How to Start a Floral Business

Monday, April 29, 2013

How to Start a Floral Business

Starting up a floral business provides an opportunity to work for yourself and be your own boss. This type of business appeals to individuals who enjoy working with plants and cut flowers. Operating a floral business requires basic knowledge of plant care, including flower types and their individual characteristics. Like other types of businesses, carefully planning your floral business, including aspects such as finances, advertising and customer service, can help optimize your chances of success.

Step 1

Write out a business plan. This initial step can help you create a road-map for your floral business. Include your goals in your business plan; outlining certain methods you will follow to attain your goals. Outline your expedited costs for start up, including any loans you may need to obtain. Include your expected operating costs, such as rent, utilities, advertising, employee wages, taxes and supplies. Include methods for repaying any loans or purchasing inventory. A detailed plan can help you avoid unforeseen expenses.

Step 2

Contact your bank to apply for a loan. Take your completed business plan with you for their review. Depending on your existing credit score, you may need a cosigner to help you obtain financing. Discuss different types of loans and repayment options with your banker, finding one that works for your finances.

Step 3

Look for a location to set up your floral business. Placing your business in a high-traffic area may draw in customers and help you minimize your advertising expenses. Contact local malls and shopping centers to ask about available spaces for rent. Avoid locations near existing floral businesses, including those near grocery stores that contain floral departments.

Step 4

Consult your local government to determine what types of licenses and fees they require. Fill out any required business applications for your retail business. Contact the Internal Revenue Service to apply for your business identification number, the number that you will use on tax documents.

Step 5

Purchase supplies for your floral shop. This type of business requires special fixtures, such as lights that encourage healthy plant growth and large coolers to store cut flowers. Save some money by purchasing used items from business owners going out of business or downsizing. Contact plant nurseries to set up credit lines for plant and flower purchases.

Step 6

Advertise your new business. Select media programs or publications that appeal to your clientele. For instance, advertise in your newspaper’s annual wedding insert to attract individuals planning to get married. Broadcast radio and television advertisements right before major holidays, such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. Encourage new customers to return by mailing out discount fliers.

References (5)

U.S. Government Business: 10 Steps to Starting a Business
Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center: Guide to Starting a Small Business
U.S. Small Business Administration: Small Business Planner
Starting and Growing a Small Business
How to Start a Floral Business

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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