Do you need a store front to be a successful florist? the TRUTH!
Updated: Feb 17, 2021
"But I’ll never be a successful million dollar florist if I don't have a store front!!" -Scared newbie
Ehhh... that’s not entirely true,...
Hello fellow florists and newbies! My name is Alexis Christine and I have been a florist for the last 6 years! Welcome to my florist blog/youtube channel!
If you love flowers like I do and have a passion to become a floral designer, then go follow my flower Instagram @flowersbyalexis
Common questions I get asked are;
"Do you need a store front to be a successful florist?"
"Can I run my flower business from home and still be successful"
"Do I have to own a flower shop to be a florist?"
Click here to watch the full video
But for those of you who prefer to read,...
It really depends on what your trying to do.
There’s different types of florists you can be or you could combine the two!
Retail florist or wedding and events florists.
I have an entire video/blog article that I’ll link HERE that throughly explains the difference between the two if you want more detail
RETAIL FLORIST
Now I find that if you are looking to be a retail florists that sells arrangements each day with same day delivery,
In my opinion it would be better to have a store front.
At the flower shop I currently work at we get a lot of foot traffic (daily walkers out and about walking the town) of people coming in to the store asking me for flowers and plant.
It is also good to have a place to display your work in person for people to see.
Most flower shops are at its busiest during the holidays
If you have a lot of orders you may need a big space and STAFF to help you fulfill them and a home base for your delivery drivers come back too
In my experience, Retail florist make the most by having a store front because people can walk in, view your product, buy and leave with a gift!
WEDDING AND EVENTS FLORIST
A wedding florist job is easier to run from home. I personally do not think you need a store front for this kind of business.
It really isn’t all the way necessary to have a store front unless you want to do both weddings and events and retail.
A lot of my flower business I conduct online using visual apps like Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to display to latest flower designs and get my name out there as a floral designer.
Most of the times brides and people looking for florists to do their weddings/events find me on social media and or word of mouth.
Me personally I prefer working out of my house and work out of the comfort of my own home.
Later down the line when my flower business gets bigger I may consider renting studio space so I can take on bigger projects
Now because I do not have a store front I do my wedding and event consultations over the phone or meet my client half way at a coffee shop or just somewhere we’re we can communicate together.
Also quick tip if you are meeting a client at a coffee shop I recommend getting there 15 mintes early so you can set up any displays, lay out pictures of your work etc
You could invite them to your home if your comfortable with strangers in your house??
COVID-19 UPDATE: I strictly do phone consultations and Zoom calls to help stop the spread of COVID-19!
OVERVIEW
If you are looking to do retail florist work then you should look into getting a store front.
If you are looking to be a wedding and events florist then you could work from home or get a studio room to do your creative work in
But in order to be a successful florist
I would focus first on the quality of your design work!
Cause at the end of the days that’s what going to sell
You could have a store front, be doing all the right things but if your designs are shit then having all those things won't matter!
Get as much floral design knowledge as you can!
So take classes, watch floral design videos, I will link my Intro to floral design videos here!
VIDEO RELEASED ON 2/2
Sharpen your skills,
Ask friends and family for advice,
Post them online get some strangers feedback
The goal is to get your designs up to par and then worry about opening that store front!
Start small and work your way up to that dream design studio or store front once you have a quality product
I hope this helped!
Make sure to check out these helpful articles to JUMPSTART your floral design career!
HOW TO BECOME A FLORIST IN 2021 WITH NO EXPERIENCE
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FLORIST
HOW TO START A FLOWER BUSINESS FROM SCRATCH!