How Did We Get Here?

By Pete McBride

Florist, Entrepreneur, Passion Seeker

One day as a young boy my father was walking past the local florist in Brooklyn when he heard a man call to him, “Ya wanna make some money kid?” Before he knew it this 14 year old was off on a delivery to a local tenement house. That was how it all started. Before he knew it he was the owner of that local florist.  50 plus years, a quick 22-year stint as a NYPD Officer, and 7 stores later that 14 year old is now 70 and still works in the family business. Why? Because this business becomes part of you, part of the fabric of your family’s life. His story is not unlike most florists who truly love what they do for a living. They have to – it’s too hard to do this if you don’t love it. With all the energy and passion that the 25,000 plus florists in this nation bring to our industry, how did the florist trade get to a point where every year there are fewer and fewer of us and the remaining proprietors search for ways to do more with less.

Like my father I started in this business at the age of 14 and I am now on the precipice of my 40^th birthday. I started by sweeping and doing water tubes, graduated to bouquets and corsages then on to deliveries until one day I found myself a talented designer. I watched my parents grow their business the hard way, one satisfied customer at a time. Their advertising was a neon sign, good conversation and a firm handshake. It worked… But can it still?

Luckily in our business we have been innovative. We computerized long before most, became savvy at direct mail and the internet and found new ways to ‘stir the pot’ to create growth and profit. But now, as with my parents approach, these ‘best practices’ are offering diminishing marginal returns. Why?

 Our Customers Lied To Us!

One reason is that our customers lied to us! What I mean is that customers over the years told us that they wanted reliable quality for a reasonable price with excellent service. That is what most of us try to provide on a daily basis. Unfortunately when you take a poll of floral customers today they rate “Convenience” by far as the number one reason they choose a florist. When did our customers change their mind that convenience is more important than quality and service? It probably started somewhere around the time they saw their first 800-Flowers billboard. I remember seeing one for the first time driving home from Cornell around 1991. I also remember hearing my first “Pro-Flowers” radio ad. I thought carefully about what they were offering and I decided it was ridiculous. Do they really think people will fall for cheap flowers in a box that they have to design themselves? Well according to my UPS driver they had over 1200 deliveries in my local delivery radius on Valentine’s Day! I guess my customers demand for value was a little overstated. Convenience officially rules the landscape. Why didn’t my customers tell me they changed their mind? Why didn’t I see the change?

 Our Customers Actually Never Changed

The reason is that customers actually didn’t change. Convenience has long been their number one request. We just refused to listen. You want proof? McDonalds feeds 10% of the US population every day even though it is not particularly good and certainly not healthy but it is incredibly convenient (and by the way – consistent! Not always true of our product). Our customers have been longing for convenience and consistency in the floral industry and now that they have it they are not giving it up. Ever! How did we miss this obvious opportunity? Well in between servicing our customers, managing payroll and cash flow, juggling family obligations, etc., we forgot to do our job of managing and planning for our business’ future. Writing and rewriting our business plans was not important to us. We went to endless industry seminars that time and time again focused almost solely on design and nothing on marketing. We read industry magazines that spoke endlessly about design and nothing about e-commerce. It reminds me of a passage from the must read book “E-Myth” by Michael E Gerber warns bakers that love to bake to do just that – Bake! Don’t buy a bakery if all you really want to do is bake. If you love to bake then be a baker. If you love floral design and that’s it then be a designer. But if you want a dynamic growing floral business then you can’t spend all your re-education efforts at Teleflora meetings about designing the perfect wedding bouquet. If you want a healthy profitable retail florist then dismissing our customer’s fascination with convenience will be on our professional tombstone.

 Now What?

All too often we neglect ourselves in the effort to solve the mystery of business. Deciding what to do next is almost a misnomer. I believe our first endeavor must be to invest in ourselves. What motivates you, drives you, inspires you. This question doesn’t have a static answer. Our wants and needs vary as we mature and grow. What stays more consistent is our value system. If you have never taken the time to work with a life coach consider doing so. Within our business there is a niche for us to exploit. That niche needs to coincide with our value system first and our passion shortly after. If we take the time to learn what lights the fire in our belly and more importantly how that relates to our business we will be well on our way. If during your journey you realize that you love design and hate owning a business then you have to take the time to figure out what that means for you. Remember that you have short and long term needs and desires, passions, goals, etc. Make sure your short-term efforts will lead you to your long-term hopes and dreams. If all sounds a little corny that’s because you have probably never developed the mental habit of considering YOU. If you do hone these skills then you will see a transformation in your business and your personal life. (They are separate things by the way.) You will develop clarity of thought that will enable you to transmutate your desires into tangible results. When Steve Jobs, CEO of APPLE recently launched their new IPAD he announced record revenue and profits. Within the same breath he also said, “But that has never been what Apple is about!” Apple is about passion! When a company follows its passion the results come automatically.

If you would like to submit your inspiring story of success and how you overcame obstacles to grow your business, send an email to eyeon@dvflora.com