Do you know Google My Business may be saying your Flower Shop is closed right now?

Florists have been closed in many US states. Many flower shops have marked their business Temporarily Closed following Google’s guidance. 

Beware – if you plan to offer delivery for Mother’s Day make sure to change this well in advance of Mother’s Day. Google is running on limited staff and is not re-activating profiles quickly. 

Step 1: Update Your Google My Business Profile

Update your florist Google My Business profile so you don’t appear closed!  

If you plan to operate for Mother’s Day Delivery, here’s how to update your profile. Click to Info > Re-Open Your Business (bottom right).  

Step 2: Contact Google 

Our profile update was STILL PENDING with Google 3 days after we made this change request. We reached out to them using the Support option. We posted on the Community support in the end and got quick feedback from a Product Expert within 2 hours. 

Only after we sent them a message via the Community did we get a reply: 

We hope these instructions were helpful! Good luck, stay safe, and have a successful Mother’s Day! 

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, Floranext surveyed florists to learn more about what floral shops are doing and the outlook with COVID-19 as a backdrop.

To our Canadian/International customers, we still have limited data from those areas so apologies for the US-focus of the graphs! 

Will your flower shop be open for Mother’s Day?

With all the retail shutdowns across the world, the overwhelming majority of florists said that they plan to be open.  84% open in the US (in Canada all reporting provinces reported open except Ontario with 66% planning to be open). 

Dark Blue = Open  /   Lighter Blue = Some Open and Some Not  /  Grey = No Data

Will your city/state allow floral delivery? 

Of florists surveyed, 89% will be legally permitted to open on Mother’s Day while 11% believe they’re not going to be permitted to operate this holiday.

What delivery/pick-up options will your shop offer?

84% of florists that reported are going to do delivery for Mother’s Day. 59% of flower shops are offering curbside pickup with only 19% are having store walk-ins.

What Mother’s Day delivery/pick-up options will your shop support?  

Dark Blue = Open  /   Lighter Blue = Some Open and Some Not  /  Grey = No Data

Dark Blue = Open  /   Lighter Blue = Some Open and Some Not  /  Grey = No Data

Dark Blue = Open  /   Lighter Blue = Some Open and Some Not  /  Grey = No Data

Will your flower shop be able to source flowers? 

An important in the industry right now is, what is the availability of flowers for Mother’s Day? 93% of the florists surveyed will be able to source flowers for this holiday, while 7% won’t. 

What is your expectation of sales? 

COVID-19 Pandemic has many florists worried about floral revenue. 58% think sales will be worse, 24% believe sales are going to be better and 17% believe sales are going to be the same as 2019. 

We surveyed 380 florists. 93.83% are located in the United States while 6.16% are located in Canada. 

 

Thank you to all the florists who took the time to answer our survey. We hope this information provided by florists, like you, is useful for planning your Mother’s Day operations and gives you insight into what other floral shops are doing this holiday. We hope you have a successful Mother’s Day!

COVID-19 is literally putting a pause button on flower business cash flows, enter the Families First and CARES Act which offers significant relief to floral businesses. 

The Paycheck Protection Program provides direct financial assistance to florists and there are guidelines for forgiveness.  It’s not clear if the government funds will run out or if it will be replenished, so YOU MAY WANT TO ACT SOON!

Note: you should consult your accountant/bank before taking action and use the CAREs Act (let us know if you need a recommendation).   

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

The PPP program to provide direct funds to cover payroll expenses and can be forgiven. 

• PPP Gives 2.5x monthly payroll 
  • • Example: If your monthly payroll is $10,000, you could get a PPP grant for $25,000
    • No personal guarantees required; cover sole proprietors, contractors
    • Proceeds will be paid out a week after application completed and accepted.
• PPP Forgiveness up to 100%
  • • Forgiveness if hiring back staff by June 2020
    • Forgiveness available if used for specific categories of spending: 
      • Payroll, healthcare (company part), state/local taxes, rent, utilities
    • Any un-forgiven amount will be payable over 2 years at interest of 0.5%.
• How To File
  • • Loans are made through local lenders (e.g. Chase, Bank of America). Change it to Speak to your Bank Account rep today!
• What you Need to File
  • • Average Monthly Payroll Amount
    • Number of Employees
    • Annual Revenue
    • Incorporation Date
    • Documents showing payroll (e.g. 941 or Business Tax Returns)

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)

A separate program, Emergency Economic Injury Grant – loan to help run your business. In addition to this loan the SBA is offering an immediate $10,000 advance for working capital, they claim it will be paid within three days of applying. To get the advance, you must first apply for an EIDL and then request the advance. The advance does not need to be repaid (up to the $10,000). 

• EIDL Loan
  • • Rates are 3.75%, 30 Year Term
    • Payments are deferred a full year from the date of the loan 
    • Loans are approved based on credit score
    • Loans under $200,000 can be approved without a personal guarantee
    • No collateral like real estate is needed
• What’s new here?
  • • Now available to a sole proprietor, contractors
    • $10,000 in an emergency grant cash advance that can be forgiven if spent on paid leave or maintaining payroll
    • Faster approval process – based on self-certification so less red tape
    • Previously you had to show an inability to get funds from another source
• No Forgiveness
  • • There is no Forgiveness, this is just a loan

Filing Taxes and Extensions

• 2019 Tax Filing deadline – moved from April 15 to July 15
• No estimated taxes – for Q1 and Q2 are due; pay 75% of estimated on Oct 15
• Matching SS, Medicare – taxes (the 941 company portion) are not currently due. Can put off without interest/penalty.

Employee Retention Tax Credit

The goal is to encourage companies to retain their current payroll as-is: 

• Tax Credit
  • Of as high as 50% of wages paid to an employee up to $10,000 in wages. 
• To qualify 
  • Full/part shutdown due to Coronavirus or decline in revenues of 50% or more
  • Can’t be taken alongside other COVID-19 loans

Bank Forgiveness 

The FDIC is encouraging banks to go easy on borrowers and credit cardholders. This might include, “waiving fees on late or missed credit card or loan payments and waiving early withdrawal penalties for out-of-work savers who need access to money locked up in CDs,” according to Forbes. 

The Family Medical Leave Act is the 20-year-old labor law that provides job protection and unpaid leave for medical and family reasons. Flower shops that are still operating are facing some updated rules due to COVID-19 here are the new rules for Sick/Medical leave. 

New FMLA Rules for COVID-19 

• 2 weeks paid leave
  • • Small business must provide for all employees that have to stay home because of the Coronavirus, whether sick or caring for the sick. 
• Childcare
  • • You must pay 12 weeks at 2/3 pay if an employee needs to stay home with a child. 
• Payroll Tax Reduction
  • • This expense will be reimbursed to you through reduced payroll tax payments. 
• Health Care Coverage
  • • • If you have been offering employees health care coverage, you must continue to pay that during these times of leave, which is also paid back to you through a payroll tax reduction.

On condition that your payroll taxes are not large enough to offset the expense, the remainder of the money paid out will be refunded to you “as quickly as possible”. Whether this causes a financial hardship for the company, you can file for an exemption from this provision.

It is important that you take into account these new rules for your business when you’re employees are applying to the Sick/Medical leave during the COVID-19 crisis, you must review everything to see if your business has everything in order for giving these leaves to the employees. We would like to remind you that you always have to talk with your accountant and adviser about these topics. 

In Floranext we want to tell you that we’re all in this together and that this crisis shall pass too.

It’s a challenging time for every retailer, especially small businesses. Many small business owners are staying positive during the fight against COVID-19, including the florists who are coming together with unique ways to delight their communities. 

On social media, people are using the hashtag #alonetogether for this unusual time. Some florists are using the hashtag #bloomtogether for some of their new community-supporting initiatives. 

Here are a few initiatives that embody the spirit of #bloomtogether. 

Flower Give-Aways

In some states flower shops and wholesalers have been forced to shut down. Some have been giving away flowers rather than seeing them go to waste. Perfect examples of #bloomtogether love from the floral community. 

Pop Up Flowers

Brightening up their communities with flowers in public places. Sprout Florals in Woodland, TX they decorated public monuments with some of their leftover flowers including nine deer sculpture deers at the entrance to the city with floral wreaths. We love this #bloomtogether spirit. 

Free Flowers for Hospitals and Nursing Homes

In Bakersfield, California one florist turned canceled wedding flowers into a colorful #bloomtogether gift for local hospitals and nursing homes.  And UK national markets are giving away flowers to healthcare workers. 

Flower for Charity

At Every Bloomin’ Thing and Nelson Florist in Cary, NC wanted to do something for a #bloomtogether good cause.  Gary Nelson the one owner said, “I’m a wholesaler florist so I get flowers from all over the world and I couldn’t stop my shipment from coming in from South America this week. It’s a lot of flowers, and I don’t want to throw them away.”

While the flowers are free, you can leave a donation. It won’t go toward the flower shop; instead, the funds will go to Hope Community Church’s Mina Project.

__

We love these flower shops giving so much back to their communities. Share your own initiatives below in comments and by using the #bloomtogether hashtag on Instagram and Facebook! 

Immediate resources to apply and compensate for lost revenue. 

Flower shops need to get creative about and sell to customers. Here are a few ideas for how your flower business can compensate for lost revenue. 

COVID-19 has been declared a global pandemic. This disease is having an unprecedented impact on our economy and way of living. Time is uncertain and we have to be creative on how to compensate for lost revenue. We created a list of resources and advice for responding to declines in revenue.

Virtual Flowers

Your customers can show their love and support to their loved ones by sending Virtual Flowers. The customer will purchase a product displayed on your website, and the recipient will receive an email with a photo of the arrangement and your card message—when you reopen, the actual arrangement will be delivered at no extra charge to the sender.

Gift Cards

If you activate Gift cards they can provide you with cash and the guarantee that the customer will return in the future. It’s a great way of obtaining the cash you need at this time and you can discount gift cards so loyal customers buy them and redeem their gift card later when you’re on surer footing.

Co-Marketing Opportunities

You can collaborate with complementary local businesses to create co-marketing opportunities that can help you acquire new customers. This could mean creating some Date Packages with a local restaurant so the customers can have an in-home date or even a virtual one when you ship out their food and flowers directly to them. 

Virtual Classes

You can also create a special course or classes that you can give online through Zoom or through a special Facebook Group in a live session. These types of courses will be very welcome since people are going to be at home and with much time to dedicate to new indoor activities. Nobody else knows your customers so you’ll know which topic from your flower shop is the one that will interest them more to sign up for the class. 

We hope these ideas are helpful as you develop your strategy to keep generating revenue through this difficult time.  We wish you the best from everyone at Floranext!

Waves of layoffs are happening across the retail landscape. In New York City alone, restaurants and bars laid off 300,000 people. Flower businesses are being forced to do the same – hopefully only as a temporary measure. 

The hardest thing any business owner can do is lay off employees. Assess what your floral business can afford to do. Here’s a list of common questions to help you manage your team including key answers about retaining, furloughing and layoffs.

What is your key message for your flower shop team?  

If you have to make temporary staffing changes, reassure your employees about your commitment to your community and to them. 

• Plan to Hire Back – Your goal is to hire back when the situation improves
• Frequency of Comms – Put a communication plan in place and let them know how frequently you will be assessing the situation and in communication 
• Resources – Gather together some resources for them in writing (feel free to use these below!)

What’s the difference between a layoff and furlough? 

• Furloughed employees
  • • Ones you intend to hire back after some period
    • Typically are left “on the books” and will not receive a payout for any accrued vacation time or sick days. 
    • Furloughed employees typically continue to receive health benefits. 
• Laid-off workers are
  • • Essentially fired and will not be re-hired

In general, both laid-off workers and temporarily furloughed workers are eligible for unemployment benefits if they have earned a sufficient amount in wages over the previous year to qualify. 

What unemployment assistance will employees and contractors get? 

Traditionally unemployment insurance was paid by states and available only to employees, not to contractors. The amount paid by the state will vary (see this link for state rates).

The CARES Act:

• Federal gov adds payment of $600 per week – from Federal government in addition to state payment for up to 4 months
• Self-employed, contractors – and those with a limited work history can get benefits
• People who quit their job – related to COVID-19 (e.g. to care for a relative) still eligible for benefits
• Can be more than salary(!) – the sum of the state and federal payment may be more than the employee’s salary, no limits are placed on this amount

How can employees apply for unemployment?

Employees can apply online. You may have seen horror stories about long phone waits for help with unemployment insurance. All this can be done online without the need for employees to wait on hold for hours. 

If I reduce workers’ hours, can they get government help? 

Some states already have so-called “work share” programs that provide for partial unemployment benefits when employers do hours reductions, or partial furloughs, in lieu of layoffs. Check with your accountant for options. 

How quickly will employees receive insurance? 

Usually 2-3 weeks. Traditionally there was a one-week waiting time to even file unemployment. The CARES act removes this waiting period. 

What’s this about a one-time government payout? 

The stimulus package includes one-time direct payments of $1,200 per adult who made $75,000 or less in 2019 and $2,400 for couples who made less than $150,000. An additional $500 will be added for each child.

These will be direct deposited if you have your bank information on file with the IRS and paid previously by direct deposit. On the other hand, the President has said they want funds sent by April 6, but it’s likely these will go out in May due to staffing shortages at the IRS. 

Can owners get unemployment? 

Yes, the bill expands unemployment benefits to cover more workers including self-employed and independent contractors, like gig workers and Uber drivers, who do not usually qualify for unemployment.

Keep Your Online Floral Presence Strong With These Tips!  

We understand the impact COVID-19 is having on some of our florists, and we’re hopeful that our precautions to limit the spread of the virus will be successful in allowing all florists worldwide to return to building their businesses and spreading the simple joy of flowers!

The health and safety of our customers, employees, and their loved ones is our top concern in these difficult and confusing times, and to that end, we wanted to offer some advice to help keep you safe and keep business moving along.

Keep Your Florist Website Up!

Google has announced that disabling an online business website due to coronavirus should be treated as a last resort, as your website’s ranking would be negatively impacted, affecting your floral business even after the virus has passed. So we needed to remind you that in spite of the uncertainty, this too shall pass. And when it does, you’ll need your website as strong as ever for your floral business!

Update your Floral Website

1. Add a COVID-19 Banner:

Create a banner to update your customers about your floral business situation. Floranext website customers will soon have access to new COVID-19 banners we’re creating, similar to the holiday and seasonal banners you’re already accustomed to. 

2. Add a Top Bar: 

You can also use the site’s Top Bar to notify customers of your situation and link to a page in which you give more details about how are you operating your floral business or when are you coming back. 

3. Create a COVID-19 Update Page:

Create a COVID-19 Page for keeping your customers updated about your current status depending on your shop’s circumstances. Floranext Customers can use the new pre-built COVID-19 page.

If you need assistance from the Floranext team to help you with this please contact us. 

Keep Selling Online, Even If Your Shop is Closed

Even if your business must temporarily close due to state or local guidelines and delivery is not an option, you can still sell to bring in some income.

1. Create Gift Cards: 

With such an emphasis on supporting businesses that may be hurting, it’s a great time to add gift cards to your floral business website so loyal customers can give you a little cash to help out, and redeem their gift card later when you’re on surer footing.

2. Send Virtual Flowers: 

You can also allow your customers to send Virtual Flowers! If a customer purchases a product displayed on your website, their recipient will receive an email with a photo of the arrangement and your card message—when you reopen, the actual arrangement will be delivered at no extra charge to the sender.

We hope these tips help alleviate some of the constraints you’re having this time, though we know these are not the only adjustments you’ll need to make in the weeks ahead it’s a quick start guide for taking action on your floral business.

We wish all florists our very best from! Stay safe, and we will get through this together!

Guide for checking up and reviewing your flower shop through COVID-19.

COVID-19 is leaving us with a lot of time! Use this pause to get your floral business organized and improve some things you haven’t looked at in a while. 

Floranext created a list for doing a general check-up on your flower shop and florist website.

Flower Shop Review

Now is the time to get things organized and cleaned, here are some important things to review during this time. 

Cleaning Shop & Cooler

• Deep cleaning of your floral cooler

Review Inventory 

• Review to see if any cash is held up due to inventory or dead stock
• Prepare discounts/special prices for selling items quickly when you re-open
• Donate any extra inventory unable to be sold

Financial Review 

It’s good to take a look at how your business is doing financially, it’s important to review the revenues, profits, and solvency. 

Review Expenses

• Look into your floral shop expenses. Cut or improve to take any advantages of the resources you have. 

Product Pricing

• Evaluate and update your product pricing. Remember to include your markup costs (labor, floral, and supply markups)

Delivery Pricing

• Review your current delivery charges
• Think of gas costs, labor costs, and time when settling on charges
• Think of offering free delivery to funeral homes or local businesses. 

Policy / Procedures 

It’s always a good thing to review your company’s policies and procedures to make sure they are up to date, best represent your business and any current laws.

Delivery

• Review and update any delivery policy/ procedures 
• Create a handbook for delivery drivers
• Add any new regulations based on CDC (non-contact delivery) 

Human Resources

• Evaluate all your legal documents, policies, terms & conditions. 
• It is important that you have these documents updated on a regular basis.
  •  it’s always good to review and give clarity to you, your employees and customers.

Employee Handbook

• If you haven’t already, now is the time for developing an operational manual.
• Front of Shop – how should your team greet customers, handle phone calls.
• Designers – create new floral designs, reducing waste, and time management.
• Delivery Drivers – Driver’s expectations, time management, and other duties.
• New employee handbook – create a manual that is easy to onboard any new employees or evaluate current employees.

Ecommerce Store

Take time to evaluate and update your floral eCommerce website. 

The number one important thing to remember is to keep your website up during this time for SEO purposes. This keeps you listed and easily accessible for your customers to find your business. 

Update Product Images

• Update or add any new product images to your website. 
• Showcase your talent and creativity
• Move product around to keep your website fresh and new

Wedding Page

• Does your shop offer wedding services? If so, create a wedding page!
• Add galleries of previous wedding work for inspiration
• Add a consultation form for customers to reach out and schedule appointments.

Classes

• During this time, if you have classes/workshops, instead of hosting at a shop – host online!
• Update your website for customers to purchase tickets. 
• Delivery class/workshop supplies the day of class.
• A great way of obtaining income and adding new customers.

Social Media

• Keep up on social media trends and share on your social media accounts
• Generate social media content that engages customers to comment, share, or repost. 
• Keep customers up to date on your flower shop.

Remember these are just in reviewing and checking up on your flower shop during this unprecedented time. 

The best thing to remember is to take this time to strengthen and improve your floral business as well as taking care of yourself. 

We are all together during this difficult time and we will get through this and be stronger than before #bloomtogether.