If you asked the average person what they thought was the oldest trade in the world, floristry would probably not figure in their first five guesses.
The truth is, though, that the flower business industry has likely been around for as long as humans have been able to collect flowers – in other words, forever!
There are even records of uses of floral arrangements from almost every ancient civilisation, from the Aztecs of Mexico to the Ancient Egyptians of the Nile region. The human fascination with flowers is as old as time and will probably last for as long as our species inhabit the same world.
Maybe you are also one of those people in whom something stirs deep inside when struck with the boundless beauty of a lotus flower or the exotic vibrancy of a bird of paradise flower in full bloom. If so, have you ever thought of becoming a florist?
The list of benefits of working in floristry is as long as your arm, including the opportunity to express artistic creativity, the chance to work looking after some of Mother Nature’s finest creations, and never having to splash out on birthday flowers ever again.
Not least among these benefits is the chance to work from home in your very own home-based flower business.
If this sounds like something that might appeal to you, read on to find out more about the steps you should take to make this dream a reality.
How to Start a Home-Based Flower Business
1. Equip Yourself with the Necessary Skills
There is many a skilled florist who has made a successful career while never having earned a floristry certificate. Saying that, if you have no prior experience and are starting from scratch, you may want to take the fast track and sign up for a floristry course.
If you lead a busy life and fear that it will be impossible to find the time to attend a floristry course at a community college, there are tonnes of brilliant online options to choose from today.
These courses will teach you the basics of floral design and also how to run your own small-scale business from home. That includes the basics of dealing with suppliers, stock management, storage, marketing and bookkeeping, all of which can be hard to get to grips with at first without some direction.
2. Setup Costs
The initial funding required for a home-based flower business is tiny when compared to that which is needed to start other types of home businesses.
The largest initial expense will be the purchase of a large cooler to store your stock. You will also need some equipment such as pruning shears and scissors and presentation materials such as colored paper, ribbon and lace.
You will naturally build up stock from the flowers that will be left over from your first few orders. You will also need to make a small investment in renting some space in the ad section of the local paper to spread the word about your business.
On top of this, it is a good idea to hire someone to help you design and run your own company website.
Read also: 6 Great Mom Jobs You Can Get With No Experience
3. The Beauty of Wire Services
One of the easiest ways to get orders as a florist is by joining a monthly subscription wire service like FTD, Teleflora or BloomNet.
Once a member, you will be sent specific orders from customers inside your around and the world who are looking to send flowers to someone who lives locally to you.
Here is how it works:
Let us say that you wanted to send flowers to someone in Perth from your home in San Francisco. All you would have to do is go to visit a local florist, choose some flowers and tell them you want them sent to your friend on the other side of the world.
Instead of sending them directly, the florist would just send the order to a florist in Perth who is also a member of the wire service they subscribe to.
The earnings from the order would then be split between the florists on each side of the Pacific, with the Perth florist taking a larger percentage of the profit.
Joining a wire service is a great way to get your business up and running. Instead of being limited to your geographic location, you will receive orders from clients all around the globe. Now that is what I call exciting!
There has never been an easier time to learn how to start a home-based flower business.
We live in a global age where sourcing the most exotic and beautiful flowers can be done with just the touch of a button and orders will arrive at your smartphone from customers from all around the globe.
If working with flowers is something that excites you, and you are attracted by the prospect of running your own home business, why wait any longer?
Take the jump towards a future in floristry today by starting a flower business and never look back!