Would you consider floral designing with marijuana?

It’s very rare that the floral industry makes controversial news, but with the legalization of marijuana in some parts of the world, florists have seen this as an opportunity to market to new customers by offering something a bit risqué and novel in their creative floral designs.

Some say this is their ticket to gain notoriety and bring in more traffic and book more events by offering mariflorals. Yes, that is correct, Marijuana in floral arrangements.

Floral design with marijuana is a fairly new concept in the flower industry—only a handful of floral professionals are taking this leap now, but who knows—this may become the norm in years to come.

For those who have dabbled in designing with cannabis/marijuana, the results have been positive with delicate flower arrangements incorporating a touch of marijuana, some even say the greens from the marijuana leaves actually create a balanced fusion in their designs. With more customers opting for marijuana in their florals mainly at weddings, the rise for birthday mariflorals is now picking up speed as well.

We grant that while some of you may think this is genius, others may find the idea downright inappropriate, but having awareness of the evolving flower industry is key to keeping us all current.

At this time, due to current State laws in regards to Marijuana, the customer/client will actually need to provide the florist with the marijuana plant itself and must be legal in your area. After your customer provides the marijuana plants it cannot be delivered, it must be picked up by the customer.

DISCLAIMER: This article is for informational purposes only, we are in no way telling you to incorporate or sell marijuana with your florals. Please check your local laws before designing with cannabis, and do so at your own risk.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, is your business ready for this busy floral holiday?

Having a decent plan in place to make the most revenue during Mother’s Day is fundamental in receiving every one of the rewards of this bustling blossoming occasion. In this blog, we will go over an agenda to help you during this Mother’s Day holiday.

1. Promote Your Floral Business!

Begin by using your Floral Website and Social Media sites to start marketing your floral arrangements and your business.

Images & Products

• • Post high-quality photos of your work or any specials you are offering during Mother’s Day on your website or Social Media platforms.
  • Don’t forget to link your social media posts to your website!
  • Mother’s Day products should be prominently displayed and easily accessible throughout your website.

Hours & Policies

• Clearly post your shop’s business hours on your website and social media.
• Having clear policies and return/substitution policy will alleviate any headaches for you and your customers.

Promotions & Discounts

• Increase traffic to your store by offering deals or discounts on pickups rather than deliveries.
• List special Promotions. This is a great way to encourage customers to shop early before Mother’s Day week.
• Don’t forget to update your product pricing to cover your costs.

Note: Promoting does not always have to mean discounts. Remind customers why they should order flowers through your business.

2. Staffing, Scheduling and Duties, Oh My!

Making sure you have enough coverage can be overwhelming during the holiday rush. Not to worry, take a deep breath and follow these great tips!

Hiring

• If hiring extra help, offer them a day to come in before Mother’s Day week to go over job responsibilities and training.
• If hiring extra drivers, discuss with them if you require them to use their own vehicle.
• If you can, keep a standby driver at the shop to handle new orders for delivery.

Employees

• Have an employee meeting and discuss what is expected of them during Mother’s Day
• Make sure to explain how important everyone shows up and does what is expected of them.
• Encourage and Praise your employees and floral designers. Its always better to be positive than negative.

Scheduling & Duties

• Have your Mother’s Day week schedule out two weeks in advance. That way there are no surprises to your staff and you have time to make adjustments.
• Go over job descriptions with employees as its always nice to have a reminder of what everyone’s responsibilities are.
• Assign sections for the delivery drivers in specific areas. Add finished flower arrangements to this area with the date of delivery that is bold and clear.

 

3. Don’t Forget your Flowers & Supplies

Making sure you have enough flowers and supplies to get through the holiday is important.

Supplies

• Start looking around for supplies, containers, baskets and vases weeks before Mother’s Day.
• Visit your local supplier. However, don’t forget to visit discount home stores and dollar stores. You can find some great unique items.
• Don’t settle! Shop around for the best deals on supplies and florals.

Flowers

• Start ordering your Mother’s Day flowers early to get the best value.
• Don’t forget to shop around if you buy from multiple wholesalers.
• If you are comfortable, get your flowers through a floral auction. A great opportunity to get some discounts when purchasing in large quantities.
• Make sure to order flowering plants, orchids, and dish gardens. These are big sellers and require very little work.

Note: if you are new to the floral industry, Mother’s Day spans for a week, not a day. So order enough flowers!

4. Start Prepping & Showcasing your Flowers!

Stay ahead of the game with these prepping and showcasing tips during the busy holiday rush.

Prepping

• Prep your flowers when they arrive.
• Teach your front of store staff how to wire flowers to help cut down the time.
• Cut any ribbon and make bows ahead of time
• Green any vases, baskets or containers.
• No wastefulness! With the abundant supplies and flowers in the shop, it is easy to get sidetracked and be super wasteful. Everything thrown on the floor that can be used should be. Wasting or throwing out even a good pin or wire is considered money out of your pocket. Please be sure to express this to your employees.

Showcasing

• Gather up all your add-ons and gift items and display them prominently in the store.
• Make sure you re-stock your impulse buys on your front counter to sell in addition to flower arrangements.
• Make sure your flower shop and displays are clean and have an inviting atmosphere.
• Remember if Employees have time to lean, they have time to clean!

Work Ahead

• Work a day ahead. Fill any orders for next day the day before. Working a day or two ahead will allow you flexibility just in case there are any last minute orders.
• Place pre-made orders in a cooler, well tagged with date of pick-up or delivery.
• Mark any time sensitive orders and bring those to the front of your cooler.

Note: It helps to have a system that works best for you. However, working on orders per day can feel overwhelming, so staying ahead of the game is always best.

5. Take Care of Yourself

It is important to take care of yourself during this busy Mother’s Day week.

• Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.It’s best not to wear open toe shoes as this can be an insurance liability in some areas.
• Make sure you eat! Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner are important—don’t skip meals!
• Get enough sleep. No one is at their best with lack of sleep.
• Take mandatory breaks.
• Do not sweat the small stuff. Regardless of how hard you try, there may be a complaint here or there. Do not let this get you down. It’s the nature of the business. The world can’t survive without florists!
• Try to enjoy Mother’s Day week by keeping a journal of all the funny things that happen or mishaps that take place to reflect on for next year.

Tip: Bring in extra shoes and store them in your cooler to remedy those aching feet. 

 

We would like to wish all florist a very successful Mother’s Day!

Florists, do you have any great Mother’s Days tips to share with our readers? Please post any of your Mother’s Day tips or feedback below.

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Floranext offers great florist software, florist POS, florist websites and florist wedding proposal software. Our florist technology products are built by florists, for florists. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

Family-owned floral businesses rarely survive the transition from the first generation to the second. As a matter of fact, in this day and age, they are becoming more and more obsolete.

Many studies have shown that there is a high impact on family-owned and run businesses on our economy. In the floral industry, there was a time when this was the norm: a local flower shop stayed in the family, resulting in a local staple, while the whole family was able to live comfortably from running the family-owned flower shop. There was never a question of whether their children would continue the business after their parents’ retirement.

On our quest to find a third-generation family-owned flower shop, we came across Lighthouse Flower Shop in Mesa, Arizona. We thought it would be illuminating to have a brief Q&A with Lisa Miller, the third-generation owner of Lighthouse Flower Shop. This extraordinary accomplishment of running a successful flower business for 58 years definitely beats the statistical odds. We hope you find this interview encouraging, informative, and a piece of floral business history.

Does that make you sad?

It does, and I love this business. Nobody else in the family wants the shop. It’s been here for so long, but I’m holding out hope for a fourth generation.

 

 

What do you know today that you wish you would have known when you first got started running the flower shop?

My shop is much more profitable when we do fewer weddings. Last October I did 40 weddings, but they were smaller, and I’ve had to turn down other work to keep up with weddings.

What tip would you give someone that wants to be successful with weddings?

Be brave and charge for your work, and charge up front.

What would be the one piece of advice you would give someone who is opening a flower shop? 

Be prepared to compete with large grocers and wire service websites, and taking the time to educate customers about the difference between these sites and stores and a real brick-and-mortar shop. Your quality will always speak volumes for your brand, never skimp on quality.

 

If you could do anything besides own and operate a flower shop, what would it be?

I would love to be an auto mechanic because I love cars. I also tried to get into the army, but they told me I was too small, so the flower business it was 🙂

 

We all want to know what your grandma’s, mom’s, and your favorite flowers are.

My grandmother loved amaryllis and bearded iris. My mom doesn’t have a favorite. I really like hyacinths and red heart garden roses.

 

In closing, there are many young new florists. What advice would you give them?

It takes so much hard work to be a good florist and a lot of patience. Everyone who wants to own a flower shop should apprentice at a flower shop. You must keep your flower shop updated on the outside—every year I update my flower shop to keep it feeling fresh.

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One thing we learned in interviewing Lisa is that you can’t start a flower business with the intent to keep it for your family, your goal should be to run a successful business for yourself, and if your family follows your example, that’s icing on the cake. As technology encroaches deeper into our lives, it’s important to remember how Lisa ended our interview: “Robots will never be able to arrange flowers.” We couldn’t agree more.

Flowers are impactful, beautiful and full of awesome fun facts.

Some of you may already know and others you may just learn about today, either way, you can never know enough fun flower facts. Not only do flowers offer us visual and emotional well-being they have amazing appeal and history. Let’s dive right into these mind-blowing flower facts.

 

10. Get Your Zzzs With Gerbera Daisies

If you want to get a better night’s sleep tonight, try placing gerbera daisies next to your bed. Gerberas emit oxygen and absorb carbon monoxide and toxins at night, this was said to be especially helpful for anyone suffering from sleep apnea.

 

9. Roses Are Related To Fruit & Almonds

Roses share a relation with almonds, apples, raspberries, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, and pears. Roses have what’s called rose hips which are a berry fruit in some roses.  Rose hips are used to make jellies or teas as they are loaded with Vitamin C.

 

8. Tulips Bulbs Were Used As Food Source.

Although this flower fact is more well-known, it’s important to know why tulip bulbs were eaten. No one ever claimed that tulip bulbs were delicious, however, they were eaten because of hunger and food shortage. During World War II tulip bulbs were claimed to taste awful and dry however many kept hunger at bay by eating tulip bulbs. Some families used tulips in place of onions.

 

7. Broccoli Is A Flower

We do not think of broccoli as a flower nor do most florists display broccoli in their floral cooler. However, broccoli, in fact, is a flower. Broccoli is harvested before the flower buds fully open and eaten as a vegetable. Maybe it’s time we start incorporating broccoli in floral arrangements.

 

6. Hydrangeas’ Soil Determines Its Flower Color.

Hydrangeas’ color is determined by the acidity of the soil it’s planted in. If the soil is too alkaline it will result in pink Hydrangeas.

 

5. Queen Victoria Was A Flower Trendsetter

During Queen Victoria Era 1837 – 1901, in order to be considered a well-rounded young lady you were expected to learn how to arrange flowers. Queen Victoria loved flowers so much that she wore an orange floral wreath instead of the expected crown.  She also incorporated lavish amounts of beautiful floral arrangements at her wedding making wedding flowers a must have for all brides.

4. Sunflowers Saved Lives

Surprisingly sunflower stems were used to fill life jackets. Floating sunflower rafts have been used to clean up water contamination from the Chernobyl disaster. The roots of the sunflowers remove up to 95% radioactivity by drawing the contaminants out of the water. Simply amazing!

 

3. Daffodils Used As Currency

Daffodils are used as currency for Prince Charles, he is paid one daffodil a year as rent for his lands on the Island of Scilly and off the coast of Cornwall.

 

2.  Stop & Smell The Chocolate

Just when you thought that flowers could not get any more miraculous comes along Chocolate Cosmos. These beautiful dark burgundy flowers smell exactly like chocolate. Amazing!

Check out these other varieties of flowers that also smell like chocolate.

• Chocolate Orchid
• Black Salsify
• Chocolate Daisy
• Chocolate Mint

1. Do You Speak Floriography

How could we leave out the language of flowers? Floriography, the language of flowers, has been around for thousands of years, however, most popular during the Victorian era due to its conservativeness with emotional expression and flirtations.

Floriography allowed one to express themselves without saying something deemed taboo out loud to its recipient. Floriography consisted of an actual floral dictionary where the sender could send flowers to someone with encoded messages through the bouquets also known as “Talking Bouquets,” sort of like text messaging for its time.

If only this were popular now, “Talking bouquets”  – Florist’s we think this is due for a comeback. 🙂

 

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 Florists, do you have a fun flower fact to share? Please share your feedback or questions below in the comment section.

 

Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

 

 Marketing, as we all know, is essential for the survival of your floral business.

There are still many floral business owners who do not have a direct marketing strategy or feel bewildered by the word itself.  Marketing can be so many things and most business owners who thought not to be marketing their floral business, in fact, were. Bussines marketing is no longer just huge billboards, TV commercials or coupon direct mailers. It can be something as simple as posting an image of your flower arrangements or services on social media.

If you remember one thing from business marketing, marketing is getting customers to buy your products/services.  Marketing for your flower shop and online store does not have to be expensive or overwhelming.  We promise you that following the tips below will give you a clear understanding of how simple floral business marketing can be without breaking the bank.

1. Floral Business Marketing Goals

In order to achieve master status in marketing, you must first understand why you are marketing for your floral business in the first place. The answer to this is simple-

• Attract/Engage customers.
• Create brand visibility (brand being your flower shop business – visibility is the flower shop everyone knows, remembers and recommends) 
• Educate on products and services you offer.
• Promote your products and services.

Tip: Although floral marketing can be inexpensive there are aspects that require free time on your part- good to set aside one day a month to go over your marketing strategy and what you will be promoting the following month. 

2. Offer Free Marketing Gift With Purchase

Ever wonder why back in the day Chinese restaurants gave you a free calendar with purchase? This was a genius marketing tactic for its time. Customers would hang the calendar on their fridge and never look for another Chinese restaurant again. This is back when looking up a business was picking up a heavy phone book and searching for a business. The subliminal message here was brand recognition and visibility.

Recently a bakery on a busy Sunday morning offered a free T- shirt if you spent over $30.00. When looking around, many customers had a T-Shirt in hand.  I actually never thought I would wear it, but I do it’s cozy and soft. I find myself grabbing it all the time to run errands around town with a direct advertisement for the bakery.  This is marketing, and I love the idea of it.

Think of things you can offer to customers to make your flower shop brand visible and make sure it’s something that will be used often. Your business name, phone number, and website address- and your address too if it fits. We want everything to be very clear and visible on the product you offer free with purchase.

• Pens
• Calendars
• Bags
• Mousepads
• Hats
• T-Shirts
• Jackets
• Sweatshirts
• Water Bottles

Tip: We recommend all employees at your floral business to wear clothes that state your flower shop name, phone number, and websites address as well. Marketing/Advirtesting should start in-house.

3. Work With Local Bussiness

Partner up with local businesses in which you can work together to cross promote each other, once you find local businesses to work with you, you may backlink them on your website.  (adding local business website address to your website and vice versa)

Besides backlinking, work together on –  social media postings.

Businesses you can and should work with-

• Bridal Salons
• Entertainment/DJ Companys
• Hair/ Make Up Salons
• Nail Salons
• Limo/Party Bus Companys
• Venues
• Dance Schools

4. Floral Marketing On Social Media

The easiest way to market on social media communities is for you to pick one social media community you prefer and then duplicate the content on to the others. There are loads of platforms out there that make posting on social media a breeze by connecting all social media communities on to one platform. Check out  HootSuite

• Think of your preferred #Hashtag. This hashtag will now be used for all your posting on your social media communities.
• Set a schedule for posting. Choose a specific day each week, biweekly or monthly. (of course, we prefer weekly, however, that is not always possible so post within your time allowance) 
• If you are only posting monthly, you still need to check your social media community daily. Be responsive, address comments that need to be addressed and thank new fans for liking/following your page. Nothing beats gratitude for brand visibility.
• Create enticing eye-catching posts. Pay attention to the images selected, have a clear bold title and if possible link to your website.
• Engage fans. On a weekly basis try to engage your fans with questions, thoughts or tips.
• Allow for fans to post their images on your social media.
• Offer promotions and contests. Fans love to participate in contests/questionnaires,  be it something as simple as one quiz question or asking their advice.
• Allow fans to review you on Facebook.

5. Make A Floral Video/Commercial

We are huge advocates of making a short floral video of your business. These can be posted across your social media communities and linked back to your website. Sites like slide.ly/promo make this very simple to do. Researchers confirm that videos help create longer lasting brand visibility with more conversions to sales.

• Use relevant keywords when posting your video.
• Link your floral video to your website
• Post on Youtube and all your social media communities

6. Google Business And Yelp Is A Must

A whopping 91% of customers read reviews, it’s crucial to sign up for Google business and claim your business on Yelp. We hear it time and time again how customers are attracted to businesses with reviews and search engines make these business reviews very prominent. Every review counts in creating more trust with the readers.

• Google Bussiness and Yelp allow for customer interactions by reading/ leaving a review and posting photos.
• Customer love to read testimonials and reviews, the more the better. An average small business should have  40 customer reviews at a minimum.
• Offer $5.00 off any order for a customer that gives you an on the spot review on Google business or Yelp. The advantages far out weigh the discount.
• Post these reviews on your website.

7. Write A Blog 

Blogging takes commitment and a good strategic plan. Writing a blog twice a year will not offer you that much recognition, commit to blogging at least once a month.  The benefits of blogging, are priceless, does wonders for your SEO and allows valuable content to share and link back to your website on social media communities.

• Blog about what you do. Be specific to the floral business and use keywords.
• If blogging is not for you – hire someone to write your floral blogs. Hiring a monthly blogger does not cost much compared to the impact it has on your SEO. For around $100-$150.00 a month you can start engaging customers with your blogs.
• Write about things people genuinely want to read about. How To’s, Secrets Revealed, Tips & Tricks and anything Floral Wedding – these are all very popular just do not deviate from your profession, which in this case is the floral business.
• Post your blog link with images and a title anywhere and every where you can. All you social media communities, send to friends via a text message and see if your local business partners will post on their social media communities and website.

 

Florists do you have any important marketing advice/tips that have been or are successful? Please share all your feedback, tips or any floral marketing related questions you would like addressed in the comment section below.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

With over 1 billion daily users worldwide, it is of great importance, that all floral business owners have a Facebook business page.

Facebook allows you to create an abundant of visibility for your floral brand, drives traffic to your website, raises your SEO (Search Engine Optimization),  allows for customer interaction and many other valuable reasons.

We hear time and time again how difficult Facebook can be to understand and navigate. One of the most asked questions is “How do I create a Facebook business page?”  In this blog, let’s break down step by step on how to create a Facebook business page.

Step 1 –  Do you have a personal Facebook account?

• You will need a personal Facebook account in order to set up a Facebook business page.
• If you do not have a personal Facebook account, go ahead and sign up for Facebook.
• Once a personal Facebook account is created or if you already have one, go ahead to step 2. 

 

Step 2 – Creating Your Facebook Business Page

• Start creating your Facebook business page by clicking on the arrow in the upper right-hand corner. 
• Select Create Page
• Now choose Local Business or Place. Local Business or Place allows you to add a physical address and this is the best option for all floral businesses.

 

• Enter your flower shop name, add categories (Flower Shop, Florist), address and phone.

Note: You may have a common business name and Facebook may ask you to add keywords in order to differentiate your Facebook business page name from another. Add your town or state as keywords or another floral based keyword such as flowers, flower shop or florist.

 

Step 3 – Adding Your Floral Business Information

• Now comes the most time-consuming part of setting up a Facebook business page – adding in all your floral business information.
• Give your self-plenty of time to do this, grab a cup of coffee or tea as this is the bones of your Facebook page. These keywords will be indexed throughout search engines.
• Pay close attention to your username for your floral business page. It is a custom URL which will appear on search engines when searched for flower shop in city and state
• Add description and your website URL to the right where it says + Add Button 
• Click on See all Page tips and add in all information required.
• Make sure to also click on the left-hand side under home and add all of your flower shop information there as well.  Click on each category, you may not need to add information to all of these, but good to familiarize yourself with these pages:

1. Home
2. Services
3. Reviews
4. Shop
5. Offers
6. Photos
7. Videos
8. Posts
9. Events
10. About
11. Community

• You may add a Post and even Promote your floral Facebook business page from the left side menu.

 

Step 4 – Adding floral pictures  & posts to Facebook business page

• Add a clear crisp profile picture. Your logo or picture of your work, such as flowers, is a great option.
• The cover photo should have a slight WOW factor and be true to the floral business. Crisp, clean and professional looking.
• Add a descriptive post to engage friends and always add an image to your post.

 

Step 5 – Finalize your floral Facebook business page

• Make sure that you have your shop hours, services, address,  and website link. These are important is getting maximin visibility for your floral brand.
• Invite your friends to like your floral Facebook business page.
• Add posts consistently on your Facebook business page and always add your website URL link to posts. Be engaging and do this on a daily or every other day. However, remember that a Facebook business page is now going to be part of your daily routine, checking it and posting once it is established.
• Be very responsive to notifications! Look at your top bar for any messages and notifications you may have revived. Facebook rewards responsiveness so be sure to Mark all as read

Facebook is by far the best option for creating visibility for your business. The best part of it is that creating a Facebook business page is that it’s FREE.  Now that you have created a Facebook business page, you will see how quickly your floral brand grows across search engines.

 

Florists, how has your flower shop Facebook business page helped your business grow? Please share your feedback and questions in our comment section below.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

 

You have a creative passion and love for flowers, you dream of owning and operating a flower shop.

Your dream can be a reality! What other career choices can be as rewarding than being a flower shop owner and opening a flower shop?   How many times have we heard people say, “I wish I owned a flower shop.”

There are tons of nostalgic when it comes to being a flower shop owner. Using your creativity to sell everlasting emotions with flowers and surrounded by natures beauty on daily basis is priceless. Have you pondered taking the leap into the floral industry as a business owner? Go For It!

If you have come across a neighborhood flower shop that is for sale, even better! There are important key factors to look for when buying a flower shop.  Let’s review the benefits and 8 tips to consider when buying a flower shop.

Benefits Of Buying A Flower Shop

• Less Up Front Costs
• Easy Turn Around Time
• Established Reputation
• Continuous Cash Flow
• Great SEO
• Guidance from current owner
• Trained Staff

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7. Whats Included In Purchase Price?

To run a flower shop, equipment, inventory and supplies are needed. Find out what is actually included in the purchase price. Look over the condition of equipment to see if it will need to be replaced sooner than later.

• Coolers
• Equipment
• Inventory
• Customer Data Base
• Delivery Vehicle
• Current POS & Website Software

Note: Does the purchase price include House Accounts (Accounts Receivable) take a look at these and see what is outstanding. 

 

6. What Debt Are You Buying?

Take into consideration all the acquired debt when purchasing an existing shop. It is good to know what you will be responsible for once you take over ownership of flower shop.

• Are suppliers owed money?
• Are utilities up to date?
• Are Government and State Taxes up to date?
• Are there any liens on the business?

 

5. Flower Shops With Wire Services

Some flower shops participate with wire services. If this is the case for the flower shop you are purchasing, establish whether or not the hardware of the wire service has been paid off.

• Wire service hardware includes computer servers, printers, receipt printers and cash drawers.
• Is the shop you are planning on purchasing in a contract with a wire service?
• If you wish to continue to participate with said wire service, see whether you will resume payments on hardware or if the loan should be paid off before you take over.

Note: Not all existing flower shops for sale still owe balances on wire service hardware, if they do not, then you can just resume the monthly payments due if you wish to continue the wire service.

4. Flower Shop Name & Domain Name

Will you have full rights to flower shop name and domain name? You must also take into consideration any domain names the existing Flower Shop has, domain names are the address for the flower shop’s website.

• Regardless if you want to keep the existing flower shop name, it is always recommended to keep the domain name of the existing flower shop if it is placing higher on search engines.
• Make sure that you read and go over any limited liabilities attached to the existing Flower Shop name when purchasing.
• Make sure you have access to email accounts with the flower shop’s name, in particular, the one associated with Google Business account for the domain name.

 

3. Credit Card Processing

There are many facets to credit processing and good to know and understand the basics. Will you continue with the same credit card processing merchant the existing flower shop is using?

• If you are, then make sure to speak with the credit card merchant to change information.
• You will also need to update your gateway if you are processing credit cards online. Be sure to update the bank information to receive timely deposits of sales.

Payment Gateway: A payment gateway is necessary to process sales online or brick and mortar. The gateway can store and encrypt customers credit card information.

Credit Card Merchant: A credit card merchant functions like a bank account who authorizes you, the merchant, to accept credit cards as payments. These accounts will work with a payment gateway.

Payment Processor: A financial institution that works behind the scenes. Connects to both the payment merchant and gateway passing the information back and forth.

Payment Aggregators: Allows you to accept credit payments without having to set up a merchant account. Payment aggregators have an internal gateway so no gateway setup is required with no extra costs for a gateway. The best-known payment aggregators are Stripe, Square and PayPal.

 

2. Will you need to Hire Staff?

In some cases, most, if not all, the staff will stay when new owner acquires the flower shop.

• There are times when the owner of the flower shop will also offer to stay for a specific time period to help out with training you, the new owner.
• Are all current employees staying?
• Will there be changes in scheduling?

1. Be Hands On In The Floral Industry

It goes without saying that understanding the way the flower industry works is the key in pursuing a career as a floral business owner. Most business owners learn as they go, however, in the floral industry, floral designing, flower prep is important as all other business management tools. 

• Even if you will have full-time floral designers, it is important that you understand floral design. Take a floral design class.
• If owning a flower shop is your dream, think of working in a flower shop for some time to understand the business.
• Have a flower shop owner mentor you, connect with other florists for help and guidance.

Florists, did you buy a flower shop? What is your experience?  What key advice would you give to our readers? Please share your feedback or questions below in the comment section.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

 

 Ah, Fall! The time where kids are going back to school, the brisk autumn air and a harvest of flower trends galore.

This bountiful season is approaching with exciting inspirational florals that encompass the beginning of this wondrous time of the year. Floral trends are defined by something that is new, different and copied because of its enormous popularity and demand. These forecasted floral trends are making a huge impact with loyal followers on social media.

Take a look at the top 5 Fall Forecasted Trends below and see if this is something you are currently implementing or inspired to try something new.

 

 5. Flower Baskets

It’s safe to say that flower baskets are used pretty much daily by floral designers, how wonderful that they are now actually trending for the upcoming Fall season.

The biggest component here is to use quality baskets with an organic flower design which is slightly more structured.

 

4. Flowers In A Box

Oh my! Flowers in a box are so popular right now in Europe.  Not to be confused with flowers that protrude out of the box. These floral box arrangements are made to be completely inside the box,  revealing its beauty when the box lid is open.

Customers love these as gifts and sometimes add other surprises such as sweets or jewelry to complete this unique beautiful gift.  It’s very simple to make these arrangements with cellophane, oasis and the box of your choice with matching lid.

 

3.Flower Ribbons

Wedding bouquets with added multiple strands of high quality flowing ribbon are amongst the hottest trend for fall. Although already very hot this summer, the difference now is the longer the ribbon, the more romantic the look.  Pair it with gradual lengths of ribbon either the same color or different hues in the same color family for Fall.

 

2. Preserved Flower Wreaths

There is a new creative twist on flower wreaths this season which is more organic, rustic with a little whimsy. These floral wreaths are now being sold by large chain home decor stores because of their high demand.

1. Flowers & Feathers

Flowers and feathers are actually not a new trend. Florists have been incorporating feathers in their floral arrangements for centuries. The difference this fall is the quality and uniqueness of the feathers. Opt for feathers with interesting geometric designs and length.

Do not limit feathers to only wedding bouquets these look great in any basket arrangement, vase or centerpiece.

Be sure to refer to this  Floral Cheat Sheet for trending flowers and greens selection.

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Florists, what are your thoughts on these trends for Fall Yay or Nay? Have you incorporated any of these top 5 Fall Trends in your flower shop? Please share your feedback or questions below in the comment section.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

 

In Lieu of Flowers is perhaps the most detrimental 4 words in floral business.

Conveying compassion and respect for one’s passing is traditionally defined by sending flowers. The utmost disappointment is that customers take “In Lieu Of Flowers” literally, we understand it does say “In Lieu Of Flowers”, however,  that in no way means the family does not want flowers at the viewing/funeral service.

As floral professionals you understand how somber a viewing/ funeral service would be without flowers. The added beauty of sympathy flower arrangements is there to offer comfort to the visitors and also pay tribute to the deceased.  The terminology of “In Lieu Of Flowers” has caused an uproar in the floral community as it should, this is awfully mistaken too many times by customers.

The Future of In Lieu Of Flowers:

What is a floral business owner to do with the phrase “In Lieu Of Flowers?” We do not pretend to have all the answers, however, maybe it’s time once and for all the floral industry boycott this phrase altogether.

Although many florists have expressed their frustrations with local funeral homes, the “In Lieu Of Flowers” phrase offers a direct message not to send flowers and undermines the floral business. This is absolutely unacceptable, besides that, the true meaning of giving flowers is lost here. Regardless if someone wants to convey sympathy with flowers or not, there is no reason for the subliminal message!

Educate Customers:

Take steps to post a blog on your floral website explaining to customers what “In Lieu Of Flowers” really means.  Have a small write up on the sympathy section on your website as well.

Write A Letter To Your Local Funeral Homes: 

This may or may not work, however, all it takes is one funeral home director to  understand the importance of re-wording “In Lieu Of Flowers” and make a difference. Changing wording to “Send flowers and donations here,”  “Memorial contributions can be sent here, ” completely changes the playing field.

There are so many different phrases that can be used to convey a less discriminatory message. What the floral community is asking for is not to make people send flowers for funeral services, but to leave tradition alone and allow people to make their own heartfelt decision.

Why Flowers Are Important At Funeral Services:

There truly is no other sentiment you can send for a memorial service be it, charity donations or even money itself that can express as many emotions as flowers do.

Since the beginning of time flowers have been displayed for the deceased as a symbol of condolences, sympathy, and love. Thousands of years ago, they were used for their wonderful fragrances and soft beauty. In this time of mourning when words are forgotten the flowers offer comfort to its surroundings. Flowers also represent one’s life’s cycle, from one’s birth to one’s passing.

Taking the flowers out of memorial service will make the ambiance look dim and murky. The flowers are there to create an environment which is more comforting for people when mourning.

We could go on and on why flowers are so important at memorial services, the simple reason is flowers are natures miracles, and florists are natures miracle workers. Nothing in this world expresses the same sentiment as flowers do when given as an expression of sympathy. Let’s encourage people to respect tradition an appreciate flowers.

What is wrong with doing both?

Back in the day, some may remember, it was acceptable to give a monetary donation and flowers, a mass card, food and flowers for someone’s funeral service. No matter how you looked at it flowers worked  hand in hand with any other expression of sympathy.

Why are things different now? Do people have less money? Why not donate to desired charity and send flowers together?

In certain circumstances, if you cannot beat them then intrigue them! Perhaps the future of the floral business is to partner up with charities.  Sympathy flowers can be sent to the memorial service and florists can also donate to the respected charity on the customer’s behalf.

Although this may sound far fetched, there are ways to accomplish this by directly participating with well-known cause affected charities.

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Florists we want to see your most creative Sympathy Funeral Arrangements, there is a true art to designing sympathy florals and we want to post in our upcoming September blog post.  Please include business owner name, flower shop name, location and sympathy floral designer name. Email to info@floranext.com

Florists, Has “In Lieu Flowers” hurt or has had very little effect on your floral business?  Please share your feedback in the comment section below. If you have any questions please post below as well!

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

 

Google My Business is one of the best ways to promote and create optimal visibility for your floral business or any business for that matter.

 Google My Business which was formally called Google Places is the ultimate platform for listing your flower shop on google search, maps, and Google + seamlessly all in one place.

Google My Business allows you to unite with your customers by essentially increasing your business presence on Google making you more credible and visible. In this blog, let’s talk about how to get started with Google My Business and how significant Google My Business is in making your business flourish (no pun intended).

 

How To Sign Up For Google My Business:

If you are just starting your floral business, regardless if you have a Floral Website or not, make sure to sign up for Google My Business. Of course, if you own a flower shop you should have a floral website this will increase your brand visibility and will help search engines rank you higher.  

• Click  Start Now in the upper right-hand corner of Google My Business
• Enter your floral business address.
• If you do offer walk in traffic into your shop make sure you select °Yes below where it states – I deliver goods and service to my customers at their location-important information ° Yes. If you offer customer walk in service at your flower shop leave this at ° No and click continue.
• If you select °No for – I deliver goods and service to my customers at their location- You will see important information on the next page, similar businesses in the same area pop up on the next page, if any of these are in your location, select them. If none of these businesses are at your location, select None of these matches -Keep information I entered.  
• If you selected °Yes you will see an information request on the services you offer. Enter where you deliver these services and within how many miles. If you do not select the box below where you serve customers at your location, your address will be hidden, however, your city and state will still show.
• Google My Business will then ask you to verify the information on the following page. Take a look and make sure your address is correct. Let’s emphasize to make sure your store location is correct. Google My Business is very user-friendly, however, changing errors can be cumbersome, so take the time now to verify all information is accurate.  Agree to terms of service and click to continue.
• Last Page, Google My Business will ask you how you would like the verification code, chances are it will be by mail, very few get phone calls. Wait approximately 1-2 weeks for a verification code and then verify your business by logging into Google My Business. Voila, it’s that easy! 

 

How To Add Photos To Google My Business:

Did you know that the more images you add to Google My Business, the better your ranking is in Google Local Search? Make sure to add as many images as you can to your Google My Business account. With that said, there are many different categories of photos,  it is good to make sure they correspond correctly.

Profile Image – This will allow customers to recognize you and by you, we mean your business. The profile image will be displayed next to your business name on Google + and must be different from your Logo image.

Logo-When adding your logo image be sure that it is square, these look the best on Google.

Cover Image – This is the grand feature photo and should correspond to the services you offer.

Additional Images – Add as many photos as you like here, the more the merrier. These are viewed by customers who are looking at your listing. It is good to include your own designs of everyday arrangements, wedding and store front image if possible.

Tip: Try and pick a photo or logo that helps you stand out to make your listing more alluring for a click. 

To add your photos simply go to Google My Business sign in.

• Click Photos from the menu and select the photo category you would like to showcase.
• You can now upload your photo from your computer.

Tip: Best format for images are JPG or PNG – be sure quality is good, we do not want customers looking at fuzzy, dark images.

 

Why Is Google My Business Important?

There are so many reasons why all business owners should and MUST be on Google My Business, especially if your business is location specific.  The biggest reason of all is the valuable impact it has in increasing your SEO ( search engine optimization).

Amazing Search Visibility– Landing on your location on Google is one of the best ways to increase your SEO (search engine optimization). Go ahead and type in any of these keywords on Google Search Page, City State Florist, Flower Shop and Zip Code/Postal Code.  Notice who comes firsts under the Map, these results are Local Search Results, courtesy of Google My Business, You cannot pay for these results.

Maps Your Floral Business Location – This, of course, allows the customer to come to you, believe it or not, they do. Besides that, it is also another vital piece of information for increasing your flower shop business SEO.

Allows For Customer Interaction: Google My Business allows for customers to interact with your business by leaving reviews and uploading their own photos. Every review counts, every photo upload counts!  How does it count? By increasing your SEO, remember you want to list between 1 to 3 on Google Local Search, which will help increase your clicks and sales.

 

Florists, how has Google My Business helped your floral business in the past years? Please share your feedback in the comment section below. If you have any questions please post below as well!

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.