02/09/2026
Over the years my definition of what a successful flower farm is has changed.
When I first started I thought it was a plot that allowed me to quit my very stressful job, and sell enough flowers weekly to pay the grocery bill (in those days £60 to £80 a week). Easy peasy.
Then I did some professional training. And that told me I needed to pay for my time and ALL my resources first before my business could be considered to be making a profit. So £400 a week minimum for my time at minimum wage plus costs. So I needed to take a minimum of £500 a week just to break even. I upped my game. Became profit focused.
And as I got bigger, costs and hours increased. I employed a part timer. I now needed to turnover at least £1000 a week, every week from April until October to pay the bills, wages and taxes. All easily achievable if I did markets, workshops and events. I did this and made enough extra to put some away for the winter and my retirement. But it started to come with added stress. I was judged by how much money my business made. People were obsessed asking questions like 'do you actually make any money doing this?' and 'does your husband need to support you?'
We've had a difficult growing year. I've had chats with lots of growers all over the country who have found this year exceptionally stressful. Many have had a less successful year than normal.
This morning I read a post by Indiana Florist & Flower Farm Venue that made me realise what's wrong with this picture. It's the way we define success. Is success having a perfect plot, selling thousands of stems weekly, and making a good profit?
As I near retirement I now have, I feel, a better understanding of what success really is than I've ever had before. Redefining success might give us permission to drop a little stress.
If we make our health and happiness (and the health and happiness of our families) a priority in our definition of success it changes the dynamic. Of course we still need to make money to buy food and other necessities. But maybe a successful business should be one that has the health and happiness of it's employees (including it's owner) as a priority equal to making a profit.
Thoughts?
