Mother's Day Game Plan

Mother's Day is by far the biggest flower holiday in our industry. No matter how bad the economy is, or how uncertain the world seems, motherhood will always be celebrated. Even with tariff wars and negative consumer confidence, Mother's Day is expected to be strong this year.

So with about a week away here are some tips and ideas to keep you on top of your game:

Confirm your orders with vendors early. If you can, have a spreadsheet handy and record each year what you bought, what you paid and what you sold. This will keep your ordering on track and save you time next year.

Advertise your hours through social media.  Stay in front of the holiday with social media - and make sure to advertise your hours throughout the weekend. Staying open the day of Mother's Day is a must!

Supplement your inventory with outdoor plants.  The planting season in New England starts Mother's Day weekend, so be prepared with product that can be planted or displayed outside, as well as inside. Planted baskets, hanging baskets and trays of annuals will give your customers even more gift giving options.

Prepare vases ahead of time. Have staff green vases a few days in advance so they are ready to be finished with flowers and go out the day of. This will save you time on the holiday weekend.

Prepare packaging ahead of time. Assemble and label your delivery boxes, fill water tubes, cut ribbons, etc. - streamlining any task to make your shop more efficient over the weekend.

Organize your shop to accommodate additional room needed for arrangements, gifts and extra staff.

Have plenty of "cash and carry" items. Last minute walk-ins, especially the day of Mother's Day, will want something they can quickly pick up and pay for. Make sure you have plenty of offerings ready for walk-ins and last minute deliveries. Consider including additional items to upsell - like cards, candles, soaps, and more.

Consider offering a recipe arrangement. To help you with production, consider offering several designs that are pre-made recipes rather than custom designed. You can offer the recipe in different sizes and pricing, colors and styles. This will help you push more designs out the door and save you time.

Hire plenty of help for the weekend.  You'll need extra designers and drivers to get your orders out the door. College students are a great resource for last minute help.

Assign staff to specific tasks.  Consider assigning one driver to help dispatch your orders into zones to get deliveries out early. Consider hiring someone extra to just answer phones and take orders.

Stay healthy. Make sure you eat well and take time to breathe. Take breaks if you can to relieve any stress. As the saying goes "stay calm and carry on".

"I was asking my friend who has children, 'What if I have a baby and I dedicate my life to it and it grows up to hate me. And it blames everything wrong with its life on me.'

And she said, 'What do you mean, "if?"'

Rita Rudner