“What is your top priority or goal for your business in 2020, and how do you plan to accomplish it?”

My focus will be staying local for weddings and events, by:
• visiting quaint venues to network with;
• promoting local and intimate weddings;
• spending extra time and giving extra attention to local wedding clients – time that I would have spent on the road;
• promoting other local vendors on our website;
• supporting local flower farms;
• making a calendar with our past year’s weddings to show off our work as well as our appreciation for those clients.

Srini Perera
Kreativehands
Woodland Hills, Calif.

My top priority for 2020 is to open wider pathways to better customer service and to have consistent personal relationships with my clients. Having strong, honest relationships with clients makes them eager to recommend me to their inner circle of family and friends. It also adds a deeper feeling of satisfaction and connection for me – and will increase my sales.
I want to expand my customer service to include reminding clients of their upcoming important events, letting them know the progress of their deliveries and taking photos of the recipients receiving the flowers to share with the senders. I also have other plans that will help build my engagement and bond with my customers. I plan to track my progress on a master chart/calendar.

Jan L. Gordon
East Meets West Flowers
Pleasantville, N.Y.

I want to develop a marketing plan to reach more people in our area who don’t know about my shop – a plan that is broader than what I’ve been doing with Facebook and newspapers. Resuming floral workshops and design demonstrations is one option.
Another goal is to use up the supplies I have in the shop before buying new. I need to make up those silk flowers and put excess containers and miscellaneous items out to sell! The bottom line is that I want to earn more money – just like everyone else.

Linda Taylor
Heartstrings Florist & Artisans
Dallas, Ore.

My top priority in 2020 is aligning my business with the market I want to be in and scaling my products and services to that market. My plan includes automating processes, investing in a fl oral software system and continuing to build my network.

Teresa Eoff
Figure Eight Events
Fontana, Calif.

Our top priority is to continue to grow and offer innovative products and services. We will stay up to date on trends and sustainability practices to ensure the best for our customers. We will also continue to find ways to recycle the by-product waste our business generates.

Cheri Heffernan
Cheri’s Touch Interiorscapes
Amherst, Ohio

Stack cash! We’re concerned about the possibility of a recession. Sales are good right now, but we’re minimizing our expenses so we will have plenty of cash on hand if the economy takes a downturn.

Aaron Ardle
Schneider’s Florist
Springfield, Ohio

My main goal is to maximize the co-working space for florists in the metro Washington, D.C. area and to build an educational community for creativity and business. It’s already happening, but I will be moving to make it even better in 2020.

Christi Lopez
The Business of Flowers
Springfi eld, Va.

We need to cut expenses because of rising labor costs. We will look at categories that are not turning over with proper margins, our hours of operation and maybe fewer full-time positions.

Karen Dennison
Mrs Flowers and Princess Flowers
Prince George, B.C. Canada

Increase gross margin dollars. Here are a few things on my action plan to achieve that.
• Take a look at the top 20 percent of what we sell most and slightly raise prices where we can.
• Look at our production modules and make sure we are pricing correctly.
• Increase our average sale by offering add-on items and more premium products.
• Filter through our website to offer less, therefore stocking fewer goods.
• Lowering waste from 8.4 percent of sales to 7 percent.

Deborah Purdue
English Gardens
West Bloomfield, Mich.