A Florist without Flowers?

Every once in a while I run into situations where I don’t understand how someone is operating a business . My uncle (also my #1 Mentor) was talking to me about how difficult it was for him to send flowers to a friend of ours. He had to stop at a few places before he finally reached a place where they fulfilled his order. Listening to my uncle’s story one of the places that  really caught my attention was a flower shop where they had ran out of flowers. I know St. Valentines day was a few days ago but florist should know they have business all the time for birthdays, catered functions, people wanting to thank others, anniversaries, sending flowers to a friend or family member in the hospital.

I clearly don’t understand how a florist can run a business without flowers. They have decided to sell other things and abandon the attention needed to their core business selling flowers arrangements.

My grandmother Lydia is a florist she kept on working on projects into her early 80’s. After having a stroke which took away a bit of the movement of her hands you can still find her creating things such as flower arrangements and decorations for family and friends.

Having a grandmother as a florist was a great advantage when I wanted to send flowers to someone since I got great work at a discounted price.

As a kid I remember every time and order came in my grandmother would rush and try to get the order completed as soon as possible. There are many factors that make up a good florist but one that sometimes I see now days that is missing when I have to use these services is the sense of urgency. Most orders for flowers are made with the purpose of getting the flowers to the person as quick as possible.

Most busy days for florist include Mother’s Day, St. Valentines, Christmas, Wedding Season, and Promo Season. During those busy days individuals usually wait to the last minute and as a florist you need to be ready so you don’t miss out on any business.

I can think of a few solutions that can be applied to any other business :

• Understanding the Business completely. Once you get an idea of the cycles and opportunities that arise every day or week then you can improve on always being able to provide your services.
• Familiarize yourself with the basic skills on many occasions I see how people set up a business to offer products that don’t meet the average persons expectations. If you think you have a weakness feel free to take a course, read a book, or find a mentor to make the adequate improvements.
• Having the adequate location for a service similar to a the one a florist provides is key into increasing your business. Make sure your location is:
  • Visible
  • Easily Accessible
  • and the possible customers should not need a map to find it.
• Invest in Tools of the Trade with the proper equipment you are able to provide better quality products in the case of the florist the adequate coolers might help them keeping flowers looking better in the inventory for a while.
• Scout around the best nursery Garden center. Having a good supplier of flowers or any core products you need will strengthen your business.
• Identify your target market will assist you in focusing on what products they are looking for so you always have them ready.
• Pay Attention to Appearance I have been into many flower shops where I walk out since the products sold on a flower shop have to be visually appealing if your flower shop or business looks like trash that might reflect in the work you do.

So have you experienced visiting A Florist without flowers, a mechanic without tools, or a coffee shop without coffee?

Have you identified a business who focused so much on identifying many income sources they forget about there core services and products?

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