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By Alison Ellis

Tariffs Are Bad For Business

Well, it’s been a tricky start to the month with the American Trade War Tariffs announcement. Hold onto your bootstraps because there’s no denying that tariffs are taxes on American consumers and they’re especially bad for small businesses. 

Understandably, for the last 6 weeks or so, florists have been asking, What should we do about the new tariffs? What are you telling your customers about future price increases?

In fact, it was the first question in my Q&A for Flower Math students, too. So here’s a short behind the scenes look at the answer!

It’s a tough position to be in and at this point, I am NOT making a “big tariff announcement post” from my floral business. This is a brand messaging decision and there are several factors to consider. So first, ask: What do you really need your customers to know right now?

Because if we’re being honest, we don’t fully understand how our businesses will be impacted yet, so we may have to see how much prices increase on the wholesale end in the upcoming weeks to make an informed decision on how much to raise prices.

  • What if you raise by 10% this week, and then realize it should be closer to 20%? Will you make another announcement of a larger increase or keep it to 10%?

If you’re a floral designer who already charges on the upper end of the floral markups, you may need to consider whether it’s even an option in your market to raise prices, before announcing any new company tariff policies. This is one reason why these new tariffs are especially harmful to small businesses like ours.

If you’re pricing appropriately to reach your profit goals, there’s still a ceiling on what the market will bear (meaning, there’s a maximum amount that your customers are willing to pay).

  • If you happen to work with more affluent clients, they’ll likely feel less effected by the increased prices. Everyone else in the middle or lower income demographic will feel the impacts more acutely.

For any existing orders such as weddings and events, should your clients expect the original price will go up? If so, by how much exactly?

  • How will customer receive a 20% increase on their floral budget? Can they afford to pay $600 more when they originally budgeted $3,000?
  • Could you revisit your pricing formulas and revise your floral recipes to include fewer stems or less expensive flowers to honor your original pricing?
  • Can clients have the option to pay a little bit more to keep the original design “as is” OR can you modify the recipe to swap out certain flowers or make designs a little smaller so you’re attempting to meet in the middle?
  • Are there any other business expenses you can cut so that you can make up for the import taxes you’re paying on COGS as well as in your everyday life?

As a floral designer with weddings booked myself, I know that it’s hard to feel uncertain about what to say to your customers and most of us want to feel like we’re “on top of things”, but a thoughtful policy rollout is preferable to a prompt announcement in my opinion here.


Also, I’m not an economist, accountant or a lawyer, but it seems like it’s possible these tariffs could be found illegal or unconstitutional based on the fact that Congress is supposed to set tariff policies. (Several lawsuits are currently underway.)

In lieu of a tariff announcement, if you’re looking for some inspiration on what to say to stay engaged with your social media followers, I post 5 Blog & Social Media Prompts specifically for floral designers in my Patreon community every month. If you’re interested, you can get this month’s prompts and check out several prior months of post ideas when you join as a Marketing Maven for $29 Here.

The intention of creating these prompts for my Marketing Mavens is to make it easier for you to communicate with your customers to make a connection–beyond just following social media trends and talking about tariffs!

And if you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Keep doing beautiful work. And keep your chin up as things remain unpredictable.

xo. -Alison Ellis


Additional Resources:

Flower Math: The Florist’s Guide To Pricing & Profitability

 

Wedding Bootcamp! April 27-29. Last Chance To Sign Up!

 

Business Plan Check-In

April 7, 2025 — 3:13 pm

By Alison Ellis

2024 Pricing Chat for Florists

 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year–at least when it comes to pricing and profitability in your business! It’s almost fall which means it’s time for my Pricing Chat for Florists! Join me on Tuesday, September 17th, at 12pm ET/9am PT to walk through the 3 Most Important Numbers Florists Need To Know in your business.

It’s free and you can register now to get your Zoom invitation and I’ll send you a workbook before the chat as well.

Join the Pricing Chat

Pricing & profitability should not be a mystery in your business, which is why I’m hosting this live conversation on Sept. 17th.

I’ll also be kicking off my Flower Math Fall Sale, Sept. 17-19th, and you’ll be the first to know when the doors are open if you get on the list for the Pricing Chat!

I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

xo. -Alison Ellis

September 6, 2024 — 1:51 pm

By Alison Ellis

Giving Yourself A Raise

Hey Floralpreneurs! When is the last time you gave yourself a raise? Now that Valentine’s Day is over, it’s a good time to evaluate whether it’s time for a pay increase. Because as a business owner it’s up to you to increase your salary from time to time, but how do you do it? ❤️

I have 3 tips for you today if you want to pay yourself more, but you’re not sure how to get there. Take a moment to watch and share with a flower friend you know and love!

Free Pricing Chat Sign Up!

Also, I mentioned that I’m hosting a Free Pricing Chat for Florists on March 7th—so if you want to join me you can sign up now to get on the list! After the chat, a replay will be available for a limited time so make sure you get on the list.

February 17, 2023 — 7:18 pm

By Alison Ellis

How Should Florists Set A Minimum

I’ve heard a lot of questions from florists about Setting Minimums (and raising minimums!) lately, which is why I was live today on Instagram to talk about How Florists Should Set A Minimum in their business. You can catch the replay from Instagram below!

Whether you already have a minimum or you’re just figuring out how to establish a minimum, this chat is for YOU!

Here’s what’s covered:

➤Why Florists Need A Minimum

➤How To Determine A Minimum For Your Business

➤How To Communicate A Minimum To Customers

 

Fact: Setting a Minimum isn’t a strategy to “attract customers”; it is meant to help weed people out! And adding a minimum to your website isn’t enough.

That’s why it’s important to understand WHAT your minimum is and HOW to present it to your clients.

I hope you’ll enjoy the replay AND I really hope you’ll sign up HERE for the Free Pricing Chat for Florists on Oct. 13th with 3 Numbers Florists Need To Know! 

If you have any questions for me, feel free to get in touch!

xo. -Alison


 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Alison Ellis (@realflowerbusiness)


Don’t forget to register HERE for the Pricing Chat on October 13th at noon EDT/9am PDT!

September 29, 2022 — 11:20 pm

By Alison Ellis

Do Florists Have To Go To Floristry School?

If you want to be a florist, do you have to go to Floristry School? It’s a question I see a lot and I know there can be some strong opinions on the subject. Click to see my answer to the question and let me know what you think!

The truth is, there isn’t just 1 right way to become a florist!

There are so many things to learn that you can’t learn “everything you need to know in just one place”. Whether you go to floristry school, or take an accredited floral design certification program, or you teach yourself through trial and error, there will always be something more for you to learn.

For example, I’ve heard from floristry students in Australia and England who enrolled in my Flower Math course and say that they got a much more thorough and clear explanation from my online course than they did in school! Even longtime florists have told me that they understand the design aspect of their work, but they’ve been kept mostly in the dark on the business-stuff.

And still, some floral designers manage to build a “busy” floral design business, but they struggle with attracting higher paying clients or creating systems to close sales (without a dozen meetings that drain their time and energy).

Let’s face it, there’s so much more to know as a florist than “just flowers”!

The secret to success in the floral industry is to keep learning and growing. Just going to floristry school isn’t enough.

And just learning from YouTube videos isn’t enough.

And letting 20 years pass between your last in-person learning experience isn’t enough either.

Never stop learning in your business and your life–and keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison


Ready to learn proven strategies to streamline your workflow and create more freedom in your floral business?

See  A Full Course List

April 8, 2022 — 8:38 pm

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Welcome, Floralpreneur®.  I’m Alison Ellis, creator of Flower Math, published author, and founder of Real Flower Business. My online business courses and private coaching help floral designers increase profits, book great clients & build a better brand.  Learn More →

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