Do you love flowers and have a creative flair for arranging them? Is your dream to be a florist and open your own flower shop? Read on to find out the scoop on this aromatic business.

Florists create and sell floral arrangements for a huge variety of occasions. Holidays like Valentine’s Day, Christmas or Mother’s Day, weddings, the birth of a baby, an open house celebration, parties, showers, birthdays and anniversaries or “just because” are flower-buying occasions and can keep florists busy year-round.

Typically, a florist will buy flowers from a wholesaler and then create arrangements for customers. The price for the arrangement includes the cost of the flowers, other materials (vases, fillers, oasis, and so on) and labor to create the arrangement. Many florists also offer delivery of arrangements.

Usually, florists have flower shops in retail areas of their towns, but in some cases, you may be able to have a shop based in your home. Having a home-based flower shop would probably work better for someone interested in seasonal business, such as selling flowers only for holidays, or for someone targeting one particular type of client, such as funeral homes.

Income Potential

Flower shop income can vary widely depending on location and amount of business; so truly, you are limited only by your own initiative! You can work part-time for a florist to learn the ropes, during which time you will probably make a low hourly wage. As you learn the business and become more productive, you can demand more money. As a successful flower shop owner, you can make quite a nice living.

What you need to know

You need to be creative, be able to work with people as well as flowers, and you need to be able to learn the flower design business. You will need to know what makes a good flower design, how to create your own floral compositions, and how to help clients make flower choices for their occasions. You can learn much of this on your own, or you can find a floral design school to attend. Apprenticing with a successful florist is another great way to learn the business.

Of course, you will also need good business skills. The survival of any business depends on its owner knowing how to make a profit, find and sell to customers, set goals, manage time and resources, and more. There are many articles here to help you do just that! Start with Business Resources for many how-to and basic business education articles.

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