CENTERS OF THE INDUSTRY 21 



bring him customers. In these times of keen competi- 

 tion, every legitimate method should be followed. There 

 is an opening for a man alive to his opportunities, in 

 every large city, and the florist who places his goods 

 before the public in an attractive manner through the 

 medium of advertising is sure to succeed. One florist 

 has worked up a big trade on the " dollar box," mainly 

 through street-car advertising. As a rule, street-car 

 advertising is not as productive of results as newspaper 

 advertising. Still it is of value. 



Any good method of advertising that is commenced 

 should be followed systematically and regularly, and not 

 be done in a spasmodic or indifferent way. 



Credit is a matter which cannot be watched too care- 

 fully. Loose credit ruins many business establishments. 

 It has been stated that half the success of every man's 

 business is in his collections. They should be watched 

 carefully. A bill is collected more easily when it becomes 

 due than when allowed to become overdue. 



Irwin Bertermann of the firm of Bertermann Brothers 

 Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, discusses the retail 

 business as follows : " It is essential that a retail flower 

 shop be properly piloted through the office, but it is equally 

 important that there be an efficient store manager. It 

 requires the personal oversight of one person to see that 

 designs are properly filled with flowers; that material is 

 not used unfairly with relation to customer or to firm ; 

 that elegant and attractive windows are maintained, that 

 all buying is on a proper basis ; and that promptness and 

 cleanliness are prominent in the maintenance of the store. 



" The head of one retail firm expresses the management 

 in this way : ' It takes a General in thought and action 

 properly to head a force of men in a workshop, particularly 



