November 3, 1921 



The Florists^ Review 



21 



dent in the chair, W. H. Englehart, 

 president and manager of the Idlewild 

 Greenhouses, of Memphis, Tenn., has 

 been the most active president the asso- 

 ciation has ever had in regard to giving 

 publicity to its meetings and in adding 

 to its membership. Since the close of 



the seventh annual convention, held in 

 Memphis, November 17 and 18, 1920, 

 the convention at which Mr. Englehart 

 was elected our president, fifty-three 

 names have been added to the list of 

 new members, making our total mem- 

 bership at present 203. We anticipate 



iit least fifty new members to be added 

 to our association during this conven- 

 tion. Wliat can keep the Tennessee 

 State Florists' Association from finding 

 a place on tlie map as one of tlie largest 

 and most active state florists' associa- 

 tions? 



HERE'S FOOD FOR THOUGHT 



^. ^ » ^ffiffl l ^r l ,Yy1 l ^^.h^t l t^AN I frr^l^7^1 5MM^^^^ 



ESSENTIALS FOR SUCCESS. 



What a Florist Needsi 



A man going into any line of business 

 at the present time must have two 

 strong arms, a good brain, a driving 

 aml)ition and an almost superhuman 

 capacity for work; and above all, he 

 must be a public-spirited citizen of the 

 highest type. Next, he must have con- 

 fidence in liis ability to win out. If he 

 has not this confidence, he is doomed to 

 failure, and this failure will come long 

 before it is expected. Some people have 

 such a lack of confidence and are so 

 cautious that they never make a start 

 in life. Time can do nothing for them, 

 because they have never developed any 

 courage. They might fight a circular 

 saw if their physical courage were suffi- 

 <'.iently challenged or tested, but they 

 are ])abes when it comes to normal busi- 

 ness courage. They think in little figures 

 and live accordingly. They do not real- 

 ize that it takes as much brains to sell 

 parched peanuts as it does to sell loco- 

 motives, that the man who can keep 

 straight a $10 monthly income must use 

 the same mental process as the man who 

 handles an income of $1,000 a month. 

 Investigate carefully the men of big 

 affairs in your own community and you 

 will find that every ])erson who has 

 amounted to anything in his life had 

 self-confidence and self-reliance. He 

 believed in himself and he had courage 

 enough to back his own convictions and 

 judgment. 



Back Adverting with Service. 



When I started into the florists' busi- 

 ness years ago, money was a scarce ar- 

 ticle, l)ut what I lacked in dollars and 

 i-ents I made up for in confidence. The 

 first year I was in l)usiness I lost sev- 

 eral tliousand dollars. A good part of 

 this, however, was spent in advertising. 

 In those days there was not much busi- 

 ness iuid all I liad to do was to stand 

 Jit the front door and w.ait for some 

 fellow who was in the advertising game 

 to come along. It did not make any 

 difTtrence to me what kind of advertis- 

 ing Mcheme he had; tliere I was, ready 

 to receive him with wide-open arms. My 

 sole idea was to advertise! in what 

 manner, way or form, I did not care. 

 I was willing to try anvthing and everv- 

 thing. The first thing I knew I woke 

 uj) one morning and found I owed more 

 money for advertising than I thought 

 T could ever pay if I stayed in business 

 fifty years. These bills 'ke])t coming in 

 and ])iiing up, and tliey brought on 

 many restless nights. I was getting 

 ■well advertised, but I was not getting 



Tlio .Hldrcss of I). C. Ilowm, .if tin- I.lli' Hour 

 -Mirscncs. M.Kon, (;ii.. on "ICssi'iithil Dctiiils for 

 !i Sii.Mi.sstnl Kli ri-if in tli.> Soitli." :il the aiiini.'il 

 iiiri.tint of the ■lonn.'ss.... Sl^ilo Florists' .\sso- 

 • latioii ,it (.liattunoo);.'!, NovimiImm- 1 



any sleep. Finally the orders started 

 creeping in; they increased; then they 

 poured in so heavily that I had to wire 

 the greenhouse builders to come down 

 to help me out, and come quickly. 



The florist who ex])ects to be recog- 

 nized in the "Who's Who" as a suc- 

 cessful business man must, above all, 

 give service, else all his money spent in 

 advertising might just as well be 

 thrown into the creek. Tlie Rotary 

 Club's motto, "He profits most who 

 serves best," is one that should be 

 deeply implanted in the minds of all 

 of us. 



The essence of service is politeness, 

 giving a customer his money's worth, 

 thanking him for his business and mak- 

 ing prompt delivery of the goods. En- 



" It Pays to A.dvertise" 



[TELKGRAM.] 



Fort Morean, Colo., 

 November 1^ 1921. 



Florists' Review, 

 Chicagro, HI. 



E. Be Hoc Mittingr in Jail here; 

 wire where he is wanted as per ad- 

 vertisement in Beview October 27. 



E. A. Morse, Sheriff. 



The Tleview promptly .supplied 

 the name of a firm which had cashed 

 a eiicck for Mitting, only to find he 

 had no funds in bank, and of a man 

 who -says he paid MlttinK in advance 

 for Roods he never received. And to 

 the telef^ram to Sheriff Morse was 

 added: 



"Hold Mittingf nntU this week's 

 Review grets into hands of the 

 trade." 



thusiasin, "p(>p" and ins]iiration are 

 also necessary adjuncts. 



The .'ittending of florists' meetings, 

 conv(>ntions and flower shows, as well as 

 visiting brother ilorists, is also neces- 

 sary, so that you may see your own 

 business from different angles and swa]) 

 ideas with the other fellow. 



Stay with the Times. 



Another necessary thing for every 

 florist to do is not only to subscribe for 

 the florists' trade jiapers, but to read 

 them every week from cover to cover. 

 This gives inspiration and keeps you 

 from drying tij). The man who does not 

 read, does not think. He is like tlie 

 man who does not go to church. We 

 must constantly do something to freshen 

 and increase our inspiration. I myself 

 subscribe for two copies, one to be kept 

 at the store and the other to go to the 

 men at tlie greenhouses. I am alw.ays 

 anxious for mv men to read these 



papers, and if yoir have a man in your 

 employ who does not take the time to 

 look them over, the quicker you fire him 

 the better, for such help cannot have 

 your interest at heart and is simply put- 

 ting in time for a meal ticket. We are 

 blessed with having the best trade jour- 

 nals of any line of business in the world 

 and they merit our full support. 



The next essential I wish to touch 

 upon is having a system. A florists' 

 business or any other kind of business 

 that does not have a system for follow- 

 ing up accounts and also for keeping 

 an eye on expenses will sooner or later 

 find itself shipwrecked on the waves of 

 disaster. My profit and loss account 

 usually runs one-half of one per cent. 

 Last year it amounted to only one- 

 fourth of one i)er cent. I kec]) a classi- 

 fied expense book, which is jiosted up 

 every night, and I can t(dl in a minute's 

 time how much any item of ex])ense is, 

 for any jiarticular month or year, or for 

 the last several years, since the day I 

 first started in business. 



Develop Right Attitude. 



Next conies the question of ''kicks." 

 We all liave them, no matter how care- 

 ful we are and how hard we strive to 

 ])lease. I believe it was M;irsliall Field 

 who said first, "The customer is til- 

 ways right." If we will but keep this 

 in our minds and follow this thought, 

 we cannot but retilize tlitit it is the 

 wisest i)olicy to pursue. 



Next in order is the (piestion of being 

 a member of the Society of Americiin 

 Florists. Does not the success of any 

 man in any special line of business de- 

 jiend to ii great extent on the succes8 

 that has been made and is being mtide 

 by other men in the same line of busi- 

 ness? If you tmswer this in the aflirmti- 

 tive, does it not signify thtit every m;ni 

 or womtiii engaged in tlie florists' busi- 

 ness should become a member of the 

 ■ Society of Ainerictin Florists and, 

 further, should contribute his or lier 

 just share to the nationtil, jiulilicity 

 fund? The m;in who adojits tlie slogtui, 

 ''Say It with Flowers,'' either on his 

 letterhead or on his automobile or on 

 a sign over his front door, before con- 

 tributing to this fund is, in my mind, 

 notliing more or less than :i common 

 gr.'ifter. 



In conclusion, let me ask you to keep 

 in mind these words of Addison: "If 

 you wish success in life, mtike persever- 

 tince your bosom friend, experience 

 your wise counselor, caution your elder 

 brotlier, and hope yotir guardian 

 genius." 



Milwaukee, Wir.— Tlie E. Welke Co. 

 litis just ]iiircli!ised a new delivery car, 

 which is of the enclosed type, neatly 

 jminteil, with tlie F. T. 1). symbol on one 

 side telling the jmblic thtit flowers are 

 delivered aiivwhere. 



