Rakini Chinery, AzMF, of Allan’s Flowers in Prescott, Arizona (front, left) has “pages of notes” of ideas to take back to her shop and implement, after a day at SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast.
Inspirational. Practical. Exactly the information I needed.
These are just some of the comments coming in days after SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Austin. On Feb. 27, 110 floral industry members from seven states — and supplier exhibitors from the U.S. and South America — gathered in the Lone Star State for a packed day of targeted programs, plus plenty of time to meet new contacts and share ideas.
“This was a great shot in the arm for my business,” said Rakini Chinery, AzMF, of Allan’s Flowers in Prescott, Arizona. “I have pages of notes from just a single day of presentations and feel armed with new ideas to jump start the new year.”
The event, sponsored by The Bill Doran Company, is part of an ongoing series created by the Society of American Florists, to bring the kind of high-quality educational programming members have enjoyed for years at its annual convention to more florists in more locations, at an affordable price. (Helping to further offset costs, The Elite Flower sponsored the day’s continental breakfast and Hortica sponsored lunch.)
Linda Dietz, right, of Dietz Flower Shop in Seguin, Texas (right), catches up with fellow Texans Patricia Houck, Houck’s house of Blooms in Sugarland, and Oralia Espinoza (center), Spring Garden Flower Shop, in San Antonio.
That outreach seems to be resonating with florists, according to a post-event SAF survey. In fact, 57 percent of participating retailers rated the event as an “outstanding value” for the money; another 38 percent called it a “good value.” Perhaps most important, 100 percent of respondents said they learned a new process during Profit Blast that they plan to implement in their business.
The movement to provide more programming in cities around the country wasn’t lost on participants.
“Thanks for bringing it so close,” said first-time attendee Linda Dietz of Dietz Flower Shop in Seguin, Texas. Her only complaint? “I just wish there had been more retail shops present. They don’t know what they missed.”
Dietz had plenty of company in her satisfaction with the day’s programming, which included presentations on customer service by Tim Huckabee, AIFSE, president of FloralStrategies; financial management from Derrick Myers, CPA, CFP, PFCI, vice president of Crockett, Myers & Associates; online marketing best practices courtesy of Renato Sogueco, SAF’s chief information officer; and wedding marketing tips and design inspiration from Jerome Raska, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, CAFA, Blumz by… JRDesigns in Detroit. (Raska’s program was sponsored by Syndicate Sales and Design Master color tool, Inc.)
Attendees, including Marcia Wilson, Breen’s Florist, Houston, Texas, soaked in profit-building ideas during the full day of programming.
“I walked away with lots of new knowledge,” said Lily Chen of Edgewood Flowers, a second-time attendee at Profit Blast, who traveled all the way from Orlando, Florida, for the event. (It was her “mini vacation” after Valentine’s Day, she said.) “I was able to make new relationships with vendors and learn even more management strategies to run my business better.”
Taylor Pritchett of Lilium Floral Design in Colleyville, Texas, said her goal was straightforward: “To learn at least three good nuggets to take away and be able to apply to our business, and we definitely did. It was also a great opportunity to network and meet some new people.”
In addition to the education sessions, Profit Blast Austin featured a Supplier Showcase with 19 participants. The setup at the event allowed participants to check out those exhibitions without leaving the main conference area — ensuring everyone had ample time to soak up new knowledge and ideas.
Other highlights from the day, according to attendees:
An all-day Supplier Showcase allowed attendees to check out new products from 19 different fresh product and hardgoods suppliers.
Wedding wows. Raska’s wedding presentation presented Chinery with plenty of food for thought, she said. “I loved the look of the show,” she said. “It gave me some great ideas on how to present our shops at wedding shows. The florals were gorgeous and they were relevant to retail shops.”
Tech tips. Sogueco’s presentation on how to increase online sales was “excellent,” said Dietz, with enough info to make her “head spin” (in a good way). Thankfully, she said, she now has a contact in Sogueco to call for extra SEO help once she’s back in the store. “I thought I understood, until I tried to explain something this morning to my manager,” she said. “I’ll give Renato a call.” Chinery agreed. “I learned a lot about how to maximize my web presence with some pretty simple solutions,” said Chinery. “I also didn’t realize how totally available Renato is to SAF members, helping them solve website and SEO issues.” (He REALLY is. Contact him at rsogueco@safnow.org.)
Profit power. Myers had “really good points regarding the profit side of the business,” said Dietz. The session helped underscore for her that financial “goal setting point” is important. Farida Karpoff of A & L Florist Inc. in Copperas Cove, Texas, said, “I learned a lot from Myers. We will be changing some things quickly.”
“Thank you for taking the time away from your shop to attend this event,” said event sponsor Bill LaFever, president of The Bill Doran Company.
Service scores. During his always popular session (where he calls shops and then everyone listens in to rate the customer service experience), Huckabee “made some great points and it was nice to actually hear what the consumer hears,” through the undercover calls, said Pritchett. Likewise, Cheryl Richter of Inspired by C.R. in Austin said it was “eye-opening” to see “how a few questions in the call can improve my sales and gain customer loyalty.”
Find out where Profit Blast is heading next here. See all of the photos from the event, here.