How to start a flower business from scratch

Flower business is one of the most beautiful ways to organize your own business. A beautiful store full of luxurious flowers is the dream of many women, because in practice you can apply the richest arsenal of skills and abilities acquired throughout life.

Starting your own flower business is easy. This does not require obtaining special licenses or permits, as is the case with alcohol or food markets.

Beginning entrepreneurs should carefully study the features of the flower market, choose reliable suppliers, choose the right premises, equipment, conduct an advertising campaign and profit from the established process.

The flower shop is quickly becoming not just a favorite place, but a life's work, a second home for those who decide how to start a business. Here you can show unlimited imagination when composing bouquets and arrangements, decorating flowers, communicating with other flower lovers, giving advice on growing certain species, sharing experiences, making new acquaintances.

Strangers rarely come to the flower business. As a rule, businessmen embark on this path, having a great love for the most beautiful thing that exists on the planet - flowers. Most often, women are engaged in flowers, there is a simple explanation for this: they are better versed in the varieties of flowers, well represent the needs of potential buyers, know how to decorate a shop window and what to offer customers.

It is best to start a flower business from scratch by drawing up a business plan for a future store. Like any other project, a flower shop can give its owner great benefits or significant losses. In order for the store to function properly and quickly reach self-sufficiency, you need to thoroughly study the market, assess the risks and prepare and think through all aspects of the work in advance.

Flower shop: an example of a business plan

You can download an example of a flower shop business plan from this link.

Legal registration of business

The first step to opening a flower business is to register as a legal entity or individual entrepreneur. For beginner businessmen, the second form of activity is recommended, since the process of registering an individual entrepreneur is much simpler, the taxation system is more gentle, and the costs will be significantly lower.

Once you have a legitimate reason to operate, you will be able to start implementing your plan.

Ideas for flower business

The flower business is multifaceted and diverse: if you start to study the market, you can quickly see the difference between different stores: some offer a minimum set of priority flowers, others offer luxurious bouquets, and others specialize in exotic potted flowers.

Based on this, we can make the following conditional classification of the main types of flower shops that can embody the ideas of a women's business with minimal investment or significant investment:

• kiosks where trade is carried out through the window;
• pavilions at stops;
• standard flower shops with a comprehensive assortment;
• salons specializing in potted plants;
• shops with artificial flowers;
• salons with elite varieties of freshly cut flowers;
• stores within other establishments;
• online flower shops.

These are just the main varieties, each flower shop is unique and depends solely on the budget, philosophy and concept that the businessman comes up with.

With a small amount on hand, you can open a small kiosk or organize an online store: in this case, you won’t have to spend money on renting a retail space, paying sellers, and you can buy flowers only for a specific order.

An online store can be a great addition to an existing flower shop, then it will work quickly and deliver flowers to customers in a timely manner.

Another option is to combine a flower shop with another shop or even a cafe. This way of doing business allows you to save money on rent and attract a new audience. A person who comes for another product will automatically become your potential buyer.

How to choose a location for a flower shop

Before starting a flower business, you need to choose a place for it - this is the most difficult and responsible step, since the success of the entire enterprise depends on it.

Buying flowers is a special process. Some people prefer to do it in any store near their home, others are ready to go to the other end of the city in order to buy a bouquet in a particular salon.

To choose the right place, you need create a portrait of a potential buyer, based on what assortment will be presented in the store.

Fresh cut flowers are mostly bought by men. They rarely pay attention to elegant showy pot plants, preferring the tried and true traditional roses or, in extreme cases, chrysanthemums. Such a buyer will choose a place on the main street, with convenient parking and a bright sign.

Potted plants and exotic flowers are more often purchased by women who are well versed in gardening and are ready to regularly buy different types of plants for their collections, as well as soil, fertilizers, drainage, pots, planters and other accessories.

As a rule, they choose a store close to home. For them, the most attractive will be a spacious store in a residential area, not far from the bus stop.

Flower shop assortment

The widest range of a flower shop should include the following products:

1. freshly cut flowers;
2. potted plants;
3. land, fertilizers;
4. cache-pot, pots;
5. artificial flowers and compositions;
6. ribbons, packaging (including gifts).

The most relevant fresh cut flowers are classically roses, chrysanthemums, lilies, carnations, gerberas, alstroemerias. Orchids, irises, hydrangeas and other flowers are less common.

Palm trees, ficuses, flowering plants (roses, azaleas, etc.), creepers, hibiscus, plants with decorative leaves, loaches and others will be mandatory among the potted assortment.