Dozens of floral professionals are heading to Kansas City this weekend for SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast.
Lori Crom of Tabor Floral in Nebraska City, Nebraska, will travel about 160 miles this weekend to take advantage of a resource she needs — and something that’s increasingly hard to come by in the floral industry: continuing education.
Crom is one of dozens of floral professionals signed up for the Society of American Florists’ 1-Day Profit Blast on July 21 in Kansas City, Missouri. The event includes four educational sessions, an optional hands-on workshop and a Supplier Showcase — an agenda so packed Crom is bringing a staff member along to help soak up the knowledge.
“There is always something new to learn,”said Crom, who attended another SAF Profit Blast in Omaha about a year and a half ago. “We always walk away with something new to increase sales or improve customer service.”
Risse Zimmerman of Iris Blossoms in Clearwater, Kansas, also attended the Profit Blast in Omaha, and agrees that the educational series is a great opportunity to learn — and network.
” I will most definitely share what I learned with my staff and start using the new ideas and tools to become more profitable,” she said. “The Monday after the last Profit Blast I attended I earned $90 more in one phone call than I would have the week before!”
Coryn Parolin, a relatively new florist with a little less than three years under her belt, said she’s attending this weekend’s event to stay ahead of trends and keep her young business, Irene’s Floral Design in St. Louis, thriving.
“Floral shops are going out of business left and right,” said Parolin, who is carpooling with other St. Louis florists for the trip. “I make it a priority to invest in education so that I can make sure I’m growing my business in a healthy and practical manner. Plus, getting away for a day sounds like fun.”
Lance Hoopai of Higdon Florist in Joplin, Missouri, said he’s especially interested in “Extraordinary Service in Your Shop Every Day,” a presentation from Sam Bowles of FloralStrategies LLC that will touch on new approaches and best practices in customer service.
For Hoopai, this area of the business is critical and constantly changing.
“Customer service is evolving,” Hoopai said. “To that end, we typically have a staff meeting on Tuesday morning to review issues that the staff may have encountered during the week and the steps taken to remedy the situation. This includes a review of what was or can be done to prevent recurrence.”
Other highlights from the agenda for SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Kansas City include:
- “Eventology: The Science of Profitable Events,” presented by Derrick Myers, CPA, CFP, PFCI, of Crockett, Myers and Associates Inc.
- “Digital Strategies that Drive Everyday Business,” sponsored by Floriology, powered by BloomNet, and presented by Renato Cruz Sogueco, AAF, PFCI
- “Wedding Designs, Tricks and Tools You’ll Love” sponsored by Smithers-Oasis and demonstrated by Loann Burke, AAF, AIFD, CFD, PFCI, of Furst Florist and Greenhouses
- An SAF Supplier Showcase with vendors of fresh product, hardgoods and technology
- And continental breakfast and refreshments, and lunch sponsored by Hortica.
- Plus, a special Hands-on Workshop: Bouquets & Bouts with Burke, sponsored by Smithers-Oasis (This session is limited to 24 registered Profit Blast attendees, additional fee applies. See the event page for full details.)
Registration for SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Kansas City is $199 for SAF members and $249 for non-members. Bring your team to Profit Blast and save; each additional registrant from the same company is $99.
For details and to register, go to safnow.org/1-day-profit-blast.
Anne Holub is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
