Running a small business this year is hard. Running a small business that relies on imported fresh product is even harder. 90% of the fresh flowers we sell are imported from other countries, mostly in South America.
In countries that export, a sharp sudden decline in demand for flowers meant millions of stems of flowers being thrown away. Why ? Because the flower industry is a global economy and is balanced by a constant flow of demand and supply.
For example:
Imagine throwing a weekly dinner party for say, 100 people. You're supplying all of the food and beverages. One week everyone cancels. You already have the food. The next week they cancel again.....now you have two weeks worth of food that you are throwing away because you cannot possibly consume the quantity of food you now have on hand. Plus it's perishable and maybe the bananas look okay but that salmon was toast after 3 days. Flowers are the same situation.
We do have some local resources for flowers but when the first restrictions were put in place in March, that meant many of the US farms had to shut down- for good. Fresh flowers need to be harvested off the plants to promote new growth. If no one is there to harvest, package and ship, eventually the business has to plow under the plants and call it a loss.
Now that we've been open for a little over a month I can tell you things are never going to be the same for our industry.
Flights with cargo containing flowers may get bumped or canceled. Airports might become completely shutdown due to sudden spike in Covid19 cases. Yes the US is starting to reopen, but South America is just now riding the Covid19 wave. This could mean serious implications on what flowers are available in the coming months. Ecuador is one of the largest producers of roses worldwide. Imagine ordering roses and not being able to get them until a week later instead of the next day. That is a very real possibility.
I have already struggled to get product in on a regular basis. It's frustrating and there is really nothing I can do about it. There is nothing my suppliers can do either. Many of the sales and delivery personnel for the wholesale sector were laid off in March and were not called back by May. Everyone in small business is trying to cut costs any way they can. Labor is one of the biggest overhead cost in a small business like flower shops. It is also the hardest one to scale back because we NEED people to run a business.
Every week that I am open, I am grateful. This is definitely a daily struggle to cover costs and make any sort of a profit. There is a large misconception that small business owners are paying themselves really well and are taking all the profits for their own pockets. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many small business owners draw a salary that is less per hour than minimum wage pays in some states. Some even take less of a salary than what they will pay their most valuable employees. Why? Because we want our business to be successful, to have that pride in what you have accomplished and built. If we wanted to be rich we would go work for a big corporation that can offer sick pay, health insurance and 401k benefits.
Light Blue Hydrangea, Lavender Roses, Stock 
Peach spray roses, cream alstroemeria, white stock
White sweetheart rose corsage with pink waxflower
Groom Boutonniere of white rose and waxflower
All white bouquet of white lilies, roses, baby's breath and greenery
Pink alstroemeria, white roses, white carnations
Lavender roses, purple stock, white hydrangea, white waxflower, lavender limonium .
