How to Start a Business for Silk Flower Arrangements

Monday, April 29, 2013

How to Start a Business for Silk Flower Arrangements

Use your talents, drive and creativity to start a profitable silk flower business. An alternative to fresh flowers, silk flowers add elegance and beauty to any event or environment. Even though silk flowers are in demand year-round, the competition may be steep depending on your location and the number of other businesses offering silk flower arranging services. Constantly meeting potential new clients, word-of-mouth advertising and a strong online presence can help you stand out from your competition and provide you with steady work.

Step 1

Determine target markets or those who have a need for silk floral arrangements. Those interested include brides, wedding consultants, event planners, property management companies, banquet halls and home improvement or decor retailers. Conduct online and offline research to determine the size of these markets, if there is demand locally and the amount of competition in these markets. Use online and offline business directories, visit competitor websites or contact local businesses in your area to determine local needs. Consider your skills and interest when choosing target markets. For example, large bouquets for weddings are typical, while small arrangements are best for office lobbies and retailers.

Step 2

Research niche markets, or subsets of larger markets to attract even more clients. Niche markets are often overlooked by larger businesses, but may be profitable to smaller businesses and are less competitive. Niche markets for silk flower arrangements may include community theaters, small office buildings, government offices, small boutiques, art galleries and souvenir shops.

Step 3

Create a home workspace or rent studio space. You will need space to make and arrange flowers, storage for materials and space for business invoices and other paperwork. A home workspace is less expensive when first starting out, but a studio space may be necessary if you do not have available space at home. Purchase a computer, invoicing and bookkeeping software, schedule creation software to track when projects are due, a large worktable, comfortable chair, materials for floral arrangements and other supplies.

Step 4

Create an online portfolio to showcase your flower making and arranging talents. Include a variety of photos, pricing information, project completion information (estimated finish times), contact information and special services, such as custom arrangements and same-day shipping. If selling specific types of arrangements online, open a merchant account with credit card provider companies to accept credit card payments. Open a merchant account with PayPal or other online payment service, as many business owners use these types of accounts to accept online purchases. Include your website address on all promotional materials including business cards, brochures, postcards and fliers. Create a few floral arrangements to use as samples when meeting face-to-face with clients.

Step 5

Create a contact list of local businesses to market your floral arrangements. Use a spreadsheet program or purchase contact creation software. Contact business owners, property managers, bridal consultants, funeral directors and others to introduce yourself and your business. Offer to send promotional materials and ask for their email address so you can send a link to your online portfolio. Obtaining email addresses also allows you to send information about your latest floral arrangements, discounts or other beneficial information to clients. Set up meetings with potential clients to show them firsthand your floral creations.

Step 6

Attend local craft shows, farmers' markets, trade shows and other public events to increase your client base. Donate some of your silk flower arrangements to local hospitals, charitable organizations or offer to make arrangements for charity events. Leave business cards and other promotional materials to attract additional business.

Things Needed

Business cards
Online portfolio
Silk flower samples

Tips

Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) through the IRS to use when filing business tax returns. Register your silk flower business with the county clerk's office and secretary of state's office. Apply for a sales tax number through the Department of Revenue.
Offer delivery services of your floral arrangements to increase value to your clients.

Warning

Never overbook your services as you may lose clients if you deliver floral arrangements late or your work is less than professional.

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Monday, April 29, 2013