2018 Great Lakes Floral & Event Expo

Excited to be contributing to two sessions for retail florists at the 2018 Great Lakes Floral & Event Expo in Grand Rapids.

The GLFEE (formerly the GLFE) is one of the very best events in the retail flower business and probably my personal favorite. It's run by the Michigan Floral Association (including industry superstar Jerome Raska, Rod Crittenden and Cindy Ching) and takes place in Grand Rapids each March.

In 2018 year I'm contributing to two presentations. The first is an all day business session on Friday March 2, alongside two of the people I respect most in this business – Derrick Myers of Crockett Myers (THE accountant to retail florists) and Ryan Freeman of Strider SEO (expert in SEO/SEM & Reputation management for retail florists).

Each year we work with hundreds of flowers shops – primarily in a professional capacity but, frequently, in a kind of bartender/priest mode, with shop owners telling us things they wouldn't admit to anyone else.

We see strange things. Like new owners, with no experience in the floral industry, having tremendous success. And seasoned second and third generation florists, with all the experience and knowledge in the world, struggling. Florists that have made decisions that looked good on paper than led to their ruin, while others have made counterintuitive, seemingly dangerous decisions that really paid off.

It can see random but, over time, patterns emerge. There are red flags that can indicate trouble on the horizon long before the trouble actually starts. Harmless looking detours that lead to ruin. And of course there are best practices, often un-glamourous and overlooked, that lead to success.

That's what this session is about. We're going to share everything that we have learned to help florists avoid costly mistakes, see when they're drifting off the path, and help them be more profitable.

The second is a 75 minute business session on how retail florists can use the most powerful tools in revenue management and value based pricing to increase sales and profits. This content is VERY different than anything else you will see on pricing in the flower business and will help your business.