Van, Wagon, Truck, Vehicle--Something With Wheels!.. Depending upon you business plan, you will need a delivery vehicle. Plan your vehicle needs for your average to slightly above average delivery days. You can rent vehicles for the holidays and major events. Do not pay insurance and maintenance on a van you will use just four or five times a year. When you are researching … [Read more...]
A Guide to Cut Flower Care and Handling
Flowers must be kept cool Ideally a flower cooler is 34 degrees. You should have a cooler that allows customers to see the loose flowers and arrangements that you have for sale. You may also need a cooler to use for storage of bulk amounts of flowers and greens, arrangements for delivery in the near future. Some flower shops have their designers pull flowers for designs from … [Read more...]
Facilities List for a Retail Flower Shop
Retail Space If your target market includes customers who will come into your place of business, you will need a retail space that is accessible, attractive, safe, and well laid out. Here are a few tips for setting up the retail space in your flower shop: A clean, well-merchandised space will be a salesperson that you do not have to pay a salary or benefits to! Before … [Read more...]
Wire Services for New Retail Flower Shops
Wire Service Background.. Traditionally, a wire service is a company that transfers orders between florists, across geographic divides. They collect money from the sending florist and pay the receiving florist for filling the order. The sending florist earns a commission on orders they send out and normally charges a fee for transferring an order. The wire service takes a … [Read more...]
Bookkeeping Basics for your Retail Flower Shop
Bookkeeping for your Flower Shop I recommend using a commercially available accounting software package for your accounting. A good system can make your life easier by tracking income and expenses, and inventory management. While you can track income and expenses with pen and paper, there are much better ways. Some people still use a spreadsheet and that's ok too, but not … [Read more...]