SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast attendees, including Sharewn Brendle of Bouquets Unlimited in Cheyenne, Wyoming, got the event started by introducing themselves and sharing how long they’ve been in the industry.
It’s too easy to get caught up in the daily grind of business — and that’s why florists who gathered in Denver for the Society of American Florists’ 1-Day Profit Blast say they valued the opportunity to step away to connect with peers and share ideas.
About 75 floral professionals left the Oct. 11 event inspired, recharged and equipped with new skills to be more creative, profitable and productive in a changing market.
“I’ve enjoyed being around with other people and networking,” said Amber Micciche of Main Street Flower Market in Parker, Colorado. “We are brand new to the industry — we’ve only been in six months. It’s our first time being around other florists. We enjoyed brainstorming and talking with everyone, things that we don’t normally get to do on a daily basis.”
Taylor McBride of Arapahoe Floral in Greenville Village, Colorado, agreed and said it was especially helpful because much of the educational sessions focused on how to adapt to the changes in the market, especially when it comes to delivery charges and substitutions for fresh product.
Presenters at SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Denver included Melanie Spilbeler of FreshPath Marketing; Paul Goodman, MBA, CPA, PFCI, of Floral Finance Business Services; and Derek Woodruff, AIFD, CF, PFCI, of Floral Underground in Traverse City, Michigan.
“You can get in your bubble about how you do things and it’s nice to hear others’ perspective on how to adjust to a changing market,” she said.
Underwritten by Denver Wholesale Florist, SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast featured three education sessions designed to help florists work around supply chain issues, save time on marketing, and make deliveries more profitable. (See pictures of the event here). It also featured 16 vendors at a supplier showcase and time for networking, which many attendees found valuable.
In “Make It Work,” Derek Woodruff, AIFD, CF, PFCI, of Floral Underground in Traverse City, Michigan, focused on how florists can get creative to make do when fresh or hard products aren’t available. He showed the audience several different types of flower arrangements that he created with limited resources.
Jane Avila, of Family Flowers in Alpharetta, Georgia, plans to use what she learned from Woodruff’s session, including tips on using sphagnum moss as a water source in place of foam and keeping the look and feel of an arrangement when specific flowers aren’t available.
“I really enjoyed his presentation because we have a slot of supply chain issues and we often do make mistakes when ordering flowers, but you still need to pull off the event or wedding,” she said.
During “New Ways of Thinking About Delivery” Paul Goodman, MBA, CPA, PFCI, of Floral Finance Business Services, showed attendees how to set delivery zones and charges based on actual costs, track drivers’ productivity, find seasonal drivers — and even guard against accepting orders that are too far away to deliver profitably.
“What I really appreciated was learning properly charge for deliveries,” said Frencesco Micciche, of Main Street Flower Market.
In another educational session, “Automate Your Email and Social Media Marketing,” Melanie Spilbeler of FreshPath Marketing taught attendees how to streamline their promotional planning process, automate email marketing and use content calendars for social media posts.
“Email marketing is definitely something I know I need — I just don’t know how to do it,” said Carrie Moore of Jenny’s Floral in Custer, South Dakota. “This was a great next step for me, so I’ll be working towards that more.”
Nate Golter of Longmont Florist in Longmont, Colorado, said he also found the session helpful because it introduced him to different categories of emails.
“It’s not just ‘here’s the next product’, but cart abandonment and birthday emails — all the types of emails,” he said. “I’ll definitely be following up on that.”
The education and networking underscored for John Velkamp of Veldkamp’s Flowers and Gifts in Lakewood, Colorado, the importance of making time for events such as Profit Blast.
“In the fast-paced world we live in, people wear a lot of hats in their flower shops…and all too often you don’t find the time ,” he said. “My experience is that when you come to conferences, people speak the same language, there’s a certain energy that you can’t get anywhere else. Make it a priority. Find the time.”
The Denver Profit Blast was one of three such events SAF has held this year. A fourth Profit Blast, underwritten by the Bill Doran Company, is slated for Nov. 9 in San Marcos, Texas.
Amanda Jedlinsky is managing editor of SAF NOW.