Episode 19 - How Florists Can Use AI to Save Time and Get More Done
AI seems to be everywhere at the moment.
Every second ad is promising a new tool that will write your content, organise your business, automate your marketing and probably make your coffee while it's at it.
And if you're anything like me, it's very easy to disappear down a rabbit hole looking at the next shiny piece of software.
But I've started approaching AI a little differently.
Instead of asking, “What can this new tool do?”, I'm trying to ask:
“What problem do I actually need help with in my business?”
That small shift has made AI much more useful to me.
I'm not using it because I want every part of my business automated. I'm using it because there are certain jobs I struggle to get done consistently, particularly admin, planning, content creation and all those back-end tasks that never seem quite as urgent as the flowers sitting in front of you.
And when you're running a floristry business, teaching, producing a podcast or juggling several projects at once, anything that can make some of that easier is worth exploring.
Using AI as a business assistant
One of the most useful ways I've started using AI isn't actually to create anything.
It's to help me focus.
I often have far too many ideas, projects and random jobs floating around at the same time. And if I'm not careful, I can spend half a day on something interesting that has absolutely nothing to do with what I was meant to be working on.
So I've started using AI almost like a little business assistant in the background.
I've talked through my businesses, what I'm working towards and the areas I want to grow. Then once a week or so, I'll sit down and tell it what's happening, what's on my list and how much time I actually have available.
It helps me come back to the priorities I've already set.
Sometimes I need something outside my own head saying:
“No. You said you were working on the podcast this week. Stop disappearing into another completely unrelated project.”
For me, that has been surprisingly helpful.
It doesn't run the business for me. But it gives me somewhere to brain-dump everything and then helps turn that mess into something I can actually work through.
Getting the admin jobs done
A lot of florists aren't short on ideas.
We're short on time.
You might know you need to update your website, write a blog post, send a newsletter or put something on Instagram.
But after a week of flowers, deliveries, client emails, quotes and everything else that comes with running a business, those jobs get pushed aside.
That's certainly been my problem.
Social media is a perfect example.
I've gone months without posting because the thought of sitting down and coming up with weeks of content from scratch just felt too big.
AI has helped remove that starting point problem.
Now I can give it something I've already created, like a podcast episode, article or a list of frequently asked questions, then ask it to help me turn that into several pieces of content.
The ideas and opinions are still mine.
I'm not asking it to invent some completely different version of me.
I'm using it to organise and repurpose what I've already said.
And for me, that's the difference.
Using AI for floristry content creation
One of the biggest ways I use AI in my business is for content.
I'll often start with an original piece of content, such as a podcast episode.
Then I'll explain what I liked about the episode, which points I think are important and what I want the audience to take away from it.
From there, I might ask for:
a blog post
several social media posts
podcast show notes
YouTube descriptions
short video captions
a content plan for the next few weeks
That process has made content creation much faster.
It also means one conversation or one podcast episode can become several useful pieces of content rather than being published once and forgotten.
For small business owners, that's important.
Creating good content takes time.
If you've already put the work into something valuable, it makes sense to get more use out of it.
Canva Bulk Create has been a game changer
Another tool I've found particularly useful is Canva's Bulk Create feature.
I'll have AI create a spreadsheet with the titles, captions or carousel text for a couple of weeks of posts.
Then I upload that spreadsheet into Canva and connect the columns to my existing templates.
Canva creates the basic versions for me.
It's definitely not perfect.
I still go through every post, change wording, move things around, swap photographs and make sure everything sounds and looks right.
But if it gets around 80 per cent of the boring setup done, that's a win for me.
The biggest problem I had before wasn't necessarily finishing the work.
It was starting it.
When I open Canva and ten posts are already sitting there ready to be tweaked, I'm far more likely to actually get them finished.
My best tip for using AI? Just talk to it
One of the simplest things that has improved my results is using voice rather than trying to write perfect prompts.
I just talk.
I'll explain what I'm working on, what's frustrating me, what I want something to sound like and what I definitely don't want.
It's much easier for me to say all of that than try to condense it into one perfectly worded instruction.
And if the result isn't quite right, I tell it why.
I might say:
“That sounds too polished.”
“I wouldn't use that phrase.”
“Don't over-punctuate it.”
“I start sentences with And and But.”
“That's not the point I was trying to make.”
Over time, that makes the output much closer to something I would actually say.
The same applies if you don't know how to do something.
Ask.
One of the most useful questions I've asked AI was basically:
“There has to be a faster way to do this. How can I make this process easier?”
That's how I discovered the Canva Bulk Create workflow.
You don't necessarily need to know what tool you need.
Sometimes you just need to explain the problem.
Use AI to solve a problem, not create another one
This is probably my biggest takeaway.
There is no point adding another AI platform to your business because somebody on Instagram told you it was amazing.
If it doesn't solve a problem you actually have, it's just another piece of software to learn.
Think about where you're getting stuck.
Maybe it's content creation.
Maybe it's writing quotes.
Maybe it's keeping your weekly priorities clear.
Maybe it's updating your website.
Maybe it's getting all the knowledge in your head into usable course notes.
Start there.
Then ask whether AI can make that particular job easier.
That's a much better use of your time than chasing every new tool that appears.
Turning ideas into course notes
Another simple example has been working on our upcoming online Flower School.
I spend a lot of time driving, and there were course notes I knew I needed to create but wasn't getting around to writing.
So instead of waiting until I had a free afternoon at the computer, I started recording voice notes.
I talked through how I would teach a bouquet, just as I would explain it to a student.
Those voice notes were transcribed, then I used AI to help organise the information into a more logical sequence.
The knowledge is still mine.
But instead of staring at a blank document trying to remember everything I wanted to include, I already had the raw material sitting there.
For anyone who teaches floristry or has years of practical knowledge in their head, that's a really useful way to work.
AI isn't meant to replace your voice
This matters to me.
I don't want AI writing generic content and pretending it's mine.
Particularly in a creative industry like floristry, people want to hear from actual florists.
They want opinions, experience, mistakes, ideas and real stories.
So I see AI as the assistant, not the expert.
I'm still responsible for the thinking.
I'm still responsible for whether the information is correct.
I'm still responsible for how the finished work sounds.
But if it helps me get more of that knowledge out of my head and actually published, then it's doing something useful.
How could AI help your floristry business?
If you're feeling overwhelmed by all the AI tools appearing at the moment, forget the tools for a minute.
Start with your business.
What job are you avoiding?
What keeps falling off your list?
What takes far longer than it should?
What would make your week easier if somebody else could help you organise it?
Then start experimenting.
You don't need an elaborate system.
You might simply open ChatGPT or another AI tool and say:
“This is the problem I'm having in my florist business. What's the simplest way you can help me solve it?”
You might be surprised by the answer.
Listen to the full episode
In this episode of The Flowery Folk Podcast, I share the AI tools I'm actually using across my floristry, education, podcast and publishing work.
I talk about what's helping, what's been a bit rubbish, how I use AI for content creation, business planning, Canva Bulk Create, website updates, proposals and course development, plus some of the lessons I've learnt along the way.
If you're a florist, floral designer or creative small business owner who's curious about AI but doesn't know where to start, this episode is a practical look at how I'm using it in the real world.
Listen to the episode:
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