Starting a Florist Shop

Summary: Flowers are the beauties of the living world; everyone needs it in some or other way everyday. If you have love towards flowers and feel the importance of flower in others life then you will enjoy running a florist shop and make money out of it.

Flowers are big part of every person’s life. It’s an all occasion (birthday, graduation, anniversary, condolences, get well soon,) and no occasion preferred gift of all time.

Studies shows that people are starting to buy flowers for themselves as well. Thus, flowers have become big business. An estimated 20 billion US dollars in flowers, plants and flower supplies are being sold every year in US alone. And this figure is expected to grow every year.

If you love flowers and want to always have flowers around you and you have a talent in creating wonderful flower arrangement, a florist shop business may just be for you.

Kinds of service

The first step is identifying your target market. Who do you want to sell flowers to? This will determine what kind of flower business will work best for you. There are three types of florist business, these are:
• Wholesale florist supplier. This business supplies retailer fresh cut flowers, and potted plants in bulk. They sell and deliver directly to flower shops and flower markets. Most of the wholesale florists are growers too. This type of business is not suitable for start-up entrepreneur.
• Retail florist service. This business may range in size from small flower kiosk in hospitals to large flower shops in malls catering to different customer types. A flower shop may have a focus or specialty such providing arrangements for wedding, funerals, gifts, and any other occasion. There are also shops that create niche such as only selling long stem red roses. This type of business is best for people who want to work hands-on with flowers and flower customers.
• Floral supplier. This business sells various non-growing components that florist use in their arrangements such as: baskets, ribbons, floral tape, floral wires, vases, wreath, floral foams, stands, frames and other materials. This kind of floral business needs extensive inventory and efficient distribution system.

Resources for Florist Business

This business needs space for the store or shop, a refrigeration system, and a reliable supplier for the flowers, plants floral supplies and other secondary items you want to sell.

Getting Started a Florist Shop

To effectively sell and skillfully arrange flowers, one should have background knowledge on some basic information on the flowers you are planning to sell. Do research. The internet provides a vast resource on this topic. You must know which flowers are available in a particular season and how long each cut flower last in vases with water, etc. Knowing theses things will also help you answer questions that customers sometimes ask.

Aside from knowing your flowers and plants, you should also brush up on your business acumen. Like any other business, the florist shop business needs back-end business management as accounting, cash flow management, billing system, etc.