littlecrazydaisy Intro

[littlecrazydaisy]

Hi
Are you keeping the florists on that work at the shop at the moment or are you going to hire new florists.
I know 4 people who have bought shops with no proper experience as well and all have either killed the shops reputation off and failed or have struggled if the staff have left and couldn't find replacements. They have all since given it up either by closing the shop down or selling up. I worked for 2 sisters that bought the shop I worked at. I had already planned to leave when they took over. I was there for a month with them and they tried to pick my brains constantly about the stock pricing and availablity, wanted me to give them all my knowledge of the business etc. I told them if they needed me to manage the place they should pay me accordingly. They wouldn't - so I let them discover everything for themselves. They lost a brilliant team of staff in less than 3 months - there was 7 of use including sales staff and drivers.
I don't want to sound negative but if you can get good training or start it prior to taking the shop over it will certainly put you in alot better position with staff, customers and wholesalers. They can all be very critical if they are faced with someone with little or no experience - it can make your staffs life very difficult and can create a very negative vibe in the business. And wholesalers can be ruthless when faced with new blood. I would certainly see if you can go in and get a feel for the shop prior to signing on the dotted line and get some knowledge for the owner. You can always change things when their gone.

I wish you luck with your new venture and hope all goes well for you.

Thank you for your insight, I appreciate it. I will not be 'working' in the shop while the current owner is there - while this venture started cheery, it is not that way now. I will be keeping two of the employees (there were 3, one found work somewhere else) - while I will 'pick their brain' as you said, but I will try not to do it every day now after reading your post! I have been very upfront with them about how excited I am that they are staying.

 

[ChristiBrown]

I bought my shop 2 years ago and am so glad I did. I have a degree in horticulture and never intended to end up in a florist shop (in fact it was the only sector of horticuture that I said I didn't want to do because it was so up and down, but after doing landscaping and interiorscaping for several years up and down seemed more exciting and since I wanted my own business it would work for me). I think my business minor and understanding of finance has been the most important part of running my business. If you were in banking then you know all the important stuff about finance and running a business. You can always hire (or keep on) a good designer (I kept the designer in the shop, but shipped out the previous owner even though she wanted to stay on part time, she was definately the dead weight in the company). I think general business finance, marketing, etiquette, and sales (selling your company/reputation verses selling flowers) is the most important, the details are easy to learn. Most florists are unfortunately not very educated in business or finance and suffer because of it. Owners run the business and should give guidance for style and price to designers (which you own the shop so you get to say what goes out of the shop). I find that the pricing models that florist use (wire services have set the standards that most use) are weird and that you would never price things that way in any other business. I base most of my pricing markup on labor and only a little on the price of the flowers. My assistant (the one I kept on) has LOVED that I picked (and even after 2 years still pick) her brain, but has struggled (emotionally, but always complied) at times with the changes I want and would argue that some things that they had always done wouldn't work if we did it a different way. In almost every case (of course there were a couple oops that didn't work) it did work and worked a lot better. I doubled my local credit card sales for Mother's day in two years. I think that is pretty good. I guess I have gotten a little long. I think wire services have their place, and it is just to send and receive orders. If you do want to join a wire do some research and join just one, you don't need multiples. And DO NOT buy any of their other stuff (POS, CC Merchant Services, advertising, etc) they are overpriced (they like to mention how many florists use their products, that just proves they have good salesmen who got people locked into contracts, not that the product is actually good). Also your local wholesaler is your best friend. I take my wholesale sales person or owner to lunch about once a quarter to talk about my goals and achievements. I don't worry about them talking to other florists, if they do maybe they will be inspired to get up and do something thus improving our industry. They are excited that I am trying new things and constantly expanding and they want me to succeed (as I always say so I can buy more from them ) and they understand that and I feel they are one of my best supports (as they know their success is so dependent upon our successes). Just few (or many ) thoughts for a new business owner!

 

[RWK]

When I look at giftware for the shop.....I keep this guideline in mind. If I cannt send it out IN an arrangement of fresh flowers, or WITH an arrangement of fresh flowers, or HOLDING an arrangement of fresh flowers.......then I usually don't buy it.

Also, keep this top of mind......In deciding what to buy.......WHAT YOU LIKE OR DON'T LIKE MEANS LESS THAN A HILL OF POO ...... it is what the customer's will buy. Some of the ugliest, most hideous, crappy stuff that I thought....OMG....that will NEVER GO.....is the first thing to have sold out.

Additionally, SHOP your competitors and do it in a regular basis........that includes your Targets, Wal-Marts, Costco's, Discount stores, Department stores, and the like.....YOU DO NOT want to carry the same things, the same lines, the same types of stuff that they carry.

Also, if you carry a line of merchandise....look into developing the full line rather than a smattering of this and that.....for example....let's use Beatrix Potter ( Peter Rabbit ).....Teleflora created a few styles of containers but that is it.....Now, Beatrix Poter is great for a new baby.......so if you are going to use Beatrix Potter Teleflora eggs, then hunt online, catalogs, for other Beatrix Potter merchandise and develop the entire line.

Lastly, You should devote approximately 5 percent of your giftware line to 'EXCLUSIVES' - These are items that are unique to you and your shop. Ask your vendors about exclusives.....or limited items.....or what it would take to be the only store in your area carrying that line of merchandise. You may pay more, but then you have the addded draw of being 'THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN GO TO GET IT'

In fact, when it comes to giftware......fresh flowers......silk/permanent......or other shop merchandise.......Here is the general rule of thumb I use in determining what I carry

70 percent of stock is standard/ everyday product, 15 percent is Fancy/Premium product, 10 percent is high-end merchandise, and the last 5 percent is exclusive and unique to me and me alone.

Now, the reason I mimit my stock to what I can combine with fresh flowers is simply this.......If that items turns out to be a dud otherwise......then that means I either have to sit on it, dump it.....or I can try to recover some of the money by selling it with flowers.....for instance.....let's take for example one of many FTD christmas hurricane lamp centerpeices that have been sold over the years......doesn't matter which one......this is just an example.......that for some reason just did not sell.......I can either sit on, store it till next year, or dump it at a goodwill or thrift store OR I CAN DO THIS ....'I'll create a Valentine's design and create a 'YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE" type of design and try to move them that way.

 

[retro]

littlecrazydaisy, good luck to you, you can do it! I bought my shop 3 years ago, with no prior florist experience. The owner stayed 2 months so that was a help, but I changed a lot of things as soon as she left. The first thing I did after the deal closed was to give the designer a raise and enlist her ideas. I offered her to be the asst mgr but she was happier as a designer. I had to pay a computer geek to get the customer list off of an ancient computer(floppy disks) and onto a cd so I could put it on my laptop. I got rid of TF and created a website (no shopping but I get lots of calls from it). Now looking at updating interior and ecommerce. Think baby steps.

 

[kt4ye]

This is the scarriest time to buy anything, but we are doing it. We just invested in a dozen rental properties, and it is the best time to do so. When we bought our flower shop\ (24 yrs), we did not have any clue, but we knew all about running a business, buying, selling, marketing etc. So you cannot be good at everything, but if needed you can always acquire help from outside. Just remember, if you have enough income for your everyday needs (hubby) you will be alright. In general, it takes a few years to really see any good return, so don't get depressed if you are in red for a few years. I think you are receiving excellent advise on this. Good Luck.

 

[flst4evr]

You mention the owner belongs to FTD and Teleflora. These services require a length of time to leave, up to 3 months. Has the previous owner given notice to them both? If you are buying the business you are buying their contracts and responsibilities. I hope you have a lawyer involved.
While I don't believe wire services are neccessarily completely evil, I know shops that have massive wire ins that are doing very well, I would not buy their POS systems, you want an independant system so you can change your mind on services over time. I don't have a POS system, just a computer book keeping system. No monthly / annual fees, you own it outright. Here it's called New Views, I'm not sure where it's available, I'm in Canada. We input all our orders and sales etc., track all our expenses, print out all our mailing lists etc.
A website with shopping cart is VERY important these days. Also learning about web SEO will be neccesary once you get established. Our websales went from 4% to 8% of our sales this year and 90% or more of our callers are on our website. It has completely changed the business. Flower Shop Network has reasonable websites and gives you the ability to send wire outs.
I'd go easy on the giftware for a little while, get to know your customers first, maybe ask them what they would like to see you carry.
We carry just enough chocolates, full size greeting cards, plush animals and balloons because these are very popular add ons with flowers. I like to see interesting plants and gardens with elegant pots and a few tasteful silk flower arrangements (even if they are not big sellers, they make the store look like a flower shop and show your style. )
Good Luck, I can't imagine buying a shop without experience! Our running joke is "I'm going to open a nice little law firm when I retire". Get to kick back, relax and have fun. I've heard I want to open a flower shop when I retire at every party, social event and outing I've ever been to. I used to protest, now I just say Ooooh you should, you'll love it! and laugh. I know, women all want to work in a flower shop, but it really has very little to do with flowers! Mind you, if it wasn't for the flowers, no one would be crazy enough to do it.
Enjoy!

 

[ChristiBrown]

Actually I believe as long as she has not signed any of the FTD and Teleflora membership contracts she is not responsible for any of the contracts, the previous owner is personally responsible (but that is all depending on how the sale papers are worded). Bloomnet even sent seperate statements for three months--one for me, one for previous owner. I made the mistake of sending in my teleflora membership application before I knew how much the previous owner's POS loan balance (very different price than what they had verbally told me) was and then I was stuck with it. Other wise I could have done the sale and stuck them with the bill and just not been a tf member, at least that is what my lawyer and tf said two years ago.

 

[littlecrazydaisy]

Wow.. it has been a busy few weeks for us, but we opened on Monday.. I am officially starting my 4th day of business!! I am going to have a 'grand opening' on August 12th -- can anyone give me suggestions on how that should 'look'? what did you do for yours? what worked and what didn't? ... and maybe how long it should last? should it be an all day event or just a few hours? I have searched the web and found BOTH.. but thought that I would come here and ask my peers.

 

[secretgarden]

I have found that it works best if you do a couple of days. The old owner had tried the "after hours" events and they were always a bust. I think people feel obligated to buy if they come to an after hours type party but if they come during store hours they feel like they can look around and not feel guilty.

Refreshments ~ Something cool to drink during these hot months and something they can walk and browse while eating. (we are doing yummy lemon bars with our lemonade this weekend)
Some kind of door prize they can register to win. If you want to collect email address for marketing this is a good way to get some of those. Put up a sign that says "Join our Mailing list and be registered to win". This way they are opting in for your mailing list and they know that they will receive offers from you.
Some kind of promotion ~ It can be a flat percent off, a dollar off, free gift with purchase, anything that gives them a reason to buy. We are going to have them pop a balloon and receive a discount. No clue why people like this but they do! Maybe it's just people in my town but they sure eat it up.
Decorate ~ Your store will be clean because you just opened So just jazz it up a bit. Balloons if you want, an open house banner, using window paint on your windows that says "grand opening". Do it up but don't over do it. Make sure your cooler is stocked with fresh arrangements and loose flowers for the grab and go. The stocked cooler is key if you want to show off what you can do.
Staffing ~ Make sure you have enough people to great and TALK to everyone. It's an open house, for you a GRAND opening. Get to know the folks that take time to stop in.
Have fun! Make it fun and exciting for you and your customers. Have a good time, they can always tell when you are enjoying what you do.

That's just my ideas I'm sure more folks will chime in!

 

[flwrbskt]

I, too, just purchase a flower shop recently. The previous owner has been great so we have been very lucky there. I'm just looking at this forum for the first time and I'm totally surprised to read that people are suggesting not to get involved with a wire service. Our shop has been a Teleflora shop for many years and it didn't even dawn on myself or my partner that we wouldn't need this to run the shop. I would love to hear what other shops are doing and why not to use the wire-service. I'm not wedded to it, but again, we didn't realize that not using the service was a viable option.

 

[Flowermomma]

I, too, just purchase a flower shop recently. The previous owner has been great so we have been very lucky there. I'm just looking at this forum for the first time and I'm totally surprised to read that people are suggesting not to get involved with a wire service. Our shop has been a Teleflora shop for many years and it didn't even dawn on myself or my partner that we wouldn't need this to run the shop. I would love to hear what other shops are doing and why not to use the wire-service. I'm not wedded to it, but again, we didn't realize that not using the service was a viable option.

well thats a can of worms!
surf around here you will find lots of reasons not to... and some do stay for the send outs.

I have flower shop network to send to the states and over seas. but in Canada i send on our shop credit card. I have yet to have a shop refuse to fill and most offer me 10-20% rebate/discount for ordering direct with them.
I dropped TF and FTD because of the high monthly fees.
edit because silly me has a website with FSN too but forgot to post that.. but since have learned you can get other very nice websites with out the wireservices.

 

[RWK]

If you host an 'after hours event' type of affair, then I offer this suggestion. Make it a BUSINESS AFTER HOURS affair.....invite the local BUSINESS people, Members of your Chamber of Commerce, your city officials. This way you can introduce yourself and your business to your fellow business people. Be prepared to be the consumate professional. You want to cultivate business relationships, and they may be looking for a new florist for themselves or their company to use to send to their friends and clients. Showcase yourself, your wares, your skills, your staff, - offer some type of light refreshment. THis is a great way to begin building your network of fellow profesionals and corporate contracts.

This is NOT the type of event to invite your ordinary cuistomers and their families.....this is for businesses only.

 

[littlecrazydaisy]

I, too, just purchase a flower shop recently. The previous owner has been great so we have been very lucky there. I'm just looking at this forum for the first time and I'm totally surprised to read that people are suggesting not to get involved with a wire service. Our shop has been a Teleflora shop for many years and it didn't even dawn on myself or my partner that we wouldn't need this to run the shop. I would love to hear what other shops are doing and why not to use the wire-service. I'm not wedded to it, but again, we didn't realize that not using the service was a viable option.

I am SO glad that I checked out this board before I committed to taking on her FTD and Telaflora contracts --- I have not heard anything good actually. I simply call florist to florist when someone wants to send flowers out of the area and put it on my company card, they have always given me 20% discount. If someone wants to send flowers through my shop and calls me from another shop I give them a 20% discount, however I will only do it if they too can put it on their card. (not going to mess with billing anyone for this)