Wire service for home based business?

Sarah Jane said:
I think the only taxes I pay are sales tax and income tax. How does that differ from a home-based business? I rent my location because I don't have the means, the resources, the money or the credit to own a location and it's not likely I ever will. When I started my shop, I had my website up and running before my location and there were times that I considered doing it out of my home. I still don't see why it wouldn't work. My website does a tremendous amount of my business. I would say that 60% or more of our business is web orders and people calling from out of town who find us on the web. There were times when I questioned whether I wanted the aggravation that comes from a storefront. It's also a lot of money to open a storefront and some people might have the dream and the desire and the talent but not the resources to open a shop. It's not that easy. When I started I had nothing but a credit card that I could max out and was just so lucky that the florist I used to work for let me keep working there for a paycheck while our shop got off the ground. They also loaned us a lot of stuff. I didn't have the credit or the assetts to get a loan but I had a big dream. Maybe she has a good business and wants to expand into floral with her clients. That doesn't neccessarily mean it's time to open shop. And as far as people charging less from home-based florists, that's their business. I don't charge labor either so my arrangements cost less than the florist down the road but it's not my responsibility to keep the pricing in line with other shops. We operate on a smaller profit margin and it works for us because we don't have payroll expenses and personally I don't think flowers should cost as much as they do at most florists. We make our cuts in overhead and buying so that we can still show enough profit to stay open and make a living. The fact that someone might charge less is not a reason that they shouldn't be in business. Everyone has a right to try to work for themselves and sell their product and you can't say whether it would work for someone or not because there is no one size fits all model. And also, anytime you wire out an order, there is no way to know whether it will get filled to your standards. You pretty much lose control regardless of what florist it goes to. Even if it is a good shop, they might have a sucky employee working that day. You just never know.
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thank you...this brings up a real problem in our industry, we "feel" we NEED to change how we do business, we "feel" we NEED to find responsible employees to help us as we grow, yet, in the last 20 years, this has not, AND "appears" not to be achievable, which is why many shop owners have probably "chosen" to dump their storefronts, and gone below ground!
It's becoming almost impossible to carry the load of property, maintenance, insurances, taxes, and other "apparent" overheads, along with all the "hidden" ones, yet, IF we WERE to make this wholesale "change" then governments AND other authorities, would catch on pretty quick.
I, as a land owner, taxpayer, and MULE for the various overheads, DO NOT APPRECIATE people working out of their homes, NOT paying what I AM paying, and having customers come in and say they "KNOW" someone that works out of their home for much less ...REALLY, YOU'RE KIDDING ME...REALLY...THEY'RE CHEAPER??....REALLY?
 
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Just an FYI.... I looked at this florist's website. Did you?

Her background:

[FONT=Georgia, Times, serif]Rue Brown[/FONT][FONT=Georgia, Times, serif] has been caring for tropical plants and greenhouse spaces for many years. Her expertise ranges from orchids to camellias and more.
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[FONT=Georgia, Times, serif]
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[FONT=Georgia, Times, serif]She has studied horticulture at The Landscape Institute of Harvard University, trained at the Arnold Arboretum and Historic New England, and graduated in advanced floral design from The Cass School of Floral Design.
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[FONT=Georgia, Times, serif]
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[FONT=Georgia, Times, serif]She is a member of the Massachusetts Camellia Society, and has won many cultural awards.[/FONT]
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Very impressive.

Her photos of her own design work are basic, but at least they represent what she makes... which is more than I can say for 75% of local florists with websites.
 
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CHR said:
Just an FYI.... I looked at this florist's website. Did you?

Her background:

Very impressive.

Her photos of her own design work are basic, but at least they represent what she makes... which is more than I can say for 75% of local florists with websites.
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in the end, I'm NOT sure what's right and wrong any more......many people come to this business with MANY credentials, yet, continue to embarrass our industry, yet, others come to it with little to NO credentials, and have fabulous businesses, both store front, and not.
When a person posts here, that they plan on opening a home base, and want to "pick our brains", sort of, credentials or not, my short hairs stand up.....
Maybe it's just me...just say so, if it's me that's "the problem"......
 
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prestonway said:
You may not have a book...but you do have a computer.

In order to not disappoint the customer, why not google "florist zip code 12345" and show the customer what is available online?

This customer is apparently not computer literate, but you are.

Your're servicing the customer with the equivalent of a book, as well as showing them what is available in that market for that price.

Win/win?
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It would have been. I was in the process of doing just that, but they just were not having any of it, they just really, really wanted to look at a book. Looking at the sites on the computer was far out of their comfort zone. Like I said, they really just don't understand.
 
All wire services are bad! But another subject..... Why are florist with a storefront helping a basement Betty? Sorry to be rude, but we pay taxes, support the community, I can not tell you how many people walk into my store to get a donation. Do they walk into your basement to get a donation? We have employees that we pay that live in our town. I am so against the home based flower shop (not really a shop!) and other home based businesses, that take away from the people that are making the community run! All these basement Betty's take away a percentage of our already shrinking business and they pay the same price for the flowers that we do with none of the cost that we do!! So of course they can charge less than us for a wedding or "special event" the things us REAL florist can actually make money at! So I believe if you do not have the spirit to be a true risk taker to open a store front then you should not be doing flowers out of your house or at least do not be asking the real florist their opions on how to take money away from them.
 
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I do understand all of the discussion here about "Basement Betties" and the frustrations inherent in the differences. The overhead is outrageous for a storefront and getting more and more so all of the time.

Mikey, I RENT, and I pay just a bit more than $800 PER MONTH for property tax, not including my rent. Sarah Jane, you probably DO pay property tax, it's just rolled all together in your rent.

I was a "Basement Betty" for over a year before I opened my store. I started out making bouquets for grocery stores. Then, people started asking me to do their special occasions like funerals and such. I started out in my kitchen, then moved out to the garage, and finally opened my store.

Just so you know. We all need to start somewhere in order to become the experts we are. ;)

It's sort of the same thing as young designers striking out on their own and getting bashed for stealing ideas. As long as they don't try to "steal" customers while still working for me, everything else is up for grabs. I didn't just wake up one day knowing how to design, it's been a long road and I've had, (still have) many mentors.

When I've been questioned in the past for having a higher price than those standing on the street corner with buckets of flowers or those who work out of their homes I simply point out that my overhead is much higher and that I'm still there in January when they need flowers. (Minnesota tends to do that to street vendors in January.) That is usually enough to put the lightbulb on for those who didn't grasp that idea before they let the question come out of their mouths. For those who DON'T get it once I've explained, I probably don't need the aggravation.
 
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I agree...everyone has to start somewhere. I had looked at her website as well and saw the credentials. I was thinking she may have been a great resource for plants. I know quite a lot about cut flowers, but I'm not so great at plants. I guess I like hearing from people new to the industry since they haven't been brought up in it "the way it was". They tend to look at things a bit differently and bring fresh ideas.

For the record, I think calling someone a "basement Betty" who has studied at Harvard, trained at the the Arnold Arboretum and Historic New England, and has taken design classes from a design school is a real insult. I'm not familiar with the Cass School of Floral Design but I think I recall hearing about Harvard before ;/

She did say she eventually wanted a storefront (and I believe she said she has a cooler as well).
 
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Well, now that we have stolen this poor girls dream... However,...
My business was built into a home with a false wall between the kitchen and the livingroom, and in the hallway.. other walls taken down from a bedroom to make a work area and a cooler. Between 9 to 5 anyone can open the sliding glass door and come in as I am running a full commercal business from the house that my family has made a home in over the past 3 1/2 years. For this business and because of my husbands employment.. we were in the first wave in summer of 2007 to lose our beautiful 5 bedroom home. DO I love living here..... at the back lot of the Chevrolet dealer, 2 two houses away from the Hasquvarna dealer.... next to the apartments.. a block away from the prison where it never gets dark at night.... NO this was not where I wanted to raise my daughters, in a one bedroom apartment with a 5th wheel trailer. But, we had a vision for the flower shop.. do I want to move uptown? Yes, but can't afford the rents and help with the payments to keep the roofs over our heads. Do I have schooling to back me... NO, only the school of hard knocks and and eye for design and whatever else I learn along the way.
Yes, I charge at least 3 to 3.5 markup for my flowers and 20% or more labor. Am I being undercut by other people working out of the home? You betcha! Did I have employees, yes... until 2009 when everything around here took a dive.. now I have guest designers when I get busy.. Do I pay all the taxes... Yep I do!
I seems to me... that none of us run our business the same.
Geranium Red... I would love to learn more about your plant business, All I seem to do is kill them or is that because of lack of water?
 
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I know this is getting a little off topic, but if you have plant questions you can ask me. I have a degree in Horticulture and most of my professional background is in interior plants. I am always happy to help plant killers reform!
 
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LOTAKIDS said:
Well, now that we have stolen this poor girls dream...
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LOL, Karen...I love this forum but I doubt a few words from people here have stolen her dream! My guess is she will continue to grow her business and hopefully become quite successful and chances are she'll never give Flowerchat another thought!
 
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I used to feel very similar to most other florists about home based business....until I came here and learned that many many good business people run all kinds of businesses and so many b&m businesses are run poorly....my opinions have changed about who and what make up a legit business and the business landscape is changing so much that people need to be creative....everyone has a different and ever changing list of what they pay for taxes, rent, overhead...just because business is out of the home doesn't mean someone is a jerk and skipping out on the taxes and stuff, doen't mean they aren't either..I know many legit store fronts that fly well below the radar of the tax man, not sure how but they do and many don't carry insurance. Facts are that if someone comes here and they display unprofessionalism and want too much info, you don't have to share...yes they can read everything discussed, but that just means they have the same passion as most real florists and will grow and flourish, without the drive, talent and/or money noone will grow into anything that is threatening to your business home based or b&M
 
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Just because someone is a home (studio) based business does NOT mean they are skipping out on taxes or insurance. It's simply a different business model. In today's economy, I happen to believe it's a fairly decent business model! I have my business license, pay all necessary taxes, and carry business insurance. I do my work in a shop on my property (so don't even think about calling me a basement betty, ha ha)... I DO NOT lease a store front, pay taxes on that space, or work 100 hours a week.

That does not make me a hack.

I have been doing event flowers as a business for only 3 years, although I have many more years of experience. I am not formally trained in flower design. I did not work in a flower shop for 10 years before going out on my own. So according to some of you I must be a hideous designer. But, I am willing to take on most designers here when it comes to modern wedding flower design, and probably beat the pants off of you. I have almost 20 years of corporate experience before going into business on my own, so you can be @@@@ sure that this "basement betty" runs a very professional business.

Sorry... didn't mean to get on my soap box. But seriously, the level of venom spit at home based businesses in this thread is a bit much.
 
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sheesh... my original comments
#1 - FSN having a "non full service shop" as a member... They state no OG's but let a non store front in.
#2 - how can running to a wholesaler to pick up flowers to fill a couple of orders be profitable if you're specifically an "event" florist unless you keep regular stock on hand daily? You're either a full service florist or not. I can't imagine running to get a bunch of this, two bunches of that, a bunch of greens etc to fill that occasional order that comes in through a "wire service"... Even in the Boston area with the market, it can't be profitable to have to go to the market to get flowers just to fill an occasional order or can you?
and I guess to be blunt? On the website, some of the flowers pictured definitely had "care and handling" problems, roses with bad petals, gerbera with definite spots from being old/too warm. Nothing that a few classes wouldn't help... (and this is at least the 4th time I've written a reply but have negated it, not this time)
 
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Rhonda, I agree with your concerns about an event-based florist filling everyday orders. I agree with your above post completely.

My comments were in response to the more general "home-based businesses are ruining the industry" type posts.
 
sandytf said:
LOL, Karen...I love this forum but I doubt a few words from people here have stolen her dream! My guess is she will continue to grow her business and hopefully become quite successful and chances are she'll never give Flowerchat another thought!
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I disagree.....she'll give FlowerChat EVERY thought, and WILL COME back with a vengeance...there's NOTHING better than a line drawn in the sand, and a will to "cross" it...we'll see....
 
concord said:
Yes I think the venom spitting was over the top. Maybe we can add a penalty box where FC'ers are sent for time out when it gets too nasty.
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or let's drink tea, and turn a blind eye towards how brutally honest we can be with someone that cannot be honest with THEMSELVES...yet. FlowerChat is NOT a nation of "patsies"...we've ALL lived and breathed every word that we speak and share, and have a common thread running through ALL of us...experience!
It's "interesting" how "venom" came out of this thread, when all it was was "bootcamp" for the timid...there is NOT a single soul here at FlowerChat, or ANY successful business that hasn't faced the stark reality of "fear of failure", and the healthy attitudes is has inspired in most or ALL of us, and frankly, whether you work our your basement, your garage, your teepee, or the back of your van, there is direct proportional difference in overheads, and why some shops are losing THEIR livelihoods to floral vendors that DON'T have these overheads!
For every single home based business that DOES pay taxes, and contributes to the floral "economy", TEN do not...those are the ones I WANT OUT!
 
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I wonder what the response would be if I or anyone of us, because of economic pressures, moved from a storefront to a home-based studio. Would I too be banished?

I'm not sticking up for anyone with this comment, I spoke with her outside this thread, perhaps it was my comments that drove her off, I hope not. Some things, in life, FlowerChat itself from time to time, require a thick skin.

IMO, as an industry, we face far greater threats than studio based florists.
 
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BOSS said:
I wonder what the response would be if I or anyone of us, because of economic pressures, moved from a storefront to a home-based studio. Would I too be banished?

I'm not sticking up for anyone with this comment, I spoke with her outside this thread, perhaps it was my comments that drove her off, I hope not. Some things, in life, FlowerChat itself from time to time, require a thick skin.

IMO, as an industry, we face far greater threats than studio based florists.
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which is why ALL the folks, involved in the industry NEED and MUST understand, it's NOT the "model" that is "broken", it's the forthought that is broken. I bring this up, BECAUSE, a former business associate, downsized her business, and operates out of her home, so she could "afford" to fill orders for these online OG's and national gatherers, and when I OPENLY expressed my "disgust" that was the end of that!
How stupid can you be indeed...to retain ws affiliation, and driving yourself bonkers, by being stupid!
 
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