Be a big fish in a small pond
There are so many more women stepping onto the entrepreneurial path, which is amazing. However, it then becomes so much more important that you set up and run your business to stand out from the crowd. I still see and speak to so many women who tell me they do some thing in a particular way because that is how every one else does it. One thing that can make my heart sink is when I walk into some where and see a line of tri-fold leaflets all advertising prices. All the same, not one of them stands out.
So you need to come up with new and unique ways to run what might be considered a traditional business. You need to turn industries on their head and you need to not worry about how every one else does it. You need to take a point of passion for what ever business you run and turn it into some thing successful.
I know, am friends with and work with three Graphic Designers. All incredibly talented women who each ran their own very successful digital agencies. However, recently they have all niched their business in very different, unique and genius directions and each one is showing even greater successes than the original business they started from.
Cheryl Laidlaw founded Web Site in a Day – A brilliant concept where you can get an amazing website created in a day.
Nicola Wordsworth is the Brand Guardian – Nicola is a brand expert, so she consults with small and big businesses to ensure that there are processes in places that protect their brand internally and externally. She also project manages brand and re-brand development – http://www.nicolawordsworth.com/
Lydia Butler founded slide desk- After being asked to do so many slide presentations, she honed her skills and can now do things with PowerPoint that you didn’t know existed.
All from the same background but yet have taken their business in very different directions.
So how do niche a florist?
There isn’t a single business that isn’t up for turning on it’s head, look at Uber and Airbnb. It just takes some clever thinking, dedication to the quality of what you offer and a bit of courage. So in this post I have taken a common business, the florist, and have ten different ideas as to how you could specialise the business so that you stand out above the quagmire of florists that do the same as every one else.
Some of these ideas may already exist, I didn’t do any research, these are just a starting point for people to think about how they could pin point their business direction.
- Single type of flower: – Be a specialist in one flower. Only sell Roses, Peonies, Dehlias…… The flower that you really love. Become a complete expert in this one flower all nuances of it, all specimens, all colours, the smell and what ever details other florists would not bother to learn. Create amazing creations with this one flower and add to your income by selling matching lifestyle products.
- Take it Off the High Street:- Whilst I know a lot of Florists have this dream, a shop on the High Street, you have to get real about today’s buying behaviours. How many people just walk through the door and buy? I would guess not a massive number. Instead of paying high street prices you could probably find a space on an industrial estate for far less and get a bigger space and make your business delivery or postage only.
- Become the Bulb Babe:- Follow the sun, create beautifully packaged products using bulbs. In jars, in boxes, in tea cups. Bulbs are cheap to buy and the gift lasts longer than a bunch of flowers. Become an expert from around the world and offer gifts that no one other florist does.
- Single type of event:- Work only in events and maybe even narrow it further such as weddings or corporate events. Work on big projects, allow your creativity to flow and stop spending time on the individual bouquets.
- Appeal to Guys:- Set up a system that enables men to remember anniversaries, birthdays and special events. Make it easier for them to just pick bouquets, send them reminders, make men your focus through clever marketing.
- Flower Club:- Sell subscription packages where people buy weekly or monthly boxed flowers and create videos to show them had to put them together.
- Box it: – Having flowers if very aspirational. The very wealthy will have florists visit their home to arrange the flowers. Most people can’t afford this put would like it. Similar to the Flower Club, create a subscription package option where people could have a regular boxed beautiful arrangements sent to them.
- Wreaths:- For so long now wreaths have been the staple purchase for Christmas but doors really do look prettier with a wreath hanging from them. Become a queen of creating wreaths for all seasons and all events including Easter, Halloween, Spring…… Make wreaths a trend and a must buy.
- Fragrance:- Make it about fragrances rather than the look of the flowers. For example the beautiful smell of Roses or Lilies and sell matching products to the fragrance such as candles, diffusers, room sprays. Become a flower fragrance expert.
- Start a flower market:- If you have ever been to Columbia Road flower market you would know how amazing it is. Waste for Florists is a big problem so create a Sunday flower market that gives people the option to come and buy flowers really cheaply and enables florist and others in the business to reduce waste.
Take the step
I wrote this blog because I want to show you that you could take a business that most people run in the the same way and give you ideas to show how you could turn it on it’s head. But you can take any business and do the same thing. As I said above it can take courage to do it but time and time and time again I have seen such success with people who have been creative, innovative and taken that step.
Is it time for you to move your business into a powerful niche.
If you want some help on how to do this then contact me. I can help
