Plants wonderful decorate any room, create an atmosphere of coziness, cleanliness and comfort. That is why many people attach great importance to the landscaping of their apartments, cottages, and beautiful indoor plants are bought for offices and government agencies.
According to a survey of sociologists, each house has an average of 3-4 flowers, and people buy 2 new copies each year to diversify their collection. From all this it turns out that the sale of indoor plants is a profitable business with great prospects in the future. Demand for such a product is unlikely to fall, but the fact that every year amateur gardeners are becoming more and more is a fact.
Should I start a business on plants?
Beginning entrepreneurs, who have never encountered sales before, have long doubted whether it is worth starting a business at all. There is a lot of competition on the market today among sellers of cut flowers, going to bouquets, but there are not so many shops selling indoor plants.
In addition, selling them is much simpler, because the product is not perishable, with proper care, it can maintain a flawless appearance for years. Many entrepreneurs, starting with the flower business, are gradually switching to trading in indoor plants, because it is more profitable, cost-effective and much easier.
How to choose a product range?
In the organization of the workplace and the selection of the assortment of goods lies half the success. A houseplant business should be fun; if an entrepreneur is cold in flora, then he is unlikely to succeed in creating a thriving business. Particular attention should be paid to the collection of flowers, do not be limited only to beautifully flowering or evergreen specimens.
Buyers are all different, some prefer small violets, geraniums that do not take up much space, others like voluminous ficus, dracaena, yucca, and others are delighted with exotic - pachypodium, palm trees, goblet, living stones. Selling indoor plants will go up, if each client finds a green friend for himself, no one should leave empty-handed.
How to equip a store?
Air conditioning is the main equipment for the care of indoor plants, its installation in the room is required, since the flowers require maintaining a certain temperature. Every day, the owner or seller must spend time watering, spraying, feeding their pets, this is the only way to ensure their perfect appearance.
Plant health largely depends on the correctness of their location. On the windowsills, you can put cacti, violets, that is, stunted flowers that will not obscure the natural light. Tall specimens, such as potted palm trees, ficus, dracaena, are best placed on a low bench, or directly on the floor on a stand.
Earnings on "consumables"
Many flower business entrepreneurs agree with the fact that most of their profits come from the sale of so-called “supplies”. That is, sellers receive impressive revenue from the sale of pots, fertilizers, drainage, soil, multi-tiered supports, etc.
Each grower needs accessories for indoor plants, it doesn’t matter if he buys a flower or not, but he already has green pets at home, so when he looks at the shining leaves of the ficus in the store, he remembers his own and buys a polish, thinks about transplanting into more spacious container and will get a pot and soil. Most of the plants sold need a transplant, it will be much more convenient for the client to get all the necessary materials without leaving the cash desk, and the businessman will get additional profit from this.
Additional source of income
A successful businessman should not only equip the premises and monitor the health and appearance of his goods, but also be able to sell his service. No matter how professional he may be, he will not be able to survive in the market of fierce and merciless competition if he does not advertise himself properly. On the Internet, you should create a small site with a description of plants, their photos, prices and contact details of the store. It would also be nice to make a colorful signboard, put up ads.
At first, you can attract buyers with promotions, discounts. If you have the appropriate knowledge and skills, then you can offer your services in the design of premises with flowers. Often companies buy large quantities of plants to decorate offices, for a fee you can help the client choose the most compatible copies. Thanks to this service, you can get additional profit and win over the client, and it takes very little free time.
Main expenses
Like any business, the sale of indoor plants involves not only profit, but also certain costs. It is difficult to indicate the exact price of the issue, since the prices in each region of the country are different. To start, you need to have an amount of $ 4,000, and this is not considering renting or buying a room. The flower grower should spend money on the purchase of air conditioning, advertising, as well as the purchase of goods. In addition, money is needed to rent a store.
The room must be chosen wisely, it should be spacious, have at least one, and preferably two large windows, as well as a shaded corner, because the flowers are different, some like to bathe in the sun, others prefer to be in the shade. If you cannot trade on your own, you will also have to spend money on the salary of the seller. To save on the purchase of supplies and plants, you can team up with other entrepreneurs and buy goods from wholesalers.
Professional sales consultant is the key to success
Love, patience, gentle care require absolutely all indoor plants. As a business, this type of activity requires not only an entrepreneurial spirit, but also an arrangement for flowers. If there is no desire to stand behind the counter yourself, then you need to find a person who is in love with plants. Much depends on the seller, he should be friendly, helpful, but not annoying. This person should study the whole product, to know what kind of care this or that plant needs.
The enthusiasm that the sales consultant will spread will also be transmitted to the client. A buyer who has received comprehensive information on issues of interest to him will come to the store more than once. Very often, people do not have a specific goal, buying a houseplant for a gift, they need advice, so the consultant must conduct a brief excursion and offer the most preferred options, explaining all the advantages and disadvantages of the selected flowers.
Work in joy
Selling indoor plants will bring tangible income only if the businessman enjoys his brainchild. An inspired person willingly takes on any work, if the profession is not like it, then it brings dissatisfaction, inner torment. If you analyze the life stories of successful people, it becomes clear - they managed to find their way, open their capabilities, recognize their desires.
Florists are somewhat crazy, they can tirelessly look after their green pets, obtain rare exotic specimens from different parts of the world, and learn new information. Such interest and awareness helps to a large extent in business, since an entrepreneur is interested in doing this, it is very cool when a hobby turns into a source of income.