Helen Dyson is the CEO and Co-founder of London Flower School which is now a year old and is attracting many overseas students. In this interview, Helen will share her flower journey and some tips for floristry start-ups.

What is your background and how did you getting into floristry?

My background is in teaching. I taught for 25 years, but nothing related to floristry. I taught children in middle school.

How did you get into floristry?

After teaching for such a long time, I wanted to do something different, although I did not know exactly what. I took a one day floristry workshop, because I do like learning and then I was hooked.

When and Why you decided to start LFS?

I took the McQueens Career Course with the intention of becoming a florist. Wagner was the Head Tutor at the time and we got on very well and became friends. We decided that we would like to work together on a project and because of our backgrounds, the natural business choice in floristry for us was to create a school. There was very little plan at the start although there was quite a lot of wine over discussions.

Also, teaching is my passion and Wagner is an exceptional floristry teacher. More than this though LFS was created to encourage others to be creative. As Constance Spry is quoted as saying, ‘do what you please, follow your own star, be original if you want to be and don’t if you don’t want to be’. This is exactly why we decided to start the school. It is a safe space where we encourage students to do as they please and be creative.

WHAT is the biggest challenge in floristry industry?

The biggest challenge is to stand out, because the market is saturated. There are a lot florists out there, especially in London, so to be different; to continue to be creative; to challenge yourself; to not get to that steady comfortable state is vital. It is important to wake every morning and be excited by what you do, and do something different. This is the biggest challenge, but also provides the most reward.

Do you have any advice for floristry start-ups?

I would say passion is the key to what we do. It is a hard and physical job, so you need to wake every morning and love it; go to work and love it. Have passion, and a lot of courage, and you will succeed.

Also, on a more practical note, I would say that it is important to think about why you are do it and what you want to get out of it when you start out. Write a 4 year Business Plan which should answer the questions: Where will my business be in 4 years? What do I want to achieve? This will make you 10% better than other people in the industry. That 10% will make you stand out.