So You Want To Be A Small Business Owner?

Enough is enough.

I have been biting my tongue for quite some time, but sometimes things just have to be said.

I am so sick of people wanting a “piece of the pie.” This society today is all too consumed with increasing the amount of dollars in their pocket than looking around seeing what their greediness is doing.

Everyone thinks they can do it better and everyone thinks degrading those who have done it before them is the way to get things done.

Let me tell you something. That is not the way to get things done. 

This small business life is not glamorous. 

Every time you support a non-local business, you just took  away from a local family who has put their life into bettering a community. A family that is constantly looking at what they can do to make this community better. These families are definitely not a part of any “gold mine.” If you find a gold mine, you should point it in their direction. These families are simply here for the betterment of the community. 

Everyone's pie is different. But we all run into the same issues. 

• “Well you don't have this?” 
• “You don't have much do you?” 
• “When are you getting more of these?”
• "Is this all you have?"

More. More. More.

Small businesses supply what they can. Some weeks they might forgo extra groceries and instead supply you with more merchandise. That is the “glamorous” reality. Why does everyone expect every store to be Walmart or Amazon?

These huge stores are creating monsters out of people. Small town stores do not have millions of dollars to invest in product. We cannot just go out and buy new product every week. Do we we wish we could? Of course we do, but we have bills to pay and employees to pay to keep the door open.

& even if a small business does have it, you often get the response, “well that's expensive.”

One lady once told me, “Well I guess you can charge that since you are the only one in this town.”

Every product put out is priced as low as possible for customers. Small businesses do not charge that “just because we can.”

Now, my regular readers are probably wondering... Where did this blog come from? This is a strange rant.

Well, regular readers. I am a part of a small town family flower shop. A shop my family has proudly kept open for 13 years. So to people that actually know me, this rant is a long time coming. So to sum up all the things I have said, I am putting this into a more personal prospective.

So You Want to Be A Florist?

In your mind you are thinking, what is better than working with flowers all day everyday?

• You are thinking, there must be all sorts of money in this business.
• You are thinking, it just seems so easy.
• You are thinking wrong.

Being a florist does not entail a large paycheck nor does it entail 24/7 fun and it is definitely anything but easy.

Being a florist means being at your customers beck and call.

Forget the normal 9-5 hours. Forget weekends. Forget vacations.

Unless you are a florist for somebody else, you never have free time.

Your free time is dedicated to your customers. Your phone will ring from 6 a.m. to sometimes 10:30 p.m. 

  

Being a florist means people do not always like you.

People do not tend to like you and will always find a way to say how flowers are so just “pricey”.

 Flowers are expensive? No, they really aren't.

$10 for one rose in a vase is ridiculous?

No, it really isn't. 

People do not like you because they do not understand everything that goes into floral work.

They do not understand that a simple a bud vase is actually an intricate process.

Here is what went into the $10 rose in a vase.

• A rose.
• Greenery.
• A handmade bow, with a piece of wire, and a a pick.
• A vase.
• A card, envelope. A card caddy.
• Flower food & a packet to go.
• We even include babysbreath.
  & to top it all off, the labor of someone making it for you. Depending on the speed, a budvase can take 5-10 minutes to whip up.

Still think it is “too expensive”?

Being a florist means people think you arranging the flowers should be free because it is what you do .

You do not go to the tire place and expect them to put your tires on free? What about the salon? Do you go in there and expect the person to just cut your hair for free? It is their job. It is what they do.

It is called a service.

Being a florist means people will always be trying to take the little money you do make out of your pocket because they think you are full of enough wealth.

Most florists are probably laughing by this point because "wealth" and "floral" do not really go together in the same sentence. 

If you a true florist, it means you hate Pinterest for everything it has created.

Brides tend want the extravagant bouquets they see on Pinterest, but don't want to pay the price it would take to duplicate the bouquets on Pinterest.

Everyone and their dog can now do Deco-Mesh wreaths and everybody's are more affordable than yours. They are more affordable because people sell them for less than what it cost them to make them. People do not take into account all that went into that wreath. Costs are more than just materials.

People do not understand that time has value. 

But most importantly,

Being a florist means you cherish your customers, their loyalty, and all the business they have given you throughout the years.

You cherish those who come to you weekly. They appreciate all you do for your community and all you do for them.

You cherish those who have never told you that you are “too expensive.”

You cherish those who shop local than choose to pick up flowers at a chain store grocers.

You cherish those who do not try to take the few pennies out of your pocket.

You cherish those who appreciate flowers. They appreciate the meaning behind them. They participate in tradition. They do not see flowers as a "waste", but as a beautiful gift for someone they love.

You cherish these people because they are allowing you not to succumb to the reality of most flower shops these days. 

The reality is flower shops are closing their doors every day because people did not shop local. People decided to open up businesses and take away from the little business they did have. People chose to try to gain some wealth for themselves than supporting a family already barely making it. 

Why? 

Because this world seems to encourage the act of selfishness. Today's society is more focused on oneself than they are on one another. Small towns are no longer places of love and support. They are places of people trying to steal from another.

So I say to you this.

The next time you buy a consumer bouquet at the grocery store- think of the box of macaroni and cheese a mom or dad can longer put on the table. The next time you choose to visit the dollar store versus the small town grocery store think of what you will not be able to get if that grocery store closes. Think of all the things you will no longer have access to if your small town businesses close. That will be the reality if you choose to spend your money elsewhere.

& I say this to all the small town businesses. Support one another, but do not compete with one another. If you need to generate more revenue, do so by not stealing from another ones pockets. Be original. Do not supply the town with something it already has.

 

 

& with all that being said, here is a gif of Gary Busey. Because I feel like it sums up my current emotions. Plus, it's Gary Busey.

I'm Simply Shopping Local Whenever I Can, Shelby Sue

 

P.S. What is your biggest small town Pet Peeve?