;.THE 



(A.'iV] 



STORE MANAGEMENT IS 

 is VITAL PROBLEM m 



m 



Litllc things, apparently trivial, make or break the florist, says this 

 successful man, whose fifteen years of experience as a retailer of floivcrs 

 make him qualified to speak. His ideas zvill be I'aluable to everyone engaged 

 in this branch of the business. The points are clearly made. 



'C^ 



HE toi)ic, "Store Manage- 

 ment," is worthy of the 

 most serious considera- 

 tion by the retail llorist. 

 There is hardly a com- 

 modity that the retailer 

 uses which has not ad- 

 vanced from twenty ])cr 

 cent to 100 per cent, and, 

 if my observation is cor- 

 rect, I doubt if seventy-five per cent 

 of the florists arc getting an increased 

 jirice for their wares. I will also ^en- 

 turo to say that there is many a retail 

 florist in the country who is not aware 

 of the fact that his raw materials are 

 costing him more money; neither does 

 ho know that his expenses are climbing 

 to a high notch. 



This fact is due to sovetal reasons, 

 the principal one being the kuk of a 

 proper bookkeeping 

 system. There is no 

 doubt that a great 

 many retailers are real- 

 izing the importance 

 of a good system of 

 hooks, but still the ma- 

 jority are lacking in 

 iliis respect. The man 

 who lays stress on his 

 liookkeeping depart- 

 Miont is the man v;ho 

 l;nows what per cent 

 :or profit he must add 

 to his merchandise, 

 md, at the same time, 

 !ie is the man Avho 

 •iieets his bills 

 '■roniptly. 



System Needed. 



There is absolutely 

 way for one to fig- 

 ire his overhead ex- 

 ■ onso unless he does in- 

 'all a good accounting 

 .v>tcm; and, unless he 

 news his overhead, 

 " certainly docs not 

 now what per cent he 

 Hist add to the cost of 

 ■'>od3 to make the 

 fofit to which he i:^ 

 'ititled. 



I have seen retailers 

 lio were successful 

 ■»d wlio did not keep 

 " accurate account of 



ything, but they are 

 ■w and far between, 

 iirtherinoro, these 



aces are always 



okod after by the 

 "oprietor, himself, 



By GEORGE E. SCHULZ 



I'rrsidctil I'lic Jaciili Scliiil/ ( O., I..MiisvJlli', K>. 



and liis family, and, as a rule, stores con- 

 ducted in tills manner have nothing we 

 would call overhead. The proi)rietor 

 draws no pay; neither does his wifij or 

 children. In other words, they are 

 practically putting in their time for 

 1 h(Mr board. 



Finds Daily Balance Helps. 



T am emiihasi/.ing this subject be- 

 rause, to my notion, it is really tlie most 

 important in the conduct of a retail 

 store. In our own business we know 

 exactly where we stand every day in 

 tlie year, because our books are bal- 

 anced daily. 



Our bookkeeper runs off a daily cash 



George E. Scholz. 



l)roof, showing the amount received on 

 accounts and the cash sales for that 

 day. In addition he shows the amount 

 received to date, as well as the amount 

 ]iaid out. In fact, I might say that this 

 daily cash proof shows at a glance just 

 wliat money wo have on hand to the 

 penny, it being made up as follows: 

 liank balance, amount in cash register, 

 (hecks on hand, currency, coin, tickets 

 and the total balance. This system has 

 aided mo materially in handling the 

 financial end of our business. 



There are many factors in the retail 

 flower business which tend to make a 

 man successful. We all know that we 

 must have sufficient capital; a good loca- 

 tion; that our store must bo up-to-date; 

 that our cases contaiji the newest crea- 

 tions; our show windows must be clean 

 and the disjilay arranged in an artistic 

 manner. Our delivery 

 service must bo up-to- 

 the minute; our em- 

 jildvccs must r(^f)ort on 

 time and be polite and 

 a<'Commodating to our 

 customers; we must do 

 a certain amount of 

 ridv(^rtising; wo should 

 help out our brother 

 llorist when he needs a 

 little stock and we 

 should n;ake the ac- 

 f[uaint.Tnco of ou r 

 banlicr. 



These are facts that 

 most florists know, but 

 I will venture to say 

 that the jiercentage of 

 llorists who follow the 

 aliove schedule is small. 



Business Courtesy. 



Nino times out of 

 ten when you accom- 

 modate a brother flo- 

 rist you do so grudg- 

 ingly. Few of U3 go 

 about the country 

 enough to keep in 

 touch witli the newer 

 novelties in flowers and 

 plants. ;Most of us do 

 not know enougli to 

 treat the salesman who 

 calls upon us with the 

 courtesy to which ho is 

 entitled, and in conse- 

 quence we pass up 

 many good opportuni- 

 ties in merchandise. 



Many retail stores 

 are perched on side 

 streets and in alleys 



