The job of a florist demands creativity and hard work. This CareerStint article covers the details of the career as a florist…
The probability of global economic issues like recession affecting the flower business is very less, because there is always a demand for flowers. They are extensively used in decorations, are a favorite among people for gifting their loved ones and some flowers also are endowed with medicinal properties. Thus we can say that the flower business is a booming sector.
But to make a career in the flower industry, a person must possess a creative instinct. If you are passionate about flowers and inquisitive to know about the various flower species, you should consider a career as a florist. It is an interesting job in which you will get to care for flowers and also gain knowledge of various flowers. Moreover, the career will satisfy your creative urge.
Their prime responsibility is to guide the clients in the purchase of various flowers. There are plenty of other duties a florist has to carry out, and these duties require creative knowledge as well as managerial skills in the person.
Job Summary
Possessing the right skills and a passion for flowers opens the gateway to become a florist. Having sound knowledge of flowers along with some creative skills can earn you a job in any small floral shop, without much effort. But the established and popular floral shops demand a high school diploma as the least educational qualification. For thorough learning on the professional aspects of the job you may also consider taking formal training (a certificate course) at any floral school.
In the professional world, a certificate diploma in floral education would definitely be taken as a plus point by the recruiters. These are generally short term courses and are available at a university or college level. If you wish to open a floral shop for yourself you may augment the skills by taking some business classes. For a better understanding of the nature of job, a briefing of the required skills has been provided below. A person who wishes to become a florist should ideally possess the following skills.
Required Skills
A successful florist should possess in depth knowledge of various flower varieties. He should have knowledge of caring and maintaining flowers to keep them fresh. This involves tasks like watering and trimming the flower plants. Creativity is a skill that is a must. This is because they have to plan for the decoration of flowers and present them to the customers in an attractive way. Apart from these skills he should be an excellent communicator and negotiator. He is the one who deals with the clients. The duties may vary as per the place of work, and we have listed the general duties below. Take a look.
Duties
The following are the important and general duties of a florist…
- He determines the pricing of the flowers as per the trends of the market.
- He orders the flowers based on the customer’s requirements and availability of stock in the shop.
- In case the client has special requirements of decoration the florist has to plan the course of events, like assigning duties to the workers in the shop.
- He also works on preparing client bills, and has to keep a record of the purchases.
- He also assists and guides the customers in choosing the right flowers.
- The shop should be attractive and creative; he, thus, also has to plan the display of the shop.
- The other common duties are wrapping the products, providing customer service, and maintenance and cleaning of the shop.
- He also plans for decoration arrangements at events like weddings and birthdays. For this he should have superior creative knowledge.
Earnings
Factors like years of experience and location of work determine the salary. As per the available data, the annual salary of florists with 1-9 years of experience is around $15,000. For experience above 9 years you may earn around $30,000 annually. These are just average salary figures and there are many other factors like monthly and yearly bonuses that influence the salary.
As you see the job of a florist is very interesting. As you gain experience in the field you may also open your own floral shop. Lastly, just imagine how nice it would feel to be surrounded by flowers all day long! All the best!