Major gift-giving holidays such as Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day are highly profitable for florist businesses, but making money the rest of the year can be a little challenging. Year-round, a flower business has to find ways for not only selling arrangements and lure in new customers, but also keep the shop afloat. It can be difficult to become profitable because there is plenty of competition from internet florist services. However, there are several ways that you can ensure the profitability of your flower business in the long run and some of them are mentioned here:
1- Make sure that as little flowers as possible are wasted. You can make discounted boutiques by combining older, yet usable flowers. These flowers can be used for making wreathes during the holiday season. You will be able to sell them quickly if you price the bouquets made from older flowers at the same rate that’s charged by the local supermarket.
2- Depending solely on your shop for earning revenues throughout the year is a mistake. Don’t miss out the chance of exploring different avenues for selling your arrangements and plants. For instance, you can sell your flowers at city festivals, bazaars, home and garden shows, local farmers’ market and even craft fairs.
3- You should also take steps to form business relationships by reaching out to the event and wedding planners in your area. You can get in touch with potential customers with the help of these professionals and vice versa. This can be easily done by offering discounts to customers using a combination of both your services, suggesting them to customers and linking with each other via website and social networks.
4- Take steps for keeping your overheads as low as possible. Conduct an evaluation to see if the space you have rented costs too much. Do a comparison between your suppliers to see how you can save most money by dealing with only a few of them. Check your utility bills to see if you can be more efficient.
5- You can also offer add-ons to your customers such as balloons, gift baskets, stationery and cards. This will enable you to make money from your customers by selling items that they would have bought from other shops. For instance, if a man comes into your shop for buying flowers for his girl, you can recommend a card that’s available at your shop. He would have gotten one, but from the drugstore next door. In this way, you are selling more.
6- Whenever possible, try sourcing your flowers from local growers. Your profits are taxed because of shipping and transportation costs. You will have to pay less in transportation and shipping if the supplier is close by.
7- Offer your customers a number of ways for placing their orders. Don’t just cater to walk-in customers as you will losing out on other possibilities. Take orders via email, phone, fax and even your website. More people will order flowers if it is easy for them to do so.
The post has been written by Julie Nicholas who runs Julie Nicholas Florist, a flower business in Shrewsbury, UK.