How Long Do Flowers Last?

Even talented floral designers can sometimes miss the fundamentals of floristry.

Whether you learned in a traditional flower shop, graduated from floristry school or you’re learning on your own as you go, every florist has more to learn. That’s why I’m spending the month of April answering questions from new florists (aka “newbies”). Today’s question is on flower longevity: How long do flowers last?

A florist wrote to say: “Thanks for the doing the newbie Q&A’s. I have a question. Google seems to give me all sorts of answers. How long can flowers and greenery stay in the cooler before they are not good anymore and I need to throw them away? Thank you!”

There are a few things to consider, of course, so click to watch my answer below! (And click HERE to submit a “newbie question” for me to answer this month!)

A few things I mention you should consider around longevity:

Season. Is this flower in season right now?
What’s its nature? Is this flower more delicate or fragile (ie spring blooms like tulips, daffodils and lilacs)? Or is it more hardy (like Italian ruscus, or a tropical orchid or anthurium)?
How old is the product when it got to you?
How did you care for the flowers once you received them?
Certain flowers and greens can be stored for longer periods of time if they are dry packed (ie not in water).
Ethylene gas causes flowers to mature more quickly AND fruits and flowers both share the same chemical makeup.
I also mentioned apical dominance, which you can see in action in my video, 2 Gladiola Tips on my YouTube channel HERE!

Thanks so much for tuning into my newbie tips this month.

It’s fun to answer your questions and share what I’ve learned over nearly 3 decades in the floral industry. I’ll see you all week long on Instagram with more Tips for Newbies!

To learn more about me, click here to reach my bio and click here to download my FREE eBook, Everything I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business!

xo. -Alison

P.S. A few people I mentioned in today’s chat include:

Watch a tour of Ben Cross in his sustainable alstroemeria nursery HERE.
Mountain Flower Farm grows and ships beautiful peonies HERE.
Follow Francoise Weeks for inspiration on using unique botanical materials.
My tee shirt, No Rain, No Flowers, is available on Botanical Brouhaha HERE. (I really love this tee shirt!)

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Featured On Flirty Fleurs

I wrote my first floral education article as a guest blog post for FlirtyFleurs.com back in March 2011 with 15 Tips To Book More Weddings.

I continued to submit flower business articles and videos and the rest, as they say, is herstory.

I was inspired to share what I knew so I went out on a limb to ask a knowledgable floral expert, Alicia Schwede–who didn’t know me at all–if she’d be willing to let me talk to her audience and lucky for me, she said yes!

In fact, she continued to say yes to my submissions and floral designers can find dozens of guest blog posts, videos, checklists, and I even had features in a few of the Flirty Fleurs print magazines over the years. (Scroll down to see those original 15 Tips I shared!)

I’ve covered a lot of ground over at Flirty Fleurs!

From topics like mock-ups and minimums to tipping and “extra flowers” to pricing garlands and when to get paid; scroll down for a Flirty Fleurs Playlist!

As you know if you own a business: everybody has to start somewhere. And this is where I started my floral education journey.

15 Tips To Book Weddings More Quickly (via FlirtyFleurs circa 2011!)

Be easy to reach via e-mail. E-mail is essential to coordinating with your clients.
Schedule consultations with the lead wedding designer—someone who is skilled and versed in weddings, works well with customers and translates ideas into designs.
Update your portfolios and website to reflect the best of your work and professional photos are always best. This means that wedding bouquet from 1995 has to go. Heck, maybe that bouquet from 2009 has to go, too! Keep it fresh.
Keep up! Follow trends on blogs, websites, magazines, social media, etc. You have to know what’s happening in your industry. (Your clients do!)
Decide which services you offer and which you don’t. Are you: a floral designer; an event designer; a florist who does weddings; a wedding designer who owns a flower shop; a lighting specialist? You don’t have to be all things to all weddings!
Do what you do. Don’t worry about what the other guys are up to.
Be upfront about your pricing. Find out what the clients’ budget is and either do your best to stick to it or suggest what you think is a reasonable budget for what they want. Years ago I was advised to never inquire about budget and to always “up-sell” to clients planning a wedding. After all it’s their wedding day—a day to “go for it”—it’s a chance to steer them towards more expensive options. Wrong. People can’t spent money they don’t have—period.
If the pricing or style doesn’t work, then move on. It’s OK to decide that a client is not a good fit. It will make life easier in the long run.
Don’t overbook. Taking on more than you can handle is never a good idea.
Require a signed contract and a reasonable deposit of at least 20-30% of the total budget to book an event.
Be concise in proposals about what is required to book a date, when final payment is due, etc.
If you send out a proposal and don’t hear back within a reasonable timeframe you should follow up—once—with the client to see if there are any questions you can answer.
Charge fairly, but you have to be compensated for your flower markup, design fee, delivery and set-up, travel, etc. If you are not charging enough, then why are you working so darn hard?
Don’t promise what you can’t deliver. (Definitely don’t do that!)
Listen to what your clients want. Then, make it happen.

9 years later, I still stand by these tips by the way!!

After sharing my “stuff” with floral designers for years on Alicia’s blog, I finally branched out and created my website, realflowerbusiness.com, where I could create my own corner of the world to create and share. I’ve been doing so since 2015 and I’m so thankful for the thousands of florists who’ve taken the time to watch my videos, join a course, or participate in one of my Live Q&A Tuesdays on Facebook!

But I still make guest appearances on Flirty Fleurs–look for me on the first Monday of the month–including this video: Should Florists Make Mock Ups? If you’ve ever been asked to make a mock up, click to watch!

Funny story: I first knew florists were watching my educational videos when I attended a Chapel Designer’s Workshop and someone said, “I’m your biggest fan!”

I walked into the ladies’ room one of the attendees looked over at me and said, “Oh my gosh, I’m your biggest fan!”

Um, surely she had me confused with someone else, right?…

Turns out, no. She was actually talking to me!

She was reading and watching my posts on Flirty Fleurs and she liked me! She really, really like me. (Who’d have thunk it?)

It hadn’t occurred to me how many florists were actually watching my videos or reading my articles so when someone recognized me and called herself a “fan”, I must admit I was surprised. And flattered. But first and foremost I was inspired to keep creating!

I thanked Alicia in a blog post a few years ago for sharing her stage with me (read that here) and most recently on her website (see my video below) and if you’ve missed any of my Flirty Fleurs Features you can catch them all in my YouTube Playlist here.

To see some of my videos throughout the years, check out the Flirty Fleurs Playlist below!

Thanks for taking the time to tune in, Floralpreneur®! Keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison

Find a Playlist on YouTube with hours of videos here:

Remember: If you like my videos, please “like” them, comment and share ’em with your best flower friends. xo.

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Floral Business Seminar Live

Have you ever wanted to learn with me LIVE and in person?

I have 3 words for you: March In Minneapolis.

Want to meet me there, Floralpreneur®?

I’ll be speaking live and in person in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Koehler & Dramm Wedding Show and I would LOVE to see you there!

Click HERE for details and to join us at the show!

Dates are March 20-22 and I’ll be presenting at 5 different times that you can choose from!

MEET ME IN MINNEAPOLIS

I’m teaching 2 different seminars on Attracting Great Clients and Closing The Sale and Pricing Strategies For Profitability.

Tom Bowling, AIFD will be presenting as well and you can mix and match your seminars so that you can see both of our presentations over the course of the weekend!

MEET ME IN MINNEAPOLIS

If you’ve ever wanted to learn with me live and in person THIS is the perfect time to join me!

xo. -Alison

By Alison Ellis 1 Comment

Should you book more luxury weddings?

If you want to have a successful floral design business do you have to focus on luxury weddings?

I’ve seen ads that claim to teach florists how to “book more luxury events” and “make a six-figure income”, but the truth is that most florists don’t service luxury events (or pay themselves a 6-figure salary!).

In fact, many florists aren’t fully equipped to do luxury events (staffing, space constraints, rental inventory on deck, etc.) so if you don’t do “luxury weddings”, you’re actually totally normal!

As I learned in my youth, “Mo money, mo problems”; that can certainly apply to luxury floral gigs, too.

Luxury events of the scale and scope that generate “a six figure income” require a few things:

High-end clientele that trusts you…
Unbelievable customer service…
Organizational systems…
A Team of pros (your floral army)…
Room to spread out and do your work…
Ladders…
Extra vehicles…
Multiple meetings…
The entire weekend thru Sunday afternoon….
Nerves of steel!

The sheer quantity of work involved in creating lush centerpieces for 200+ guests and hanging installations and an elaborate arbor or chuppah can be more than just a bit overwhelming for any floralpreneur®.

For example, if you don’t have a “go-to team” you can count on, then pulling off a large-scale event may be particularly difficult to execute.

You need a reliable team of professionals on deck who understand your expectations in order to flawlessly deliver a ton of details in a short amount of time. Without extra hands you can trust to help lift and schlep and climb ladders, “luxury weddings” can make you feel like you’re in over your head.

Pro Tip: Find your sweet spot!

To have a “successful business”, your work should not only make you money, but it should make you happy & fulfilled, too….in other words, you shouldn’t dwell in a constant state of overwhelm or aim for goals that aren’t truly in your heart.

Most of my weddings are in my “sweet spot” which is anywhere from $3,500-$6,500 range. They’re “big enough” to make it worth my while to block off my time and spend days designing for their event, yet I don’t need a floral army to meet my obligations and I can probably fit it all in my minivan for delivery without renting a larger vehicle.

I can appreciate the thrill and challenge of a larger event, but luxury weddings aren’t my bread and butter.

Once I involve multiple vehicles, multiple helpers, multiple hours of on-site installation over multiple days, the commitment from me goes up and the commitment from the client goes up as well (both financially and in regards to overall expectations).

If you’re intimidated by five-figure floral budgets and high-expectation clients or you’re simply not interested in providing extra time and attention and multiple on-site meetings to high-end clients, then “luxury” events may not be your dream gig. And that’s OK. Determine the price points that work best for your business goals so you’re working in your sweet spot.

Floral design is not a get-rich-quick scheme…

You won’t find a florist on this planet who’ll deny that what we do is hard work, so while turning a profit in your business is a necessity (and you should know your profit margin on every event!), your love of flowers and floral design is also an important ingredient for sustained success.

I’m not actually looking to grow a large scale floral design company. I like the work I do now.

I love floral design and specifically, I love my small, home-studio that focuses on wedding flowers. I consider myself a successful business owner; I’m happy with what I’ve built and continue to grow.

If you don’t LOVE floral design in your heart, you’re going to have a lot of very long days at work.

Let’s talk profit margins in your flower biz.

As a solo-business owner, who only hires occasional freelancers and weekend delivery & set-up assistance, there are some limitations on the amount of work I can take (and that creates an income cap!). For example, I’ve done 4 weddings in a holiday weekend before….and it was hell…..so I learned to never do that again!

So with limited weekends for events, how do florists create a financially viable business? Click here to check out some real floral industry stats and watch my live chat: How much does a florist make?…

The moral of the story is this:

You don’t have to book luxury weddings to be a successful floral designer.

Do what you love! Deliver what you promise. And keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison

Additional resources:

10 Things I Did To Grow My Floral Design Business (click to read)
Want to book more weddings more quickly & Save $20 Off my Wedding Templates? (click here).

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Sample Preview Of Flower Math

I’ve just updated the free sample preview of my Flower Math course.

You can click HERE to sign up for a free sneak peek at what’s included inside the course.

If you’re not sure if Flower Math is right for you, then this free preview is the perfect first step.

Click HERE to get a look at the course now!

xo. -Alison

Pricing & profit margins are not a mystery.

The goal is to make 70% profit on the cost of flowers & supplies….the rest of your COGS will come out of that 70% profit.

Pro Tip: Do you calculate your profits on flowers and supplies? If not, why not start now? It’s easy.

Here’s how it’s done:

Remember: Your additional COGs (the cost of doing business!) will come out of that 70% profit on flowers & supplies.

Check out a FREE PREVIEW of Flower Math here.

You’ll love Flower Math if you…

0.1 Have a talent for design, but don’t have a firm grasp on the business-side.

0.2 Make a profit that’s less than 70% on the cost of flowers & supplies.

0.3 Don’t charge a design fee (or labor fee) on each arrangement.

0.4 Wonder if you can give up your day-job (or bridge-job).

0.5 Overfill orders and struggle with feeling guilty about charging for your time.

0.6 Need help with floral recipes. (I share 20+ real recipes that you can easily use, copy or adapt!)

0.7 Are a home-based florist who’s never worked in a profitable flower shop.

0.8 You’re a flower farmer who’s expanding to offer wedding and event work.

0.9 Don’t feel 100% confident when you send a quote.

It’s easy to get started. Click here to enroll in Flower Math today.

Flower Math is the florist’s roadmap to profit clarity.

I’ll teach you how to make more money & quit over-buying.

Satisfaction Guarantee: I am certain you will love my course, but if you don’t, I’ll give you a full refund and you can keep the downloadable pdfs included in the course (including the bonus with my list of starting prices!)

To request a refund just shoot me an e-mail and we’ll set up a time to chat so you can tell me why Flower Math didn’t work for you.

Remember: I’m happy to answer any questions you may have along the way.

You can contact me with questions at any time before, during or after taking a course.

Have a question for me? Don’t hesitate to be in touch! floralartvt@gmail.com