Mother's Day Countdown

We are days away from Mother's Day! Along with the holiday, there is often prom work mixed into your regular orders. It's important to stay as organized as possible to get through next week. Preparing for Mother's Day requires planning, creativity, and attention to detail. The more you plan, the less stressful the holiday will be for you. Stay away from drama and focus on getting the job done! Keep your staff fed and happy as they will be going the extra mile for your business and you cannot get through this holiday without all hands on deck.

Here is a quick, easy everyday check list to help you navigate the days ahead:

Saturday and Sunday

• Line up your social media posts for the week, so you stay front and center with your customers - they should know when you are open, items you're offering (remember Mother's Day is a gift holiday in addition to flowers), delivery options, etc. - challenge yourself to feature one new item a day.

• Make sure all of your hard goods are in and ready to use.

• Call your vendors to confirm days you will get what - so you know how to staff and what you will be receiving each day.

Monday

• Start making bows for wristlets.

• Get your corsage and boutonniere boxes prepped with names of customers on them.

• Get delivery boxes ready for Mother's Day orders.

• Prep your your wrapping stations with pre-cut wraps and cut ribbons for packaging products.

• Get all your greens delivered and keep them in boxes in your cooler.

• Have flower buckets cleaned, filled with water and prepped to receive stems.

Tuesday

• Go over recipes and pricing with staff.

• Discuss a gameplan about upselling to customers and any extras you will be adding this year.

• Prep your cooler and work spaces so you have room for many more flowers and deliveries.

• Assign staff to lead specific tasks - bouquet wrapping, organizing drivers, flower prepping, corsage work, etc.

• As you get flowers in, start prepping them so they hydrate properly.

• Start greening vases and organize them in your cooler by size - so they can be easily pulled and filled by your designers.

Wednesday

• Start your prom work.

• Corsages can be organized by color (10 white corsages, 10 pink, etc.).

• Try to organize your regular orders by size for a more efficient work flow - have designers work by price point and recipe so they can tackle multiple orders at once.

• Next organize your orders by day of the week.

Thursday

• At this point most of your flowers will be in your shop - continue to prep them.

• Finish making arrangements by size and day of delivery.

• Tag and date each arrangement and organize them in the cooler by date.

• Continue prom work.

Friday

• Friday will be busy with customers calling and orders being taken - make sure you have a lead staff member to field calls and oversee order taking.

• The majority of prom work should be completed.

• The majority of pre-booked orders should be completed.

• Have staff work on ready made arrangements and bouquets for walk in customers.

Saturday

• Saturday will be your busiest delivery day - be organized with your drivers and have a staff member dispatching drivers so deliveries get out early.

• Continue to make arrangements and bouquets for walk in customers.

• Chances are you will sell all the flowers in your store if you have bought correctly - be prepared to visit your wholesaler should you run out of flowers.

Sunday

• Sunday you might have limited deliveries, but your walk in traffic will be brisk.

• Be prepared for busy phones as many florists have cut off ordering so you may have last minute requests - accommodate where you can.

• Have plenty of arrangements and grab and go bouquets left for walk-ins - you won't want to be making a lot of custom arrangements on Mother's Day.

• Assess your coolers before you leave for the day and alert your wholesaler to get ready to start on Monday.

• Pat yourself on the back, put your feet up and give yourself credit for a surviving another Mother's Day holiday.

"Life doesn’t come with a manual; it comes with a mother."

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