Many holiday containers can be


prepared and greened several days in advance, depending on the materials and mechanics being used. (See the Business of Design column on p. 34 for a green- ery recipe that keeps for weeks.) Once orders begin arriving rapidly, designers can add flowers, candles, ornaments, ribbon and finishing details without start- ing every arrangement from scratch. Batch production reduces the time


lost switching between tasks. Instead of one designer building an entire arrange- ment while another designer does the same thing beside them, assign work in stages. One person prepares contain- ers and mechanics. Another greens. Another adds flowers and decorative elements. A final person checks quality, fills water, attaches cards and prepares the order for delivery. Further protect consistency and


profitability by creating a sample of every featured design and documenting its recipe. Specify the number of stems, amount of greenery, container, acces- sories and expected production time. You are not taking creativity away from your designers. You are giving them a system that allows their creativity to be profitable.


Price Every Arrangement for December Reality Do not price holiday arrangements using out-of-date flower costs, intuition or fear of what customers might say about price. Pricing must reflect the true cost of flowers, greenery, hard goods, labor, waste, overhead and the profit the busi- ness needs to earn. Seasonal designs frequently contain


more components than everyday arrangements. Ribbon, candles, orna- ments, pinecones, premium containers and decorative accents can quietly increase the cost of goods. If those items are not included in the recipe and marked up appropriately, the arrange- ment may produce very little profit. Labor must also be considered. A


complicated $100 arrangement that takes 45 minutes to produce may be less profitable than a standardized $85 design that takes 20 minutes. You must consider how much gross profit the arrangement generates and how much production time it consumes.


Limit the number of featured designs


you offer. A smaller, well-engineered menu improves purchasing, controls inventory, increases production speed, simplifies online ordering and reduces substitutions. For each arrangement, offer one or two versions at different price points by increasing the size, flower choice or adding other upgrades. You want customers to be able to choose the right arrangement for their needs without requiring your staff to reinvent it.


Plan for the True Cost of Delivery Delivery is one of the most commonly underpriced services, and the problem becomes more expensive in December. More orders mean more drivers,


longer routes, additional vehicles, fuel, insurance exposure, routing time and staff needed to organize and load orders. Holiday traffic, winter weather, gated communities, hospitals, office buildings, incorrect addresses and repeated deliv- ery attempts can all increase the actual cost of completing a delivery. Budget for extra delivery labor


before the holiday rush. Determine how many deliveries a driver can realistically complete per hour in your market, map delivery zones, establish cutoff times and group routes geographically. If you rely on temporary drivers, recruit and train them early. Waiting until the week before Christmas leaves little time to explain procedures or evaluate reliability. Calculate your own cost of delivery


rather than copying a competitor’s fee. Depending on distance and complexity, consider zone-based pricing, timed-de- livery premiums, same-day surcharges or higher holiday delivery fees. Delivery is not a courtesy that should


be subsidized by arrangement sales. It is a separate service and should produce a profit.


Control the Orders You Accept Not every sale is a good sale. A last-min- ute custom order requiring special product, excessive design time and a distant delivery may create revenue but reduce your overall profit. Set order deadlines, establish substitution policies and decide when custom work will no longer be available.


LEARN MORE Scan to access more delivery resources


Encourage early orders through email, social media, corporate outreach and in-store conversations. Preorders give you better information for purchasing and staffing, reducing both shortages and waste. Corporate customers should be con-


tacted well before December. Provide a limited selection, volume options and delivery dates. One organized corpo- rate order can be more profitable than dozens of last-minute individual orders, but only when it is priced correctly and managed with firm expectations.


Measure the Results Throughout December, monitor sales, product usage, payroll, overtime, deliv- ery volume, average order value and waste. Do not wait until January to learn that your costs were out of control. After the holiday, hold a short team


review. Document what sold, what did not, which recipes worked, where pro- duction slowed down and how accurate your purchasing forecast was. Those notes will become the foundation for an even stronger plan next year. December will always be busy. The


goal is to make sure the work produces more than fatigue and an impressive sales number. Purchase intentionally, standard- ize production, protect your pricing and charge appropriately for delivery. When you plan the product, labor


and logistics before the rush begins, December can be both your busiest month and one of your most profitable.


Derrick P. Myers, CPA, CFP, PFCI, is the president of Crockett, Myers & Associates, Inc.


The magazine of the Society of American Florists (SAF) 29


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