Today we’d like to introduce you to William Craig.
William, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started doing flowers as a way to make some extra money. My friend Melanie had her own floral design company. She asked me if I’d be interested in helping her create flowers and make some extra cash on the side. As many know, I am always ready to make some extra cash, especially if I can be creative while doing it. I’ve always had the eye for putting things together and making them beautiful. I am a singer at the heart of it all and I would have never guessed I would be doing flowers as my full-time job.
When I started with Melanie, she started to teach me how to construct these beautiful centerpieces and how the floral business worked. I became fascinated about the industry and I loved seeing clients’ reactions to the creations we made. We did a lot of weddings around the Atlanta area. I ended up working with Melanie anytime she called for about a year. I started to feel like this is something I love and to watch her make a living out of it, I physically saw it as something that could be possible for me as well. Little did I know Melanie was going to decide that she was closing her business to grow her family. I was excited for her because I knew her being a parent was something she really wanted. At the same time, I was left feeling like, now what am I gonna do? I love making flowers.
So I decided to start my own floral design business and Beyond Dreams ATL, LLC was born. When I first started out, I studied everything there was to know about the floral industry and, in-particular Weddings. I was accustom to doing weddings and I knew at least in that area I could do well while still learning the ends and outs of the floral industry. While building my floral business, I was able to do some pretty amazing weddings, from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Baltimore, Florida and Louisiana. My business just took off from word of mouth and I couldn’t believe it.
I had so much business I knew I needed to get me a website and get my business in order. One thing working with weddings I learned, you have to be on top of your game. The slightest slip up can mess up the entire event. Becoming so busy so early on in my career forced me to have to get my business in order. I didn’t at the time have my own contracts and no database for my customers I was just out here winging it. When I began looking into how much it would cost for a web designer and hire someone to create me a database. I said to myself you can teach yourself how to do all these things. So that is exactly what I did, it took me eight months to create my website but it was so worth it. I saved money and I know my website in and out and don’t have to call anyone to make changes. That is when I knew I was committed to making this business my main income. After creating my website, I created my own customer portal. Its a database for all my clients where they can go back anytime and look at emails, pictures, invoices, quotes and stay in contact with me at all times.
It has always been important to me to give the ultimate customer service when doing business, so many times, we spend our money and are met with not the best customer service. So I knew I wanted my customer to feel like all they have to do is call me and the job would get done after doing weddings primarily for eight years and working a corporate 9-5. I started to feel like I wanted more, I was wiped out from doing weddings and I was tired of going to a job everyday. So I said to myself, I still like doing events and weddings but I really wanted to get into floral delivery. So again, I researched and this time, I went and got my floral design certificate from Ashworth College. I wanted to learn the technique of creating arrangements.
I would see the box of roses online and I was like those are amazing and different than a standard vase arrangement. So I researched again on the boxes, watched videos and came up with my own line of a box of roses. I wanted them to be affordable because the original ones can cost a pretty penny. But I thought to myself why can’t I create the same product at a cheaper price. I purchased all the supplies and did a photoshoot right in the basement of my home. I created me an online store and attached it to my website and released my line two weeks before Valentine’s Day in 2016. I began to promote my boxes and when I tell you, I sold out the first week and had to order more boxes because I still had another week to go before Valentine’s Day. I remember working all night into the morning, spraying boxes and constructing them. When it was all said and done my first Valentine’s Day, I sold over 26 boxes and shipped over 15 of them out of state. From there, I knew I was own to something.
I just kept adding pictures of my floral arrangements to my online store and people kept buying. For three years, I have had my own online store and it keeps growing. Since opening my online store, my business has been featured on Sister Circle, I’ve worked with the Amanda Davis foundation and much more. I truly feel blessed to have these opportunities presented to me and my business. It has helped me grow tremendously
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This journey defiantly hasn’t been smooth. There have been plenty of times where I wanted to give up and thought my business would always just be a side hustle. I learned that I had to change my mindset and stop focusing on the things I didn’t have in my business or the customers that didn’t buy daily. Instead, I had to shift my mind and utilize my downtime as a way to market, catch up on business that may have fallen behind due to being busy. Once I changed my mindset, I quickly realized there is always something to do in your business. The road hasn’t been easy and very trying at times but I am happy I decided to stick with it.
Beyond Dreams ATL – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Beyond Dreams ATL is a full-service event, floral design and gifts company. We are able to create, design and execute your event, create beautiful arrangements and gifts. We specialize in custom floral arrangements for any occasion. Whether it be a birthday, weddings or to the main event, we understand the importance in every detail and what it takes. We are known for our box of roses, floral designs, sympathy arrangements, succulents, dish gardens, fruit baskets, forever-teddy floral bears and now as well as our body products.
For the past year, I have expanded my business into the bath and beauty market. I have always wanted to create a product line. For me, I have never really been able to find a product that keeps my skin moisturized. I have tried so many different products, lotions and body butters. I couldn’t find any that I loved long term, so I got to thinking. Maybe I should add body products to my business and add them as gifts for customers to purchase. It also would add another revenue stream to my business.
I began to research different butters, oils and other ingredients. I thought it would be an easy 1.2… thing boy, was I wrong. I literally worked on my body butter formula for six months before I found the right consistency. I started with my first four fragrances; Lavender-Mint, Spiritual, Rose and Lemon-Kiss. I put them up online and began marketing and right now, they are still flying off the shelves. Next, I expanded and made body scrubs, lip scrubs, lavender lint spray. The products are doing so well. I am looking into getting my products in stores next.
My newest creation our my Eucalyptus/Lavender Bath Bundles. They create a spa in your shower. Would you believe you can hang some fresh Eucalyptus and Lavender and tie it under your shower. Sounds crazy and interesting all at the same time. You won’t believe the aromatherapy spa-like feel you get in the privacy of your home. Needless to say, the bundles are flying off the shelves and I refuse to take a shower without mine.
What I am most proud of within my company is the growth I could never have imagined Beyond Dreams would be here. To be here 12 years later, still evolving and adding new products and creating new ways to make beautiful arrangements is the blessing in it all. What sets my company apart is our mission statement: Our mission is to give our customers the ultimate experience. We operate in a spirit of excellence and strive to exceed our client’s expectations.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
How I personally define success would have to be by the spirit. It’s important to me to make sure my energy and space is clear. So that I can be free to be creative and continue building. To me, your successful as long as you get up every day and actively seek out your purpose. Setting small goals for me really helped me early on in my business. As we know, when your starting out, there isn’t a lot of extra money coming in right away. So some of the things you need you may not be ready to purchase. If you allow it you will end up talking yourself out of starting a business focusing so much on the money or what you don’t have.
I use to set small goals like getting my contracts done, getting my logo, researching products, create forms to make my business run smoother, etc. I realized this kept me fueled and excited about pushing through with my vision when it seemed so far away. To me, I am successful because I took a vision and made it into a reality and I feel pretty blessed as of Oct 2019. I have been working for myself full time. Success to me is willing to take a chance and see it through, the ups and downs will come but its something about being consistent. The universe always returns it with good.
Pricing:
- Floral Arrangements Starting at $25
- Box Of Roses Starting at $55
- Body Products Starting at $8
- Eucalyptus/Lavender Bath Bundles $20
- Bath Salts Starting at $8
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beyonddreamsatl.com
- Phone: 4049364098
- Email: beyondyourdreamsatl@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/beyonddreamsatl
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/beyonddreamsatl
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/beyonddreamsatl
Image Credit:
The picture with the bride was shot by moments by Brandon all other pics are mine
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