Last night I cried for the first time in many years. Not to say that there was anything in particular that caused the deep out pouring of motion. How did I get here? Over the past 18 months I have been working on launching a new gifting service in South Africa, with the aim of creating a community of gift shops that include Florists, Gift shops, and we will end with Experiences. Version 1 was a pretty good proof of concept, that led me to meet Chane Bruwer and Marisna Bruwer. Two very strong and talented ladies. I was pitching Chane to register her florist in Bloemfontein, when she turned the conversation into a pitch for her new business, marketing. Her words when I asked if she was keen to register, went something along the lines of, “your site needs work, but the concept is brilliant” This has lead to a partnership that is rapidly approaching its anniversary that has resulted in a complete rework and rewrite of the site, and additional features that are not only beautiful, but brilliant in their simplicity and function. The last three months in our weekly catch up sessions with the development team, marketing and legal I found my self wiping the odd tear from my face. I started to ask my self why is this happening? I mean I am 40 plenty years old, hardened professional with years of management consulting experience under my belt, and now I am becoming soft. Pfft. Then came the endless phone calls with florists to register on some new site that no one has ever heard of. Lets remember that I am not a Florist, I am a management consultant with SAP as my specialty. To the original 7 florists that shared the vision enough and trusted me enough thank you very much, you provided the fuel to keep me going. The rejection is real when a florist says no thanks, then I remember a comment I saw from Vusi Thembekwayo ‘You will get rejected in sales 7/10 times. Just keep at it.” I may have it slightly wrong. I looked back at the no thanks list compared to the Yes or let me get back to you. I am pleased to say we are tracking a bit better than 70% no, and are at 30% no thanks. Driving back to George from Bloemfontein a while ago, and while admiring the astounding beauty of the Karoo landscapes, the tears started again, what the flip I ask my self, get a grip man. Then last night out of the blue my rock star wife takes one look at me and asks, are you ok? Sweet and innocent question, a question that gets asked and answered many times per day. The difference was that she unleashed a vast amount of emotion that this 40 plenty year old seasoned professional had no hope in holding back. This went on for the better part of 4 minutes. But flip did it feel good when it was over. Turns out I had been holding the stress and excitement of FlowerFoundry go live to the South African public in. I am now a firm believer now that if you really care about something, our emotions will let us know that we give a shit, and it is the giving a shit that helps us entrepreneurs stay focused. So in conclusion if you find your self having a little cry, just let it go. Pull over on the side of the road, you will feel better at the end of it. And you are performing a service that you need and your business needs. FlowerFoundry is now live, all systems work well. And registered florists are ready for orders in most major centres and we are growing every week. So register with FlowerFoundry, and buy some flowers for that person in the office having a hard time, birthday, anniversary for friends, spouses and what ever situationship you are in. https://flowerfoundry.co.za/ Birthday Flowers in Sandton, Birthday Flowers in Claremont, Birthday Flowers in George, Birthday Flowers in Wilderness, Birthday Flowers in Howick, Birthday Flowers in Kloof, Birthday Flowers in Durbanville, Birthday Flowers in Kempton Park
