Many florists say slower summer months are an ideal time to evaluate your business and make improvements in preparation for busier times.
With its typically slow sales, the summer can be a stressful season— but many florists say it doesn’t have to be. If you plan for the slowdown, it can actually be an ideal time to evaluate your business and make improvements in preparation for busier times. Where to start? Florists share their tips for making the best use of summer downtime.
Take Stock
“Summer is a great time to review inventory,” says Helena Polites of Polites Florist in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. She marks items that have been around for a while on clearance in an effort to bring in some summer sales but also to make room for new giftware coming in for the fall and winter. She also reviews the website to update pricing that has changed.
Tackle Projects
“Anything that can be streamlined is a summer project,” says Polites. Identify opportunities for efficiency and make those changes while you have the time. “One project is to get every cemetery map and mark each location we deliver to either monthly or yearly,” she says.
It’s also a good time to take on big updates that you may put off during busier seasons. For example, Michael Trogdon, AAF, AIFD of Burge Flower Shop in Asheboro, North Carolina is taking the summer to redesign the shop’s website.
Tracy Parke of House of Flora Flower Market in Hartford, Connecticut has been hesitant to dive into social media, but she’s using this season to build a presence on those platforms. “My focus is homing in on Instagram and taking the time while I have it to get content,” she says.
Get Ahead
Now is the perfect time to plan for the busy holiday season. Parke begins planning for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even Valentine’s Day, noting that the trend has been for her customers to start their holiday shopping earlier.
Designers at Burge Flower Shop are also busy. “Two of our designers are working on permanent floral arrangements for fall, including some home decor as well as florals for cemeteries,” Trogdon says. For seasonal standing order deliveries to gravesites, his team is already designing autumn and Christmas arrangements. “We tie hundreds of bows for Christmas decor and will start that process this summer too,” he says. Other preparations for the fall and winter include planning email marketing campaigns and mapping out social media strategy.
Refresh & Renovate
The summer can be a terrific time to make changes to your space for future use. Kaitlin Radebaugh, AAF, of Radebaugh Florist in Baltimore, Maryland generates revenue by hosting in-store events throughout the year, so she has taken the lull of summer to tackle renovation projects that will make the store more event-ready.
Likewise, “Our back storage room has been in dire need of a paint job,” says Trogdon. “It got a brand new last week.”
Cut Back Where You Can
“I am fortunate to have two designers who take the summer off,” says Nancy White of The Flower Bar in Larchmont, New York. “We also substantially reduce our hours to save on labor costs.” Parke also saves money by cutting back on some of her standing orders, particularly on fillers such as baby’s breath. In addition, she gives her team opportunities to rest. “We try to keep our staff on as long as we can, but then during quiet times, we give them a break, and everybody gets out early to run to the beach or the lake. That’s such a gift,” she says.
Embrace the Pace
“Don’t freak out,” says Parke. “Slowdowns are going to happen and we’re going to be alright.” She enjoys a slower season because it gives her the opportunity to spend time with each individual customer, which may not be the case during busier times. She also uses the summer as an opportunity to seek out continuing education and attend conferences and networking events. If travel isn’t in the budget, there’s still plenty of ways to learn new things. “All the stuff SAF has on the website is amazing,” says Parke. “We have the time right now, and all the tools are right there.”
Laura Drummond is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
