How to start a flower business: a home florist guide

How to start a flower business, step by step

To start a flower business, you choose a focus, set up a workspace, find a wholesale supplier, register the business and line up your first buyers. These steps fit a small US florist or bouquet business run from home, before you lease a shop.

1. Choose what you sell first

   A flower business can sell everyday bouquets, wedding and event flowers, sympathy work, corporate weekly arrangements or a bouquet subscription. Start with one. Everyday bouquets and subscriptions give steady weekly orders; events pay more per order but come in peaks.

2. Set up a home florist workspace

   You need a cool room or corner away from sun and heat, a large sink or hose, buckets, a work table, and space to store vases and wrap. A small flower cooler can come later, once orders are regular. Ask your city about zoning first, because the SBA notes that zoning ordinances can still apply even to home-based businesses.

3. Open a wholesale account

   Wholesale flower markets and distributors sell to trade buyers. Ask each one what it needs to open a trade account, and register the business first so you have the details ready. Start with a small standing order and add stems as you learn what sells.

4. Register the business

   Choose a business structure, register a name, and get an EIN, which is free from the IRS. The SBA says that less than $300 in most cases. Ask your state and city which licences apply, since requirements and fees vary based on your business activities, location and government rules.

5. Price every bouquet from its stem cost

   Add up the stems, greenery, wrap, vase and card for each design, then add your labor, card fees and a margin for stems you throw away. Keep a recipe card for each design so every bouquet costs the same to make.

6. Line up delivery and first buyers

   Decide on a delivery zone and fee, a pickup window, and one or two places to be seen: a market stall, a cafe display or a social account with photos of real orders. Take orders before holidays such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day so you buy only the stems you need.

What it costs to start a flower business from home

A home flower business has low fixed costs, because the stems are bought for each week's orders. The largest early costs are a cooler, tools and the first stock of vases and wrap. The figures below are labelled examples for a small home florist, plus official fees where they exist.

Example: with the figures above, a home flower business starts at about $2,550 before delivery costs and marketing. Without the cooler, the start is closer to $1,050, and you buy stems a day or two before each order.

Where to buy wholesale flowers

A florist buys most stems at trade prices, then sells them as designed bouquets. Each source has its own minimums and freshness. Many small florists use two: a wholesaler for staple stems such as roses and greenery, and a local grower for seasonal flowers.

Wholesale stems are often described by grade, length and stage of opening. The USDA publishes grade standards for flowers, and says they are voluntary, and give the trade a uniform language for describing quality and condition. Its list covers carnations, chrysanthemums, gladiolus, roses and peonies, so ask your supplier which grade and stem length a price refers to before you compare quotes.

Process stems the day they arrive: recut each stem, strip leaves below the water line, and stand them in clean water with flower food in a cool place. Wasted stems are a hidden cost in a flower business, so buy against orders wherever you can.

Licences, sales tax and rules for a home florist

Most home flower businesses need the same basics as any small business: a registered name, an EIN, a seller's permit in states that tax flower sales, and any home business licence your city or county requires. Rules vary by state and by city, so ask your state revenue department and your city before you sell. This section is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Ask your state revenue department whether you can buy stems for resale without paying sales tax, how to collect tax from your buyers, and whether it taxes delivery charges.

Federal rules matter when you buy plant material from abroad. The SBA lists the USDA as the agency for the import or transport across state lines of plants. For plants and seeds bought online from another country, USDA APHIS says most plants and seeds for planting need a PPQ 587 import permit, and that the buyer is responsible for meeting US import requirements. This rule is about plants and seeds for planting, for example if you also grow some of your own stems.

For federal income tax, a flower business run by one owner usually reports its income on Schedule C (Form 1040), used to report income or loss from a business you operated as a sole proprietor. Keep receipts for stems, vases, wrap, delivery mileage and fees from the first order.

How to sell flowers from home: delivery and sales channels

A home flower business usually sells through three or four channels at once. Local delivery and pickup carry most everyday orders, while events and subscriptions bring larger or repeat sales.

Fresh flowers are hard to ship far, so most small florists sell flowers online to a local delivery zone and charge a delivery fee by distance. Show real photos of your own work and list delivery days and cut-off times clearly.

What card fees take from one bouquet order

Example: one $45 bouquet order paid by card, using each provider's own published rate. Square Online and Shopify are online checkout rates; PayPal Zettle is an in-person rate for pickup or market sales.

Where Nation fits

Questions about starting a flower business