24 



The Florists^ Review 



Decbmbeu 4, 1019. 



TATE'S TIPS 



BEGINNING IN BUSINESS. 



Lessons in Others' Experience. 



Ill ^atlierinjj: duta for tliis column last 

 woc'k imieli material was jirocunnl which 

 woiilil be most helpful to those who are 

 beginners or who anticipate starting in 

 the retail florists' business. The facts 

 that appear in this article arc all the 

 results of dearly bought exjierience. In- 

 deed, I am convinced the best jtrepara- 

 tion anyone could liavc who anticipates 

 launching out on his own account in 

 the retail florists' business would be to 

 act as corresjiondent for The Review 

 in one of our large cities. Of course, 

 when I say this I do not mean this would 

 be all that is required, as actual ex- 

 ]>erience is the only thing that is ever 

 going to make a florist. What I do mean 

 is that such a representative will hear 

 the experiences of any number of flo- 

 rists, which will be most useful when it 

 comes to conducting one's own business. 



Now to begin at the beginning, the 

 first thing to consider is just what class 

 of trade you wish to cater to. A well 

 defined plan along these lines is 

 essential. There was a time, not so long 

 ago, when the wealthy or aristocratic 

 class was thought to be the only class 

 that bought flowers. But today, in any 

 of our large cities, you will find retail 

 stores which cater to the middle class or 

 the wage-earning class and would not 

 exchange with their more exclusive 

 neighbors. There is no doubt that this 

 is a new feature of the business and one 

 which should be encouraged and worked 

 upon. Education in buying flowers 

 should be carried right home to this 

 class of trade. 



Determining Ijocation. 



After determining what class of trade 

 you are going after, of course the next 

 step is to secure a suitable location. A 

 good business street as near to a resi- 

 dential section as possible experience 

 has proved to. be the best; one's own 

 judgment in this will be the best guide. 

 Rut it will be well to study the loca- 

 tion thoroughly before you decide, for 

 a good location is half of the battle. 



Now, assuming that you are well lo- 

 cated, the next step is fitting up the 

 store, and this is a most important step. 

 Let good taste be displayed in every 

 feature. Your business is looked upon 

 as an artistic one; let this be displayed 

 in your surroundings. Do not affect 

 anything that will look cheaj) and 

 gaudy; let what you may lack in store 

 fittings be made up by your stock in 

 trade until such time as you can get 

 what j'ou desire. In one starting with 

 limited capital this will require patience 

 and perseverance. Have nothing, how- 

 ever, but the best and you will find it 

 will repay you in the eml. 



Securing Salespersons. 



You are now ready for business and 

 will need help. Again experience has 

 demonstrated that the best one to han- 

 dle the sales end of a retail business is 

 a woman. The first and most natural 

 impulse is to look around and try to get 



one who has been for a long time with 

 some established firm, one who with her 

 experience may bring some patronage to 

 the new venture. 'This is a dangerous 

 move, one that sometimes proves suc- 

 cessful, but more often a failure. 



There are three good reasons why a 

 new venture does not want the services 

 of such a person. The first is, such a 

 person would demand a larger salary 

 than a beginner could afford to pay. In 

 the next place, if it is possible for you 

 to entice her away from her former em- 

 ployer without her having good and 

 suflficient reasons for the change, she 

 will be no more loyal to the new busi- 

 ness than she was to her former em- 

 ployer. In the last place, such a person, 

 if she has the experience and commands 

 the patronage, would be foolish not to 

 start on her own account. 



The better plan in securing a sales- 

 woman is to look about and get a re- 

 fined and ladylike person, even if she 

 has not had the practical experience. 

 You will find that most women have a 

 natural instinct for handling flowers. 

 Develop this and if she is taking an in- 

 terest in your business, don't discourage 

 her. Remember that while you may 

 have had experience, she is a beginner 

 and may make mistakes. But if you 

 will, in a kind way, show her any mis- 

 takes, they will seldom happen twice. 



At the beginning of your career in- 

 stall a system and see that this is car- 

 ried out to the letter. At first it may 

 seem that your business does not war- 

 rant this, but let your system grow up 

 with the business. You are not always 

 going to be small, and never was the old 

 adage, "It is hard to teach an old dog 

 new tricks," more true than in the case 

 of a business which becomes large and 

 tries to install a system. Have system 

 in collecting and paying your accounts; 

 system in buying and handling your 

 stock; system in making deliveries; in 

 fact, systematize everything about your 

 establishment. You will find it just as 

 easy to fall in with a system as it is to 

 do business in a haphazard manner. 



One of the hardest things a beginner 

 will have to contend with is carrying a 

 stock. Flowers are perishable and if 

 they are not sold will be a loss, yet a 

 new store must carry stock every day 

 until it becomes established. Care 

 alone can guide you in this, but in these 

 days you are in close touch with the 

 wholesale houses and can get what you 

 require in a short time. Thousands have 

 been successful and anyone who will 

 work and persevere can do the same. 



In closing let me give the experience 

 of one of the most up-to-date florists in 

 the city in which he lives. About thirty 

 years ago he and his wife decided to 

 open a store — they already had two 

 small greenhouses. They had just $15 

 in cash to start on, but each had youth, 

 health and courage to put into the busi- 

 ness. Today it is a model. What one 

 has accomplished another may, and con- 

 ditions are better today than they were 

 thirty years ago. Tate. 



OPEN iZrm^y^ DEADED3 



HOW THEY GOT THERE. 



I have had the pleasure of reading 

 many interesting articles in The Review 

 regarding the jiacking and shipment of 

 cut flowers and would like to relate a 

 little stunt that I have found success- 

 ful. 



Having a small shop in San Francisco, 

 not being a member of the F. T. D. and 

 building up a shipping business secured 

 through a sign in the window reading 

 • ' We pack and ship cut flowers to all 

 parts of the U. S. A.," I had a customer 

 ask me, "What condition are the flow- 

 ers in when they get there?" and, to 

 tell the truth, I didn't know. 



The more I thought of this, the more 

 I resolve<l to find a way to know, for if 

 I was accepting money at this end for 

 goods to be sent away, of all people con 

 cerned I was the one who should know. 



T had printed on flowered canls the 



following: 



Wf tiiki' crciit ciirt' ill the imckiiii; of nit 

 flowers for sliiiniifiit iind, tluiiiuli our rcs[Knisi 

 bility ceasfs wlicii tlit-.v leave mir store, our 

 interest in tliein still remains. WiniM .vmi 

 kitifU.v inferm lis on tlip attaclied iKistal as to 

 tlie cdiiclitioii in wliieli these Mowers were re- 

 i-eiveij '! 



This card I attached to a self-ad- 

 dressed jiostal ami enclosed it in the l)ox 

 of flowers. I also d ted the card in the 

 ujiper left-hand corner with a date staniji 

 ;iiid keyit track of all shiimients. It was 



surprising how promptly the cards were 

 returned and the words of gratitude 

 written showed me that the public really 

 does appreciate service. 



Besides, I was al le to tell "how they 

 got there" and that certainly is an im- 

 portant matter with such perishable 

 goods as fl wers. 



1 firmly believe that any florist, whole- 

 sale or retail, who sends flowers any dis- 

 tance, owes to himself and his custom- 

 ers enough interest in his wares to tell 

 just exactly the condition in which his 

 goods are received and this plan I have 

 found inexpensive, to the point and good 

 advertising. W. D. McMullen. 



FLOWERS FLEW IN TEXAS, TOO. 



We noticed in The Review of Novem- 

 ber 20 an item about airplane deliverv' 

 of flowers at Toronto, Ont., as being the 

 first on record. 



We had the jileasure of selling several 

 orders of cut flowers last year to cus- 

 tomers who came forty miles in an air- 

 ]daiie to get them. We had a store at 

 Waco, Tex., where Camp MacArthur was 

 situated, and we enjoyed a considerable 

 patronage from the oflicers, so that oc- 

 casionall.v our stock ran quite low. As 

 our greenhouses were situated in another 

 town forty miles distant, it was hard to 

 get stock in a hurry. One day a captain 



