7 Reasons to Start a Flower Subscription

One of my biggest mantras as a flower farmer and educator is to build a business that works for you. 

Don’t want to spend every Saturday at the farmer’s market? You don’t have to.

Don’t want to build relationships with a bunch of florists to sell to? Then don’t.

So if you’re wondering how that’s possible, I have a simple answer: flower subscriptions. I think subscriptions are the best and most consistent way to bring income to your cut flower business. Here are seven reasons why you should consider starting your own flower subscription. 

1. Boost Sales With Consistent Customers

When you start a flower subscription, you provide your customers with regular flower bouquets, whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or something different. This means your subscriptions provide you with a steady stream of income and steady customers. Instead of a customer stopping by your stand once or twice a season (and only paying for one or two bouquets), they get consistent bouquets. And this means more money for you. 

If a customer who normally stops to buy two bouquets a year buys a 12-bouquet subscription, they’ve just given you six times the number of sales you otherwise would’ve had. 

2. Create Customer Loyalty

Flower subscriptions can help you create a lasting relationship with your customers. Customers who receive a weekly or biweekly delivery of fresh flowers from you over and over again are more likely to build loyalty to your flower farm, buy future subscriptions, and recommend your business to their family and friends. 

3. Generate Income During Slower Seasons

Flower sales are usually seasonal, with peak sales occurring during the spring and summer months. And for many seasonal businesses, this means that income is also seasonal. And that inconsistent income can be a real challenge and a lot of extra work to plan around. 

If you offer flower subscriptions, you can choose when they go on sale (AKA choose when you get paid). 

For example, you could consider selling them in the late winter months when people are getting excited about spring. When I started offering subscriptions, I sold them during the holidays when nothing was blooming, but when people were thinking about purchasing gifts. I now sell them in the fall. The beauty of subscriptions is you can choose to sell them for an upcoming season whenever you want. 

4. Avoid Constant Selling

Constantly wondering where your next sale will come from can be exhausting. Will you sell out at the farmer’s market? Will your own flower stand sell out? Don’t get me wrong, those tactics can be awesome money-makers for some. But if you want income that’s a little more passive and less constant, subscriptions can be a great choice. 

A flower subscription sale means that a certain number of your bouquets already have a predetermined home. 

I moved more than 600 bouquets through my flower subscription in 2023. And I can sell that many bouquets without having to market my flowers every week and hoping people show up to buy them. I opened sales for 2023 subscriptions in September 2022, sold the number I wanted to sell in less than one week, and didn’t worry about selling when flowers actually started blooming. This gives me time and energy to focus on other aspects of my business and have a good work/life balance. 

5. Adjust Delivery Schedules When You're Busy

Remember how I said to build a business that works for you? You can customize your flower subscription to fit your schedule and flower availability. 

Have you ever had bouquets you needed to sell around the Fourth of July holiday? They’re pretty tough to sell when people are busy and traveling. Have you ever seen a busy farmer’s market while it’s raining? Probably not nearly as busy as when it’s warm and sunny. 

Flower subscriptions eliminate that problem because you deliver or offer pickup on the schedule you choose. And guess what? If your flowers are blooming a little slower or you have a surprise out-of-town weekend pop up, you can always adjust your dates. As long as you communicate with your customers, they’ll likely understand. 

6. Create the Sales Foundation for Your Flower Farm

I’m a fan of diversifying my income and not relying on one particular thing to make money. However, it’s still great to have one or two steady income streams that are your primary money makers. Today, I have a limit on the number of subscriptions I sell. But back when I was selling more, my subscriptions brought in more than $50,000 a year. If you have a subscription base that size, all you need is a few other smaller sales outlets to have a pretty solid annual income. 

7. Customize to the Way You Want to Do Business

I know I’ve said it multiple times already, but this point really sums all these points up well. 

I decided I didn’t want to work much this summer while the kids are home from school. So instead of offering subscriptions all summer long, I rearranged my subscriptions to be in the spring and the late summer. The spring subscription ended the week before the kids got out of school for the summer. And the late summer subscription (which is a dahlia subscription) will start the week after they head back to school. 

You can do this too!

Growing flowers tends to be inflexible and unpredictable because it deals with Mother Nature. And she does what she wants. But I firmly believe that flower subscriptions allow you a way to sell in a consistent and flexible way. And I don’t know about you, but that’s ultimately what I’m looking for in my own business. 

Are you ready to learn more about how to start a flower subscription? If so, check out my popular program, Flower Subscriptions by Design—a course I offer to help flower farmers and growers like you learn how to start their own flower subscriptions.