"The power of flowers to lift our spirits shouldn't be underestimated." Listen as Andy and his guest Richard Eagleton discuss the power of flowers, social prescribing, and how he feels that mental health and well-being will be the greatest human global challenge arising from the pandemic, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.   Richard is the CEO of McQueens Flowers, the internationally renowned luxury floral design brand and flower school. Founded in London's east end in 2001 with customers in Mexico, the United States, Japan, France, Korea, Kuwait, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, and Australia. They have provided flowers for Vanity Fair's Oscars afterparty for the last twenty-five years and were the floral design partner for the All England Lawn Tennis Club's Wimbledon Champions Ball and the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.     Listen, as Richard shares when he discovered his passion for flowers and his journey to McQueens. He discusses their flower school and how he handles being creative and working the business simultaneously. When Richard asked his team what they saw as McQueens vision, they responded to be the best flower business in the world to work for. Richard strives to make that happen every day.   Richard talks about what they did during the pandemic to make their online store profitable; he believes when you have falling or zero sales, it's an opportunity for improving margins. He discusses what he sees happening in the event industry post- Covid.   When asked for his advice at the beginning of the lockdown in the UK, Richard said be kind because it costs nothing and will always come back, keep an eye on the horizon because the bumpy road to get there is easier to travel if you know where you are heading and third, just worry about the things you can change and stop worrying about the things you can't.     Do you need some tips on handling stress during this crazy year? Andy has put together a list of the top ten tips for dealing with stress, which he has compiled from interviews with icons of the wedding and event industry. If you would like a copy, go to www.theweddingbiz.com/toptips.   Have you heard about the brand new show on The Wedding Biz Network, Stop and Smell the Roses with Preston Bailey? Listen as Preston shares the secrets, tools, and technologies behind his extraordinary ability to create a theatrical environment out of any space. Also, don't forget about Sean Low's podcast The Business of Being Creative, where Sean discusses the power of being niched, pricing strategies, metrics of success, and so much more. You can find both shows on The Wedding Biz Network.   SUPPORTING THE WEDDING BIZ Become a patron and support Andy and the show: If you are so inspired: contribute.    Show Highlights: [03:06] Welcome to the show, Richard! [04:41] Richard speaks about his quote on the power of flowers.. [08:34] When did you discover your passion for flowers? [10:03] Richard speaks about his journey to McQueens. [13:25] Richard discusses their flower school and what they teach. [17:38] Richard talks about how he handles the business and creative sides of the business. [20:14] Their vision is to be the best flower business in the world to work for. [23:15] Andy discusses the response he got from his team when they were asked what the vision should be. [24:06] Richard wants everyone to feel invested in the business, and he believes you need to have brilliant people around you. [25:19] He's learned that their customers trust them to be creative and trust that they will do what they say they will do. [26:38] Richard tells a story about taking flowers to a meeting at the Carlyle Hotel. [27:55] Andy shares some quotes that Richard made at the beginning of the pandemic. [28:33] Richard says you should never let a crisis go to waste. [30:05] Richard talks about taking the business apart and putting it back together because they had the time and opportunity. [31:08] Richard s