Valentine's Day Recap - What a difference a week can make. Last Tuesday we were buried in flowers helping everyone "spread the love". 7 days later, we all are still in the recovery mode. Whew! Take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back. From all reports, this was a grand year for Valentine's Day sales. Having the holiday fall on Tuesday made it easy to prepare over the weekend and get things out the door in a timely fashion. "Easy", of course is a relative term. It is never easy to do hundreds (or thousands) of dollars in sales, all focused on a single day and preferably by noon.......deep sigh!
This year we asked our most recent grads to report in after the holiday and let us know how it went. I'm happy to report, it went well; and not just well, but as I like to say, "GRAND". Edited for brevity and names removed to protect the innocent, here you go. Enjoy hearing all about the holiday directly from the Floral Design Institute alumni.
I used to be a scrooge about Valentine's Day ("It's a
Hallmark Holiday, nag nag nag"...), but I had so much fun working in the
shop for my first V-Day that it may be my new favorite holiday! I love the
pressure of a deadline (really)...it felt like old times as a student in
architecture school when, no matter how prepared you are, the last 24 hours
before a deadline are insane!
Valentine’s
Day is gone and I am still tired. But I did great.
My Valentine's week was crazy busy. We sold a lot of flowers -
everything sold out. That was great. However, I have to say people were waiting
until the last minute to buy flowers so we were a little worried we won't sell
everything.
Of course my hands and feet hurt, but I saw your video about
"Valentine's day Hand Care" and it
worked!! So now my hands are pain-free and ready to go. I thank you for that
:-)
That
brings us to our first big flower selling venture: Valentine’s Day. We
pre-ordered 350 roses before Christmas then sent out post cards, advertised on
Google and posted on our blog, Facebook and LinkedIn. We also contacted a local
Chocolatier for “finishing touches” for our designs. On the Thursday
before the big day, we transformed our garage into our floral studio and worked
diligently through the following Tuesday except for Sunday (we really needed
that day of rest). By the time we went to bed on the 14th, the cars
were back in the garage.
I left a job in medical records over
5 years ago...to do something I love!
My
first Valentine’s Day was fantastic!! Was so surprised how much business that
one day brings in.
I
had a blast, but was super tired after I closed!!
What
fun to create, and put so many smiles on the faces of those around town!
So, that's my story. Have had a blast with the arrangements I've
done so far!! Love, love, love it! My husband has had a bit of an adjustment
getting used to the fact that I am moving into this phase instead of helping
him so much with installations. But a happy wife makes for a happy life,
right?!!! Ha.
Busy!! I still don’t know how I sent our over 100 arrangements but I did it
with me designing and one person helping in the work area. It’s so nice to have
the last big holiday done; now I feel like I know what to expect. We have come
a long way since opening in April last year!
All
I did, all day long on Monday and Tuesday was design, design and then design
some more. Others answered the phones, assisted "walk-ins" and
delivered. I was in 7th Heaven!!!! I normally work only part time, so I loved
being able to work 7 days in a row. Things would "get on a roll" and
my creativity emerged. I loved every minute of it, even standing for 11.5 hours
straight each day. When you "DO WHAT YOU LOVE" you LOVE LIFE! I
am so grateful to your school, your program and your staff. Because of it, I
was able to get my "foot in the door" and start a new career at 62.
I
worked over the weekend and through Valentine's and it was great. I had a lot
of fun and everyone was super nice. Valentine's Day itself is rather a blur!
Before sunrise to after sunset, it was busy, busy, busy! But I enjoyed every
minute of it!
We had a TERRIFIC Valentine's Day! I must say it was a REUNION of FDI grads and boy did we have FUN. I can't
believe we didn't get one picture of all of us together. But here's the role
call-Terri, Grace, Josef and Sherry. We were able to increase sales by 20% over
last year, and I know we had the creative mojo going full steam ahead. I can't
wait to lock arms again in the near future; it's such a gift to be able to
cheer one another on-while working toward the same common goal.
Next up Easter, Administrative Assistant's Day and Mother's Day....can't wait to hear all about the flowering fun. But first, back to class to share the joy of Flower School with our students. As teachers, it is heartwarming to read the stores and know, we played a part in your career path. Congratulations, graduates! We are all so proud of you. (MORE BLOGS)