Meet Julie Frost | Co-Owner of Songbird Orchids

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Frost and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
My husband, Adam, and I were already going through some life changes when the opportunity to purchase a business fell into our laps. I was working a corporate job at the time and Adam was working with his own construction company. In early 2022, I was given the opportunity to go on tour with my long-time band, the Tejon Street Corner Thieves. Soon after, I decided to change corporate companies to follow a leader I admired. She and I were able to work out my schedule so that I could continue to work from the road when my band went on tour, which initially I thought would be a dream come true. I quickly realized touring with a band requires a level of flexibility a corporate position does not allow despite our best efforts. I was frequently working 18-hour days to fulfill both roles which is unsustainable.

Because touring is a major schedule hurdle with a lot of unknowns, I began looking for ways to continue earning money even while on the road. Purchasing this business came at the suggestion of the previous owner when he heard I was looking to make a career change. Adam and I sat down and discussed how we would manage a business and balance our family and my tour schedule. It seemed like a win – win, we would have the business, a team to help run it, and I would manage administratively from the road while Adam would manage day-to-day operations. Initially, that was how it went, but as new business owners Adam and I had quite a bit to work through. We also have a 5 yr old daughter, because business hours include the weekend, we needed to be able to spend time with her and provide activities befitting a curious 5 yr old.

Our balance has changed drastically over the past few months. When we first took over the business in January, Adam and I wanted to be in the shop all the time. We wanted to be the ones to do the ordering, seed mixing, be with customers, and so on. It’s natural, we were new to the business and wanted to learn as much as we could as quickly as we could. However, as I noted earlier, a work schedule like that is not sustainable. Now, any time we think of something to do with the shop, I think to myself: “will my team have the bandwidth to run this if I am on the road, and Adam is busy with something else?” If the answer is no, I put it in the back of my head for a possible future plan. If the answer is yes, then I bring the idea to the team. They have such great ideas and insights; we couldn’t run this business without them and I respect them too much to just make a decision without their input. All of this goes back to the balance of our personal lives and business lives. Because I spend so much time on the road with my band, my time at home with my family is precious. I want to always ensure my daughter knows she comes first, so weekends are for her. If Adam or I have to work, than the other ensures our daughter has a great day.

During my time in the corporate world, I did a lot of work with both my companies on workplace culture. One of the major topics was always “Work/Life Balance.” Many of us in the corporate and small business world have challenges finding that balance between work pressures and how busy our family lives can be. I was often asked how to achieve that balance as the “Culture” Program Manager. It’s so tricky for everyone, but my rules became simple:

1) Family first, no matter what: Your kids are kids for such a short time, it is my highest priority to ensure my daughter is given all the opportunities to excel in learning of course, but we must have fun too! Your kid is sick? Stay home with them – work can wait. Nothing is so important to get ahead of family. We do find we have to make some tough choices, especially now that we own our own business and I tour, but there are ways to make up for those short comings, too. I may not always be home, but I can set aside time to facetime with my daughter every day. An even better example, I was on the road and my daughter’s preschool was having an event for Mother’s Day. I was planning on facetiming with my daughter using her incredibly gracious teacher’s phone, but luckily Adam was able to be there, and she got to see me and hang out with dad!

2) When deciding on a new project/job/update to the shop, think about your current bandwidth and your team’s bandwidth. If you have time and are willing, great, but if your team doesn’t have time and are not willing to help, that new idea is a no go. As a small business owner or a manager, if you don’t have the support of your team you will burn out quickly. We cannot do everything ourselves and we are only as strong as our team. Additionally, your team consists of more than just your workmates. As a small business owner, your team extends to your family because they are often in the weeds with you even if they don’t work directly with the business. Even better, involving your team in the decision-making process for a new idea can reap huge benefits. My workmates have come up with amazing ideas to fix a problem I was working on that I would have never thought of myself – it saved us time and headaches my idea would have caused!

This means projects outside of work, too. Do you have time for that new volunteer opportunity? Think about the time it will take away from something else and really decide if it’s worth it. The answer isn’t always yes, but it also isn’t always no. Sometimes the answer is one of my favorites, “yes, if…” This is a saying my friend, mentor, and previous manager taught me. Don’t always shoot down an idea, respond “yes, if…” and discuss what would need to happen for the new change to be successful. I think many would find that way of thinking more helpful, because it opens the discussion to look at things from many angles and if the solution is still unsustainable or unrealistic, well then you know it isn’t attainable right now.

3) After time sensitive work is done, prioritize down time. Unless the benefit of getting something done early is huge or you happen to have a bunch of extra time, that task can wait until tomorrow or next week. As humans we need time to recharge – going out with friends, doing something fun with the family, just sitting on the deck reading a book, whatever that is make sure it’s on your priority list. Turn off your work phone if you need to, put away the laptop, a short disconnect is never bad if you aren’t neglecting anything of course!

Luckily, Adam and I can lean heavily on our team at the shop. Just recently, we were able to enjoy a short trip to visit family and we knew our shop was in good hands. Being able to empower and trust your team to handle day-to-day operations without micromanaging is paramount. It requires a lot of trust and maturity to be able to hand off tasks to your team, and if you are attracting and retaining the correct people it becomes easy.

One thing I haven’t mentioned explicitly is my list of priorities – because they always change aside from family first. One month it could be family, shop, band, personal time but the next month depending on what needs more attention it could be family, band, personal time, shop or whatever order. It is ok to change your priorities – they do not have to be written in concrete. Being inflexible is the biggest shortcoming a small business owner or manager can have. We must be able to look at a problem and come up with a solution quickly. From someone calling in sick or a customer calling with an unexpected order that throws your schedule off, up to a major schedule change with big events – if you and your team are not able to pivot and work through those issues together you have not found your people yet. It takes practice too! Just because someone makes mistakes doesn’t mean they can’t learn and grow, including yourself.

What should our readers know about your business?
Songbird Orchids is a sweet little shop that has become a lot of folks’ “happy place.” We like to keep it fun and interesting. We are always getting in new species of orchids, but also so many different colors of the types you know and love. We hand-mix our own bird seed mixes and love experimenting with new mixes (not all of them make it to the shelves!).

We pride ourselves on quality products – which can be difficult when dealing with live plants and perishable goods. We know our growers well, and know what they have in their greenhouses – we’ve visited their greenhouses in person for some! We know the plants, seeds, and gift baskets your getting are awesome because it’s all stuff we would buy for ourselves and our families.

We love partnering with other local businesses! We bring in great, local food for our gift baskets and we even work with a few local, small growers. What we have is special, and we want to continue cultivating that community of local business and plant enthusiasts working together.

We absolutely do not see ourselves as competing with other local nurseries – the houseplant community and hobby is huge and majorly diverse. If we don’t have what you’re looking for, we’re going to recommend another partner for you to check out such as Summerland Gardens, Hapke’s Hortum, The Living Room, Phelan Gardens, Rick’s Garden Center, Spencer’s, Buckley’s and so many others. We are not here to cut down anyone else in this trade, it’s so difficult to make ends meet right now as a small business, there’s no reason to act like we’re better than someone else and we’re always putting in a good word for our friends.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Colorado Springs has its sort of “touristy” places to go: Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds, Pikes Peak…all awesome places for sure. When I am on the road in a new town, I don’t want to go to the tourist spots, I want to go to the best, maybe unknown, food places and cool spots.

People new to town need to check out TAPAteria in Old Colorado City – and in general all of Old Colorado City. Make a day of it. Breakfast at Bon Ton’s or Mountain Shadows, shop at Simple Body, Hapke’s Hortum, and Centennial Cuts among other awesome shops, so many options for lunch, and dinner at TAPAteria and drinks and fun at Mother Muff’s.

After that, I’m a birder so if you’re with me we’re spending a day hitting all the hotspots: Big Johnson Reservoir, Fountain Creek Nature Center, Bear Creek Nature Center, Stratton Open Space.

Downtown Novis Mortum Collective is a delight, so many cool things to see. And you’ll have to hit Shuga’s for their amazing coconut soup.

For music, it’s gotta be The Blacksheep, Vultures, and The Triple Nickel. Great punk and metal shows but that’s not all they do! Something for everyone.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband, Adam, deserves all the shoutouts. He followed me with my crazy idea to join the band touring full time, supported me through multiple massive career changes in just a few years, and has been my right hand, best friend, and confidant with this new business. He is my partner in all things and I would be absolutely lost without him.

My team at the shop also deserve a shout out. Marlee, Alison, and Krystle. They are always coming up with great ideas, support our ideas, and make me laugh all the time. I learn new things from them all the time (especially about orchids and houseplants!) and I know our business is successful because of them.

My band, Tejon Street Corner Thieves, Conor and Shawn. We brainstorm in the van during long drives about the band, our shop, our lives… they have great ideas and are so creative, they’re great travel partners and keep me sane during long trips away from home.

Brambles Botanicals for supporting us and doing consignment with us. Beastie is amazing and their plants always get our customer’s attention! 

Website: www.songbirdorchid.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/songbirdorchid/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/songbirdorchid

Image Credits
Julie Frost, Doris Schmidt