Becoming a Florist

A florist is a person who arranges, takes care of, sells, and grows flowers. Flowers are part of our every day expression. They become especially important for important situations to help us express feelings of happiness, love or sorrow. Becoming a florist is a great career for those who have aspects about them that include the following:

An eye for arrangement and color: a florist, no matter what part of the career they want to derive from, need to have an ability to understand color and patterns. This is what distinguishes and ordinary person putting flowers in a vase versus a professional creating a masterpiece.

Meaning behind flowers: a florist knows what colors express feeling the best. Each color and flower has a history behind them and that is part of the reason why flowers are used in some of the most important event in our lives.

Good customer service: As a florist, you will be dealing with people daily. Moreover, you will be dealing with people and their emotions. When someone decides to send flowers or give flowers, there is often deep emotion for the receiver. This means they want to get something that is perfect and will explain how they feel. This is also true for those that are getting floral arrangements for a funeral.

Dealing with vendors: you will also need to deal with vendors, business acquaintances and more. This is especially true for those looking to start their own business. You will not only need to understand vendors but also maintain supplies and inventory.

Education Schooling

It is not a requirement that a person goes to school to become a florist. It is, however, recommended that they do. Although it may not seem like there is a lot to know about flowers; there is. Even taking certain courses at your local college is better than nothing.

Creativity plays a crucial role in a florist, but color knowledge, decorating sense and business management are also key in being a successful florist. Most of these concepts can be learned through a formal education. The formal education that would be very useful would be a business or marketing degree.

Types of Florists

Flower Growers: Flower growers are those businesses who grow flowers to sell to independent retail businesses and chains. They sell wholesale to the businesses and then the business they sell to creates arrangements and bouquets to sell at retail price.

Flower growers can be across many parts of the world. They can not only sell to independent shops and chains but also to the general public if they so choose. This job is mainly divided into caring and growing flowers and selling and marketing them to stores.

Arranger: An arranger is the person who takes make different flowers and decorations and turns it into a piece of beautiful artwork. Flower arrangements are given as gifts for holidays, birthdays, weddings, funerals and other special occasions.

Retailer: Another way to become a florist is to become a retailer of pre-made arrangements or bouquets. This can often be accomplished with a deal from a flower grower. Most people who choose this route will often time have a gift shop that incorporates many different things.

Becoming a florist is fun, rewarding and very heartfelt. Having the right background, motivation and attention to detail can lead to a very lucrative career.