How To Have a Successful Career as a Florist
Florists are always in demand, whether to celebrate life’s highs or its lows. Increasingly, creatives are turning toward floristry as a financially secure creative outlet. For those interested in starting a career as a florist, however, there are a few things to keep in mind. Here are some top tips to having a successful career as a florist.
Sell More than Just Flowers
While flowers should be the focus of your flower shop, work to include other gifts and trinkets in the store. When folks buy flowers, they might also be looking to get a card, a candle, artisanal candies, and more. Providing seasonal floristry offerings, like wreaths and bulbs, can also boost business. The best florist in Sydney, for example, sells flowers by occasion as well as vases, potted plants, and plant hampers. Expanding your catalogue and product selection will help draw in a wider variety of customers. Creating gift baskets can also be an easy way to create partnerships with other small businesses.
Figure Out What Makes Your Style Unique
Customers might come into your shop for a simple bouquet of roses, but you’ll need a reason to keep them coming back for other occasions. Diving into your own floral creativity can help you to create a cohesive brand identity. Mixing up conventional arrangements with rare florals, trendy additions, and unique details can help develop a committed customer base. Think long and hard about what makes your floristry style stand out, as well as if you want to stick to bouquets and arrangements or branch out to event planning.
Get Your Financing in Order
Having a successful career as a florist means you’ll need to get your financing in order. You can’t reach your creative potential if you don’t have a handle on your capital expenditures, small business payroll responsibilities, and the auxiliary financing you’ll need to pay rent. Creativity blooms when stressors recede into the background. Focus on organizing and securing financing to allow yourself the time and space to create stunning floral arrangements – without worrying about calculating payroll.
Develop a Streamlined Ordering System
These days, when people want to buy something, they buy it online. The development of “buy online, pick up in store” has changed customer expectations for the retail experience. Before opening, decide whether you want to be a strictly in-store purchase shop, or if you’d like to develop a website that allows customers to order arrangements online. Along those lines, think ahead about pick-up and delivery protocol. Having a dedicated pick-up counter, for example, can help eliminate customer confusion.
Have a Social Media Presence
Unlike some industries, floristry lends itself extremely well to social media popularity. Who doesn’t love scrolling through photos of gorgeous flower arrangements? Honing a social media presence is a great way to create a reliable customer base. If a particular social media account becomes popular, you may even be able to monetize the account itself. This, in turn, can contribute to your bottom line – while also improving sales and customer retention.
