Data shows that 20% of small businesses fail within two years of starting. And 45% of businesses fail after five years of being in business.
This data shows how complicated it can be when starting a business. Creating a business from the ground up is no joke and takes a lot of work and commitment.
No matter what kind of business you are starting, there are things to know first. If you want to start selling flowers, there are things to first consider.
Having a flower shop business is a great career route to take if you are creative. Although, there are things to know about and prepare for if you want to succeed.
Keep reading to find out how to start a flower shop and how you need to prepare.
Get the Skills
Before you think of anything else regarding starting a business, you need the skills. Having a flower shop business requires skills just like any other profession.
You need to get these skills before you actually start creating your store. You should do this by getting the education that is necessary to be a florist.
Ideally, you should also take business courses to understand how to run a business. These will help you with the more technical side of owning a flower shop company.
You will also need to educate yourself on the floral industry and how these shops get successful. Understanding floral arranging and floral trends that attract customers is also important.
Prepare to take bookkeeping courses as well as tax courses, to prepare yourself. The more you know about business operations, the more likely you are to succeed.
Register Your Business
There is also the legal side to selling flowers in your own floral store. You will need to register your business to start selling to customers.
Your business needs to be legally compliant and have the business name registered. You will also need to find out the tax information needed for your store.
When handling these legal matters, you should also look into insurance. You should have your store insured in case anything were to happen to it.
You can also start a website for your store, by registering your website name online. This is important as so many customers are online nowadays, and this can boost your reach.
If the legal side of starting a business confuses you, you may need to hire a professional. Either that, or you can educate yourself on the legalities in your state for businesses.
Get Your Supplies
Once you have started the legal process of your business, you can start to get the supplies. There are certain essentials that you will need when starting a flower shop company.
You should prepare to receive a variety of flowers, preferably local varieties. You should also find regular suppliers who you can buy the flowers from year-round.
Items like tools and packing supplies are important as well. Although, there are many other small necessities that you may need.
You should buy supplies that are going to help you keep your flowers fresh for longer. Refrigerated cases can help with this, as well as plenty of buckets and vases.
If you plan on doing deliveries, you will also need to buy a vehicle. Doing this can allow you to also deliver flowers to other areas, broadening your business capacity.
This is also the time to decide if you want to carry anything else in your store. Do you want to offer flower vases or wreaths?
When learning how to start a flower store, these are important things to consider in the process.
Market Your Store
Once your flower shop business is up and ready to go, you need to market. Preferably, you should start marketing the grand opening of your store.
Doing this will excite the community and help you to gain public attention. Although, marketing after opening is the most important kind of marketing.
You can do this by handing out flyers, hanging posters, and paying for a billboard. All of these options will cost money, so you need to have a marketing budget.
One very affordable marketing option is to have your own website. This is important for many reasons, but it also helps to market your store.
Creating social media accounts for your business is also a smart marketing move. When you do this, you can post updates, special offers, and seasonal flowers.
Doing this broadens your reach and helps you to find potential customers. Eventually, this could even lead to online flower sales once you have a following.
Although, it is usually best to focus on one goal at a time. So marketing locally is your best bet when opening your physical flower store.
Things to Consider Before Starting a Flower Shop
When you are starting a business, there are things to keep in mind. You need to be realistic when going into this venture so that you know what to expect.
The same goes for starting a flower shop company, you need to be prepared. Aside from preparing your business and getting what you need, you also need to be aware of a few things.
When starting a business, you don’t want to experience too many surprises. So it is very important to do your research and know what to expect.
Whether that be what kind of expenses you will have or how your location will affect your business.
Finances
When learning how to start a flower shop, you need to look into the finances. There are going to be all kinds of expenses that you will have to cover.
A flower shop is a physical store, so you will have costs concerning that. This includes rent or mortgage payments, utilities, electricity, and other operating costs.
These are expenses that you will have to pay every month from day one. Because of this, you will need to have funds to cover these costs while you are starting.
You may not earn a lot when you first open, so you need something to fall back on. This is a detail that many people fail to consider when creating a budget.
What to Offer
You will need to look at your community and see what it needs and wants. What types of flowers are in demand? Are there any floral trends that you need to be following?
It is important to look at what your potential customers are actually buying. Though some businesses can offer unique options, sometimes this is a risky course to take.
You should visit other flower shops in your area to see what they are selling. This can help you to understand what is in demand from customers that may eventually buy from you.
Employees
When starting out, you may not even be thinking about hiring employees. Although, this is still something to take into consideration.
It is not uncommon for new businesses to need employees; after all, there is a lot of work to be done. You may not be able to handle it all on your own.
If you want to offer flower deliveries, you will also need help at those times. You won’t be able to run your store and deliver orders to customers.
These are things to consider and add to your business expenses budget. You may not immediately hire an employee, but you most likely will in the future.
Location
You should also consider your location when opening a floral store. Is there a demand for flowers in your area? How are the other floral stores doing?
The reality is that there are areas where flower stores just don’t do very well. Some communities don’t require flowers and won’t provide enough revenue.
Seasons
You will also need to consider seasons when opening your floral store. Will you be able to find suppliers throughout the year for different types of flowers?
You need to make sure that you will have enough supply to meet the demand all year round, especially as flowers are seasonal and aren’t always going to be available.
You may need to carry other foliage options during seasons when flowers are harder to come by.
Tips for How to Start a Flower Shop
If you are wondering how to start a flower shop, there are many steps to take. Like any business, starting a floral store is going to take some business knowledge.
Do you want to open your own floral store? Contact us today at Flower Marketplace for wholesale floral options.
