Wrapping Up Subscription Season: Lessons Learned

We're heading into the final week of summer bouquet subscriptions and I have a lot of thoughts as I wrap up the year.

This season marked my 6th(!) year offering subscriptions. I quickly grew the program from 13 members in year one to 123 members by year three. At its peak, I was doing about 50 bouquets per week for 20 weeks, maxing out at 985 subscription bouquets the summer of 2022. (That’s not counting shop and shed bouquets.) I get anxious just thinking about that summer!

This year I purposely scaled back a bit to leave more space in my week for days at the lake, trips to the library and our family vacations. Adding a spring subscription while scaling back the summer program felt like a good move for me and the business, and one I plan to expand upon next season. I’m still working on the details and finalizing how subscriptions will look for me next year, but in the meantime I wanted to share two lessons I’ve learned this season…

1. It’s ok to be flexible with your business and adapt as it grows and changes. I’ve been working hard this year to make the business fit my life, rather than the other way around. I started Hidden Springs as a means to bring myself home from my office job to be with Annie full time. By the time Willie came along in fall of 2020, my business had scaled up big time and as it continued to grow, it seemed like my time with the kids was headed back to where it was when I was working outside of the home.

This year I've focused on regaining control of how and where I spend my time. It's a work in progress, but I feel like I've moved the needle in the right direction over this season. 

2. Scaling back doesn’t automatically mean a loss of income. Spending less time on the subscription program this year created the space and ability to focus on other areas of the business that I’ve been able to grow and that have made a significant impact on my bottom line over the past months. I'm still fine tuning but looking hard at the numbers compared to my time and effort has been an eye opener. 

I think subscriptions will always be a piece of the puzzle for my business; they’re a great way to guarantee income and ensure that the flowers I grow are being used (often each and every last stem). But stepping back and taking a bit of a breather this season has opened my eyes to some necessary and welcome changes to how I’ve been doing things. I’m looking forward to year 7 and anxious to share what subscriptions will look like at Hidden Springs in 2025.

If you're thinking about starting a subscription program or flower CSA next year, check out this post where I share some tips to get started!