Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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Can florists write proposals without a recipe?

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When should florists write recipes?

Do you figure out stem counts before a client is officially under contract?

Even with a streamlined booking process, it takes precious time and TLC to put together a wedding proposal–and I like to turn my proposals around quickly–so I don’t write recipes without a commitment from the client.

I always write recipes for my weddings…

Over the years I’ve established “starting prices” for the floral elements I make most frequently (i.e. bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, arbors, cocktail pieces, delivery & set-up, etc.).

My starting prices, or “minimums”, provide enough breathing room in the budget to create work I’m proud to deliver to my clients, without adding up each stem before we’ve actually established a working relationship (ie. a contract & deposit to secure the date), let alone finalized the design, color palette or specific floral choices.

Pricing a proposal takes far less time when minimums are established for each line item.

Whether you itemize an initial proposal for a client or simply offer a “lump sum total” when quoting a job, your established minimums will allow you to price as needed to turn a profit without having to write out recipes on every proposal before you get the job.

Here’s my process for booking without a recipe:

  • I send an initial proposal to a client with a minimum spend requested,
  • the clients commit to working with me (ie. a signed contract & deposit),
  • within the next fews months/year, we modify our plans as needed (adjusting colors, table counts, floral varieties, etc.),
  • and then, once final decisions are made, I’ll invest the time to create custom recipes for their event.

What if you’re pricing something you’ve never made before?

For example, what if you haven’t made an elevated centerpiece?

Well, sometimes you need to do some mathematics and imagining and spacial relations-work with your ruler and a loamy dish to determine a price on something you’ll be making for the first time…

But if you set some starting prices for your work, and you know that elevated centerpieces are at least 3x the price of a low centerpiece, you’ll automatically have a starting point to work from and instead of trying to make it for “less”, you can simply present the “starting price on elevated pieces”…even though you haven’t made it yet! (and then, you can offer alternatives to the elevated designs if their vision isn’t aligning with the desired budget.)

Click to watch, Can you price without a recipe?…

If you want to join my Facebook group click here!

P.S. The wedding I talk about in this video, well, I’m happy to report that it worked out GREAT!…she ended up being an ideal client after all.

Customers should get to “yes” easily.

It’s always easier to have a pricing conversation with a client if you’re being honest & transparent.

It can be as simple as clarifying: What are your customers willing to spend? and What can you provide at that price point?

Be confident in your pricing. Because if a client walks away after you’ve already offered your best price, then they’re just not your customer! They simply couldn’t afford you.

I used to be limited in my belief about how much I could charge…

Years ago, if someone said they had a $3,000 budget, I’d say, “OK, sure, I can make that work!” I mean, I should be able to make something beautiful for $3,000, right?!…well, that depends on what the client is requesting!

Once I get some preliminary details from a client, I can introduce a starting price based on the information I’ve collected.

The client’s requested vision may be “more than the minimum”–that’s the up-side of Pinterest….we can see immediately how elaborate and lush their dream/vision is, or get a sense of how clean, focused and simple their taste may be.

Are these flowers expensive? Yes, they are.

It’s not your job to try to replicate a $450 elevated centerpiece that your customer fell in love with (on Pinterest!) for the low, low price of $150. (I’d rather make a beautiful centerpiece for $150 that’s easy for your guests to see over, instead of feeling uneasy about the “smaller scale” of an elevated piece that was cobbled together for $300 less than the inspiration photo! That’s not your job.)

I want my customers to experience value when working with me.

Charge what you’re worth and then, BE WORTH IT.

Deliver what you promise…

If the inspiration photo is “more than you’ll provide at this price”, that must be clearly stated in all of your documents. “Your inspiration photo is $450, however, we’ll make a smaller, scaled down version for $275.”

Always deliver what you promise.

Your brand is what you deliver. Don’t promise something you can’t deliver.

Never forget the trust your clients put in you/your team.

Keep doing beautiful work, floralpreneurs!

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. Check out my February Flash Sale HERE and SAVE $20 OFF 2 of my most popular Wedding Templates, “How To Write Proposals That Sell” and “Contracts For Florists” OR SAVE $40 off a 5-course Bundle! (offer ends 2/28 @10pm EST. click here for details.)

 

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What do florists charge for delivery?

real flower business, tips for floral designers, floral business, floral design school

What should florists charge for delivery & set-up?

On weddings and events you might call it “delivery” or “day of labor” or “set-up fee”…..

I call it the :Delivery & Set-up fee” and it includes my time from the minute I start to load my van to the minute I’m done unloading it after an event.

Your time is valuable and you should be paid for delivery and set-up.

A delivery fee can be:

  • related to the radius from your flower shop, like a straight up delivery fee for any arrangement that leaves your door…
  • a percentage of the total order…
  • a starting rate of X with a mileage fee on top…

Delivery is more of a choose your own adventure aspect of pricing in your business.

For example:

  • Delivery starts at $150,
  • We don’t leave the door for less than $500 on a Saturday,
  • We charge 15% of the total order,
  • How much does it cost per van, per employee, per hour?
  • Add a PITA charge=pain in the (you know what!) for holidays, inconvenient locations and overall hassle-factors.

People expect to pay for delivery & installation (or set-up).

A delivery fee is different from a design fee.

The design fee is what you charge per design….it pays for your time and expertise in floristry.

Delivery fee pays for your vehicles, labor, time spent waiting….

I used to be really nervous to increase my delivery fee. It took me years to realize what I needed to take into account to make it worth my while to deliver.

Click below to watch: Price Talk Live! A replay from my Facebook group On Delivery & Set-up Fees!

In this video I’m fresh off the heels of a Chapel Designer Workshop where I taught at Hope Flower Farm in May. Going to live workshops is invigorating and can leave me vibing for weeks. Connecting with people who share our passion is an amazing gift.

I share a bit about who was at Hope and what we did there in this live chat, but you can skip ahead to the delivery & set-up tips if you fast forward to 4:25 minutes in!

I charge based on what it costs to “do this job”….

I calculate this on a per hour basis and also consider the mileage, number of helpers, number of vehicles, whether I have to climb a ladder and whether I have to come back or stay on call to move things between the ceremony & reception.

My delivery fee isn’t related to how much my client spends, it’s based on how much I need to make that entire day work seamlessly so that I meet their expectations and also cover the time I invest.

The bigger the event, the bigger the delivery and set up fee.

 

Consider the following when determining your delivery rate:

  • Some florists charge 10-20% of the total order,
  • Breakdown is additional (if it’s another trip, that’s separate!),
  • Administration fees (to coordinate delivery with other vendors, etc.),
  • Conceptualization fees (it takes time to make a set-up plan sometimes),
  • Give-up-my-Saturday fee,
  • Per van cost,
  • Per employee/hour,
  • What’s your “replace me fee” (if you’re sick or unable to go to the wedding, what will that cost you?)

Delivery may sound simple, but theres a level of care, expertise and professionalism that comes with the job.

Making money in your business should not be a mystery. Florists must have clarity on pricing.

Move forward pricing well, making a profit, and give yourself a pay increase with a small bump in your delivery fee.

Keep doing beautiful work, floralpreneur®!

And, by the way, as I mention in the video above, there’s a monthly payment plan on Flower Math for $49 per month for 1 year (click here).

You get the entire course right away and you can take 1-year to pay. If you need Flower Math, I’m happy to extend this payment plan option to make it more accessible.

Don’t hesitate to be in touch with any question for me.

With love from me to you,

Alison

Click here to join me in my Facebook group for future livestreams!

Click here to watch: 3 Numbers Florist Need To Know!

Video notes:

You can read an article I wrote for Florists’ Review Magazine about the Floral & Fauna Fashion Show and flowers with purpose, click here: floristsreview.com/flora-fauna-fashion-show

The teacher lineup at Hope included: Holly Chapple, Gregor Lersch, Hitomi Gilliam, Francoise Weeks, Passionflower Sue (Susan McLeary), and I was invited to speak about business (specifically pricing & website stuff!).

It was a honor to be on the roster with these legends and incredible floral pros.

Questions for me? Feel free to be in touch @ floralartvt@gmail.com

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Should you book more luxury weddings?

realflowerbusiness.com, real flower business courses, florist training, floral design

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.

 

Flower Math, online pricing course for floral designers, florist pricing guide

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

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Jumpstart Your Business Plan

I travelled to Providence, Rhode Island over the weekend for a speaking engagement at The Floral Reserve and if I had to sum up the experience in 1 word it would be “fantastic”.

It’s so much fun to teach in-person and I was gifted with an incredible group of floral pros in the audience. Every single person in attendance was eager to learn and ready to “do work”…which is my favorite combination in a floral audience.

There were 29 florists who grabbed a seat in the seminar and we talked about planning for success in your business, pricing for profitability, and I answered as many questions as I possibly could in the time we had together…but what I’m most proud of is the fact that every florist went home with business plans in writing that they can put in motion right away.

 

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Getting ready for my live chat today at @thefloralreserve ❤️

A post shared by Alison Ellis (@realflowerbusiness) on

If you want to put a business plan into motion for 2019, but you missed out on my live seminar, there’s one last chance to do some business planning with me before the end of the year!

Click HERE to get my Business Planning Basics Guide and JOIN ME LIVE on Dec. 20th at noon EST in a private Facebook group for extra support so that you can get your business on the right foot for your upcoming success!

You can Join the Business Jumpstart for just $20 and you’ll get immediate access to my 8-page Business Planning Basics pdf plus an invitation to JOIN ME LIVE on Dec. 20th at noon EST in a private Facebook group for paid members only. You must sign up before 11am EST on Dec. 20th to take advantage of this offer!

A replay will be made available after the livestream if you cannot join me live on Thursday, Dec. 20th.

Questions for me? Drop me a line @ floralartvt@gmail.com

Every course I create is designed to help move your business forward so you can keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison

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Join me Live at The Floral Reserve

I’m doing some end of year business planning live and in person at The Floral Reserve in Providence, Rhode Island on December 9th,….do you want to meet me there?

In honor of their 1 year anniversary, The Floral Reserve invited me to present an educational seminar for their wholesale customers and fellow florists as part of their end-of-year celebration and I am so honored and excited to be a part of it! There’s room for up to 45 floralpreneurs so space is limited!

And after the educational portion of our day, you’re invited to the Flowers By Semia studio for a meal catered by Gracie’s restaurant. You will be treated to a lavish tablescape and candlelit room for dinner, as a thank you for an amazing first year of business at The Floral Reserve. (I will also be joining you for dinner, of course!) Limited to 25 attendees.

You can click HERE for details to register to join me and reserve your seat today!

education for florists, floral education

I will lead two 45 minute presentations with breaks for questions in between, from 3pm-5pm on Sunday, December 9th.

The first will be a discussion on the on the basics of business planning so that you can update your business plan and grow your brand. You’ll have access to the slides from this presentation afterwards for future reference as well.

The second presentation will be on Pricing and Profitability and attendees will get a special discount on my online pricing course, Flower Math, if you’d like to dive deeper into the pricing lessons.

From The Floral Reserve:

“While there is always room to improve and grow in your designs, growing your business is just as important. On December 9th, we are so excited to invite our friends in the floral design community to something truly special. We will be hosting the lovely Alison Ellis of Real Flower Business at The Floral Reserve, a floral designer and business guru, as she shares her knowledge to educate and empower fellow “floralpreneurs” to achieve their business goals and build long-lasting brands….read more here.

Keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison