Did you know that in 2022, the United States’s floral gifting market value was 12.25 billion USD and is estimated to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 7.58%, valuing 18.99 billion USD by 2028? If you have a passion for the natural beauty of flowers but don’t know how to start a flower business, this article will give you a guide. Embark on your dream journey now!!!
Contents
1. How to start your own plant business in 7 easy steps
To help you make your flower business ideas come to fruition & understand thoroughly how to start a flower business, we will guide you through a 7-step process. Let’s get started.
1.1 Step 1: Develop your floristry skills
Before starting a flower shop, you need to have the necessary understanding of the industry and the proper skills and training about the industry you are joining. The lack of basic knowledge will result in many unnecessary costs.
Besides, it would be easier for you to build your floral business if you get certifications in flower design through trustworthy organizations, such as the American Institute of Floral Designers.
Here are some skills that you should learn:
- Floral design skills
- Floral arrangement skills
- Floral bouquet skills
- Flower care skill
- Basic accounting and bookkeeping skills
- Planning
- Bookkeeping
- Online selling
1.2 Step 2: Choose a flower business model.
Choosing a flower business model will impact how you will operate your flower business. Here are some options: retailer flower business, wholesale flower business, starting a floral business from home, flower decoration for events, holidays,…
For those who have limited capital, you can think of building an online floral business. After 1 to 2 years, you can gradually expand your business. For those who have big capital, a retailer or wholesale flower business can be a good option.
1.3 Step 3: Choose your business’s name and location
After having a business model for your flower shop, you need to come up with a flower business name ideas and location for your business.
Having memorable business names can leave a deep impression on customers. Firstly, remember to make sure that your brand name is unique. Having the same brand name with other brands affects your fame and confuses customers between you and your competitors.
One of the advantages of choosing this industry is that you can even gain profit without having a storefront. However, if you do have a good location in your city, consider spending your budget to build a store in order to maximixe your business potential.
1.4 Step 4: Create your flower business plan
In this step, you must carefully prepare your flower shop business plan. It includes:
- State your goals
Write down a clear goal for your flower business. It includes short-term goals (within one year) and long-term goals.
- Financial strategies
It demonstrates the financial feasibility of starting a flower shop and provides clarity for the required resources. More specifically, it should cover startup costs, operating costs, funding,…
- Marketing strategies
You should research effective marketing strategies to access more customers such as updating new trends, creating attractive social content,…
- Operational strategies
It takes into account things like your location, necessary equipment, and workforce requirements for operation. Besides, you should also focus on your inventory management system, flower sourcing supplier, storage facilities, and the needed skills for effective floral arrangements.
Overall, a well-crafted business plan will be the roadmap that helps you successfully lauch your floral business, as well as provids guidance for its growth and success. You can always revise and update the business plan as your flower business evolves.
1.5 Step 5: Register your business
You need to register your business to make your business legal. The process might be different for each country, or even between states within a country. For examples, in almost all states in the United Kingdom, you can register online by filling in an application form and paying a registration fee (the fee is estimated to be no more than USD 300).
It would be better for you to contact local authorities to learn more about the business register regulations and processes.
1.6 Step 6: Market your floral business
After registering your business, the next step is to develop a marketing plan to develop your customer base. You should identify the social platform you will use to reach your target market. The most popular platforms are TikTok, Facebook, Blog, Instagram, etc.
Keeping updated with new trends and attractive content will be the key to success. In addition, you should post an update on social media regularly. Aim to plan to post 5-6 days per week and remember to add hashtags in posts so that customers can find you more easily via these platforms.
Setting up an eCommerce platform is something you should keep in mind if you want to start an online flower business. You can add your products to this platform, upload photos, set precise, manage inventory, check shipping status,… just through one website.
The eCommerce platforms we suggest you should consider is Shopify, as this is the most popular ecommerce platform which provides a beginner friendly experience for new online veture.
Moreover, if you want to boost your online store, manage inventory, and handle shipping all in one place, discover the best POS system for garden center that can help grow your flower business.
1.7 Step 7: Keep on changing.
In such a digital area as now, continuously improving, changing, and adapting is essential. Each business needs to listen to customer feedback, get updated with new things, and utilize the existing sources to fit the market’s demand. Your continuous change will lead to many opportunities, such as attracting customers to buy your products, raising brand awareness, and providing excellent services.
We have uncovered the 7-steps guide of starting a floral business and guide you from the beginning to maintaining activities after launching. Your task is to discover more about each step and its content. After having an overview about building a flower shop, it is your time to take action!
2. The ins and outs of starting a flower business
Not just in the floral business, but in any business, will have a share of pros and cons. By having a deep understanding of its pros and cons, you can know how to save costs, make a profit, utilize sources, and have a plan to prevent risks.
Here is a quick look at both advantages and challenges:
| Pros involved in a flower shop | Cons involved in a flower shop |
| (1) Small capital Instead of investing much money to open a big flower shop and paying for any fees such as renting, decorating, hiring employees, etc, you just need some equipment such as a cooler, sprays, etc, to keep the flowers fresh. (2) Profitable sector to join The floral business has been a potential sector for start-ups to join and implement their innovative ideas. It still has room for them to gain money. (3) Online flower store opportunity You can have an online flower shop to access a more extensive customer base. In addition, the number of online flower businesses is relatively small. So, there is much room for new entrepreneurs to reach customers and grow their floral shops online. (4) Eco-friendly products If your business can make use of sustainable farming and biodegradable products to pack and decorate, you can attract a large number of customers who pay attention to eco-friendly products and easily make them become your loyal customers. | (1) Competitive sector Although there is much room for start-ups to start their own flower business, you must also compete with established shops. (2) Highly seasonal business In this sector, demand fluctuations will occur. While you can be very busy during peak times on special occasions such as Valentine’s Day, Women’s Day, Teacher’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc, the demand for flowers on regular days is relatively moderate. (3) Difficulty in estimating exact demand and weather conditions Due to the short life and the characteristics of being easily affected by climate conditions, you will face difficulties in preparing enough quantity for unexpected needs and buying low-quality flowers. |
3. Flower business from home examples
There are many cases of starting a floral business from home and quickly gaining success in just a few years. Here are some cases
3.1 Bloom Flower Shop – A case of a flower bouquet
Bloom Flower Shop, founded by Cindy in Colorado, is a flower bouquet business. It provides customers with a practical and convenient website to buy flowers for their loved ones. Just by accessing their website, customers can choose kinds of flowers, decorations, etc.
By focusing on UX Design, an online website, intuitive, simple, and fast ordering process this online flower shop has attracted many customers after just three months of launching.
3.2 A case of Green Fresh Florals and Plants by San Diego Florist
Green Fresh Florals and Pants, established in 2013 and located in Hillcrest, is a prime example with an estimated revenue of around $120.000 per month and the business rank at #1.03M. This floral business specializes in delivering flowers for weddings and events.
In addition, the Hillcrest store of Green Fresh Florals and Pants provides an enjoyable and modern environment, showcasing a fresh, clean design aesthetic and a large plant, flower, and gift selection. Green also offers free pick-up and delivery in San Diego within a day.
Final thoughts
If you are nourishing the dream to start a business, especially a flower business, it is a “gold time” for you to learn how to start your flower business. As mentioned in the first part, the floral industry is a profitable market with small investments. Remember to hone your floristry skills, floral design marketing, customer, and budgeting to prepare for launching a plan.
Thanks to this comprehensive guide, we have walked you through the process from the first step. If you have any more questions about a flower store, contact eComStart; our experts will support you at any time.
FAQs
