Educational Session Handouts
State of The Industry
Speaker: Kate Penn, CEO, Society of American Florists
SAF CEO Kate Penn tees up the convention with a high-level overview of the state of the floral industry. Based on the most recent floral industry data, SAF member surveys and dozens of interviews with industry leaders across all sectors, Penn details the high and low points of the past year, challenges and opportunities going into 2024, and what SAF is doing to help the industry address them.
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Gear Up for Growth: Economic and Consumer Buying Trends Insights
Speaker: Charlie Hall, Ph.D., SAF’s Chief Economist, Ellison Chair for Floriculture, Texas A&M
Is a recession still looming? Do consumers still have savings to spend? Will loan rates improve? In his keynote presentation, SAF’s Chief Economist Charlie Hall, Ph.D., delivers all the details you need to prepare your business for growth.
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Under The Microscope: Unlocking the Key to Double-Digit Growth
Speaker: Carlos Muina, Petal Productions
Ready to take your business to the next level? Join us for an inspiring and practical session with Carlos Muina of Petal Productions, who’s transformed his passion project into a thriving enterprise by streamlining efficiencies, building a dream team and developing lucrative relationships with vendors. In this session, Carlos will reveal the key strategies he used to scale his business.
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Giving Back Strategies for Effective Community Engagement
Speaker: Steven Dyme, Flowers for Dreams
Today’s customers like to talk with their wallets, and nearly 80% of Americans feel a deeper connection to a brand with values similar to their own. How do companies tap into that? With authentic cause marketing. Learn how one floral business has built purposeful profit into its business model, forging meaningful partnerships with charities to build connections and brand loyalty — and drive sustainable growth.
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Passing the Torch Without Burning Bridges: Navigating Emotions for Family Business Succession
Speaker: Kristy Chenell, Family Business Consultant
Ensuring a smooth transition of leadership from one generation to the next is a critical challenge for family-owned floral businesses. This session goes beyond the financial aspects of succession planning to address the emotional complexities involved, including how to have open communication and identify expectations — and approach transitions with empathy.
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Mapping Out Your Sustainability Plan
Panelists: Monty Pereira, Watanabe Floral, F.J. Trzuskowski, Continental Floral Greens, Dr.-Ing. Esteban Muñoz, Fresh-o-Fair
Moderator: Amanda Solliday
More than 50 percent of consumers would be willing to pay more for floral products from companies that practice sustainability. Where are you on your sustainability journey? Learn more about a new, research-driven collaborative initiative that’s creating user-friendly, guides and resources to help businesses assess where they are on the sustainability spectrum and how they can enhance their sustainable practices.
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Profitable Designs: Maximize Margin, Minimize Waste
Speakers: Doug Bates, AIFD, CF, CFD, Designs by Vogts, Cameron Pappas, AAF, Norton’s Florist, Kelsey Thompson, AIFD, CFD, Bloom Floral & Home Studio
Drowning in rising costs but feel squeezed by low margins? Join this design-driven workshop to learn how to create high-margin holiday recipes that squeeze every drop of profit for your business. Expert speakers will help you increase productivity and efficiencies for cost-savings; demystify the difference between markups and margins, set prices that protect your profits and cover labor, and master cost control. Don’t let rising costs drain your profits during the holidays!
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Reel It In: Boost Social Engagement with Video
Speakers: Erin Bruno, McNamara Florist & Design Center, Megan Gerace, Gravity Free
Dive into the world of video, including Reels, and unlock their potential for your business! This engaging session empowers you to create captivating video that captivates audiences, pleases algorithms and drive results. Watch seasoned social media gurus demonstrate the process of creating a video — from the recording to the final touches — and uncover essential tools and techniques to help you polish your creations.
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Educational Session Handouts
Thursday, September 7
State of The Industry
Speaker: Kate Penn, CEO, Society of American Florists
SAF CEO Kate Penn tees up the convention with a high-level overview of the state of the floral industry. Based on the most recent floral industry data, SAF member surveys and dozens of interviews with industry leaders across all sectors, Penn details the high and low points of the past year, challenges and opportunities going into 2024, and what SAF is doing to help the industry address them.
Download PDF
Operational Tools That Sustain Your Business
Speaker: Liza Roeser, AAF, Fifty Flowers
Have you hit the ceiling? Feeling burned out? Is growth harder to achieve? Are you spending 100% of your time on execution and 0% on strategy? Given the increased demand, combined with supply chain and labor challenges, it’s not surprising. It might be time to adapt a business operating system – a set of processes that define your company’s unique way of doing business, from building the right kind of team, to establishing goals and managing based on data, not emotions.
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Experience Zone: Clique & Create with Flower Clique!
Speakers: Vonda LaFever, AIFD, PFCI, Ellie LaFever, PFCI, Lori Wilson, PFCI
Join Vonda and Ellie for a dynamic 20-minute session where they’ll share practical tips and tricks specifically tailored for retail florists. Vonda will guide you through the art of design and delegation, unveiling simple yet profitable techniques that any employee can easily follow. Meanwhile, Ellie will dive into photography tips and introduce user-friendly tools and tricks to elevate your social game and e-commerce aesthetic. As an added bonus, Lori will provide interactive entertainment as a fake employee, and you’ll walk away with tips to implement into your daily business workflow!
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Friday, September 8
Harvesting Talent in Local Schools
Panel: Jazmin Albarran, Seed Your Future Inc., Chris Drummond, AAF, PFCI, Penny’s by Plaza Flowers, Alyson Upshaw, Ball Horticultural Company
Want to find out the fastest pipeline to local talent? It’s time to create a relationship with your local high schools, colleges and universities. Easier said than done? Hear how your peers and Seed Your Future are making it easier than ever, with turnkey tools to that help you connect with school administrators, organize regular visit to the school and events at your business and more.
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Reaching Customers in a Crowded Digital Landscape
Panelists: Erin Bruno, McNamara Florist; LaToya Ferguson, Sweet Psalms Florist; Brennen Rigler, Albuquerque Florist
Frustrated with low open rates on email? Wondering how to get through to today’s consumer, when there’s so much competition for their attention? Hear from several floral industry peers on what’s working for them to drive sales and click browsers to buyers.
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Saturday, September 9
Leveraging AI to Revolutionize Your Business
Nicole Donnelly, AI Smart Marketing
AI is more than just a buzzword; it’s a tool that, when used correctly, can help you streamline your operations, better understand and reach your customers, and create unique, personalized experiences that will set your business apart. Whether you’re a tech-savvy floral pro already incorporating digital tools into your business or a traditionalist looking to stay competitive in the evolving marketplace, this session will enlighten, inspire, and empower you.
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Impact of Communication Styles on Morale, Culture, Performance and Results
Speaker: Elle Stella, The Wonderful Company
Communication is the cornerstone of every successful interaction, relationship, and endeavor. In this breakout, Elle Stella, Senior Director of Learning & Development for the Wonderful Company, will explore the profound impact of communication on various aspects of our personal and professional lives. Participants will gain valuable insights into the critical role communication plays in building strong connections, enhancing teamwork, resolving conflicts, and achieving desired outcomes. Through interactive activities, practical techniques, and engaging discussions, attendees will develop essential skills to become effective communicators and harness the transformative power of communication to drive positive change.
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Creating a Customer Profile using AI
Speaker: Kelsey Thompson, AIFD, CFD, Bloom Floral and Home Studio
Watch as Kelsey Thompson creates a customer profile avatar using AI! This avatar can then be used to clarify your target market, discover customer desires and motivations, generate content ideas, discover pain points and frustrations, and so much more. You will also learn how to brainstorm product and service ideas and fine-tune your marketing channels by learning how to create your own avatar for your business.
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Frictionless E-Commerce: Secrets of High-Performing Websites
Speaker: Chris Beals, Komet Sales
Seasoned e-commerce executive Chris Beals brings best practices he deployed to drive online sales in the cannabis industry to floriculture. Beals, former CEO of leading online cannabis marketplace Weedmaps and now CEO of Komet Sales, shows how to remove barriers – “friction” – that get in the way of captivating and converting online buyers. From visual merchandising to shopping cart to post-order handling, Beals shows the hallmarks of effective websites.
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E-Commerce for Suppliers: B2B Hacks to Drive Online Sales
Speaker: Chris Beals, Komet Sales
Are you a floral industry supplier looking to unlock the potential of online B2B sales? Take a deep dive into the topic with Chris Beals, former CEO of online cannabis marketplace Weedworks and now CEO of the B2B floriculture platform Komet Sales. From using e-commerce to evaluate sales representatives based on their total sales performance to enhancing client relationships to drive sales, Beals equips you with actionable steps to take your sales figures to new heights.