You May Have to Swim the Moat to Get Your Flower Shop Opened

I heard someone say the other day, "That if you want to get to the castle, you have to swim the moat." That has stuck with me ever since I heard it, and I have been pondering the statement according to my own life.  Think about it. "You have to swim the moat to get to the castle." I can paraphrase it by saying several different things. One, get out there and fight the fight, fake it 'till you make it, etc. 

So you have decided to open your flower shop. Great!! Now you must get busy. Tasks that will come up may seem hard, but take it one activity at a time. Do not overwhelm yourself. I know you are excited and probably wish everything was all completed and it was opening day. Well, that day will come soon enough. I remember fondly of planning and starting my flower shop. It was some of the most exciting and most happy times. The possibilities were all before me.

So get out there and swim the moat and get your flower shop. Start by making some lists. Examples would be a how to get financed list and an inventory to purchase list. Make a wholesaler list and begin to contact them. Get to know your wholesalers. You may want to make a gift show list and plan to start attending the gift shows so you can see what products are hot; learn the newest trends.

If you want to get to the castle, you have to swim the moat. Begin now. Take a piece of paper. At the top of the paper draw a "castle" on it, or a flower shop or fields of flowers or anything you want to metaphorically speak for "the castle". Under it draw a fairly big circle, big enough in which to write. Embellish this basic form any way you want, or not at all. If you are a creative person you may want to decorate it or draw on it. Make 20 or so photocopies to begin. 

Each day, take one of these sheets. Ask yourself questions such as, what is it I have to do today to get my flower shop opened? What is it I have to do today that is difficult?" Is there a phone call I do not want to make, but I should get it out of the way first thing so the rest of the day is easier? Do you have a difficult meeting, maybe with a banker that you would prefer you did not have to attend? Do you have to spend money that you wish you did not to achieve your outcome and that is making you nervous? Whatever it is, write it in "the moat", the circle. Be sure to cross it off as you finish the task. 

You are swimming the moat. You are fighting the fight, step by step. You are step by step getting your dream flower shop opened. Eventually, you will achieve your goal, get your castle. Just take it day by day, step by step. As they say, inch by inch, anything is a cinch. Save these papers. It can serve as a sort of diary for you to look back upon. Be sure and date each page. It can show you how you got to where you wanted to be; designing flowers all day and making people smile for a living. And I just have to add from “Little Nemo”, just keep swimming, just keep swimming. I could not resist!!

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Display Ideas for Inside Your Flower Shop

I have three charming ideas for displays. At times it seems like a hard and a daunting task to come up with new display ideas. I always welcome fun and unique ideas to display floral designs and plants. I anticipate you will enjoy these. I hope these are useful to your store as well.

1) Start with some wire mesh. Cut a piece large enough so that when connected in a circle you will have a 10-11" circle. Place a clear plant tray that is large enough to go over the top of the cage of wire mesh you have just made. You have made your first wire pedestal. Make at least five of these at varying heights to complete one display area. This type of display piece would be perfect for silk flower arrangements, basket gardens, or gift basket of different types. To give a garden look from these pedestals, place herbs in clay pots on the pedestals and accent around the cages with herb and garden books for sale, flower seeds, and garden tools; maybe even potting soil and baskets. Very unique and interesting. Place several of these three to five pedestal displays around your shop. Also these wire cages could be used for a grand summer window display. Accent with plants and country folk art. Stuffed animals would be very cute around these cages, maybe cows, ducks, bunnies, and chickens.

2) I like to use wooden crates for display. My customers even want to buy the crates themselves and I have sold them. These can be made easily from a bundle of lathes and scrap wood in the size of your choice for the top and bottoms. I stand some crates upright and some on their sides. The crates can also be draped with fabric for some color. Dish gardens, silk arrangements, and pottery and baskets fill in the crates nicely. These crates are so versatile; they can be used in display for almost anything.

3) Shower curtains for a window display. No, I am not crazy, yet... Shower curtains come in so many designs and colors. They can be a great backdrop for that special display. They are fairly inexpensive and can be used, put away and brought out again to be used in a different way. Think about what you want to highlight in your floral shop. You could even shop thrift stores for this type of backdrop. Just make sure your shower curtain is bright and shiny clean. Next, take some craft foam and cut out some circles of different sizes. Spray paint them a coordinating color. Punch two holes in each circle, opposite each other and string clear fishing line through the holes.

These circles can be hung from the ceiling at varying heights. Place on the circles potted silk green plants you have for sale. Use as a display for seasonal holidays such as Valentine's Day, placing red, white, pink, and lavender everything on the circles. Use some of the wooden crates from display suggestion #2 above on the bottom for the lower half of the display, and use the hanging circles displaying your Valentine designs. The crates can be spray painted red, white, pink, etc. as needed. Pull it all together with the matching shower curtain for the backdrop, the coordinating crates, and the hanging circles to show off your feature items.

Look all around you. As you are driving, as you walk around, as you shop, see objects in a different fashion. An old gate can be a great backdrop for a dried floral wreath. Paint a window screen, put it on an easel and use to display earrings for a quick add on sale. Gaze all about and you will find treasures you can use to make your flower shop distinctive.

Pick and Paint Dried Floral Materials While on Your Drive

Whenever I go anywhere I am prepared to gather dried materials with which to design. I carry brown bags, plastic bags, spray paints, rubber bands, wire, and plastic cellophane sleeves. I carry all these supplies in a box in the trunk of my car. It really takes up very little space. It is a lot of fun and the more you get out and walk around your surroundings, the more flora you will find. You will want to make sure that nothing you cut is protected. Be sure to cut dried material in moderation, so that it can reseed and come back next year. Carrying a flower and tree field guide with you will be very helpful in identifying plants; you can find the guides specific for your area. Your local library probably has this type of reference material. Gathering floral materials to use is fun, economical, and can be a good addiction.

Rice Grass
I live in the southwest. This is the area with which I am most familiar. In the spring, rice grass comes to life. It can be picked while green and also after it has field dried. It will then be a beautiful natural tan color if picked late in the summer. You will want to harvest rice grass before it gets wind blown which is what happens as the summer progresses. Pick bunches not to big. I trim the bunches of rice grass so they are nice and even so when I get home, they are ready to hang. If I want colored rice grass, I paint the bunch right there in the field. Rice grass in great for wreaths and to use as a filler flower in flower arrangements.

Peppergrass
I love peppergrass. It can be used as fresh cut material while in bloom. Use it right away in fresh floral arrangements or hang to dry. It is white when in bloom. Peppergrass works the same in flower arrangements as baby's breath. It is a bit lacier. If it is picked when naturally dried in the field it is a nice tan color. Whether you harvest it dried or fresh, make bunches not too large and secure the ends with a rubber band. When picked dried, you can spray paint your bunch any color you desire, then bring them to your shop and hang. Do not wait too late into the season to pick, as it will become too brittle.

Curly Dock
Curly dock is found throughout most of the United States along creek banks and in abandoned fields. Early in the season it can be picked while green and hung to dry. Later in the season, it turns naturally an awesome chocolate to russet color. It can grow up to 2-3 feet. I would cut as the dock long as possible. You can always cut shorter, but it is harder to lengthen materials. If cut earlier in the season, May -July, there is less chance of shattering. When picked in the fall, you may need to spray with a sealant to prevent shattering. Curly dock is a very versatile floral material. Use in autumn arrangements, wreaths, or dried and fresh arrangements.

Mullein
Mullein grows on dry hillsides and on roadsides. The leaves are grayish green and they feel like velvet. Mullein flowers are yellow and the stalk grows to a height of 3-6 feet. The mullein plant reminds me of liatris in nature, only taller, thicker, and dries to a soft gray to brown color. The stems can be cut and hung to dry. I would paint them after they are completely dry. If you need a very tall line flower for a dried arrangement, mullein is perfect.

Sage
Of course in the southwest, sage is plentiful. I would gather sage while newly bloomed early in summer. Gather in small, shorter bunches. It can be hung upside down to dry and used year round. Sage is great for wreaths and hand wrapped tussie-mussies. It is very pungently fragrant. Add other herbs for a wonderfully natural bouquet.

Just get out and wonder about. There is no end to the materials you can find to use for home and professional use. Seeking out unusual floral materials is what helps to set your flower shop apart from all the others. Have fun and do not forget the sunscreen and big garden hat!!

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Garden Splendor in a Watering Can

Perfect for springtime sales in your shop or for your home! Buy several metal watering cans. They can be plain. They can be old. The watering cans can be bought from a wholesaler or a thrift store. You can decorate them any way you like or leave natural. We are going to really decorate these up!

This display is best done in a grouping in at least three watering cans. In one can use a topiary herb or ivy plant. Some other plants to use for topiary herb plants would be rosemary, thyme, lavender, or sage. If you have large potted herb plants they can be trained into topiaries. Plant the topiary into the watering can. At the base of the topiary, plant a creeping herb such as mint, oregano, or lemon verbena. Now, to add a wonderful wispy effect, bind bunches of bear grass with a wooden floral pick or a steel picking machine. Place the picked bear grass among the lower creeping herbs. You may also want to pick in spring silk flowers or fresh daisies using a water tube or two.

In one of the other plant watering cans, plant a spring blooming plant such as cineraria or gloxinia plant. A blooming plant in the can alone is nice but we can accent it further. Add tall dogwood branches or curly willow. Somewhere in the branches or among the blooming plant, nestle a little bird or two. In at least one more can, for the set of three, plant an exacum plant. This is a low compact plant with tiny purple daisy-like blooms. Exacums are especially available in the spring season. Once again, pick bear grass and tuck in the middle of the plant for a long, wispy look. You can also buy extra bunches of bear grass and hang them upside, in a dark cool place to completely dry. Once dry, use Design Master floral spray paints to spray any color needed. You can also lightly tip them off with glitter spray or go for a regal look by spraying gold. This way the bear grass will be everlasting in your designs.

The watering cans themselves can be spray painted bright spring flowers; baby pink, yellow, mint green, powder blue, or purple and lavender. They can be given an old-fashioned look by crackling them and adding floral decals. Paint some cans ivory and antique them. It is best to keep the same theme going with each grouping. These designs would make for great spring sales in a floral shop; very distinctive and fun. Give as a hospital gift, a birthday gift, or just for every day spring sales.

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Marketing Tips for Your Flower Shop

Here are some ideas and marketing tips to use in your flower shop.

·         Brand Your Flower Shop. Create an image for your floral shop. Take the time and spend the money necessary to build an image for your flower shop. Everyone likes to go the popular place to shop or eat. If your flower shop was called Daisy’s Flowers, it would be your success if everyone said, “Let’s go to Daisy’s for our corsages! Make your shop name a household word. Make your shop easy and fun! The days of stuffy old flower shops are over.

·         Purchase roses and carnations in bulk. Whenever possible purchase flowers in quantity and at special prices then pass on the savings to your customers. In the summer roses dip in your cost. Buy them in 500 lots of assorted colors. You can sell them quickly by advertising and putting them outside your shop if appropriate. Those roses you do not sell can be hung and dried for dried floral arrangements. Now that’s a win-win situation. The smell of roses in your store will be wonderfully intoxicating! Carnation cans be bought for pennies in the summer. Run super, super specials. Let your customers feel like they can splurge on themselves.

·         Create standard arrangements. Generate some designs in several different price ranges, preferably at least three different selections of prices. The key here is to standardize the arrangements so that costs on kept low, and the design labor is kept to a minimal. By reducing cost of labor and cost of goods, you can offer your valued customers a budget item yet while keeping the quality of the product offered high.

·         Give your customers ranges of choice. Design floral arrangements at price points that will produce a nice amount of lucrative sales. Find what price points at which your patrons seem to hesitate. Examples may be $10-20, $20-30, $35 and up. Also bud vases are necessary to add sales for under $10. But customers want choices. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. One thing they are putting into consideration is the occasion for which they are buying. An extreme example would be buying for a 50^th wedding anniversary bouquet versus buying for a get well flower arrangement

                                                                                          

·         Advertise specific arrangements or products. Every week have a weekly special. It could be a three carnation bud vase for $5.99. Maybe a balloon bouquet of one Mylar balloon and eleven latex balloons. Get creative and original. Look what others are doing, and do it a step better somehow; this advertising always keeps your flower shop name out there. Go into other shops and see what they are doing. When I would do this I always came out feeling like I was doing a good job. It made me feel better. As business people, we always want to feel we are at least doing as good a job as our competitors.   

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Boosting Your Business When the Economy is Slow

When the economy is slow and you need to boost business, it is the little things that can make the biggest difference for your flower shop. Little effects geared toward making it easier for your customers to shop at your store. In a slow economy competition is fierce. Give customers a little more attention and ease of shopping your flower shop and they will appreciate it and keep coming back. Little things definitely will increase the value of your reputation.

Have you ever sat outside a store, forced to wait for the next 5 or 10 minutes until the store unlocks the door? You know the employees are right there and they could let you in. They are on the clock already getting paid, what are they waiting for? A magical time? They wait until straight up at 9:00, or whatever the magical time is, then unlock the door. Already animosity has set in and how is that customer going to have a positive shopping experience? Have a 10 minute rule. Open your business 10 minutes before scheduled opening time and close 10 minutes after your scheduled closing time. Your employees will be answering the phones and have the doors opened 10 minutes before your floral shop is scheduled to open. The doors will remain open and the phones will still be answered 10 minutes after scheduled closing time. As a customer and a shopper, how many times would this have helped you? Many, I am guessing. Great tip for success, that will make customers very pleased. The next time they need a floral product, your flower shop will be remembered. It will be a small, extra expense for your shop, but the additional orders and goodwill you will receive will worth the effort.

In times when money is tight, you and your flower shop are still trying to make a buck. When a customer comes in to order flowers, do not sell them the cheapest arrangement you can find just because they are on a budget. This could be insulting to your customer. Offer them 3 different choices; a sort of price range if you will. If you offer your floral customer a choice of price ranges they will most often take the middle price. Therefore, you have not sold them the cheapest costing product. You have already made more money than you would have on the sell. Furthermore, your customer felt like he/she had options, and they selected the option that did not appear to make them feel like the cheapest, leading them to feel better about the whole sale. By giving the customer several selections, it subtly directed them away from the least expensive purchase. Everyone wins!!

What about your customer satisfaction policy. Have you reviewed it lately? Maybe you should. Happy customers are vital to a business in a slow economy. It means their limited dollars will get spent in your flower shop when the need arises, versus the shop down the street or the supermarket. You definitely do not want to steer your customers to the grocery store for flowers!! So develop an iron-clad satisfaction policy. Make it hassle-free, to the point, and the customer is always right. If you have been in business for a long time, or plan to be, sooner or later you may have a customer satisfaction problem. If you want to keep that customer you need to quickly turn their dissatisfaction into a gratified patron.

This is where you can set yourself apart from your competitors. Now would be the time to show that you are willing to do whatever it takes to make a contented customer. You also want to express to them that they are valuable to you and you will keep them at all costs. Adjustments to the client’s negative problem will actually become a positive, because you will have displayed your shop’s creative ability to solve problems and hopefully create goodwill. This will actually strengthen customer loyalty and increase spending. A hassle-free satisfaction policy can add monies to your bottom line. Whatever the problem, fix it quickly, at all expense!!

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