Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

By Leave a Comment

How Do Florists Calculate Profit Margins?

I just wrapped up Week 3 of my September Pricing Series with 3 Steps to calculate your profit margins and you can watch a replay right here!

Today I answer the question: “How do you calculate your profit margins?

  • There are 3 Easy Steps to follow to calculate your profit margin, which I cover in my video below…..

I also answered THIS QUESTION FROM A FLORAL DESIGNER:

“How do you set the right markup so you make money but people don’t feel like they’re being “overcharged”?

My Flower Math Fall Sale is LIVE NOW thru Sept. 25th at 5pm ET! SAVE $150 OFF RETAIL TODAY!

Click HERE to Save!

Do you calculate your profit margins? Should you? The answer is Heck Yes!

You might think “I didn’t lose money on this order, so I obviously turned a profit”….

But in reality IF YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR NUMBERS, YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR BUSINESS!

This is why it’s so important to run the numbers on every event; every order; every week!

In fact, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING you can do for your business is to track your profitability!

Now, I can’t tell you what your “final profit” should be…

that depends on your total overhead, labor costs and expenses…

But I can tell you that you CAN make a 70% profit on the cost of your flowers and supplies…

AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I TEACH FLORISTS TO DO IN FLOWER MATH.

Click here to get it NOW & Save $150 OFF!

Whether you’re a wedding florist or you do daily orders in a shop, you can achieve margins of 70% or MORE on every single arrangement you make!

Here’s the truth, I’ve been doing this consistently for the last 17 years in my home-studio business and I know lots of florist who reach these margins, too!

And you know who reports these margins? MY FLOWER MATH STUDENTS!

Yes, it’s true, my students report increased confidence AND increased profits on the very first order they place after taking the course.

Some florists say they make back the entire cost of the course in just 1 wedding, REALLY.

Click HERE to Save!

In my Flower math course I share:

  • 6 REAL weddings,
  • real profits, COGS, & wholesale orders,
  • a full list of itemized invoices on 6 weddings ranging from $1500-$10K, 
  • a behind the scenes look at how I send an initial quote to a client,
  • a step by step on pricing formulas,
  • how I write recipes that help me keep my wholesale orders tight and right,
  • PLUS a list of all of my starting prices over the last 16 years!

I also cover: 

  • how to charge for rentals,
  • tips for flower farmers;
  • I share recipes for floral table runners and hanging chandeliers,
  • Plus I offer a money-back guarantee on the course!

Click HERE to Save!

My Flower Math course answers all of your questions on markups, design fees, how to calculate delivery and rentals, and if you ever have a question for me, before, during or after signing up for a course, just get in touch via e-mail at floralartvt@gmail.com and I’ll get right back to ya!…we can even arrange a time to talk on the phone.

REMEMBER: IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU CHARGE IF YOU OVERBUY!

I hope you enjoyed today’s video and I hope you’ll be tracking your profit margins and pricing like a boss!

Here’s that link to my Flower Math Sale one more time> CLICK HERE! 

xo. -Alison

 

 

By Leave a Comment

How Do You Price A Wedding?-Free Pricing Series For Florists

Are you 100% confident in pricing your floral designs?

If your answer is “I think so…” or “not really…”, then I have an invitation for you!…

What are you doing every Wednesday in September?…you’re invited to join me LIVE at 1:00pm EST every Wednesday in September for pricing and profitability tips! They’re 100% FREE and you can sign up by clicking here! 

Watch my video invitation below for more details:

Click to sign up!

Here’s the topic lineup, which is subject to change as questions are submitted:

September 4th–How much do your brides spend on flowers?

September 11th–What should I charge for this bouquet/arbor/centerpiece?

September 18th–How do you calculate your profit margins?

September 25th–How can you make more money in 2020?

Remember, if you want to make sure you DON’T MISS A LIVE CHAT, click here to sign up and get a replay of Week 1 in your inbox ASAP.

September is a good month to focus on making money…

because you’re about to enter the 4th quarter of the year…

and that’s the final stretch of your business year…

a perfect time to check in (and cash as many checks as possible!) before the end of 2019!

NOW IS THE TIME TO FOCUS ON THE FUTURE.

Join me live in my FREE Facebook group and ask a question during the chat…

AND if you want to MAKE SURE YOU GET THE REPLAYS SENT TO YOUR INBOX…

Click HERE to sign up for the replays my September Livestreams AND get notified of a special Fall Sale on Flower Math: The Florist’s Guide To Pricing & Profitability.

I look forward to seeing you LIVE EVERY WEDNESDAY IN SEPTEMBER and answering your pricing questions! 

With love from me to you,

Alison

By Leave a Comment

What’s the Holly Chapple Pillow for Florists?

What’s the “pillow” that floral designers are talking about lately?

It’s become almost second nature for florists to say, “I used a pillow to make this arrangement”, but if you don’t know yet, it’s the Holly Chapple Pillow from Syndicate Sales.

Click below to watch a short IGTV video I made when I used the pillow for a wedding compote!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

This is how I used the pillow for my wedding today! ❤️

A post shared by Alison Ellis (@realflowerbusiness) on

The possibilities for this product are quite possibly endless. From elevated centerpiece designs to cascading bouquets to arbor installations…your imagination is the only limitation to what you can do with this design mechanic.

The real benefits as I see them:

  • You don’t need to cut chicken wire for 20 centerpieces anymore, which saves time and, let’s face it, a lot of cutting!
  • Pillows are reusable.
  • It’s an alternative to floral foam. (And yes, I know, it’s still made of plastic. There’s plastic in much of what florists create….from plastic liners to plastic sleeves on flowers to plastic straws on scabiosa! It’s an alternative to foam; a different design mechanic with a different ecological footprint.)
  • They’re perfectly sized for 6″, 8″, and 10″ containers.
  • They don’t rust like wire.

And they’re so easy to use, that even a novice floral designer could use this as a design tool at home. And the more people who design flowers, the more people who buy flowers! It’s good for the industry to have more people arranging flowers….not to mention, arranging flowers is good for the soul, too.

So if you don’t know, now ya know!…that’s the Holly Chapple pillow that florists are talking about. Try it, you’ll like it.

Keep doing beautiful work, Floralpreneur®!

xo. -Alison

P.S. Debra Prinzing of SlowFlower.com wrote about this “new design mechanic” in October 2017 when it was first released and you can find that article in the Slow Flowers Journal right here!

Learn more about Alison here and find a full list of courses for florists here!

By Leave a Comment

Everything I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business

Free Tips On Starting A Business

Everything I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business is my new FREE eBook and you can get it TODAY!

Get It HERE!

This 35 page book is part memoir, part how-to and 100% honest regarding my 25 years in the industry and 17 years as a small business owner.

I hope you’ll check it out and I hope you’ll enjoy it!

SO WHAT DOES A GOOD FLORIST REALLY DO?

A good florist has an excellent eye for color and design…but there’s SO MUCH MORE that goes into owning a small business than arranging flowers.

Most people think, “It must be nice to play with flowers all day”, but the truth is that florists spend WAY more time on “other things” (like writing proposals and working on the computer!) than we’d like to admit…

  • Invoicing,
  • High expectation customers,
  • Questionable quality on fresh product,
  • Websites and social media to update,
  • Employees to manage,
  • Delivery logistics,
  • Taxes to pay,
  • and To-Do Lists!….oh, the To-Do Lists!

The idea that florists “play with flowers all day” is a MYTH and anyone who opens a business expecting that FLOWERS will be the main focus on a daily basis is sure to discover “all the other things” that require your immediate attention.

Running a business without basic business foundations can lead to unnecessary mistakes that result in lost income AND over-working.

It’s exhausting to try to “make it up as you go” AND “give it your all”…especially if you’re leaving money on the table. That’s what leads to burn out!

Some people walk alone on their biz journey, while others look for a quick fix: take one workshop and you’ll have all the tools you need!….or, sign up to learn how to make “six figures” in your small floral design business “just like they do”….or get a special software system to “do the work for you”…

But there isn’t 1 RIGHT WAY to run a floristry business and there isn’t 1 PERFECT METHOD that guarantees your success.

Get the book HERE!

Here’s the truth:

Floral design is actually hard work!…and every floral designer has to make their own way in business.

There isn’t a guaranteed shortcut to the top, but there are some important lessons that can take years off your learning curve (EVEN IF YOU’VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR YEARS ALREADY!).

I share some of the MOST VALUABLE LESSONS I’VE LEARNED over the past 17 years in business in my FREE eBook, Everything I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business—The Tao Of A Floralpreneur®!

Check out my FREE download to get some of my best tips, lessons and shortcuts to help you on your own business journey!

Click to get It HERE!

Here’s what’s covered in the book:

Page 7 Get Your Hands Dirty   

Page 12 Make It Noteworthy 

Page 15 Great Brands Do This

Page 17 Best & Worst Lessons

Page 23 My Small Business Plan

Page 26 Mom Like A Boss

Page 28 Make It, Don’t Fake It 

Page 29 Master Your Domain 

Page 32 Become A Guru 

Page 33 Invest In You   

Page 35 Market Like A Boss 

Page 36 An Invitation

Grab it HERE!

Here’s what Mallory said in my Facebook group today:

“Thanks for this, Alison! BTW–signing up for a free phone call with Alison (as mentioned in the e-book) is a WONDERFUL opportunity and you should do it…she is so generous with her wisdom and genuinely wants to help you, and her resources are all A++”

I made this book for YOU.

For floralpreneurs of any experience level and every stage of business…

Because this work isn’t easy and ya gotta love it.

And I do. I love it.

Thanks for taking the time to sign up and check it out HERE!

With love from me to you,

Alison

Get the ebook!

By Leave a Comment

Website Bootcamp July Sale

A funny thing happened…I recently updated my website and I got 5 new inquiries in the last 4 days.

BUT I hear a lot of florists who are disappointed with their inquiries as of late. 

This isn’t a problem that’s unique to any one level of business. (Even experienced florists experience a lag sometimes.)
So many florists get STUCK and know it’s time to make a significant change, but lack of time (or know-how) keeps you from committing to change. 
You don’t have to make big changes….you can make little ones instead.
 

Changes like…

  • Getting crystal clear on YOUR specific niche,
  • Letting go of offerings that don’t work,
  • Shifting focus on what you want in your business,
  • Embracing your business as a profitable gig and not a hobby,
  • Investing in sharing your message on a deeper level to attract better clients…
 
I told you I got 5 new inquiries in the last 4 days and that’s because I updated my website about a week ago. It’s still a work in progress, but there’s no doubt that the work I put into my site helped create those results.
 
I don’t know how long you’ve been in business.
I don’t know how long you’ve been struggling with low-budget inquiries.
I don’t know the last time you updated your website or improved your About page or wrote a blog post, but if you want to put your best foot forward and book great clients for 2020 (and beyond), then it’s time to make some strategic changes to your website right NOW. ❤️
 
And my 3-Day Website Bootcamp will walk you through the most important changes to make ASAP.
And it’s ON SALE thru July 7th for 10% OFF click HERE to get it!
  • Each class is approximately 1-hour and includes notes and homework.
  • There are 10 videos included in the Bootcamp.
  • This course is self paced and you can access the entire course as soon as you sign up.
 
Tascha wrote on Day 1 to say:
“I tweaked my tabs and dropdowns and also simplified my contact form. I don’t know if this is a coincidence but…has anyone else gotten an influx of inquiries this afternoon/evening? No joke, I got FOUR! 2 within the past half hour.”
 
Here’s what another Bootcamper said:
“I can do this at my own pace and revisit the info as needed. I like that it was presented in a way that was not overwhelming in regards to doing the homework….
I ended up redoing my entire website and still working on the SEO and blogging sections. But I think my website is much better than before with a lot more content (doesn’t look like a 3rd grader made it haha) Thanks Alison!!!!”

 

Here’s what you get when you register for my Website Bootcamp:

 
Day 1-Eliminate confusion and make a great impression.
 
You’ll learn:
How to improve your first impression.
How to get more people to “click to contact” you.
3 important must-haves every website should have.
 
Day 2-Elevate your About page and attract the best clients.
 
You’ll learn:
How to write better copy on your About page.
What your About page is missing.
How to pre-qualify clients for budget.
 
Day 3-How to get found without paying for ads.
 
You’ll learn:
The #1 way to get organic SEO.
How to position yourself as an expert.
3 essential steps for SEO you may be missing!
 
Samantha said:
“So grateful for this bootcamp! The inquiry form is saving me from a long phone call to find a budget that is just not realistic.”

 

Here’s what one Bootcamper in Autralia said:
“I think when it’s your biz you can become blind sighted like, “nah, I’m ok”. But the bootcamp takes those blindfolds off baby! And this course helps you to rethink and look. So easy and informative. Everyone will benefit.“
 
Click to enroll and SAVE $10 Off Today thru 7/7/19: https://courses.realflowerbusiness.com/product/website-bootcamp
This isn’t a course on ‘how to build a website from scratch’,
but on how to IMPROVE your website….OR how to tell your web designer EXACTLY what you need done to make your site function well.
It’s compatible with any website platform you use, though I use WordPress on my sites.
 
Sandi said:
“I have almost tweaked what I wanted to tweak on the website (my call to actions are all in place now Alison!) I have had such a great run of bookings which has been amazing as this year has been terrible for conversion- now I am nailing almost all of the enquiries. The brides are filling in the enquiry form answering all of the questions too- so thanks Alison so much!”
❤️
Look, I KNOW it’s not fun to update your website…I just did it, believe me, I get it!
But with my shortcuts and website hacks, you’re going to get results! So don’t delay. Sign up now and save.
I look forward to seeing you in the class!
xo. -Alison