Chocolate, conversation hearts, professions of love, and… hours on your feet? Raw, thorn-shredded hands? 9 cups of coffee and counting? Endless last minute orders, deliveries, deliveries, deliveries? Now that’s Valentine’s Day for most florists!

For so many things in life, success is established in the preparation stage, and Valentine’s Day is no exception! So I wanted to share a few ways to prepare for a big holiday.

Brushing Up

In event businesses and retail shops alike, there is often a noticeable slowdown after the Christmas holiday season. That’s one of the unique challenges of Valentine’s Day. It’s as if the Super Bowl was the first game of the season: you’re a little rusty, and you don’t have the conditioning of months of training, practicing, and preparing. And then, bam, you are expected to give your best performance?? Yikes!

I recommend using the weeks before Valentine’s Day to get you (and your team) back in the saddle. Consider scheduling a day to work through the logistics, practice a few of the designs you plan to sell, and fill out any gaps in your processes before the chaos of the holiday begins.

It also is a good time to brush up on design techniques that focus on efficiency (one of my favorite topics). If you don’t know how to make a 5-minute bouquet, now is the time to get trained! The spiral hand tied is not only an awesome way to make stunning bridal, market, or cash & carry bouquets but an incredibly efficient way to design arrangements intended for vases. Create your design in your hands with the spiral method, then simply give them a fresh snip and set them in a vase! Spiral designs have an inherent structure that other design methods often lack. The spiral method (and maybe a little twine or wire in a low vase, such as a cylinder) should be all the mechanics you need to create gorgeous and full 360° designs. 
My new, repackaged Bouquet Essentials course is a super approachable and quick way to teach yourself and your team the essentials of the spiral hand tied. This is a crash course that will refresh you on the foundations of good fundamental design techniques that will allow you to make quick work of a busy holiday.

Practicing and learning beforehand can also help you feel more confident in your flower order. Using my methods, you often will use less product, break less stems and know what types of flowers you need to create balanced designs. 

Organize

If you have downtime right now, make sure you spend it getting organized! Clean up and prepare your space:

• Make a place for packing for delivery. Start collecting boxes and packing materials. 
• If you are making wrapped bouquets, can you precut paper or ribbon/twine? Have you been meaning to invest in a paper roll holder? Will you need ribbon scissors or rubber bands or other materials close by? 
• Do you need to set up an extra check-out spot with all necessary supplies like a credit card runner, phone, pens, cards and envelopes, to-go boxes, and add-ons like chocolate?
• Check out your design station. Do you really still need Christmas picks in that primo location or are ribbon scissors and rose strippers better to have close at hand? 

Visualize the days leading up to the holiday and see what may be missing in your workflow. Look at every step of your process and determine where there is an opportunity for preparation and go do it!

Prepare Your Supplies

A great way to get ahead is to stock up, clean, and sharpen your tools and supplies now. Make sure everyone on your team has a pair of every tool they might need. Not sure which tools those are? You can find my go-to’s in this blog post.

Maintaining your tools with cleaning and sharpening is a significant way to improve your performance during game day and will help ensure that your tools are not causing excess fatigue or accidents so you can keep on trucking. I have a complete blog post dedicated to the topic that you can find here!

In addition to your tools, it’s important to sanitize your buckets so your flowers last as long as possible. You should also make sure you have a variety of bucket sizes to protect your blooms so make sure to procure what you need before go time. 

Spend time now taking stickers off the bottom of your vases, cleaning glassware that needs to be freshened up, and pricing add-ons like chocolate or gifts if you are offering them. 

Prepare Yourself

It’s important to anticipate the effects of this holiday on our bodies. When we’re in crunch time, it’s our bodies that take the brunt of it. This can cause burnout, accidents, and even chronic pain. 

Firstly, prepare the basics: good food and good hydration are necessities. During these busy times, we are most likely to reach for food that does not nourish us! A handful of potato chips is not a meal! And not eating enough (or at all) crashes our blood sugar, and makes us less effective and much more grumpy! It happens all too often.

Spend a night or two this month to prepare some meals for February. Make a protein-rich chili or hearty soup and keep it in the freezer. Heat it up in a crockpot during the workday so you and your team can have a warm, enriching, and reenergizing meal. Or set up a trade with a local restaurant. Trade dinner table flowers for a Valentine’s week delivery, so you already have a meal to look forward to! Keep fruit, nuts, and protein-heavy snacks on hand for a quick pick-me-up. Or a box of croissants for an afternoon treat (my personal fave)!

Have drinking water available and add minerals to your water to encourage proper hydration. If you are short on time, any electrolyte beverages or coconut water is a great sub. 

Another way to take care of your body is to buy a good pair of shoes, insoles, and a standing mat, even if you’re a freelancer. I used to bring one with me on my travels as a freelancer for many years. Standing on concrete all day does a number on our bodies so any padding between us and the floor can help tremendously. 

Schedule a midweek or post-holiday myofascial massage in advance. Contact a chiropractor if you don’t already have one and schedule a visit midweek or for 2/15 to take care of any alignment issues. See an acupuncturist for support with pain. Maybe sign up for a stretching session or yoga class the week after and give yourself some dedicated downtime. Tell your therapist, business coach, or mentor that you might need extra support emotionally gearing up for or coming down from the holiday and ask for accountability around your management skills and expectations. 

Most importantly, take care of yourself. Your work with flowers matters because we are messengers of kindness, care, and love.

Things will go wrong. Do your best to plan and prepare but you are human and so is your team. Go forward with grace for yourself and others in this often stressful season and best of luck to you on this big day. I’ll be rooting for you!

Cheers,

Amy

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or licensed health care provider. The information and other content provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended nor otherwise implied to be medical advice or a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.

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