Marian Rivera-Dantes is not just GMA’s prime time queen. She has also been recognized as a successful technopreneur.
On April 18, 2017, netizens were very much delighted when the queen of GMA prime time block announced the soft opening of her online flower shop, Flora Vida by Marian.
Since its launch last year, Marian has faced with only one problem, a good problem in business actually. Her preserved flower arrangements have always been sold out.
It is easy to understand why Flora Vida’s perennial blooms are a instant hit among its loyal clientele. Each flower bouquet has been creatively curated and designed by Marian herself.
Aside from being a widely successful actress, Marian has always used her influence in empowering women. As the brand endorser of Mega Prime, creator of premium canned vegetable and fruits, the actress also assumed the post of the leader of the brand’s exclusive club for first-time mothers.
The Prime Mom Club holds regular events for moms, wherein Marian shares her personal lessons from raising her daughter Baby Zia, her secrets in the kitchen as she whips her own recipes, as well as other inspirational stories such as her amazing achievements from running her own business online.
At the recent activity of Prime Mom Club, Marian shared to all the mothers in the crowd her innate cooking chaps as well as her terrific kitchen tricks. She also shared the story behind her widely adored digital brand Flora Vida, as well as her insights on her newly found success in entrepreneurship.
“Everyone around me knows how much I love flowers. My husband always says that every time I see an amazing flower bouquet, I am so overjoyed as if I won a million bucks,” she said. “So he encouraged me to enroll in a flower arrangement class.”
In March 2017, the actress went to Kyoto, Japan with her young family. There, she enrolled in a floristry class under the artful guidance of a world-renowned flower arrangement artist, Dutch florist Nicolai Bergmann, as motivated by her husband Dingdong Dantes. The Kapuso star immersed herself in learning the contemporary and traditional styles of flower arrangement, wherein she later picked up the Oriental influence as seen in her floral craftsmanship.
This class eventually gave birth to her digital flower shop, Flora Vida, and the rest, as they say, is history. Flora Vida by Marian takes pride in using 100% naturally preserved flowers, and when taken care of properly, each preserved flower arrangement can last to up to two years.
Here are the things we can learn from Marian Rivera-Dantes herself, as well as insights we can pick up from her exciting adventure with Flora Vida:
1. Go with your passion.
“Based on my experience, number one lesson is you have to know what you really want (to do and pursue in business),” she shared.
“It is hard to do anything if you are not passionate about what you are doing. Because in business, there are times that you would get really tired, and you’ll go through struggles. But if you love what you are doing, you would not mind those tiring and difficult days,” she said.
Marian has turned her fascination for flowers into a revenue-generating venture. Even in business, nothing can transcend more than the power of genuine love and passion. Marian’s love for flowers is evident in her unique craftsmanship and creativity in her every well-curated and lovely flower arrangement.
2. It all starts with trying.
Although initially encouraged by husband, it is commendable how Marian stepped out from something she usually does, in order to learn something new. Her current adventure with her flower arrangement brand started with her openness to try and learn.
“There’s nothing wrong to try new things that you didn’t do or know about before. It is better if you will try. Try so you would know the results. If you won’t try, then how would you know what could happen?”
3. Incorporate personal connection into your products and services.
“In every flower arrangement that I make, I write a letter to my customer so each of them can feel the joy I felt when I was creating it,” she said.
If GMA’s primetime queen, who has a loaded schedule of tapings and shoots in a day, can actually commit to writing a customized letter for her every client, then there is no excuse why you cannot do the same. An emotional attachment injected into a product or service can win a client’s heart, and pocket, every time.
4.Better come prepared with your capital funds.
“You need to prepare funds for what you really need for your business. It is hard to do business if you did not set aside enough funds to run it. Let us just be realistic,” she quipped.
Marian, who’s been known for her straightforward persona, tells it as it is. You need to be ready to allot funds for your capital if you are aspiring to be an entrepreneur. She advised that you need to be realistic with what you need financially to run your operations.
5. Determination is king.
Just like any other career, entrepreneurship requires a lot of determination.
“In business, as long as you love what you are doing, you have enough funds, and you have strong determination, you can overcome anything and everything,” she concluded.
Marian Rivera is just at the prime of her game as an entrepreneur. She shared that Flora Vida has a lot of upcoming huge offerings in the coming years. Indeed, nothing can stop this actress, wife, mother and technopreneur.
For updates on her flower shop, visit www.floravidabymarian.com. If you want to be part of her exclusive circle of mothers and her intimate club events, visit www.primemomclub.com. Prime Mom Club is organized by Mega Prime.