Business Tips

Have a sales person who never pitches any grand, high-end arrangements? A designer prone to stuffing? A manager reluctant to handle disputes? If your employees are lacking in initiative, demonstrating conduct you’d like to change, consider altercasting.

I belong to the Social Q’s Facebook group, an etiquette-themed panel that discusses how to handle everyday sticky situations with tact (think: how to address noisy neighbors, respond to passive aggressive emails, come up with a wedding guest list with minimal hurt feelings…). As of late, though, the topics have veered toward current events, including

Whether you celebrate Canada Day or the 4th of July, there’s a three-day weekend right around the corner. But if you’re anything like me, you might feel a bit apprehensive about taking time off.

Taking sales calls is not unlike going on a first date. Worry about how the other person will react can cause you to clam up or overthink everything you say, resulting in awkward conversation that sounds insecure and falls short of selling your assets.

“People move and die every year, so a 100% customer retention rate simply isn’t realistic,” said Rick Rivers, of A Floral Boutique in Ormond Beach, Florida, during Canadian Florist’s annual Business Forum May 30. “The goal to hit is 75%.” During his presentation, Rivers shared his strategies for keeping customers satisfied. “The average lifetime of a customer

A few weeks ago, I wrote about innocuous phrases that inadvertently come off as rude in email correspondence. I’d like to follow that up by discussing emails that try too hard to be nice and polite and, consequently, come off as insecure and annoying and, ultimately, get ignored.

Cue Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance. It’s just about time to toss the caps in the air. Graduation may not be a major boon to florists, at least not compared to other spring events (Easter, Administrative Professionals Week, Mother’s Day, prom). But there’s still a place for flowers during this milestone ritual.

Make this Memorial Day an opportunity to better your business. Canadian Florist, published by Florist 2.0 founder Ryan Freeman, will host its annual business forum May 30 at the new Universal EventSpace in Woodbridge, Ontario. This one-day event will feature some of the industry’s most sought after speakers delivering tech, sales, marketing, and design advice to

…And what your opening line should be Christmas lights are out and so are the carolers. To the florist who works in weddings, these signs mean something very significant: booking season has arrived. At Twisted Willow Design, we book approximately 70% of our weddings from December to early February. How do these prospects come about?

We’re just a few weeks away from one of the industry’s biggest events, the 131st annual convention of the Society of American Florists. Held at the Ritz Carlton on beautiful Amelia Island, Florida, the convention will assemble hundreds of floral leaders for three days packed with educational sessions presented by 48 experts. Two of those