How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Florist and Floral Business Both Online and Off with Companion CD-ROM REVISED 2ND EDITION

by Stephanie Beener, Constance Marse

Overview

Florists create beautiful arrangements for individuals or special occasions. They design bouquets, sprays, wreaths, dish gardens, and terrariums according to the customer’s order by cutting and arranging live, dried, or artificial flowers and foliage. If you love the beauty of flowers, the joy of creating and designing original displays, have a bit of business sense, and willingness to work toward achieving goals; the dream of owning your own floral business easily can become a reality.

The Revised 2nd Edition of How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Floral and Florist Business Both Online and Off will teach you all you need to know about getting started in a short time. The second edition is more concise and easy to follow. It contains updated facts about the floral industry as well as updated information on essentials for success, business entities, insurance, resources, and more. In addition, the sequence of material has been rearranged to guide you more quickly and smoothly to the information you need to know.

This book is a comprehensive and detailed study of the business side of a floral shop. It should be read by anyone investigating the opportunities of opening a store. By reading this book you will become knowledgeable about basic cost control systems, retail math and pricing issues, legal concerns, IRS reporting requirements, monthly profit and loss statements, tax preparation, and management skills. You will learn sales and marketing techniques, customer service, direct sales, low-cost internal marketing ideas, low- and no-cost ways to satisfy customers and build sales, as well as thousands of great tips and useful guidelines. In addition, you will discover how to set up computer systems to save time and money, how to hire and keep qualified professional staff, how to generate high profile public relations and publicity, and how to keep bringing customers back.  The companion CD-ROM is included with the print version of this book; however is not available for download with the electronic version.  It may be obtained separately by contacting Atlantic Publishing Group at [e-mail]

Atlantic Publishing is a small, independent publishing company based in Ocala, Florida. Founded over twenty years ago in the company president’s garage, Atlantic Publishing has grown to become a renowned resource for non-fiction books. Today, over 450 titles are in print covering subjects such as small business, healthy living, management, finance, careers, and real estate. Atlantic Publishing prides itself on producing award winning, high-quality manuals that give readers up-to-date, pertinent information, real-world examples, and case studies with expert advice.  Every book has resources, contact information, and web sites of the products or companies discussed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781601389046
Publisher:	Atlantic Publishing Company FL
Publication date:	10/24/2012
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	602,165
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

Preface 11

Chapter 1 Is This for You? 13

Getting Started 13

Essential Factors for Success 13

Types of Floral Businesses 14

Wholesale Floral Supplies 19

Is There a Market or Niche For You? 21

Education and Experience 22

Chapter 2 Store and Decor 29

Flower Shop Needs 30

Coolers 31

Workspace 33

Checkout Area 36

Nice Touch 37

Theme 39

Chapter 3 The Ins & Outs of Daily Business 41

Rise and Shine 41

Getting Ready 41

Orders 43

A Day Filling Orders 45

Pricing 46

Incorporating Labor Fees 50

Rental Costs 51

Setup Fees 52

Incoming 53

At the End of the Day 59

Chapter 4 The Product 63

Common Products 63

Fresh Cuts 64

Foliage 66

Dried Flowers 68

Bacteria 69

Watering and Feeding 69

Non-flower Supplies 70

Chapter 5 Arranging 73

Flower Arranging Basics 73

Color 75

Materials 76

Skills 79

Wiring Specific Flowers and Foliage 86

Binding Wired Stems 87

Making Bows 89

Chapter 6 Customer Service 91

Customer Base 91

Wants and Needs 92

Types of Customers 95

Deliveries 109

Types of Delivery 109

Vehicle 111

Area Range 112

Reliability 113

Fees 113

Above and Beyond 113

A Little Something Extra 115

Customer Loyalty 119

Employee Training 120

Chapter 7 Down to Business 121

Types of Ownership 121

Business Plan 128

Financing 134

Accounting 141

Methods 142

Financial Cycles 143

Bookkeeping 144

Checkbook 144

Accounting Methods 144

Auto 147

Supplies 148

Employees 150

Payments, Invoices, and Receipts 150

Collections 151

Paying Yourself 151

Policies 152

Chapter 8 Legally Speaking 157

Insurance and Benefits 157

Finding and Purchasing Insurance 166

Legal Issues 167

Employees 168

Privacy 169

Worker's Compensation 171

Vacation and Medical Leave 172

IRS 174

Customers 175

Chapter 9 Employees 177

Hiring 177

Training 180

Goal Setting 181

Commitment 183

Motivation 183

Qualities of Good Management 184

Evaluations 186

Chapter 10 Marketing Matters 189

Room for Your Business? 189

Competition 191

Customer Base 192

Associations and Clubs 192

Marketing Plan and Marketing Tools 193

Chapter 11 Infinity & Beyond 211

Expansion 211

New Building 212

Delivery Area 213

Business 213

Products 214

Services 215

New Services and Locations 217

Expenses 218

Learning from the Competition 220

Selling 220

Retirement 223

Chapter 12 Straight form the Source 225

Conclusion 235

Appendix of Resources 237

National Associations 237

State Floral Associations 239

Other Resources 247

Trade Magazines 248

Glossary 249

Glossary of Flowers 261

Author Biographies 283

Index 285