Ep. 152: What Actually Happens Inside Bloom Trust Co. (with Shelley O'Neill)

In the Words of a Bloom Trust Co Member We admit it: we're not the best at marketing, and it turns out a lot of people who follow our work have no idea what Bloom Trust Co actually is and what we do for florists. So in this episode, we thought who better to share what BTCO is than Shelley O'Neill, a former fourth-grade teacher turned florist who recently added a retail shop called Oyster Flower Co. to her existing wedding flower business in Annapolis, Maryland! Shelley walks us through what pulled her into CIRCLE (we talk more about that in the episode), what's kept her in Bloom Trust Co. for three years running, and together we break down exactly what's inside: the resource library, Office Hours, meetups, a private podcast called The Back Room, and the Flowering with Purpose grants.

If you're a florist (and it doesn't matter if you're a retail florist, wedding/event florist, or farmer florist), we built the BTCO community for you! We're in no hurry to expand it beyond the point where we know your name and your business model. We thrive on the connections and relationships built slowly with an attention to trust and accessible floral resources.

When you succeed, we all succeed! We firmly believe that. It's why we do what we do.

In this episode, we talk with Shelley about: Her path from event planning to full-time floristry to opening Oyster Flower Co. Leaving a career as a fourth-grade teacher for flowers Opening a retail flower shop and finding the support of the BTCO community along the way The real difference between CIRCLE (8-week deep dive, twice a year) and Bloom Trust Co. (year-round community) The scope of floral resources inside Bloom Trust Co How Office Hours work and why they're never recorded The Flowering with Purpose grant and past recipients This episode of the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast is brought to you by: BLOOM TRUST CO. You can learn more about Bloom Trust Co here. You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find Amy on IG at either @botanicalbrouhaha or @bloomtrustco and Natalie at @hey.nataliegill or @native_poppy

This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.