7 Things I wish Knew Starting Out as a Floral Designer
1. You don’t have to buy every vase you see
Starting out, I realized I didn’t have a single vase. After a couple of trips (okay, about a dozen) to thrift stores all over the Bay Area, I had probably close to 100. After a couple of years, I used about 10 of those. Start with some simple vases to hold your basics. Get a couple cute things for last minute orders. The rest you can order as needed!
How many of your are hoarding vases for “someday” under your bed?
2. Save your Sales Tax (if you have your own business)
If your just starting out and you don’t have an accountant, put your sales tax in away in an account you cant touch Pay your sales tax quarterly. Do not touch it. Do not! Same goes for your projected income tax.
3. Know what opportunities are out there
There are more opportunities in floral than you may think! Look outside the box. I wish I knew early on about freelance and luxury weddings, because that was truly the most satisfying work for me. There’s opportunity in growing, wholesaling, distributing, designing, and delivering all kinds of floral experiences. Luckily for us, social media is showing us a new floral world. Don’t be intimidated, be inspired.
4. You don’t have to have the most beautiful design space
A garage is perfectly fine! So is a studio. Just start where you are! Having someplace cool to store and process your flowers is key here. But delivering a beautiful product is what counts the most. I have been known to turn down the AC to almost freezing (sorry kitties!). But aesthetic for your design space can come later. I know lots of luxury designers in Australia who do the most beautiful work, that comes out of pretty average design spaces. Don’t let your space hold you back.
5. Hire more help
Trust me. It’s worth every penny. Avoid burnout for yourself and your staff (or your family and friends who are helping). Hire one extra hand so you can get a little more sleep at night. It’s the biggest gift you can give yourself.
6. Ask the venue about access times and load in route before you submit a quote
It makes a huge difference in your quote. One too many times have we been given too short of a window for our installations last minute. This leads to burnout. If you know in advance, you can add more staff into your quote, and alleviate some of the last minute hustling.
7. Have the right tools
It’s important to know what's out there! See what other designers are using. In Aus, they have so many great products that we should be using in the states and vise versa. To get you going you need a great set of clippers for flowers, wire, and woody stems, a good floral knife, cheap floral knives, floral foam or alternatives, chicken wire, floral foam cutters, floral tape, pins, and waterproof tape. Bonus points for taking these things on site: a go to installation outfit, a great water bottle, a watch that can track your steps.
What things do you wish you knew starting out?
