The world is full of extraordinary women in various leadership positions all across the globe, and yet it still seems as if they are not taken as seriously as men in the world of business.
Over the past decade, as technology and the connectivity of social media have made it easier for us to bring issues to the surface, we have seen the push for equality for women in business fields grow at an unprecedented rate, and with good cause, considering we are now in 2022 and the issue of an “authority gap” should be obsolete.
In an article published on Forbes back in 2021, we can see that this issue is still a very present problem for many incredibly talented women in the workforce.
Thankfully, we are now seeing a promising trend upwards in female entrepreneurship, a level playing field for both genders. In this article, I sit down with the Founders of J’adore Les fleurs to learn how women bring a competitive edge to business as they lead the way for female entrepreneurs everywhere.
The Driving Force Behind a Successful Luxury Floral Business – Meet the Founders
Today, J’adore Les Fleurs (JLF) is the number one option for luxury flower arrangements in Southern California. This company is a trendsetter in the floral industry and has been carrying its legacy & heritage since its inception. They are the originators of the concept of floral arrangements in hat boxes inspired by French fashion and design.
However, the success of Alisa and Eliza, the two founders behind J’adore Les Fleurs, was anything but easy. In fact, the duo founders come from two completely different backgrounds yet managed to build a business empire utilizing both of their skill sets and strengths effectively.
Alisa Tovmanyan (Chief Executive Officer, Creative Director and Co-Founder) is a natural-born creative at heart, a knack that would follow her from a young age and into college, where she would actualize this talent by pursuing a career as a fashion designer.
Today, In her current role as the Creative Director of J’Adore Les Fleurs, Alisa continues to utilize her unique approach and exceptional creative knowledge towards the flower boutique, creating one of the most “Fashion Forward” floral design shops in Los Angeles. She combines both fashion and flower worlds for each seasonal hatbox design for the business, focusing on texture, intricate details, color, culture, and customer preferences. She brings a perfect balance to a very business-centric co-founder of JLF.
Eliza Glants (Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Co-Founder) is a driven woman in business, a trait we’ve seen from her quick adoption to a new country after she immigrated here from Armenia at 18 years old. She showed her grit by overcoming the language barrier and adapting to a new environment while pursuing a Juris Doctor Degree from Southwestern Law School.
In 2015, combining her love for flowers, fashion, and beauty with her knowledge of business law, Eliza co-founded J’Adore Les Fleurs, Inc. In her role as a general counsel for J’Adore Les Fleurs, Eliza continues to lead legal and business affairs, HR, IP and brand protection, risk management, loss prevention and security, facilities, and compliance during a crucial era of the company’s evolution and growth.
The competitive Edge for J’adore Les Fleurs
The competitive edge for JLF has been a combination of knowing their audience and strategic branding. If you look at their business, they have a refined brand that represents all things flowers, elegance, and luxury that they can tie to emotions.
The art of giving flowers is emotional, and some would say it’s a pathos edge that the J’adore Les Fleurs team has perfected. JLF’s ability to connect a product like their signature red rose box to a lasting feeling or unique moment is one we can all learn from on our journey to becoming better marketers.
Everyone knows of the powerful triad, ethos, pathos, and logos in the marketing world. When we see businesses take a Pathos led approach in their marketing, it’s fair to say that women tend to have an edge due to their biological nature, which allows them to draw creativity and inspiration from an emotional standpoint much easier than their male counterparts.
The reason that this approach can be seen as an edge is due mainly to the fact that women are effective communicators and have an easier time getting an emotionally-tied message across.
On the other hand, another powerful business tactic with J’adore Les Fleurs is their consistently strategic branding. At JLF, they see themselves through both scopes of the business – as a customer and a recipient and they can look at the whole JLF experience from both perspectives and perfect it from the inside out.
We’ve all heard of the phrase “stay in your own lane,” well, the team at JLF has done a fantastic job with that. They’re not just any corner store florist; they’re The Premier Luxury Floral boutique in their area, meaning they have a niche audience, and they’ve built an entire business model catering to that audience.
For example, they’ve been able to stand out from every florist in Southern California because they’re not selling flowers; they’re selling the brand that their customers can attach themselves to. In this case, their customers are those who appreciate all things grand, luxurious, and most importantly, elegant.
The products they produce are also ones you can take pride in, the teams at JLF work really hard to perfect the tiniest of details, so you can rest assured that the floral ingenuity and hard work can be noticed in every floral arrangement.
What’s Missing for Women to Bridge the Gap for Equal Competition.
From the perspective of two women who have crushed it in business with J’adore Les Fleurs, a few things are missing that can help bridge some gaps for women creating businesses.
The most important being that there needs to be more women-to-women mentorship and collaboration in the business world. In an article published in 2014 by Fast company, the author talks about how embracing partnerships have to be a part of the solution for overcoming the deeply rooted industry challenges that female-led businesses face.
Drawing back to the Fast company article, nearly seven years later, and women are still facing many of the same issues, we can draw parallels to the article that came out in 2014 with the answer I received from the JLF founders in 2022.
“We would love to see female entrepreneurs mentoring and helping each other. Women colleagues within the same industry that you can talk to and be transparent … women with whom you can be very vulnerable, knowing they aren’t going to judge you but who are going to let you cry on their shoulders. We would love to see more women celebrating each other’s wins”. – Eliza & Alisa on what they’d like to see more of from women in business.
Tackling systematically rooted issues is never easy, but by coming together and addressing the issues that plague women across most male-led industries, women can create communities that can support each other and take on the issues as a whole rather than individually.
So as we continue to make leaps and bounds in social technology, this idea becomes much more tangible as women are now starting to see their power in addressing issues through unity.
Advice for Women in Business: Create Your Own Competitive Edge
In the closing of this article, we leave you with the top 3 pieces of actionable advice for women in business to create their own competitive edge from the founders of J’adore Les Fleurs.
Have Conviction- “Do not be afraid to be a woman in any industry. It’s always an advantage and never a disadvantage! Be assertive and persuasive. Do not be afraid to take risks. “
Identify and Own it- “Be the face of your company. Let your customers know who you are. Be proud of your company/brand/product.”
Network- “Always connect with other women entrepreneurs. Women empowerment is amazing. “
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