Florist News

from what you have described i also think its worth a go but saying that i probably wouldnt pay for it. I think you would be in a good positison to say you will buy all her stock but thats it, because if its surviving on interflora i think i am right in thinking you will have to apply for membership yourself and you may not get it.

no fair enough i understand. Personally i think it depends on how much you are paying for this shop. I think you can revive any old shop as long as you do the right marketing, eg, new management takeover on a banner, editorial in the paper etc and then completely revamp it. The if shop in my town is the busiest although this does not mean i would become if.

Do yourself a business plan and i find that when you write all the points down you can have a better idea. Also do a marketing plan and a swot analysis. also look at how many people are in the town against how many florists and then look if there are any empty units that you could maybe start from scratch. Cost this out against the cost of the shop to buy and work out how long it would take to get your money back. Number crunch till the cows come home and you may find your answer there.

I started my own and am doing ok after three years, not the busiest in the town but certainly not the quietest. Hope this helps


ps, its usually nice to go into hello section and introduce yourself, i did not see this when i first come on the site...

hi jen

i am currently running my own shop in south wales with my mother, things are going OK not great, we have a full diary of weddings, but i am moving soon to West Sussex to live with my fiance, there is a set of 3 shops up for sale at a very good price but i would have to mortage my house, which i dont really want to do but if i want these shops its the only way so this is why i am having doubts. Other would be having lots of staff and paying.

But if it was me buying a run down shop, i would want to make sure that i knew if it didnt work out that i wouldnt be putting myself at risk. Also its hardwork making something your own putting ur stamp on it. It takes a very brave person to take on a shop which is run down. Another thing to look at is the price of the shop, if for being run down is that reflected in the price?

Keep us informed.
Good luck

Hi Jen
I am the "Mum" Candylottie is talking about. I do agree with Tulips, you do have to do a lot of number crunching and prepare yourself a good business plan. Decide what your USP is (Unique Selling Point) e.g. loyalty club, same day delivery etc. and a SWOT analysis is also a very useful tool. Sorry sounding like a business advisor.

You haven't said whether the shop is freehold or leasehold. If its leasehold you then have to look at whether the takings for the time being from IF would cover your rent, rates, water rates, electricity, telephone etc. If you needed to fund the purchase of the shop from finance whether you have to borrow more than the cost of the shop and stock to cover your overheads in the short term.

Again the cost of the shop is a key factor. If the present owner is prepared to offer you the shop for the cost of the stock only then it definitely worth a lot of consideration.

Look at your area too - how many florists are there, what sort of work are they producing, can you offer customers something different.

There are three other florists in our town, we bought freehold an empty shop and started from scratch but in a very short time we have built up a good reputation. We know that the quality of our flowers are good and have a lot of positive feedback from customers, but its still a struggle. But there again if it wasn't then life would be boring!!!!

Keep us up to speed with how it goes.

And BTW welcome!

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LilyLady


Lily's Floral Design

It's a difficult one

It's a bit like having children ..... if we waited for the right time in our lives ........

As others have said the most important thing is a business plan and to get your figures down on paper. If you are going to borrow the bank will help your plan. Be honest in you projections and work out exactly how much you need to take/make to survive.

If you're gonna do it you have to go in with a positive attitude or you'll have failed before you start.

Good luck

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Your Colchester Florist for Flowers in Colchester

I say go for it as well. If you have the drive and ambition to want to succeed then you will. When we took over our business nearly ten years ago our accountants told us it was financial suicide becaues it was in a similar state of afffairs to the place you're thinking of taking over. We completely turned that around in its first year and grew very quickly.

Credit crunch, credit smunch - it's all a load of bollocks. However the media scaremongering will affect some people so it does depend on the area that you are in and your customer profile.

Good luck!

Thanks for your reply. . . The shop currently makes enough to cover costs, on the books she earnt £8k but I know that the books are made to look like you earn as little as poss... That said I know i'd be a fool to rely on that...

The shop is leasehold and comes with a 2 bed flat which is rented out and covers half the lease which makes it very reasonable . The shop is on a busy main road in an affulent town which is good also as the flat has never (to my knowledge) been empty.
There was one other interflora shop in the town which closed last year ...

By her husbands own admission they have people who ring them as they can't find the shop... nothing out front, front door shut.... but a lovely neon light saying "open" in the window... which blind and you'd miss it... her husband said she is too lazy to put anything out the front as she is happy with what she makes without having to.!! ??

She has reduced it already from (hold ya breath!) 60K ! to 50k then £35k.

I would only offer 20 K but she seems to be under the illusion its worth more.

I have heard from whoesalers that she is a funny somethime rude woman (guess the customers thought so too) And our sundries guy said the whole place needs gutting. The layout is perfect but the stock is terrible... outdated and lots from when I worked there 16 years ago ! And its very sparce..

I just can't make my mind up because of the whole recession thing...

In my heart it would be a wonderful shop again ..filled with unusual and quality flowers, doing weddings and having great window displays... (currently just an inflatable champagne bottle in window!) And I would make enough money to have an enthustiastic team of creative florists behind me...

In reality I could end up with a shop where I spend 6 days a week for the next 10 years working on my own and slowly going crazy from the tedious mountain of paperwork that I hate doing.. and the loneliness ..


..... AGGGGGHHHHH !

No supprise I'm a pisces and I just can't make my mind up !

Is the trade really on its knees ??

PS I have been to the bank and they agreed to lend me the money !
It's just that I am surrounded by wholesalers and a boss who constantly drum it in that the trade is dying and on it's knees ! Apparently one wholesaler lost 3 grand last week and another may not even be comming over anymore...
If I was back in a good busy shop I'd be more reassured...
deep down I know its my awful boss whose ruining his own business but I just need to know how much or even IF the whole recession thing is really affecting us florists ??
Thanks for all the advise so far btw xx

I don't think it's on its knees, yes it is quieter for some people. I'm just hoping it means that all the crappy shops that shouldn't even be open will shut down.

she's making an £8k profit and thinks it's worth 60k!! WTF. If the business is in a state of decline she should be thankful anyone wants to pay any sort of money for it to be honest. Unfortunately there are a lot of disillusioned people out there. She's an idiot, offer 10k.

if the industry was that on its knees why are we all still here?? Ok we do have our quiet times but we are all obviously confident things will pick up otherwise we would sell up and get the flock out of here. It is very very hard work and the busier you get the more stressful it gets imo. From reading your recent thread it sounds like you do have quite a few concerns - if you are going to open a business you really need to just put your positive head on, be aware of things that can go wrong but try to combat that with solutions. Go and get the business dont wait for it to come to you