498 - Erin Benzakein: What Happens When Your Wildest Dreams Come True?

0:00The flowers are different. Just keep going. Just keep going. So I just kept getting back up and after every failure, which there are thousands of them, and just kind of like dusted it off the like embarrassment and just got back up and kept going. We're coming up on 15 years. So I heard you say before, like there is no such thing as an overnight success. It's usually like a decade in the making, at least. It is so much hard work and you just keep, basically you just got to get okay. with like sucking and failing, right? You're just, you're so bad for so long. You just got to keep going. So don't lose heart if you're not good yet.

0:38Just keep getting back up.

0:43Marie Forleo:Hey, it's Marie Forleo and welcome to another episode of MarieTV and the Marie Forleo podcast. And I got to tell you, I am so excited about my guest today. Oh my goodness. So first of all, she's a force of nature. Second of all, she's got a new show on the Magnolia Network, and I saw the first episode and it's amazing. Third of all, she is a B-school grad. If you have ever wondered if you have what it takes to take your somewhat impossible dream and make it real, you are going to love today's show. Erin Benzikain is the founder of Florette Farms and is one of the nation's leading farmer florists.

1:20Marie Forleo:She's the author of three books, Florette Farms Cut Flower Garden, which won the American Horticultural Society's Book Award, the New York Times bestseller, Floret Farms, A Year in Flowers, and most recently, Discovering Dahlias. She's received the Martha Stewart American Made Award for floral and event design and has been featured across countless books, magazines, and websites. Growing Floret, a series from the Magnolia Network, is streaming now on Discovery+. Oh my goodness, Erin, thank you so much for making time to be here. I have to say, I have your books in front of me. Oh my goodness. They are so gorgeous.

1:58Marie Forleo:Like I'm losing my mind. And I have to tell you, our entire team is like obsessed. We've been obsessed with you for years. This morning, I watched the first episode of your show on the Magnolia Network and I was literally like, what? And I could not wait to talk to you today. How are you doing? So good and so busy. It's like the middle of the growing season. It's just, it's flat out. We're just running right now. Yes, you are. So, okay. So for, for folks that don't know your story, take us back to the beginning. What was your first memory of flowers and how did that seed plant what has grown into this incredible mission and business and career that you have today?

2:46So when I was little, I would go visit my great grandmother in the summertime and she was very ill and laying in bed all the time and would tell me stories of their farm that they used to have and the garden that she used to grow. And then she'd send me outside into the little tiny garden beds around their house and have me pick bouquets and bring them inside for her. And those were the happiest memories growing up. And she nicknamed me her little flower girl. So when she passed away, I actually brought home some of her ashes and planted them in my very first garden. And I planted a double row of sweet peas in her memory, just like wanting to bring Grammy into my new life.

3:28Yes. And those flowers bloomed so abundantly. I mean, I picked him, I filled our house with him. I gave him to the neighbors. I gave him to everybody I knew. And it was at the same time I was trying to figure out like, what did I want to do with my life? What was my calling? What was I put here to do? So it was this really important time and Grammy was with me or her memory along that journey. Yeah.

3:51Marie Forleo:So first of all, I love sweet peas. I never even knew what they were until a few years ago when I started spending more time in California. And there's like a farmer's market near my house there. And they are the flowers that I get constantly. It's like the best$5 that I spend every single week. They bring me so much joy and so much happiness. Like I put them on, I'm like, I don't care. You're going to see a sweet peas again and again and again, because these things are amazing. So I know that you also had a pretty transformative experience when you actually kind of sold your first buffet. Can you tell us about that?

4:28So I was trying to figure out like, what the heck am I going to do for a business? I have two small kids. I wanted to do something creative. I wanted to be home. So I was trying out all these business ideas. And it's so funny to me that the flowers were blooming in my yard, but it didn't even occur to me that that could be a business. So someone ordered a$5 jar of sweet peas and I was so freaked out and nervous. I'm like, okay, my first order. So I drove like 45 minutes away with my little jar of flowers. And I was trying to like ding dong ditch and just drop the flowers on her front porch and just drive away.

5:00But she caught me. And I was so nervous. I just like pushed him into her hands and she started crying, telling me about her grandmother. Then I started crying, talking about Grammy. And it was like, this thing happened. It just like seeing the power that those, like that simple little jar could have on another person and how quickly we were connected in that moment. And our hearts were just open and we were just, we were so present. I just, I knew right then, like, this is what I'm supposed to do. Something with flowers, they're too powerful. This is what I'm supposed to do with my life.

5:34Marie Forleo:And so you didn't, it sounds like, wow. So you had started just selling these little bouquets because you had them, but you had no idea what this thing could become. One of the other things that I admire about you so much, you and your husband and your whole team, you guys have such an incredible work ethic. And obviously you know me, that's a huge part of my history and my family. And it's a balance, right? It's like I have this drive and this passion and this mission. And I love what I do, but I also never want to overdo it because I want to be here for the longterm. Right. Where I want to go with you right now though, I think when people start to really see what you've created, they see the show, they see these incredible books.

6:12Marie Forleo:I'm like, y 'all, Erin didn't start out this way. Like it's not all sweet peas and dahlias and, you know, her and her husband, like you guys, you had a tremendous amount of debt, right? That's how I started my business. Can you tell us a little bit about what those early days were like. Because I think there's many people in the audience that either they're in that stage right now, or maybe they're just getting out of it. And it's important to be able to hear that side also while you say like, oh, she's got a show on Magnolia. Yeah, no, it started in my backyard and it stayed in my backyard for years.

6:45Like really just me fumbling along, making a thousand mistakes, not making any money, like killing so many plants, just really sucking at it for a really long time. Nobody wanted to buy anything. It wasn't like we were an overnight success. I was like cramming this idea down people's throat and nobody was into it. It actually took me a really long time, but I just kept at it. And Chris would always say to me when I would lose faith, like, I don't think this is it. I don't think I'm supposed to have a business. I feel so uncomfortable. This freaks me out. I'm so bad at this. He's like, the flowers are different.

7:22Just keep going, just keep going. So I just kept getting back up. And after every failure, which there are thousands of them and just kind of like dusted it off the like embarrassment and just got back up and kept going. And then we have been, we're coming up on 15 years. So I heard you say before, like there is no such thing as an overnight success. It's usually like a decade in the making, at least. It is so much hard work and you just keep, basically you just got to get okay with like sucking and failing, right? You're just, you're so bad for so long. You just got to keep going. So don't lose heart if you're not good yet.

8:01Just keep getting back up.

8:02Marie Forleo:Yeah. And I love just hearing that, you know, you and your husband, you were like, you know what? We have choices about this debt, right? It's like you could declare bankruptcy. That's one choice and that's not a bad choice at all. But y 'all were like, you know what? No, we're just going to handle this and we're going to sell as many flowers as we possibly can, pay this off and then start growing from there. And I just, I thought that was amazing. Yeah. Debt was a giant motivator. That's really where the business came from and what gave me the courage to keep going because we had to pay off the debt and we use the money we made with flowers to do it, but it took us a long time, but we just kept at it.

8:37And I'm so glad we did. Yeah.

8:40Marie Forleo:And you know, I remember when I first started the, the scarcity around money is part of my own story with my mom and all kinds of, you know, deep, deep stuff. We've talked about this before, but that was a great motivator because it kicked my butt. So it was like both the mission and this heart thing, but then also just like girls got to survive. Exactly. We don't pay the mortgage. Let's do this. Yes. And keep it together. The, one of the other things I love that you, that you basically shared was like, you know, the number one thing that people email you. Cause of course they see these books and they see this farm.

9:14Marie Forleo:Even someone on my team is like, oh my gosh, you know, I want to go visit the farm. And I didn't get a chance to tell you, I'm like, ain't nobody going to see the farm. So like the fact that all these customers, all of these fans, all these people are like, please, can I come see the farm? And you're like, no. So here's where I want to go with this because you know this because you're a B-schooler And we'll talk about that in a little bit. But I try my best for myself and also for anyone that comes through the doors at B-School to say, you know what? You hold the reins in your business. You get to design this thing in a way that's both going to be of service to the world and to have a great mission, something that you believe in with your heart.

9:52Marie Forleo:And it also gets to serve who you are as a unique soul and who you are and how you want to live. And I love that you're like, I actually live here with my family. Exactly. I don't want all kinds of people coming to the farm. So can we talk about just the power of saying no and the power of deciding like who you are and who you are not when it comes to your business? Yeah, that has been, so I'm a pretty extreme introvert. Like I'm very, not so shy, like I'm driven, but I am freaked out by people and definitely crowds. Like I'm happy to work with the plants. I love sharing. I love teaching. I love all of that, like putting it out.

10:36But the in-person exchange is kind of terrifying. And that is the number one email we get. Can I come to the farm? And early on, we just decided like we have to honor ourselves. We're not going to open the farm up to the public. And they can get a virtual farm tour on our website. We will make videos and we will take pictures and share. and we will share a lot, but in a way that is healthy and good for us. Yes.

11:05Marie Forleo:And I love that too. And I also love, can you share with people? Cause you're like, I have a flower farm, but I no longer sell the flower. So I have a personal question about that, but just so people understand kind of the revenue streams and what the business model is. Can you share? So our business is actually now kind of like three, that wouldn't even call them baby businesses, but it's three businesses in one. So one arm of it is education where it's books, our online course, where we're teaching. A lot of it is free. Some of it is paid, but that's like a big part of our business. The other is our seed company.

11:37So we actually sell flower seeds, so many flower seeds to people all over the world so they can grow the garden of their dreams. And then there's the farm itself where we grow the seeds and we learn all of the stuff that we teach. So the farm is kind of like the base for both of the main businesses, but it also earns its own money because we grow the seeds here. Not all of them, but a big portion of them. So it's kind of a complicated, big thing. It's gotten bigger over the years, but it's not clear cut and straightforward.

12:08Marie Forleo:So question for you, what do you do then? Like with all of those flowers, because I'm watching the show and I'm like, oh my God, like Aaron's got 24 acres, which we're going to talk about that transition in a minute. So you're doing it for the seeds and obviously for the research and the development. And that whole piece of the business sounds fascinating to me too. So then what do you do with all these blooms, especially now that we're in growing season? So for the first 10 years of business, we sold all of those flowers to grocery stores. Our biggest customer was Whole Foods. We did tens of thousands of bouquets and bunches every season.

12:42So we were in the business of fresh flowers, but as our business grew and changed, It's like, we have a global audience. How can we best serve them? So that's when we transitioned from local, fresh, perishable into seeds. So now all those flowers, we actually let them bloom. We let the bees pollinate them. They then set seeds and we collect those seeds and then sell them. So the flowers aren't going to waste. They're just turning into something else. Like so much possibility.

13:13Marie Forleo:That is incredible. And like every time when the books came, I literally, Aaron, I was like gobsmacked. I sat here and I looked through all of them. I learned so much in such a short amount of time. And it's just like, it's the most magical what you are creating, what you have created, what you put out into the world. It is just, it's mystical and magical and heavenly, truly, truly, truly, truly. So let me take us back. when you took B school, you were still a small farm selling bouquets and bunches. Did I get that right? Yep. Okay. So in, I think it was 2013 or 2014, I was about five years into selling bouquets and I was in the garage making, I mean, in my bouquet career, I've made about 40 ,000 mixed bouquets by hand myself with either Chris or the kids.

14:05I mean, so I was in the garage making these bouquets going, this can't be all there is to my life. Like I want more. I have more to share. I love flowers, but there has to be something more. And I had discovered you not long before that. And I, something just kept coming back to me. Like you need to, you need to go here. You need to, you need to do something for yourself. And at the time we were just on the end of paying off our debt. I had no extra money. So it was such a massive stress stretch to enroll in B school. I was so freaked out about it. I'm like, okay, if I do this, I am going to do every single freaking homework assignment.

14:42I'm going to be your best student. I'm going to go all in. Did I ever, I mean, I took everything I learned in B school and applied it, totally transformed our business. Then I started teaching in-person workshops, the book. I pitched the book after that, the first one, second, third, the seed company came from there. You had us do this homework where we were looking at what we were currently doing, what people wanted from us, and where did it overlap? Like where did what you wanted to do and what people wanted, that was really what you should start looking at. It hadn't even occurred to me that there was more possibility out there.

15:17Our business took off after B-School. So the first four years after I took it, I audited the class and redid the entire thing start to finish for the first four years. And then since then, I retake it every time it's offered. And then I audit little portions like, okay, we need to go deeper into our website or I want to get better with copywriting. So I audit it now in portions, but I've retaken it every year since. And it still has so much value. I don't even know how you made it. It still blows my mind. Like you are the gold standard. I'm always like, what would Marie do? So I mean, it completely changed my life, completely changed our business.

15:57really what you've created and what you do is unbelievable, really.

16:03Marie Forleo:Well, this is a mutual admiration society because by the way, thank you so much for those kind words, but you did the work. Like you're on our team. We always were like, what about Aaron? Like when we hear someone, they're going like, well, I can't really do it. Like I have a wedding covenant. Like, you know, and we have so many incredible B-scores, but to talk about you for a minute here. It's this idea of just investing in yourself and believing in this flower farm and having the courage to go, okay, there's more for me and I'm going to invest in this thing and I'm going to do everything. You did the work and then you keep doing the work and keep doing the work.

16:37Marie Forleo:So here's where I'm going to go next. So you grew this business from nothing, which we've talked about. Tell me what was happening in your heart when you said, okay, now we're here. Where was the idea to go from the two acres to the 24. Tell me when that came about. Was it something that you had been like nibbling on for a few years? Did it come in one big burst? Well, we had been, we had been looking for other farms, like more property, something bigger, something more, I don't know, exciting. And life just kept holding us here on this two acres. I'm like, I have got to get out of here. I want to do more.

17:13I want to grow, but it just, we kept being held down or back, which was so good now looking back because it forced me to really understand how to do a lot with nothing or very little. Like it just kept, I kept refining. And out of the blue, our elderly neighbors decided to sell their farm, which borders ours. It's like right next door. We had been looking for years. And they had been watching us out their bedroom window, working for the last decade, just killing ourselves basically out there just working so hard. And they said, if anybody can keep the farm alive, it's you guys. And so all those years, we thought that they were laughing at us.

17:52They were actually cheering us on and they led us by the farm. So it was totally a like meant to be moment, but we went from two to 24 and everything that we've developed and learned and know really well didn't apply. And so it was like, what have we done? It was like meant to be, but also, oh my God, what did we do? All right.

18:16Marie Forleo:Now you just got to hang on to yourself and do not explode from all this inspiration. We're going to take a quick break with a word from our sponsor. Hey, it's me again, because I'm a business owner and I sponsor my own damn show. Big news for you today. B-School enrollment is now open. Now, if you're new here, B-School is our legendary six-week online business course that teaches you step-by-step how to make more money, a bigger impact, and have a better quality of life. You know, I've been leading this course for over 10 years now, and we've helped over 64 ,000 small business owners from over 650 different industries across 160 different countries get results.

18:59Marie Forleo:So I know we can help you too. But look, B-School registration is only open for a limited time. So if you want to stop spinning your wheels and start getting bigger, better results in your business, get your button to B-School now? To learn more, go to marieforleobschool.com forward slash enroll. That's marieforleobschool.com forward slash enroll. I promise future you will thank you for it. So, okay. I have to ask you this as a business owner, because I was thinking about this. You are such a producer and you're so driven. I'm a producer and I'm driven and I'm going like, okay, I'm watching the first episode of Growing Floret and I'm going like, okay, I have to ask Aaron, like when did Magnolia reach out to you?

19:42Marie Forleo:Did you, did you connect with them otherwise? Because the timing of this, I was like, I know this is super weird. Was it to you too? Because I'm like, wait a minute, this is like the perfect docu-series, but they're filming as they got this additional amount of land. And you're like, what the hell do we do with it? How do we fix this soil? What was that? It seemed like that really felt like, so we had bought the property and had it for maybe a year and a half, but we were letting it sit. I'm like, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Obviously we're supposed to have this, but I'm not clear. And normally I know, normally I can see where we're going.

20:17I know exactly what I want to do. I'm very clear, not with the property. Like, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. And someone who was close to Joanna had ordered a book for her and hand delivered it. And she messaged me that she loved the book and we made that connection. And then maybe a year or two later, they reached out when the network was coming in and asked if we could be part of the network and if they could document the process of taking our farm and turn it into something. And it was like, the timing couldn't have been more perfect. And they wanted to tell the real story. Like nothing's manufactured.

20:53None of it's fake. I mean, nobody knew what was going to happen. They're like, we're going to follow you for the next year, year and a half and just see what happens. I'm like, oh, great. I hope I don't fail. Yeah. I was going to ask about that too,

21:06Marie Forleo:because that's like A, a lot of pressure and B, you said you were like, okay, I'm an introvert. And as someone who's on camera a lot, it's really funny because sometimes we'll discuss projects like internally and the team often knows, you know, Josh is an actor. He's used to having a camera on him when he's on set. You know what I mean? And it's like, then he wants to be home and he's like, get the camera out of my face. And so I was curious to ask you what that decision making process looked like too, because obviously it's your husband, it's your kids, it's your whole team. And I was curious about the timeline.