How to Run a Retail Flower Shop: Expert Floral Advice

Hey Wild Flowers, Native Poppy co-owner Meg here! We’re grateful, 10 years into business in the flower industry, to have a pretty robust community via social media, our retail flower shop locations, and beyond. A large percentage of that community falls into the category of “flower lovers” or “floral hobbyists” and a sub-group within that is florists or aspiring florists! One of the most frequently asked questions we get through email outreach, Instagram DM’s, business consulting, and wide-eyed patrons of the shops is: 

“How did you get started as a florist?” 

...with the unspoken, but resoundingly present refrain of, “How can I get started as a florist?” 

Natalie and I get asked so frequently, that a large portion of our week would be spent repeating the same answers over and over had we not created canned responses to hit the key points; we’re able to give a bit, but are left wanting to share more, answer more, guide the next generation more, without the time to do so. So, for the first time ever, we’re writing down a slightly more expanded version of what we’ve learned and what we can share for those interested in starting the noble, albeit challenging, journey of becoming a florist or opening a retail flower shop. 

We start most business consultations, like the one we led recently with Amy McGee for Circle, with the preface that Natalie and I did not go to business school (I do have a AA under my belt but almost none of that information prepared us for what it was like to run a small business in this day and age), and we do not guarantee anything to be the right answer. We’re here to share what we’ve learned thus far, help you learn from our mistakes, and give you a brief glimpse into what it’s like running Native Poppy. So here we go…

Where do I start learning floral design?

We always tell people to just start playing with flowers - go buy what you like and then start arranging them the way you like and see what resonates with you! Natalie often talks about when she started, she would make something every day, take a hundred pictures of it from different angles, and then look at those pictures and notice she liked, didn’t like, etc. There are so many books on floral design, pictures on Pinterest, accounts on Instagram, so if you’re not ready to get your hands in it yet, start collecting images of what you like and you’ll see themes emerge. The technical side of flower care and technique is different, but as far as learning design and building your own style, that’s the best way you can start.

If you want to take a course, we do offer both in-person floral design workshops in San Diego, and online floral design workshops (insert shameless plug here).

What advice would you give flower business owners?

To systemize early and thoroughly, and then to delegate. You’ll never be able to delegate without creating systems and procedures that people can follow, and you won’t be able to survive (with a healthy mental state) if you don’t learn how to delegate. This advice applies to all business owners (a challenge we’ve seen consistently from industry to industry) but it’s extra tricky when it comes to floristry form because it’s art - it’s subjective! There are plenty of logistical and administrative tasks you can systemize for a team, and you can even create bumpers to guide the art form itself. Yes, it is a time investment, but so is working 24/7. Both paths are hard, they are just different kinds of hard, and one leads to space and growth for you and your business.

What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made in business?

Hiring expensive coaches or consultants without being prepared or having the time to do the work they laid out and/or that don’t understand the flower industry. It’s a very niche industry (art form, perishable inventory, huge misconception on flower costs!!!). Also, sometimes you need advice and sometimes you need to just trust your gut! The other thing is to be savvy about build out costs for a retail flower shop and/ or investments you can’t take with you if you leave, such as installing a built in refrigeration system vs. getting a cool bot.

What gift items do you recommend selling alongside flowers in a retail flower shop?

Non-fresh flower products make up about 25% of our retail flower shop revenue, so it’s substantial! The main best-selling categories month over month are vases, cards, and candles (we make our own in house)! Other categories that do well and rotate through the best-selling list through the year are apparel (specifically our artist collaborations like this cozy sweatshirt and this oversized wardrobe staple), bath and beauty, and food gifts.

What advice do you have on training and leading a team?

Training is something that requires a lot of systemizing (remember systemizing? that thing we mentioned before) and is something that gets constant attention and improvement at Native Poppy. Because flower arranging is an art form, and because the type of flower arrangements we make are wild, whimsical, one-of-a-kind creations, the training process is intricate. The best tool we’ve used thus far is training videos which allows both consistency and give you time to do something else while the video is watched! When it comes to leading a team, we’ve read a lot of books that encourage team-building, ways to have hard conversations, successful habits and patterns for all to follow, and delegation/ following up. We also had a mentor who made the distinction between managing people and leading people which is interesting to dive into.

What do you do for marketing?

This is a mega-question with a lot of information and a lot of nuance, but here are the highlights:

Instagram is a strong platform for us! We post daily on our feed and in stories (almost every day of the year). Instagram is not what it used to be - the algorithm changed how many people see your content, privacy laws changed how insights are reported, and frankly, most consumers are oversaturated and overstimulated which has led to less engagement across the board. That said, it is still a major avenue for people to find out about Native Poppy, our retail flower shops, and to shop with us!

We are on Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, and Yelp. We run digital ads both through Google Ads and Meta (Facebook/Instagram). We strongly encourage you build your email list, or start one if you don’t have one yet! If you didn’t know, you don’t own your community on any social media platform. It can be deleted, hacked or taken away from you - but you do own your email list. Your email list is also not subject to an algorithm that may or may not hide your email (although there are best practices for ensuring your emails don’t go to spam).

Giveaways and collabs with content creators are hit or miss - we’ve done (and still do) both; what’s important is that each one you do feels like a "hell yes!" for you and your brand, and that you only give away or invest what you feel comfortable with. In general, try lots of different things to see what resonates with your community and what gives you a return on your investment; start small and then slowly lean into what’s working.

Any other words of wisdom?

We’ve had a lot of adventures, especially over the last four years - survived a pandemic, closed one location for six months due to a car crashing into the building, had our studio/warehouse space flood with four feet of water - plus so many more things that have gone on behind the scenes. The last bit of advice we’d give to anyone entering the flower industry or retail flower shop business is to be persistent: your grit, ability and willingness to adapt, and sense of humor will get you through. And if you are lucky enough to have a business partner you align with and a kickass team behind you, that really helps, too.