My First Blog Post ... Ever

Hi Everyone! I'm Allison... the owner of Dahlias Floral Design. I have always toyed with the idea of creating a blog, and didn't feel the right motivation, until tonight. Here goes nothing.

My first topic is "Professionalism in the Industry"

I probably should have probably picked something more lighthearted, pretty, and "fun" as my first entry, but I figure there will be plenty of that in the future. The motivation behind this post is a real bummer. Long story short - I read a Facebook post from a friend who was really unhappy about the quality of product from a local vendor, and also the way this vendor handled the situation. I was honestly shocked to hear this, and wanted to learn more. So I kept reading. Under this post there were a bunch of comments, a handful of them were from local "Professionals" that I know from the event industry - and I was honestly speechless. Professionals!! ....People I know and names I recognized, and they were all taking turns trash talking this person.

I posted my own comment among the others which said, "I am shocked to read this post, and even more shocked to read these comments. Comments from local professionals, and names I recognize - and y'all are taking turns tearing this person apart. Yikes and Yikes." I really felt that trash talking came as naturally as breathing to some of these people. My first thought was who raised these people? My second was, didn't they teach y'all that if you don't have anything nice to say, then not to say anything at all? Hello...all of this is viewable on Facebook!

How many of us in the event industry (and beyond) have been carefully crafting the perfect brand & online presence...for your own business, for like, ever? I know I have. Trash talking other people not only depreciates their value...but it depreciates yours, as well, and everything that is associated with your name...like, your business. There are so many reasons for cordiality - if being a decent human being isn't enough of a reason, the next that comes to my mind is a piece of advice I read a long time ago, that I wish I would have read even sooner. "You need to remember that this is a small field, and you are going to have a very long career." - Not a week goes by that I don't refer back to this little nugget of advice. It always helps me shape the way I respond to people. No matter what you choose as your career, no matter what profession you work in, every niche can technically be considered a small field. Small world / Small town. We all know how word travels in a small town and on social media... Word travels fast, and all of a sudden everyone knows your business.

Your words and actions not only reflect you as a person, but they reflect you as a business. Keep your words and your actions kind - nothing good will ever come from bad mouthing someone else. We often forget how short life is, and how important it is to lift others up...through our words and through our actions.