From burnout to blooming: the story of a first-time florist
Sarah Regan: florist - Sydney, Australia
“It was a wild undertaking – what was I thinking?” Meet Sarah Regan: co-founder and main owner of Little Flowers, an online florist in Sydney. Little Flowers is now a household name in Australia’s oldest city. But thirteen years ago, Sarah was in a very different place. Working long hours for an advertising agency, “I was burnt out. It felt like I wasn’t performing. The job was different to what I’d done before and I hadn’t had any training, which added to the pressure. And there was zero purpose. I thought, ‘I’ve got to get out’.”
When purpose goes missing
Advertising hadn’t always been this demoralising. Years before, she’d been managing purpose-driven health and social care accounts in the UK. She’d even set up a volunteering programme allowing staff to support community projects during work time – a programme that’s still running today. “People helped school kids with their reading; we revamped the community centre; we did big, themed lunches for all the people who used the community centre. I wasn’t doing it to get out of the office, I was doing it because it made me feel good. And I loved it. I think it’s actually my best achievement in advertising – and it’s nothing to do with advertising!”
But after moving to Sydney, things changed, “Part of it is I’d got older and just didn’t care about advertising in the same way. People 5-10 years younger than me wouldn’t mind staying late, endlessly debating where to put the dot above an ‘i’ on a business card. But I just wanted to go home! I loved the energy – the people were smart and driven, the business was growing, and it had really nice vibes – but I really struggle with jobs where I don’t have any emotional reward.”
“I was a broken woman by this point. I have a lot of grit and determination, which is sometimes to my detriment. I’d pushed myself really hard, I hated it and was miserable, working silly hours. And I had an idea that maybe I could do something that’s interesting to me.”
Sarah’s instinct aligns with meaning-making – the fundamental human need to feel our lives matter and make sense. She’d been attracted to purpose for decades. She’s got a psychology degree, she’s naturally interested in what makes us tick, she’d been inspired by Martin Seligman’s Learned Optimism, and she’d always chosen to work on accounts that made a positive difference to individuals or organisations.
So she quit.
A sticky therapy session
“I remember coming out of this job and feeling really demoralised. I was thinking, ‘What am I going to do?’ I’d put a lot of time, energy and commitment into my career, but I felt like a bit of a failure because I knew I just couldn’t do it any more. My confidence had taken a bit of a battering too. Your mind automatically goes to negative places at times like this: the things you’ve failed at, don’t do well, struggle with, or moments when you’ve been criticised.”
Transitioning between careers isn’t easy – even if you’re leaving a job you hate. Sarah wasn’t just burnt out, she now needed to adjust to a new reality and create a new identity for herself. Our brains are wired to spot threats, so even though her previous job was unfulfilling and exhausting, it was still a known entity. By contrast, the gaping void of unemployment and uncertainty was a much scarier prospect.
“After I’d had a few weeks off and was mentally a bit more robust, I said, ‘Right, let’s think about this objectively’. I got some multicoloured Post-it notes and used them to brainstorm all the things I’ve been told I’m not good at, don’t like, or make me feel bad about myself. I wrote one or two words on each Post-it, categorised them and stuck them up on the wall.”
“And then I did the same with the good stuff - everything from hobbies and interests I’d had as a kid, to jobs I’ve really enjoyed over the years and things I’d like to do again. I went through ten years of work appraisals, and added people I admired who had jobs that made me go, ‘They seem really happy – I’m a bit jealous - I’d like a bit of what they’ve got because that job seems really fulfilling or interesting’.”
“It’s no-holds barred brainstorming. And what you see is the stuff that was making you feel bad is just a small fraction of the whole – there’s lots of things that you’re good at, and lots of things that excite you and that you find rewarding. I wouldn’t have called it this at the time, but it’s about trying to work out what your purpose is.”
By so clearly visualising her strengths and interests, Sarah was rebuilding her identity from employee to entrepreneur.
The **** it moment
She couldn’t have predicted it, but if Sarah hadn’t dived into unemployment when she did, former colleagues Ben and John would probably never have asked her to make their idea a reality: an online florist delivering one mixed bouquet a day for an affordable $25, including delivery. The bouquets would be determined by what looked good and was in season at market – with a preference for local-grown blooms – reducing waste and decision fatigue.
“I remember sitting down and going, ‘****, this is a great idea! I was scared not to do it, I think. Because the risk wasn’t doing it - the risk was NOT doing it.” Sarah was embracing an entrepreneur’s mindset: while most of us are wired to avoid risk, successful entrepreneurs reframe it as opportunity; staying stuck becomes a bigger threat than taking action.
And it ticked every positive Post-it on her wall.
“It felt like a great idea. Emotionally, it was lovely. It was a, ‘Why hasn’t someone done this before?’ kind of fabulous idea. And it’s simple: you’re enabling people to do something charming and feel-good, and make someone else’s day, without breaking the bank.”
Suddenly, flowers could be bought at a price point that made it more accessible for people to send them for all sorts of reasons. Sarah found herself hand-writing customers’ messages, like: Because you sit next a mouth breather; So sorry they used the sofa as a trampoline; For surviving a whole day without screens - heroic stuff; Because the house is still standing. Just. and You have great house husband potential!
One lady even sent her grandma a bunch every day for a week, just to see her smile five times.
“When flowers are more affordable, people can send them for any reason. And the weirder, funnier, more random or unexpected, the more memorable it is. It can feel a bit more special. You’re enabling these little ripples of happiness that weren’t there before.”
So how does this feed into her purpose? “I don’t think everyone has an underlying drive to find purpose through work, but I do – I feel drained when I’m bored or under-challenged. If I’m going to spend eight hours doing something, I want it to be rewarding. For me, that’s either a creative reward or having a purpose – making a difference. And that’s what Little Flowers did: it gave me both a creative reward and an emotional reward. You’re making the world a better place hundreds of times a week – only in a really small way, but it does make a difference.”
Reality checks at 4am
Of course, finding a sense of purpose in your work doesn’t necessarily make it any easier – or mean you’re working standard eight-hour days…
“When we first started out, it was brutal. I’d write all the cards and do all the deliveries myself. I’d start at four in the morning [to go to the flower markets], get home at six pm and still be going into the night.”
At the start, 18-hour days were the norm for this one-woman business. This took grit – the combination of passion and perseverance required to reach an important goal – and was very different to what she’d experienced in her advertising days. “I was on a massive learning curve. I’d never owned a business before; I’d never been a florist before. It was a wild undertaking. What was I thinking? It sounds ridiculous!”
“And yet it was amazing because it was such a disruptive idea. It disrupted the entire flower giving industry in Australia – and might have even impacted other places as well. It was incredible to achieve something that was so different and had such a feel-good factor. A couple of times when I was in the van, people flagged me down and said, ‘I just love this business – I love what you’re doing!’ Yet it was so bloody hard – if it hadn’t had purpose, I would have given up. But it was just so good: it was so hard, but it was so good.”
Sarah had stumbled onto something powerful – what researchers call ‘prosocial behaviour’. When we help others feel good, our own wellbeing surges. It’s a psychological win-win.
The ripple effect
Little Flowers took Sydney by storm, “It went nuts very, very quickly.” And as it’s evolved, so have Sarah’s responsibilities. She’s now managing florists, assistants and customer services. “I’ve gone from one job that felt like it’d taken over my life to another that’s taken over my life! But when you’re your own boss, you have freedom to create something you really care about, and you can do that on your own terms.” In turn, she’s driven to create a positive work environment for her team, “The culture of the business gives me purpose too; we often get told it’s a really nice place to work.”
These days, economic realities mean the business and its offering has evolved, but the sense of making the world a better place, one bunch at a time, remains. They still offer the hyper-personalised customer service they’ve done since day one – always going the extra mile to help their customers. And they’re still spreading ripples of happiness whenever they can: for World Kindness Day they take to the streets, offering two flowers to passers-by – and then tasking them with giving one to someone else.
The purpose paradox
Despite spending thirteen years building her business, is this Sarah’s purpose? “It’s an interesting question… in some respects yes, because it’s given me a lot of drive and a lot of meaning. The satisfaction of making the world just a little bit better through my job has been huge, and it’s been a real motivator to keep going when times are tough.” Sarah says the business has also given her great creative fulfilment, and part of this is because, “You never stop learning and growing, which I really love.”
“I think all those elements contribute to a sense of purpose. So does it give me purpose - absolutely, yes. But I wouldn’t say definitively that the business is ‘my purpose’. Because I get purpose from other facets of my life too – like caring for family, or trying to solve problems in my community.”
And that’s something she’s keen to emphasise: the fact that purpose doesn’t just have to be what we do for work - it can come from other places too. “I love the idea of purpose shifting and changing as we make our way through life. I think it can be a constant evolution.”
What if you could?
“One piece of advice I heard – and said to myself every day – was, ‘What if you could?’ It came from the Henry Ford quote, ‘Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right’. I often come back to it. I think mindset is so important, isn’t it? Everything can get a bit overwhelming when you’re daunted by a lack of purpose and the frustration that comes with it. And all you need is to take a leap of faith.”
You can connect with Sarah on LinkedIn or find out more about Little Flowers on their website, Instagram or Facebook.