With high temperatures expected to reach 102 degrees Fahrenheit in St. Louis, Missouri this Saturday, July 22, florists there can beat the heat and hang out with other florists and growers and learn how to make more during the Society of American Florists’ 1-Day Profit Blast. Underwritten by Baisch & Skinner and DWF Wholesale, the 8-hour program features presentations from experts on design profitability, money management, customer service and social media marketing.
Derek Woodruff, AIFD, CF, PFCI, headlines the event with a hands-on design presentation, “Tiny Houses, Big Design Opportunities,” sponsored by Syndicate Sales. Woodruff will share strategies to connect with millennials and creative ways to green their homes. He’ll explain how to create chic designs for small spaces, movements in indoor gardening that retail florists can leverage and how to set up a terrarium bar in your shop.
Crystal Vilkaitis, the owner of Crystal Media who is a featured speaker at SAF Palm Beach 2017 and one of Floral Management’s newest monthly contributors, has worked with thousands of business owners to help them save time, gain confidence and increase local exposure, foot traffic and sales via social media. Vilkaitis will present “The Social Selling Mindset,” which addresses the traits of retailers who succeed at social selling and how to turn employees into passionate ambassadors.
Retail floral financial analyst Derrick Myers, CPA, CFP, PFCI, president of Crockett, Myers & Associates, Inc., will present his famously entertaining and informative “Treasure Hunt: Finding Your Hidden Profits.” It walks participants inside the six main cost centers of a flower shop for an eye-opening look at cost of goods sold, labor, delivery, occupancy, marketing and wire service business.
Art Conforti, PFCI, the owner of Bloomerang Solutions, will show participants how to embrace that “yes, we can!” attitude toward customer service with his presentation, “Delivering the ‘Wow’ Factor.”
Norren Gorka of Ye Olde Yardley Florist attended SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast this spring in Philadelphia. “The best part was there was a little of everything, close to home, and all in one day,” said the florist in Yardley, Pennsylvania. “Growers and vendors showcasing their newest products, with sessions focusing on design, sales, marketing, social media and profits.”
Gorka appreciated the networking, too. “It’s nice to put faces to names with other florists that I ‘know’ from social media, and it’s always great meeting other florists and getting their thoughts, insights and ideas.”
Another hallmark of the SAF 1-Day Profit Blast program is the Supplier Showcase, where floral industry vendors share their newest products. “It’s always better to see and touch the products instead of just seeing a picture in an ad,” Gorka said. “We ordered several flowers and products I saw at the Profit Blast the very next week.”
The SAF 1-Day Profit Blast in St. Louis offers a low registration fee of $199 for members and $99 for each additional registrant from the same company. Online registration ends July 27, and on-site registration opens at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 22 at the conference hotel, Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel.
Additional SAF 1-Day Profit Blasts will be held in Boston on Sept. 23, sponsored by Jacobson Floral Supply; and Louisville, Kentucky on Nov. 4, sponsored by Bill Doran Company.
