There’s a lot to consider in a floral business—but it’s fast and easy to learn with the step-by-step instructional format of this guide. You get a look at the industry from top to bottom, helping you create a plan of action to get your business up and running and on the path to success.

We show you the different types of floral businesses you can start, from retail or wholesale flowers to wholesale floral supplies, so you can determine which one fits your passions and goals. And in no time you’ll know everything there is to owning a floral business like an experienced insider, including:

• Determining where your customers are
• Handling the accounting and bookkeeping
• Legal/insurance considerations
• What it will take to outfit your shop
• Finding your flower suppliers and establishing accounts
• Professional credentials and training to obtain
• Developing a marketing plan and promoting your services

This guide will also advise you on countless customer service secrets that will make your business work and grow. You also learn how to provide your customers with exactly what they want and be able to expand your revenue in the process.

Just think, for a small investment, you’ll have the industry’s experts by your side, showing you the whole business in a way that’s broken down in easy-to-understand terms.

Order now to make your dreams and your business flourish!

IS THERE A MARKET?

One of the two most important aspects to any business startup is how to get your market to know you exist (Chapter 10). But even before you get to that point, you need to determine if there is in fact a market for the type of floral business you are considering in the area in which you are considering. Your market research is going to depend on what kind of floral business you want:

• Retail florist shop, including deliveries
• Wholesale floral business, where retail florists come to you for their supplies
• Full-scale greenhouse where you sell cut flower arrangements as well as live plants, maybe even to the point of being called a nursery, which usually implies you grow the live plants as well
• Farmer’s market, pick-your-own, or at-the-source flower sales

Once you decide on the floral business you want, you need to determine where you might like to do that. Then, you can research whether the market is already covered in that area. Check the Yellow Pages, do an online search, and by all means drive around. Talk with the local funeral home and wedding planners to find out where their customers make their flower purchases. Be sure to tell them you are thinking about starting a florist business.

If you are considering a wholesale operation, get a list of potential customers in the market range you plan to cover and start calling—would they purchase from you if you opened a wholesale floral supplies business? What kinds of things do they purchase? What do they find hard to get? What would they like to purchase? What services would they like you to provide?

Once you determine that you could enjoy a certain type of florist business and there is a market you can service in a given area, it's time to think about setting up shop.

Click Here to Download Chapter One