How to Start a Flower Shop

Start a flower shop by following these 10 steps:

1. Plan your Flower Shop
2. Form your Flower Shop into a Legal Entity
3. Register your Flower Shop for Taxes
4. Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
5. Set up Accounting for your Flower Shop
6. Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Flower Shop
7. Get Flower Shop Insurance
8. Define your Flower Shop Brand
9. Create your Flower Shop Website
10. Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your flower shop. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

• What will you name your business?
• What are the startup and ongoing costs?
• Who is your target market?
• How much can you charge customers?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Flower Shop Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

• Your state's business records
• Federal and state trademark records
• Social media platforms
• Web domain availability.

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

What are the costs involved in opening a flower shop?

A flower shop business usually costs between $10,000 and $50,000 to open. The majority of this goes towards coolers for keeping flowers fresh, leasing a location, buying the initial order of flowers and floral-arranging supplies (e.g. floral tape, vases, floral foam, floral wire and preservatives). If a business will be delivering flowers, wages for an employee and a the price of a delivery van should be considered.

Florists can keep these startup costs lower by purchasing only one cooler and reducing how many flowers they stock at a time. They also can offer delivery but only deliver in the morning and evening, before and after business hours, so they can make deliveries without closing their floral shop or hiring an employee to cover for them. Purchasing a van can also be delayed until the business is earning a profit.

What are the ongoing expenses for a flower shop?

The largest ongoing expense for a flower shop business are ordering flowers, which usually runs about 40 to 50 percent of sales. Other significant ongoing expenses include the cost to lease a space, employee wages and vehicle expenses (for businesses that have a delivery van).

Who is the target market?

Most people purchase flowers for special occasions, and many people give flowers to others even when there isn’t a particular event. Customers who have a significant amount of discretionary income, however, have more to spend on flowers than those who have less discretionary income. Therefore, flower shop businesses can usually sell higher-priced flowers and arrangements to more affluent customers.

How does a flower shop make money?

A flower shop business makes money by charging its customers for flowers. A flower shop will sell individual flowers and arrangements.

How much can you charge customers?

The price of flowers varies from around $5 or less for certain individual flowers to $100 or more for fancy arrangements. Events that call for multiple arrangements, such as weddings can easily reach $1,000 or more.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Flower shop businesses can increase their orders by keeping in contact with their customer base, especially around holidays, birthdays and anniversaries. They can increase their average order sale price by offering extra items, such as vases, and up-selling fancier arrangements.

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation.

Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your flower shop is sued.

You can form an LLC yourself and pay only the minimal state LLC costs or hire one of the Best LLC Services for a small, additional fee.

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

• Separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
• Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

• Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
• Build your company's credit history, which can be useful to raise money later on.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state business permits or licenses may be needed to open a flower shop business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.

 

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

Is this Business Right For You?

People who love flowers and have an eye for beauty are well-suited to open a flower shop business. The business involves a mixture of quiet hours, preparing flowers alone, and time meeting with customers. Because customers may come into a floral shop at any time of day, it’s difficult to run a floral business while working another day job.

What happens during a typical day at a flower shop?

The day-to-day activities of a flower shop business involve ordering, preparing and arranging flowers, helping customers select flowers and fulfilling customers’ orders. If delivery is offered, flowers also must be taken to customers.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful flower shop?

A good florist is an expert on flowers, knowing the different types of flowers, how long they’ll last and how to properly care for them. They also are skilled at decorating and able to create beautiful arrangements that can both stand on their own and complement the decor surrounding them.

While a florist needs to know flowers and be able to arrange them, a florist doesn’t necessarily need formal training. Louisiana previously had licensing requirements for florists, but the state has changed its laws. At the time of writing, no states require florists to be licensed.

A florist should also be comfortable talking to people no matter what they’re going through. Florists regularly see customers who are planning weddings or celebrating major accomplishments, as well as customers who have loved ones who are seriously ill or recently passed away.

What is the growth potential for a flower shop?

A flower shop business can be a small, one-person operation (that doesn’t offer delivery), or it can be a national chain with hundreds of locations. Some of the largest national operations sell flowers online only and don’t have physical stores.