chapter.
How does that work for you andhow's that helped your business?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Yes.
So a couple of my friendsmakeup artists, actually was the
one, the very first one, whotold me about WIPA.
And again she's.
She's there, yes, the day off,but she doesn't get to interact
with a lot of people.
So she highly suggested that Ilooked into different
organizations and sherecommended to start with WIPA
because it's the biggest one,the best one, and again they
(11:03):
have different chapters.
So I decided and again this isback when I was like I guess
I'll just try it.
I I don't.
I don't know about networkingand going to events.
You know, I'm kind of likewasting time.
So I basically joined as amember and I went to two events
and my logic was, if I go to twoevents only and get somebody,
like somebody, to refer mybusiness, it's gonna pay off,
(11:25):
right?
Yeah, well, you can't get itthat way.
It's not going into.
An organization like this shouldnot be considered a marketing
tool, so should be considered abranding tool.
You are there to represent yourbrand and yourself as the brand
, and it's all about connections.
So you're not there just tolike thinking like, oh, you're
gonna like how can I push myproduct in your face because you
(11:47):
don't, definitely don't want todo that right.
That is just not the best wayto network whatsoever.
Best way to see it is what canI do for you, who can I connect
you with?
And then that, naturally, isgoing to basically transform
into a good relationship Numberone, number two somebody is
going to trust you and then ifthey're interested in you, then
they're going to ask questionsabout you and, honestly, it just
(12:09):
pays off.
So after my first year againkind of like that was my logic I
realized that it was more aboutserving, more than about
pushing your products andservice, and so it was at that
time that I said you know what Iwant to be on the board, so I
run their marketing andcommunications in the Dallas
chapter.
Because, again, I felt asthough if I serve, you know, and
(12:31):
serve and serve and serve,eventually people are going to
ask who I am, you know, but it'snot.
You can't just go to like,since I run their socials, I
can't just go to their socialsand just post about my company.
You can't do that right.
So again, it's really aboutserving and making the right
connections yeah, I agree, Iagree.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
When I had my in Heels, it was you go to give,
not go to get.
And yeah, if everyone buys intothat, it's you know, it's
incredible, fantastic, okay, sohow do you juggle it all, like
I'm hearing?
You know, there's thiscommunity leadership, there's
your own business, your mom,like what else is thrown into
the mix?
Speaker 2 (13:06):
You know, it's funny that you asked that, because in
the beginning of the year, whichis when I joined, I had just
come back from Miss America Idon't know if you're familiar
with Miss America or not.
We are the official partner andso the actual competition was
in Orlando, florida, which is, Imean, like three hours on a
flight, right.
So I came back after thecompetition and just winding
(13:29):
down and then I took over thisposition right away, and so I
had no idea what the positionreally was like.
So it's, it's a lot of work.
So I started spending about Ikid you not like about probably
like part-time.
It was a part-time job and it'snot paid, it's and you still
have to buy your tickets, youknow.
So like little.
And we we came to like we wereactually organizing one of the
(13:52):
biggest events of the year, likeshortly after.
So I was this close to tell thepresident like I don't think I
can do this, like I have my owncompany to run, you know.
But again, obviously, like Imean as anything else, like
after you're doing likerepeating your work, you
understand, you know like thepace of it and what meets from
you know what, what, what youneed to do for it, just to make
sure that you're doing the rightthing.
(14:13):
But I do have a team.
I have a team of 10 people.
Our core team is 10 people.
We sometimes even hire morepeople when it gets busy and I
could not do it without them, tobe honest.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Excellent, okay, and and how do you?
I mean, I know that you'reinterested in really building a
legacy with your brand, so let'stalk about how you know you've
stayed true to that.
You haven't kind of gone withthe trends and you know you're
building something that willlast.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
That is also a very interesting topic to me because
I grew my social media beforereels were a thing and in fact I
am ashamed, I think, to saythat none of my videos have gone
viral, like not a single one ofthem.
And you know we were, don't getme wrong, flower preservation
has existed for centuries.
But I really do believe that wewere kind of like the first
(15:01):
firm or studio to really likestart hiring people, start
getting bouquets from across thecountry, and right now we have
a lot of competitors and a lotof those competitors have been
super successful with, you know,reels and TikTok, that their
business, just like I mean it'sdoing amazing.
And to me I just have notrealized how to gone viral, you
(15:22):
know, and for the longest time Iwas just like, oh my God, I
just can't believe.
You know, we're trying andtrying and trying, and then I
realized that it's really notabout the followers.
Are the followers reallytranslating to sales?
A lot of times that's not thecase, right?
So instead of actuallyobsessing and, you know, trying
to figure out why my videos havenot gone viral, we were just
really honing into getting thebest customer service for our
(15:45):
clients and making sure that ourbrand is noticed because of its
quality.
So really, all the efforts andinstead of investing them in
trends which you're never goingto see me, you know lip sync and
dance in front of a piece.
I've never going to do thatpersonality with you, know, and
it fits you.
Yeah perfectly fine, but itneeds to feel true to yourself
(16:06):
because, at the end, building abrand is a legacy, right and
years after, like you, need tolook back at your brand 10 years
after and say that is who I amright now.
Of course you've changed, youknow, but always you need to be
proud of I have been always trueto myself, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Yeah, I love that.
Now, if Ben was here, he has alast question that he likes to
ask, so I'll do it in his honor.
Andrea, if you ran, walked downthe street and ran into a
former version of yourself at 18, what advice would you give to
that version of yourself?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Oh, my goodness, honestly, just stop, stare,
appreciate, because when you'rean entrepreneur, you're growing
and you know, first of all,first of all, growth is not
always linear.
You know, and it's so easy foryou to like again, lose
followers or start comparingyourself to others and just not
be content Like it's so easy.
I mean, you reach a goal andyou're just not like okay, I
(17:02):
made it.
You know, you're always, alwayslooking for more and more.
It just never ends, especiallythe more great you have which I
happen to have a lot, and it canbe a good thing and a bad thing
, right?
So if I could look back onmyself at 18, I would say, look,
look where you are.
You know like, look what youbuilt.
I feel like my 18 year oldwould be so freaking proud of
(17:25):
where we stand today.
And again, I have a really hardtime passing and appreciating
what I've done.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
I love that, okay, that was great.
So if you're out there andyou'd like to get to know Andrea
and her business and suss outthese beautiful flowers, her
website is dbandreacom Andrea,so D-B-A-N-D-R-E-Acom.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
You'll also find her on LinkedIn, instagram and on
Facebook Now how can peoplebecome a member with WIPA so you
can go to WIPAorg and just jointhat way?
If you're in Dallas-Fort Worth,please reach out to me because
I would love to meet you andintroduce you to a lot of our
team.
I mean, they're fantastic andagain, there's 22 chapters, so I
(18:08):
really hope that we can meetsome people that way, that
sounds amazing.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Andrea, thank you so much for your time.
It's been lovely spending thistime with you and I'm sure we'll
chat again.
Yeah, thank you so much.
I appreciate it, thanks.
Welcome back to Wedding Empires.
I'm your host, jack Bowie, andI'm thrilled to be joining you
today with a very special guestall the way from Dallas, fort
Worth.
Her name is Andrea Cole, andAndrea has a really interesting
business.
I've not come across a businesslike this in the wedding space,
so I'm really excited to spendthis time with her and explore
(00:23):
her business, which is in thespace of flower preservation,
and get some insight into WIPAright Now for those of you like
me in Australia no, it's notFitzy, and WIPA it stands for
the Wedding IndustryProfessionals Association, and
Andrea runs a branch for WIPA inDallas, fort Worth.
So we're going to talk aboutall of that as well and, I guess
(00:46):
, how those things combine soshe can lead with passion and
purpose and create a weddingempire.
So, andrea, so lovely to haveyou.
Thank you so much for having meon.
Let's start with the business.
It's called DB Andrea and all Iknow is flower preservation.
So tell me, I guess, how doesthis work?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yes, of course.
Well, if you have not heard offlower preservation, I actually
have a piece here to show you.
These were some of myanniversary flowers.
So, as you can see, it's ablock that looks very similar to
almost like glass, but it's not.
It's a little bit less heavy,but it's plastic.
It's a hard plastic and you cancapture your amazing wedding
(01:28):
flowers basically forever as apiece of art that's amazing.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
So, yes, we have a lot ofdifferent shapes and sizes.
We even do pressed flowers,kind of like what you can see
back in the background.
So the way it works is how itsounds right Preserving the
essence of the flower forever.
So there's a lot of ways to doit, there's a lot of easy ways
(01:48):
to do it, there's a lot of hardways to do it, but the essence,
and again the goal, is topreserve the flowers from our
brides, just so they can get apiece of art forever.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I love that.
And how did you come up withthis idea, like what led you to
do this?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
So it was kind of like by accident.
I was actually in the libraryand I saw a book and it was
actually my husband's and Iopened it and there was a huge
pansy that was entirely flat,entirely brown, that had been
preserved for about threedecades.
So his grandmother actuallyused to press flowers in books
and I had.
I just had no idea that youcould do this Apparently, here
in the United States some peopleare taught that through school.
(02:25):
I grew up in Mexico, so I hadno idea that was a thing.
After a few months he gifted mea beautiful bouquet of flowers
for Valentine's and obviously Iwanted to preserve them,
especially since I've alwaysconsidered very artistic myself.
So I basically got to work andstarted pressing flowers.
A little after I was able toput some coasters together and
(02:45):
just like a beautiful picture, amini picture of you know, like
some fashion sketches with thedresses that were actual flowers
.
And again, it was kind of likean accident.
I was just, you know, beingcreative, being myself, and it
kind of like took off from there.
It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So can I ask how it works?
Like what's inside that glass,whatever it is?
Speaker 2 (03:06):
so there's as I mentioned earlier, there's
different types of preservation.
This is called resin.
So basically, resin it's twodifferent compounds that you mix
together, so it's kind of likeliquid, but they're very thick.
You mix them together and ithardens.
There's obviously it's it'schemistry right, so you have to
be very careful on the timing oryour temperature, your humidity
levels and so on.
Obviously it's it's chemistryright, so you have to be very
careful on the timing or yourtemperature, your humidity
(03:27):
levels and so on.
So it's kind of like anexperiment in the beginning.
Once you nail it down, you justhave to basically repeat
everything that's worked for you.
But it hardens into thisplastic.
So again, you can kind of likehere, that is not glass, it's
just a really hard plasticbeautiful.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Okay, so a fun thing to do that you clearly enjoy.
How did you turn that into abusiness?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Well, so, as I mentioned, I kind of just
started doing a little bit oflike pieces for myself.
And actually my husband was theone who came home once and he
was like you could sell that.
I'm like who's going to?
Who's going to buy a littlesomething out of flowers that
you gave me?
Right?
But, as I mentioned, I put itbasically on facebook and a lot
of people, a lot of my friendsand family, started inquiring
about doing something with theirflower and I kind of like
(04:10):
started just selling pieces ofart.
It wasn't I.
I actually went to a lot ofmarkets, you know, like the
farmer's market and so on, justselling pieces that I have made,
and I just couldn't believethat people would be interested
in buying something that I hadso much fun creating.
And it wasn't until a littlebit after, like a few months
after all of this happened, thatsomebody contacted me to
(04:30):
preserve their bridal bouquet.
Of course, in that moment I'mlike, oh my gosh, people are
getting married year round.
If I can find a way for peoplethat are in Dallas to find me
and, of course, like anywhereelse from the United States, if
they can ship their flowers tome, if I can preserve their
flowers.
They're going to really want topay for this, you know, because
now it's not just randomflowers that I picked in my
(04:51):
garden or my husband gave me.
These are your flowers, youknow.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
I love it.
I'm kind of wishing that I hadyour details earlier.
I know I'm on to husband numberthree, so I've had a few
bouquets that I would have liked.
There's no number four that ifthere is, I will.
If there is, I'll let you know.
Yes, I'll have you on speeddial ready.
This is great, and is itsomething that you'd like?
(05:16):
Did you dabble with Etsy aswell?
Is that the space that you sortof played in?
Yes, I imagine it would be hugeon that.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Yes, I'm on Etsy, but Etsy is certainly not where I
sell my stuff anymore.
I feel like it's a great toolfor you to get started, for sure
, and I used to sell a lot there, so I used to sell a lot in
person.
I used to sell on my websiteand again Etsy.
I just don't use it as muchanymore.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Yeah, okay.
So let's talk about how you'veadvertised your business and
you've attracted these couples.
What was your strategy andwhat's worked and not worked for
you?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
So, in the very beginning, etsy you know Etsy is
a great platform for beginners.
I think, most more likely Iwould say that social media was
really nice to me back in theday when I started.
I started pressing flowers in2016 and the algorithm is not
what it is now.
You know you would just themore you post, the more you
would get traction.
People would definitely see Imean, it was like a timeline Do
(06:12):
you remember that right?
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
You posted at the right time, Everybody would see
it, and so I would say I wasvery lucky to be able to start
when you know, when the reachwas great and I just started
spending a lot of time onInstagram and reaching out to
people like that.
And again, I had differentmarkets where I was actually
meeting with people one on one,even if they were not getting
married.
Most people know somebody who'sgetting married, somebody who
(06:36):
has passed away, you know,because we obviously do any kind
of flowers, from weddings tomemorials to anniversary and so
on.
So Instagram I would say waswas probably the best way for me
to start.
Right now we're doing, ofcourse, Instagram ads, social
media ads and, of course, as youmentioned earlier, WIPA.
Like there's a lot ofnetworking that needs to happen,
(06:57):
especially in the weddingindustry, because it's all about
relationships.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Well, why don't we talk about WIPA?
What is it first so?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
WIPA, as you mentioned, is Wedding Industry,
wedding industry professionalsassociation here in the united
states.
Basically, it's like a groupwhere people are members and
they pay a fee yearly and theyget to go to all the events that
the whip up board produces foreverybody, right, so they are
able to learn a lot.
There's a lot of like um,experimental, like classes, and
(07:27):
then classes, and then obviouslya lot of inspiration as well,
because the board is producingthe best of the best.
You know they are bringing inthe best partners within each
city or each chapter and againit's just a fabulous event and
typically they have, like guestspeakers, designers, you know,
all kinds of different partners.
(07:47):
So this organization is, Iwould say, one of the best in
the United States and we have 22chapters, so every major city
has its chapter.
So if you're a member, you canactually attend anybody, like
any of the chapters, not onlyyour cities, you know.
So if you are a photographerthat travel a lot, you can go to
New York and attend.
(08:08):
I thought it would be, you know,my first years.
(08:30):
I would say I was just laserfocused on growing my business,
especially like across theUnited States, that I just
didn't have time to go to eventsand to me it almost felt like I
was cheating.
You know, to go to a networkingevent and be mingling with a
cocktail in your hand, like Idon't have time for that right.
But looking back I'm like, ohmy gosh, I just so wish that I
(08:53):
had started sooner.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Absolutely.
I'm a former business owner ofa business networking brand, so
I'm very big on businessnetworking.
Yeah, wow, maybe I should starta chapter of WIPRA in Australia
.
I think that that's something,that it's incredible.
I went to one wedding networkingevent in a previous city that I
lived in and it was put on by agroup of celebrants that had
(09:18):
sort of come together andcreated this celebrant
collective and they organizedthis one-off event.
And I tell you what there werecelebrants that got up and sort
of spoke at that event that Ibooked and booked, and booked
and booked as a wedding plannernot having seen them at a
wedding, but just met them thatnight and created that
(09:39):
connection.
So I think you're right.
I think, yes, we build ourconnections when we attend a
wedding and somebody does agreat job and we make that
connection on the job.
But you know, this is justanother way to do that right,
it's another way to get thatconnection and there's nothing
more powerful than a weddingprofessional saying to a couple
(09:59):
I personally love this person.
You know that sort of referral,you know.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
You just and something to keep in mind is
somebody like me.
I don't go to the weddings, I'ma post-wedding kind of person.
There's a lot of theinvitations and all the
stationery.
They don't get to see the brideand the groom.
They don't get to meet themsometimes.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
They're not true.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
So all of these vendors, that they don't even
get to interact with each other.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
It's a perfect place for them to start meeting people
, because at the end, I meanreferrals is, as you mentioned,
is like the best type ofmarketing, you know, yeah, yeah,
okay.
So talk to me about yourjourney with WIPA.
You started as a member, butnow you're running a chapter.
How does that work for you andhow's that helped your business?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Yes.
So a couple of my friendsmakeup artists, actually was the
one, the very first one, whotold me about WIPA.
And again she's.
She's there, yes, the day off,but she doesn't get to interact
with a lot of people.
So she highly suggested that Ilooked into different
organizations and sherecommended to start with WIPA
because it's the biggest one,the best one, and again they
(11:03):
have different chapters.
So I decided and again this isback when I was like I guess
I'll just try it.
I I don't.
I don't know about networkingand going to events.
You know, I'm kind of likewasting time.
So I basically joined as amember and I went to two events
and my logic was, if I go to twoevents only and get somebody,
like somebody, to refer mybusiness, it's gonna pay off,
(11:25):
right?
Yeah, well, you can't get itthat way.
It's not going into.
An organization like this shouldnot be considered a marketing
tool, so should be considered abranding tool.
You are there to represent yourbrand and yourself as the brand
, and it's all about connections.
So you're not there just tolike thinking like, oh, you're
gonna like how can I push myproduct in your face because you
(11:47):
don't, definitely don't want todo that right.
That is just not the best wayto network whatsoever.
Best way to see it is what canI do for you, who can I connect
you with?
And then that, naturally, isgoing to basically transform
into a good relationship Numberone, number two somebody is
going to trust you and then ifthey're interested in you, then
they're going to ask questionsabout you and, honestly, it just
(12:09):
pays off.
So after my first year againkind of like that was my logic I
realized that it was more aboutserving, more than about
pushing your products andservice, and so it was at that
time that I said you know what Iwant to be on the board, so I
run their marketing andcommunications in the Dallas
chapter.
Because, again, I felt asthough if I serve, you know, and
(12:31):
serve and serve and serve,eventually people are going to
ask who I am, you know, but it'snot.
You can't just go to like,since I run their socials, I
can't just go to their socialsand just post about my company.
You can't do that right.
So again, it's really aboutserving and making the right
connections yeah, I agree, Iagree.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
When I had my in Heels, it was you go to give,
not go to get.
And yeah, if everyone buys intothat, it's you know, it's
incredible, fantastic, okay, sohow do you juggle it all, like
I'm hearing?
You know, there's thiscommunity leadership, there's
your own business, your mom,like what else is thrown into
the mix?
Speaker 2 (13:06):
You know, it's funny that you asked that, because in
the beginning of the year, whichis when I joined, I had just
come back from Miss America Idon't know if you're familiar
with Miss America or not.
We are the official partner andso the actual competition was
in Orlando, florida, which is, Imean, like three hours on a
flight, right.
So I came back after thecompetition and just winding
(13:29):
down and then I took over thisposition right away, and so I
had no idea what the positionreally was like.
So it's, it's a lot of work.
So I started spending about Ikid you not like about probably
like part-time.
It was a part-time job and it'snot paid, it's and you still
have to buy your tickets, youknow.
So like little.
And we we came to like we wereactually organizing one of the
(13:52):
biggest events of the year, likeshortly after.
So I was this close to tell thepresident like I don't think I
can do this, like I have my owncompany to run, you know.
But again, obviously, like Imean as anything else, like
after you're doing likerepeating your work, you
understand, you know like thepace of it and what meets from
you know what, what, what youneed to do for it, just to make
sure that you're doing the rightthing.
(14:13):
But I do have a team.
I have a team of 10 people.
Our core team is 10 people.
We sometimes even hire morepeople when it gets busy and I
could not do it without them, tobe honest.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Excellent, okay, and and how do you?
I mean, I know that you'reinterested in really building a
legacy with your brand, so let'stalk about how you know you've
stayed true to that.
You haven't kind of gone withthe trends and you know you're
building something that willlast.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
That is also a very interesting topic to me because
I grew my social media beforereels were a thing and in fact I
am ashamed, I think, to saythat none of my videos have gone
viral, like not a single one ofthem.
And you know we were, don't getme wrong, flower preservation
has existed for centuries.
But I really do believe that wewere kind of like the first
(15:01):
firm or studio to really likestart hiring people, start
getting bouquets from across thecountry, and right now we have
a lot of competitors and a lotof those competitors have been
super successful with, you know,reels and TikTok, that their
business, just like I mean it'sdoing amazing.
And to me I just have notrealized how to gone viral, you
(15:22):
know, and for the longest time Iwas just like, oh my God, I
just can't believe.
You know, we're trying andtrying and trying, and then I
realized that it's really notabout the followers.
Are the followers reallytranslating to sales?
A lot of times that's not thecase, right?
So instead of actuallyobsessing and, you know, trying
to figure out why my videos havenot gone viral, we were just
really honing into getting thebest customer service for our
(15:45):
clients and making sure that ourbrand is noticed because of its
quality.
So really, all the efforts andinstead of investing them in
trends which you're never goingto see me, you know lip sync and
dance in front of a piece.
I've never going to do thatpersonality with you, know, and
it fits you.
Yeah perfectly fine, but itneeds to feel true to yourself
(16:06):
because, at the end, building abrand is a legacy, right and
years after, like you, need tolook back at your brand 10 years
after and say that is who I amright now.
Of course you've changed, youknow, but always you need to be
proud of I have been always trueto myself, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Yeah, I love that.
Now, if Ben was here, he has alast question that he likes to
ask, so I'll do it in his honor.
Andrea, if you ran, walked downthe street and ran into a
former version of yourself at 18, what advice would you give to
that version of yourself?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Oh, my goodness, honestly, just stop, stare,
appreciate, because when you'rean entrepreneur, you're growing
and you know, first of all,first of all, growth is not
always linear.
You know, and it's so easy foryou to like again, lose
followers or start comparingyourself to others and just not
be content Like it's so easy.
I mean, you reach a goal andyou're just not like okay, I
(17:02):
made it.
You know, you're always, alwayslooking for more and more.
It just never ends, especiallythe more great you have which I
happen to have a lot, and it canbe a good thing and a bad thing
, right?
So if I could look back onmyself at 18, I would say, look,
look where you are.
You know like, look what youbuilt.
I feel like my 18 year oldwould be so freaking proud of
(17:25):
where we stand today.
And again, I have a really hardtime passing and appreciating
what I've done.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
I love that, okay, that was great.
So if you're out there andyou'd like to get to know Andrea
and her business and suss outthese beautiful flowers, her
website is dbandreacom Andrea,so D-B-A-N-D-R-E-Acom.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
You'll also find her on LinkedIn, instagram and on
Facebook Now how can peoplebecome a member with WIPA so you
can go to WIPAorg and just jointhat way?
If you're in Dallas-Fort Worth,please reach out to me because
I would love to meet you andintroduce you to a lot of our
team.
I mean, they're fantastic andagain, there's 22 chapters, so I
(18:08):
really hope that we can meetsome people that way, that
sounds amazing.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Andrea, thank you so much for your time.
It's been lovely spending thistime with you and I'm sure we'll
chat again.
Yeah, thank you so much.
I appreciate it, thanks.
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