Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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4 Actions To Grow Your Business

You’re officially approaching the end of the business year and while the year may be over, this work on your path to a profitable business must continue.

So to support you on that path, I thought it would be helpful for me to lay out the focused steps I teach florists to grow a profitable floral design business.

Because the truth is, the biggest problem for most entrepreneurs is they simply don’t know exactly what action steps to focus on to grow their cash flow and scale their business with less effort.

Real Flower Business Courses For Florists

Growing a sustainable business really comes down to 4 focused action steps:

Step #1 – Price For Profit

This is the process of following industry standard markups, applying a design fee, charging for delivery & set-up, and generally just feeling good about your profit margins.

Once you’re at a place where you don’t need to worry about how much money you’re making on each sale, you start shifting to “how you can make more money with less effort.”

No matter where you are at in business, whether working from a home-studio or a brick & mortar shop, I always suggest you follow the Flower Math formulas for pricing to ensure profitability…(in fact, you can learn more about my Flower Math technique right here!).

Step #2 – Establish Your Value

Following Flower Math formulas will help you increase your income, however you must also think about the long term sustainability of the business.

That’s where building a reputable brand comes into play. The value you provide to your clients is what your brand is all about. Trustworthy and reliable is what an integrity brand is all about….(This is the real reason people choose you over other florists in your area!)

Step #3 – Monetize Your Brand

Then, once you’ve built a trustworthy brand, it’s time to tap into it to generate some more cash flow by charging premium prices for the level of service and overall experience you provide.

And truthfully, this is as simple as consistently creating beautiful floral designs and providing outstanding customer service experiences so that you develop a sought-after business!

You rinse and repeat these 3 steps over and over again until you have your cash flow where you want it to be…where it is more consistent & reliable.

Step #4 – Scale Your Business

This step is focused on the 3 key areas that allow for you to expand your income without expanding your workload. This is the stage when you MUST ditch the hustle-mentality and start thinking and working SMARTER.

These 3 key areas are: Clear Offers, Authenticity Marketing, and Streamlined Systems.

With these 3 things in place, you will be able to welcome in qualified new clients…and eliminate price shoppers….because clients already understand what you do and trust your brand so that all you need to do is lead them through the process.

These truly are 4 CRITICAL focused action steps you need to grow and scale your business. Work smarter, not harder as you grow.

Hopefully that makes your next steps clear and if you have any questions, please let me know…

To ask me a question or drop me a line e-mail:  info@floralartvt.com

xo. -Alison

P.S. The Flower Math course I mentioned in Step #1 is an easy to follow technique that is making me and my students a lot of money on every order…simply by applying the Flower Math formulas…and there’s no technology required….other than your computer and a calculator.

By following Flower Math…

  • I make a consistent 70% profit margin (or more!) on the cost of flowers & supplies.
  • My clients tell me they make more money on every order they place.
  • Susan made back the purchase of the course in just 1 wedding and said, “I can make a career out of this (and not only be a hobby florist!)”.
  • My client in England said, “I’m not a natural with maths and found it very helpful and easy to understand. I spent £2,000 on a recognised floristry course and am annoyed that they did not cover this amount of detail!!”
  • Canadian designer, Larissa, told me she was happy that she “had to pay taxes for the first time” because she turned a profit in her business after taking Flower Math!
  • Heather signed up in mid-November and she said, “I actually felt the light bulb come on in my head.”

In fact, on average the floralpreneurs who follow the techniques I teach are making more money and feeling more confident on the very first order they quote.

So, if you want to get in the loop on exactly how they work, then click here to learn more and SAVE $100 Off Flower Math Today!

With love from me to you,

Alison

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Can A Single Rose Derail Your Business?

Hey Floralpreneur®!
Can a single rose really derail your business? When you look at the numbers, the answer is definitely, yes.
 
In fact, when you hear what I’m about to present, you might want to sit down.

My inspiration when I made today’s video was “How to be the most valuable floral designer at your company”.

This is a lesson I learned many years ago from a shop owner who I always refer to as my best-worst-boss-ever.
Because while he really was the worst boss in some ways, he was the best at teaching me about customer service, running a beautiful flower shop, and the importance of not overfilling orders.
Click to watch, “How a single rose can derail your flower business.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Whether you’re the owner/designer or you hire other pros, every designer must understand their unique impact on the bottom line for your business. 

Thanks for watching!

I hope you’ll share this video with your employees or at least relay the stats as they relate to your flower business.

Ready to learn how to stop over-filling orders so you can increase your income & price with confidence? Flower Math is the florist’s roadmap to profit clarity! Click here to find out more!

Need more pricing tips?

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Sample Preview Of Flower Math

Hey Floralpreneur!

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

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How should florists charge for rentals?

When I asked florists what they most wanted to learn in the upcoming year, the #1 answer was “pricing”. One of the most frequent pricing questions I’ve received over the years is on rentals; precisely, “How do you charge for rentals?”…..

You’ll find multiple methods for charging for rentals, but here’s how I do it and why! Click to watch:

Rentals can be a smart income stream for your business. If you find that your clients are most-interested in renting vs. buying centerpiece vessels, then offering items for rent is one way to fill a need for your clients.

If you tend to work with clients who want to “own everything” and feel free to give flowers away at the end of the evening or re-use them for brunch, etc., then perhaps you don’t rent as many centerpiece containers, but you have some “other feature pieces” that you can rent over and over again.

It can be difficult to speculate on “what people will want” (for years and years to come….), which is why you want to start with practical rental items. (see below!)

You must consider your storage space as well. For example, if you have to rent a storage unit, do you *really* need the expense involved in storing those rental items?

Start with a few practical rental items:

2 Large fiberglass urns for ceremony/altar,

65-100 Mercury glass votives,

10-12 Lanterns (for centerpieces or to light a pathway),

Signage, table numbers, place card holders,

3-4′ columns or pillars for ceremony arrangements,

Various centerpiece vessels,

Chuppah or arbor structure(s).

Remember: Styles come and go. Don’t go “all-in” with something that’s not particularly versatile!

Pro-tip: Sometimes rentals “walk away”. Make sure you have a clear rental agreement that covers a deposit for damage, loss, etc. Every contract requires a meeting of the minds; make sure your client knows how you will bill for lost or damaged items.

Thanks for taking the time to tune in and watch.

 

With love from me to you,

Alison

More FREE Resources:

Do you need a pricing guide on your website? Click HERE to find out.

Do customers think your prices are too low? Click HERE for more.

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Should Florists Charge Less If They Work From Home?

Are you a Home-Studio designer? 

Get 10 Tips for Home-Studio Florists HERE.

As a home-studio florist who trained in 5 different flower shops before branching out on my own 16 years ago, (ie opening a business from the kitchen of my 2nd story apartment!), I’ve come to realize that I was pretty lucky in my training.

As I’ve connected with super talented floral designers around the world, I’ve learned that even super talented florists sometimes struggle with pricing; including home-studio, boutique or appointment only designers, as well as brick & mortar flower shop owners!

The reason I say I was “lucky” in my training is because I was trained by different experienced florists, all with varying styles, income goals, overhead costs, employee retention rates and creativity & quality standards, etc…

BUT THE ONE THING THAT EVERY FLOWER SHOP HAD IN COMMON WAS THEIR PRICING.

No matter which shop I went to, I was taught the same pricing structure each and every time. (We even had cheat sheets at our design benches.)

So by ‘lucky” I mean, I’m lucky to have never questioned my pricing model or my value because I knew without a doubt that I was following the flower shop model.

If you work from home and you’re wondering if you should charge less because you “don’t have a shop”, click to watch! This video was made for you.

And if you need more details on pricing like a flower shop, check out my FREE pricing course, Flower Boss 2: Industry Standards on Pricing,& Markups CLICK HERE to get it.

Thanks for tuning in!

Keep doing beautiful work.

xo. -A