Has anybody set up a floristry business run from home?

[LucyLoo1972]

Anybody done this? were you able to make it work?

I haven't but a friend of my mother's has. For background she (friend ) has a huge garden ( well more of allotment sized field) and grows cutting flowers so that she can augment floristry displays from flowers she has to buy. . She has a good relationship - sounds morbid but good for business - with the local undertakers so she gets a stream of business. She used to work in a florists and left that to do this & this seems to be a sustainable business. She does weddings / golf club events etc. But that means making contacts to get regular business. She thought of asking pubs who want regular flowers on display but where she lives they will often try to undercut her ( no pun intended ) so she concentrates on events.

Neighbour does floristry - more wedding ( so think the arches round the church ) but she is not dependent on this for her income , so she takes which jobs suit her and buys the flowers to suit the budget.

I think it is possible but you have my best advice there. I think you would need to forge some relationships which give you a regular income stream and then do the Valentine's birthdays etc on top of that.

BUT not a florist myself - just giving you my vicarious experience - if it helps I'm glad & I wish you all the best.

thank you - thats all very helpful. I wouldn't need to make a living form it becasue my husabnd supports us after I had a truly horrific mental breakdwon eight years ago. I did a floristry course as therapy really but enjoyed it. the idea I have for my business is a very local flower subscription service where peopel sign up fro regular flowers so I would know what to buy. I have Laos thought about making contacts with local businesses too.

A friend used to do wedding flowers and another friend runs a florist business from home having closed her shop. She has a relationship with an undertaker and gets a lot of business from wedding fairs. She only takes advance bookings for flowers. Both friends converted a garage for use as a chiller was vital.

I don’t want to sound harsh, but you sound very naive. ‘Very local flower subscription service’ and ‘having loads of thoughts about making contacts with local businesses’ will get you nowhere. Flower business is a lot of hard physical work, early starts and expense setting up.

I thought your name rang a bell!

You never updated your thread about your husband. I hope all ok

yes I probably am! im only just thinking about it for the first time. ive applied to work part time in local florists too. I dont need to do it to earn a living. im just flying a kite really.

which thread? things are very hard and I blame myself for losing everythign I had, even myself. I never knew it was possible to break down so badly. its not my husbands fault.

Adult social services

Friend does wedding flowers. She charges a lot. She has an allotment for rare breed flowers to augment the ones she buys. She has a little van. She struggles with logistics to get the flowers to the venue and calls in favours with friends.

Working in a florist is a good idea. You'll see what it takes to churn out bunches on big flower days like Valentines and mothers day and get to observe their deliveries.

You could even volunteer if you needed the experience.

Ah OK. If you don't need it as a sustainable income that's a bit different.

I think getting a job or even volunteering with a local florist to get some experience is a very very good idea. as @ZenNudist says. It will give you some idea of what are the practical matters . So eg @countrygirl99 is right - you will need a large space to assemble / arrange flowers and keep them cool before delivery. Also, if you take bookings you must be certain of a good supplier to get the flowers in good time & then obviously a means of delivery.

I don't want to put you off at all , but whilst it sounds like a lovely job , it is as others have said hard work and logicistically challenging. Also think about cash flow as @2tell mentions - , you will need to pay for everything before delivered and flowers can suffer in extreme heat etc , as well as storage space , buckets , all the equipment .

I think you need some experience with an established business first. People do do it successfully but it is hard work and logistically challenging and I can imagine having to manage sourcing flowers and getting them out to deadlines is probably quite stressful at times.

Do try to get some experience and see if it is for you before you try to strike out on your own , I would say. If you don't initially need it as a income you have the luxury of learning the ropes for a while

But that said - good luck. 💐

I've had a flower subscription - it was a gift. The flowers came from a huge London based florist who has access to the flower markets plus they grow some of their own. The problem I found was the courier. 'This way up' means absolutely nothing to couriers who have tight margins and deadlines. The well packed at source flowers often arrived looking terrible because the packaging had been wrecked by the courier service. Often they had to send me replacement flowers. I chose not to continue the subscription when the gift ended as I felt it wasn't worth the hassle plus for the price paid I felt the bouquets were getting smaller and increasingly dull.

I know someone that had career change and started a small floristry business at home. She mainly advertised on social media and did local markets. People would pick orders up from her house or she would drop off if local. And now she does flowers for weddings, TV shows, runs floristry courses at a college, wreath making workshops etc. she's doing really well. I'm sure there's a lot more behind the scenes though that I don't see like how to store the flowers etc.

This sounds like a much better, lower-stress idea. Get a part time job if you can, and learn the trade properly.

There's much more to running a floristry business then just arranging flowers!

thanks for all your advice. im not sure it is for me at the moment especially as im still recovering from a terrible breakdown and my work experience prior is so different. I will persevere to try and get soem experience at a florists shop part time

A few people in local villages have bunches made up and sell from their garden gate. Also small jam jar posies, this is more of a hobby I believe. Probably easier to start small as otherwise could be overwhelming?

Someone in my mum's town has set up a little booth outside their house. When they have bouquets, they put them in there and sell them all for a fixed price, advertising on local FB pages. When they are gone, they are gone till next time.

I think its a lovely idea but I am never in the vicinity to get one in time!

You could try that as a first step?

It's doable but hard work. Join Flowers from the Farm and do some courses. Fieldgate Flowers are just about to start one, for example. Also, I'd recommend a run your own business course, and see if there are any local florists or growers you can get some work experience from or develop a mentoring relationship.

I have done a course with a local florist

Is it a recognised qualification or similar that other florists can understand, or just Jane the local florist ran some sessions?

(I don't mean to denigrate what you learned, but if there is a readily available "syllabus" for what you were taught, it will be easier to assess your skill level)

This sounds like a perfect idea op!

Yes my friend does it

It isn’t the recognised floristry qualification which I would need to do. But it was a short course with a florist who is the leading one in my city and highly regarded.