(Add to Favorites | View All Articles | Resource Directory)
|
|
|
Buy a Flower Shop: Serious Considerations
You've always liked flowers and you think the idea of turning emotions into floral expressions sounds like tremendous fun. You are between careers and have been investigating business opportunities in your community. Yesterday, while perusing the real estate magazine in your county, you notice that the family owned, downtown flower shop is for sale. The ad says it's a turnkey operation. This is your lucky day. Or is it? Let's look before we leap, OK? Here are some factors to consider: You should be able to see the financial records and consult professional help if needed. If there are negative feelings about the business in the community, you need to consider a name change and making a big show of the change in management. Factor in the cost of a face-lift on the façade of the physical facility. If you are buying the building, equipment, coolers and inventory, you need to carefully assess the age, condition and viability of these items. For example, there may be $10,000 worth of inventory in the store, and the seller may be able to document the value by showing invoices. However, if the inventory is shop worn, out of date or not in keeping with your business plan, the value of that inventory to you may be quite a bit lower than that $10,000. Are you also buying the Accounts Receivables as an asset? If so, you should do some serious research into the exact state of these accounts. Many traditional florists have struggled with house accounts. They have extended credit as a matter of tradition, rather than good business sense and have found themselves in extreme cash flow trouble. You'll need to be very clear about any debt or bills you will be taking over. Be sure that you hire professional help to outline any such debt in your sales agreement. Because of seasonality of the flower business and the existence of house accounts, many retail florists have difficulty with cash flow; you should avoid any situation where you will be paying bills run up by the previous owner. Also, you should take time to consult with the Wholesalers that you will be buying from. Discuss your payment terms and lay the groundwork for a healthy business relationship with a reputable Wholesaler or two. If the name of the business is valuable in your market, you probably won't want to change the name of the business. In any case, consider a clause in the bill of sale limiting the use of the name by the previous owner in the future. This can be very sticky in the case of an owner's own name, for example "Smith Florist". Sometimes a previous owner chooses to stay on and work for the new owner. This can pose tremendous difficulties for all involved, so tread lightly on this territory. It's an extreme analogy, but think about the difficulties in open adoptions between birth and adoptive parents. Everyone has their own style and it can be difficult to accept change or let go of something you have worked very hard to build. That being said, many valued staff members at successful florists have weathered the change in ownership of their place of employment. Do make every effort to retain good people. Just be sure to be clear about your expectations so that the separation can be as painless as possible should that become necessary. Take the holidays into account when you plan your purchase of a flower shop. Valentine's day is the single largest day, but Christmas is more of a marathon. Mother's Day, weddings, proms, graduations and anniversaries team up to make the spring months a nice busy time. Depending upon your market, the summer can be a difficult time to make ends meet. Ideally, you'd take over a shop with enough time to get your feet wet before a holiday, but not with so much down time that your funds dry up before you can get going. Here's the acid test. Take the time to sort out the options. Let's work on the assumption that you WILL own a flower shop in the next year. Take a big sheet of paper and draw a line down the center. At the top of the left column, write "Buy and Existing Flower Shop". In the Right column, write "Open a New Flower Shop". Now draw a line through the middle of the paper, so you have a top and bottom. The top is for pros and the bottom is for cons. Fill in the grid with as many items as you can figure. Ask your trusted business friends and floral professionals for help. You'll be considering such items as the finances and the marketing plan of your business. When you have completed this exercise, you should have two things. One is a good tool to help you make a decision. The second is the beginnings of a business plan. Whatever your decision, a business plan is essential. It is your roadmap for success and will be necessary for a business loan. It is worth the extra time at the onset of this journey to compare the options and make the best decision you can. Karen Marinelli is a Floral Industry Professional with nineteen years of experience in the academic, retail and wholesale sectors of the industry. She believes the common goal should be to sell more flowers to more people, more often. For information on How to Open a Flower Shop, visit http://openaflowershop.com/. To order flowers online, visit http://send-flowers-online.ws/.
MORE RESOURCES: News provided by Yahoo! News and Google News Head of U.S. Small Business Administration in Jacksonville to talk 'microlending' Bill Aims to Simplify 1099-Ks for Small Biz - Reuters Wilmington council considers small biz help along with ballpark - WWAY NewsChannel 3 #1 Amazon Web Marketing Bestseller, Content Is Cash, Nominated For 2012 Small ... - PR Web (press release) Small biz loan demand up, Federal Reserve says - CNNMoney Oh baby! Small biz scores huge Angry Birds deal - CNN Small Biz Owners: Big Businesses, Millionaires Not Paying Fair Share - OMB Watch VSE Honors 2011 Small Business Suppliers of Choice |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Without a plan, your business has a 92% chance of failing Before you start a business we encourage you to prepare a business plan. Without it your business has a 92% chance of failing within the first 12 months. Franchisor; Ongoing Support and Ideas Ongoing support for a franchise system is omnipotent. A major part of any family relationship is communication. Start a Resume Writing Service for Profit The resume writing service serves an important role in the economy. Many qualified candidates have a difficult time marketing themselves to employers and turn to a professional writing service for assistance. Be Nice to Your Payroll Department Ok, so next to the taxman, your company payroll department might well be the most criticised people on the planet. Of course, when your pay is accurate and on time then you love the payroll people with a passion but when things go wrong it is a completely different matter. What to expect with a Home Business All legitimate home business entrepreneurs insist and announce loud and clear that a successful home business is not about an overnight thing. And that you cannot get rich overnight and so on. Starting an Aircraft Washing Service To wash an airplane there are many items you will need to keep in mind. The first is safety while working on the tarmac of an airfield. Franchising Companies Relationship Strategies Franchising Corporations need to maintain an iron fist when it comes to certain things in order to maintain absolute integrity of the system; Consistency, Quality, Cleanliness and Customer Courtesy or Service. Ray Kroc in his book; "Grinding it Out" made that point perfectly clear, some called him a hard ass on the details and indeed it served him well and turned 11,000 franchisees into millionaires along with some 1500 executives early on. Employee Induction - Are you Inducting your People - A Practical How To In today's fast paced marketplace it is easy to neglect the small important things!Recently we assisted an organisation prove they had complied with their obligations in inducting their employee. The employee tried to bring a claim for severe stress against the business. Build a solid network of potential customers -- The One Pager Shortcut Series --People do business with people that they know and trust. As a solo entrepreneur, your goals will be to make yourself known to your target market and then elevate the relationship to the trust level. The birth of the Virtual Assistant phenomenon and why you should use one Outsourcing is the strategic use of outside resources to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff and resources. Small business owners can outsource non-core functions to specialized and efficient service providers. Franchising Pros and Cons Last week's question from Anthony R. on how to choose the franchise that would best fulfill his life-long dream of owning his own business sparked a number of emails from other readers wanting to offer their two cents on the subject. Finding a Venture Capital Firm Many ventures are faced with the challenging task of raising venture capital. The first part of this process is finding the right venture capital firm (VC). Small Business Checks - Money Saving Options When you go into business for yourself, there are many things to consider. What you don't want to worry about is spending too much money on unnecessary items. How to Define Business Objectives Why does a good business relationship rely on having some common business objectives?As you attend networking events, you will gradually find ways that make it easy for you to mingle and be heard. Your message will need to be clear, focused and consistent each time. Consistency with Janitorial and Cleaning Businesses Consistency is a huge word when operating your business. I believe it is one of the key ingredients to success. Effective Customer Interviews Make Life Much Easier! One of the critical success factors for service-related businesses is our ability to understand a client's needs and requirements. Misunderstandings can lead to loss of repeat business, economic loss, and damage to reputation. Employee Relations Manual Sample Outline Most smart entrepreneurs and all large corporations have Employee Relations Manuals. Nearly all businesses with over five or more employees have some sort of employee manuals but not all have Employee Relations Manuals for their managers. Surviving in a tumultuous economy Contrary to popular belief, small businesses can survive a crazy economy by taking some proactive steps. Provide spectacular customer service -- every time. Pressure Washing Aircraft Hangers at the Airport If you are looking for a way to own your own business using a pressure washer or expand your current pressure washing business you might consider cleaning Aircraft Hangers out at the airport. Why Wash Aircraft hangers? For one it can lead to much more work cleaning all sorts of things at airports which is an encapsulated market. Tracking Revenue For MORE Profits The revenue history is a vital piece of your power page and you need to record that information. Keeping track of client revenues should not be done in a paper format, it should be recorded electronically.
|
| Home | Site Map | Privacy Statement | More Articles |
| © 2006 |