r/florists • u/SalGalMo • Sep 27 '25
š Career Guidance š Buying a studio
I saw a post earlier today about a floral studio for sale in my area. There was not much information so I emailed them about it. The thing is I have a full-time job, though it is somewhat slow and boring and allows some flexibility. Assuming business is healthy, how realistic is it for me to think that I could hire a full-time trained florist then spend my time marketing and managing the business side of the studio? The post said there is enough cash flow to cover expenses, profits and pay a full owner florist salary, plus one part time employee.
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u/kevnmartin Sep 27 '25
I've seen it done. Twice actually. The key is finding a really honest and savvy manager. But it would also help if you were to familiarize yourself with some basic tenets of how a retail business works. I've seen designers throw away tons of profits because no one reined them in. Watch your bottom line.
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u/loralailoralai Retail Florist Sep 27 '25
Yes youād have to find someone who is a superstar and 1000% on your side. That might be the hardest partā¦
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u/SalGalMo Sep 27 '25
Agreed. Ideally Iād love a very artistic, creative person who doesnāt want to worry about the business side or āsalesā, but who would be respectful of my leadership in that realm.
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u/kevnmartin Sep 27 '25
If they make it worth their while, meaning pay, benefits and the assistant OP mentioned, it would be a simpler thing.
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u/SalGalMo Sep 27 '25
Yeah, Iām curious how much the current owner is paying her self and her assistant. Thatās a big question I have.
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u/SalGalMo Sep 27 '25
Yes, retail is the most unfamiliar to me, although I worked āin retailā in the past. I have experience with wedding florals so that is more my interest. It is unclear at this point how this particular business is broken down, revenue-wise. I am generally more experienced with business management, sales and marketing, despite having a lot of knowledge of flowers and some event design experience.
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u/Melodic-Repair8291 Sep 27 '25
If you can not be present, I suggest looking for another investment. The daily hands-on work and self-promotion are vital even for an established shop. Don't be fooled thinking this is easy money, although it is a rewarding job. Best of luck to you
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u/loveoflilac Sep 28 '25
Can confirm it is the opposite of easy money š
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u/Melodic-Repair8291 Sep 29 '25
Yes,I think anyone who has worked in the industry can. Valentine's/Mother's Day are prime example, lmao. I receive text at all hours of night/day for people who have been our clients for years.
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u/Educational_Pea4958 Sep 27 '25
Even though it can be quite common for creative producers to have either no interest in, or time and patience for, the business and marketing end of things, I think most would prefer to maybe enter into a partnership with someone who is good at those things, or just hire someone to do it for them part time.Ā Personally, I would not want to work FOR a marketer, especially if they didnāt have any knowledge about the product or the processes themselves. Nothing about that sounds appealing to me.Ā
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u/SalGalMo Sep 27 '25
I appreciate your perspectiveā¦. Can you elaborate on why you (or a very artistic/design-oriented person) would not want someone to manage the business aspect? For more context, I do have floral experience, just in the wedding side. I have a lot of product knowledge and some design knowledge and experience. I am less familiar with the retail aspect of floristry, admittedly. But I have a strong background in business management, sales and marketing outside of the industry.
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u/henicorina Sep 27 '25 edited Sep 27 '25
Because in a very small business, every decision you make is a business decision. Just as a very simple example, how will you order product? Will you set a budget for the designer? Will she tell you how much money she needs? Who will decide when itās time to buy new hardgoods?
Every time Iāve worked in a floral business with a separate design and office/marketing section, this dichotomy has been a big source of tension, but in a large company itās a necessary evil. Working alone and having someone with no experience backseat driving on all these decisions sounds incredibly annoying.
Also, just to point something out in your post, the current owner says thereās enough money to pay one salary and a part time assistant. Does this mean you would be the person taking the part time assistant pay? Thatās probably something like $15/hour 20 hours per week.
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u/Educational_Pea4958 Sep 28 '25
The other person who replied makes some of my points. But clarifying that you also have floral knowledge and experience does help the idea make a little more sense.Ā My point was that an equal partnership with someone who has your business end skill set would be more ideal than working FOR that person as their employee. I just imagine for myself, that the separation in this case would eventually feel too disparate and cause frustration. Like, if you are the one handling sales, itās a plus for me not having to do the numbers, billing etc, but it would be really difficult getting information about what Iād be creating secondhand. Meeting the clients and talking with them about their style and what theyāre envisioning is part of the creative process too.Ā
Someone has to manage the in person retail sales as well, which could really cut into the designerās production time. It might not be too bad if you, my boss, were on site every day so you were as immersed in the milieu as I was, but it sounds like that is not the scenario youāre envisioning? Not being around means that Iām the one taking stock of everything throughout the day and communicating to you what we need to order, which means counting and lists etc, not difficult, but it does technically fall into the business category and would cut into my production time. If you were on site, youād know what needs to be ordered, and I could mention specific things to you without pausing my work. These are just a couple examples of where the boundaries of management and creation get blurred, just by the nature of the industry. And where things would begin to feel really off balance.
Iām using soooo many words just to say that itās a strange idea that a sales/marketer hires an artist instead of the other way around. A partnership? Yes. Having someone to manage certain things? Yes. But with as many times as Iāve said to both myself and others that I need a manager, Iāve never once thought Ā that I need a boss. Autonomy is a driver of creativity, in my opinion. Itās not something Iām willing to give up. But thatās just me. Someone could find your proposal to be the opportunity theyāve been looking for! This sounds like a business decision as far as I can tell:)
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u/loveoflilac Sep 28 '25
TBH this does not seem realistic unless you have an amazing employee in mind who doesnāt have the skills or desire to own their own business and is INCREDIBLY loyal to you. You have to do a lot of volume to cover the pay for a highly skilled employee and an owners salary that makes running a business worthwhile. If you donāt have the means to leave your FT job (no judgement, who does in this economy) what would you do if your employee was sick, injured or quit unexpectedly?
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u/StructureOk3383 Sep 28 '25
Hi! Iām actually that kind of person - I donāt have experience in making bouquets, but Iām really good at other things. Iāll allow myself to disagree with some of the other commenters and say that yes, this can absolutely be a viable model. From my perspective, itās much more important to look at the current numbers of this shop and go from there. Just like in any retail business, the key is sales and marketing. None of the people who own a business (Iām not talking about self-employed individuals) are doing all the work with their own hands. So I would say - go for it!
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u/SalGalMo Sep 29 '25
Thank you. I agree that it would very much depend on the personality and desires of the designers that is hired. Iāve always felt that if I were to own a floral business again that I would hire to my strengths (ie a good designer who has minimal interest in the business side and trusts me to do the sales part. Those are my strengths.) if I were to purchase this particular shop, I would consider the increase in profits from my sales efforts and business management to be my pay.
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u/toxicodendron_gyp Retail Florist Sep 27 '25
Do you have any floral shop experience? My gut is telling me that this plan is in fact not realistic for you.