The holidays, the childcare juggle and choice
“This must be such a busy time for you.” I hear this a lot. Summer = weddings and party season. But it is also the start of the school summer holidays. And this presents a lot of florists with a tough dilemma: how to juggle work and childcare over the long summer break?
Most of the female florists I know that run their own business just put their heads down, grit their teeth and get on with it. That was me. Saying yes to all the work, because I felt I couldn’t turn it down, and then feeling like my head was literally going to explode. Feeling like I was being a bad florist. And a bad mum.
I actually think this topic is part of a broader conversation around reimagining conventional notions of what work ‘should’ be, work-life balance, and how you actually want your life to be. Regardless of whether you have children or not, I would argue if you run your own business, it is important to take time to analyze the work you do and don’t take on, understand what makes most financial sense and challenge the conventional view that you ‘have’ to work Monday to Friday 9-5.
For those in the TLDR camp, it basically all comes down to making a conscious choice around what works best for you and your business based on the numbers, your own circumstances and your values.
Floristry, gender and the childcare burden
I apologize if this article is triggering, or irrelevant, if you are not a parent, but with women representing most of the floristry workforce (dubiously reported as 100% for the UK, which is clearly inaccurate, and 91% in the US), there is a high likelihood that juggling work and childcare over the summer holidays is a widespread dilemma.
Only I’ve found that no one really talks about it.
In heterosexual couples, the vast bulk of the burden of childcare falls on the woman. And this is especially the case when women run their own business because ‘flexibility’ is presumed.
But that was the bit I had lost sight of. When I first set up Wildstems, it was literally to allow me to create a job that was flexible and that enabled me to manage my work around my children and my life.
Only, I sort of forgot that that meant I also had the flexibility around what work I did and didn’t take on. And, even though it feels counterintuitive, saying no to work can sometimes be the better commercial (and life) decision.
As with all business decisions, you just have to analyse things properly, and then make the decision that is right for you and your circumstances.
1. Do the Maths
According to a 2022 report from Pregnant then Screwed, half of parents are unable to meet their childcare needs over summer, and 32% say that the cost of their childcare is either the same or more than they earn.
Childcare options during the holidays do exist, but they are expensive, especially for multiple children. And the hours aren’t really long enough for the kind of event work that is often associated with floristry.
I have three kids. For me to put them into holiday camps from 9am-3pm five days a week is £500 a week. £2000 a month.
Every hour that I need to use a childminder to bridge the gap between the holiday clubs and my husband’s work hours costs me £15. Obviously, I don’t always need to use this, but if I am doing a wedding or flowering an event, then I do.
This means that if I am working full time, I need to be generating more than £2k after costs, my salary and profit to make it worth my while.
Obviously you might not have as many children or need to use childcare full time, so do the calculations for the amount of childcare you need and understand the financial implications on your business.
2. Consider Your Revenue Streams
Floristry has a number of different revenue streams, which require different levels of commitment and regularity.
As a studio florist, my work is (intentionally) project based. I do weddings and events, but not gift bouquets or subscription deliveries.
My event customers, therefore, tend to be one-off, and, by not taking on their event, I don’t alienate potential future revenue from them. Choosing not to do a particular project doesn’t have a considerable material impact on my business’ ability to operate in the long term.
Similarly, when it comes to teaching, the summer holidays is generally a quiet time because a lot of our students have family commitments or holiday plans. Revenue generation from summer workshops is less than for other times of the year, so it becomes a commercial decision whether to hold them or not.
Obviously, this doesn’t apply to regular deliveries or commercial contract work etc. If you suddenly announce to a client that you are unable to provide a committed service for 6 weeks, this would be a commercial issue for you going forward.
There is no right or wrong answer on what work should be done, and it depends entirely on each person’s situation and preference. So consider your own revenue streams, and decide which ones you have to commit to and which ones you can choose whether or not to take on.
3. Decide Who Does the Work
While you might not be able to ask someone else to cover your large-scale bespoke wedding services, consider if there are certain types of work, such as subscription flower deliveries, that could possibly be done by someone else for a short period of time without compromising on the quality of work your brand stands for.
This does mean, however, that you have to be sure you have adequately priced for your work. This point relates to my earlier post on whether you are creating a business or a zero-hours contract job for yourself. All your pricing should allow for a profit margin so that a decision to outsource a piece of work while you are on holiday still creates some value for your business.
4. Consider the Value of Time Away
Taking time away from your business is actually a really valuable thing to do, particularly for creatives. Stepping away from the day-to-day allows us to regain perspective, improves our mental health, restores depleted energy levels, and importantly allows space for creative ideas to bubble up.
Plus, if you do have children, the value of spending quality time with them when they are young is priceless. Everyone with older children tells me to cherish these years when they are young because we won’t get them back, and in a few years they won’t want to hang out with us at all…
5. Make A CHOICE
Once you have considered the 4 points above, run the numbers and work out what makes sense and is viable. So far, this is all very textbook. A standard, logical, non-emotive commercial decision to determine if a business activity is worthwhile…
But life isn’t text book, and this approach overlooks one key factor. The reason most people start their own business in the first place: CHOICE. Even if it is financially worthwhile to do the work (which it may well be), the bigger question is whether it is actually worth your while - in terms of your stress levels, the impact on your family, the quality of your work and your quality of life…
Freedom of choice is the ultimate luxury. I do not for one moment underestimate the enormous privilege of being able to choose how I spend my time and the economic activity that I pursue.
But let’s make that choice count.
Putting our heads down, gritting our teeth and ‘surviving’ the holidays without doing the analysis isn’t a choice. It might be that your family circumstances mean that you have to put your head down and work your ass off. It might be that you want to take on the work and your absolutely kids love holiday camps. It might be that you decide to take the whole summer off. Or it might be somewhere in between.
But however you juggle work and childcare over the summer holidays, the key is to make it a conscious choice. And then own that decision. Lean into the time you take off, and enjoy it properly. And lean into the work you take on, and enjoy that too. It’s when you do neither properly that life becomes challenging and you’re left feeling like your head might explode…
For me, that currently means that I have made the decision to pull back considerably on the amount of work I commit to over the summer holidays. I value this time with my children too much (while they are still interested in hanging out with me), I am seriously depleted after a few intense months of teaching and floristry, and at £500 a week in childcare costs, I don’t find it to be that financially worthwhile. Instead, it is far better for me to come flying out of the gates in September - desperate to get elbows deep in flowers again, with all my energy and enthusiasm restored. And I would argue that my client’s would agree.
As with everything that we teach at the School, whether that is floral design, sustainable mechanics or how to approach your business, we never want to tell you exactly how to do things. There is no one way to run a business or create flowers. Instead we want to challenge you to think differently, and to equip you with the tools and skills to make an informed decision. It is then up to you to make your choice - what works best for you and your business based on your own circumstances and values. I hope that this article does just that.
Meanwhile, consider this our out of office notification for the School as I head to Sweden to visit family and Lucy takes time in Wales with hers (the flower farm continues through the summer though obviously, and so do our Business of Floristry zoom calls…).
We are looking forward to a full calendar of classes, the autumn season of the Season Led Florist programme and flowers starting back in September… till then, we hope you have a wonderful summer holiday… however you choose to spend it.
