"With a growing network of event designers and wedding florists, US-based Corrine Heck is planning to strengthen the luxury floral market with Details Flowers Software in the UK, too! We asked for her to share her thoughts on the world of event floristry."
By Corrine Heck
I grew up in Florida where my family had a flower nursery business I was constantly around plants and flowers, and I studied at the University of Florida, where my interest in event planning evolved. After university, I began working in a retail florist shop, where I looked after incoming e-commerce orders. My passion was always to become a designer, so in 2001 I made the move to a high-volume retail florist. I then worked for an import flower broker, selling flowers to wholesalers, and we eventually moved to the north-east coast of Florida, where I opened my first floral boutique.
I discovered that the business side of wedding flowers was hugely complex In my previous jobs, there had always been technology in place to assist, but not in floral design – nothing beat my personal Excel templates. In 2007, I set out to build and develop an online application that would help my business and fellow florists, and Details Flowers Software was born.
Over the years, I’ve seen the industry shift from retail-focused to event-driven Supermarkets providing more floral elements has really changed the landscape of the industry. I believe that if you’re not in the events business, like weddings, corporate events or funerals, then you’ll likely have taken a hit over the last 10 years. We’ve found that the florists who have evolved to incorporate events into their weekly routines have managed to carve a unique niche to excel in.
The main challenge facing the florist industry is communication There needs to be more transparency and understanding between customers, suppliers, teammates and growers. At Details, we are connecting the many dots in the supply chain to help florists sell more flowers and enable wholesalers to have less waste.
Proposals are the main selling feature for an event florist This is why it’s so important that they’re visually pleasing. The faster florists can create their vision for the client, the faster sales will come. Brides love imagery; Pinterest is proof of that. A good proposal presentation makes florists appear professional, with a ‘wow-worthy’ package to impress. Details Software allows you to add images, designs and recipes to your event contracts, and add all the blooms that you will use for the entire order in a few clicks.
It’s a big problem that florists are not properly pricing designs and products The economic impact of adding a few extra flowers to a few hundred centerpieces can be a huge loss for a florist. I think that with adequate preparation, proper planning and an appropriate expectation level, the financial part of floral design can become less frustrating and more easily anticipated. We encourage florists to work at a minimum of 300% profit, or costs times four for all arrangements.
We recommend florists send their orders to wholesale and supply partners in adequate time This might mean three to four weeks in advance, to make sure that they can acquire the blooms they want. If we give our supply partners a proper quantity and budget, they can make the best buying decisions to help us produce fabulous events. Developing good relationships with our partners is so important to being successful event planners and florists.
Luxury wedding florist Paula Rooney, who has recently launched her own flower school, was one of the first UK florists to discover Details Flowers Software. “I found it when looking for florist CRM systems,” she explains. “We love it because it creates good looking proposals, and it includes flower recipes and costs to quickly print worksheets, stem planners, job lists and delivery sheets, which saves time when preparing quotes and help us florists to make a profit – allowing more time for training and growing our businesses.” Enroll onto one of Paula’s upcoming courses at www.paularooney.co.uk.
As seen in Florist Business December 2018 Edition: