If you are passionate about flowers and enjoy being creative, changing career paths to become a florist may be the perfect option for you. Whether your aim is to operate your florist business online, in-store or as a part-time business out of your own home, there are various key traits and attributes that a person must possess in order to flourish in this role.
Combining your love of flowers and creating bouquets, wreaths, centrepieces, and other arrangements for customers can fill you with joy and lead to a life-long career you can be passionate about. If you’ve done your research and you’re ready to launch your own florist company, here is what it takes to succeed.
A Love for Flowers
While it may be obvious, florists need to live and breathe flowers. Being passionate about flowers will help you create and design better arrangements for your customers. As you will be working with flowers on a day to day basis, unless you’re passionate about them, it’s likely that you won’t get the most out of being a florist.
When we think about florists, we always think about the artistry involved, but a big part of being a florist is caring for flowers every day. When you become a florist, you’ll need to tend to them to keep them as healthy and beautiful as they can be. This work will always be more meaningful if you have a real feeling for flowers.
Excellent People Skills
Whether you run your florist business online, at home or in a store, it’s vital that you possess excellent people skills. Customer service is everything in the business world, so you need to go above and beyond your duties to help your client base and build a strong business reputation.
Knowing how to communicate effectively with consumers, clients, and suppliers is what will set you apart from other competitors. There will be all kinds of people that you interact with, both on the phone and face to face, so being confident and showing authority is key.
Remember, too, that the big events that you consult on and fill orders for are often occasions with a lot of emotions attached. You’ll be working on weddings, funerals and life milestones that are incredibly important to the people hosting them. There will be times when you’ll need sympathy, gentleness and a lot patience, regardless of how tired you are.
Equipment and Transport
There are must-have tools and equipment that you will need to work as a florist. Whether it’s knives, scissors, bunch cutters, or pruning shears, in order to perform your job correctly, you need to ensure you have the right tools by your side.
Think about the larger purchases, as well. You will need a van to deliver customer orders, so you’ll have to factor in gas and maintenance, in addition to taking out van insurance. Make sure you compare offers on van insurance to help you find the best insurance policy for your business and the best deal for your bottom line.
Creativity
If you love nothing more than being creative and letting your imagination run free, working as a florist allows you to express your creativity in your flower arrangements. Being inventive and thinking outside the box can help you design beautiful pieces that your customers will love.
Florists have a keen eye for detail and know what colours work well with one another. If you don’t have any formal artistic or florist training, think about doing some floristry courses. They’ll help you understand the principles of design and aesthetics. They’ll also help you to understand how arrangements are put together so that when you depart from tradition with exciting new pieces, you’ll have a better sense of where your art is going.
Time Management
With so much competition on the market, florists need to do everything they can to stand out from the crowd. The last thing you want is to keep a customer waiting, so understanding the importance of time management will help you ensure that their order is fulfilled in the timeframe allocated.
Working as a qualified florist is a unique role that allows you to use your imagination and be creative. If reading this makes you want to become a florist more than ever, consider the tips above. They’ll contribute towards your reaching your goal and doing a job that you love.
Feature image: Tim Mossholder; Image 1: Cam Morin
Very nice article – useful and informative