It’s almost time to start the wrap-up session for the first-ever Florists For Change meeting. The mood is electric even after a late night of meetings, and a later night in Vegas (for some … this East Coast boy was face-down snoring not long after the wind up last night!).
That said … I see a coffee cart in the back so I’ll return to start coverage in just a few minutes.
12.15
Just talked to Tom Butler. He wants to copy my hair
TF is invited in to hear the results of our discussion from the previous day. Tom says they are eager to begin a dialogue and hear what we the florists feel are the greatest priorities. Time will tell how that plays out, but it’s a start.
12.16
Of the 140+ florists in attendance, 90+ have volunteered to be on action committees!
Tannis from Portland is being acknowledged as a single operator shop who closed for the day and flew to Vegas for the meetings.
12.19
Toomie (man, I hope I’m spelling his name right!) is again emphasizing the need to focus on our commonality as florists. We tend to get sidetracked by the small details that individualize our shops, but we can’t let those small areas of difference interfere with achieving a common goal.
12.20
He is challenging all attendees to get 10 more shops committed by the October meeting, and 5 more each by December.
12.25
Following Toomie’s remarks (he of a big career and 130 employees), Cindy from Oregon (she of the famous legislation, and a shop with 2 employees) is giving her take on the meetings from yesterday. These two are polar opposites of the floral industry … while both worked hard from humble roots, Toomie has multiple shops and WS involvement, while Cindy is WS free and a smaller operation.
Both are fully behind this movement, and that’s a special thing to experience.
12.28
Tony Fiannaca Sr is speaking now to give a “historical” (Does that mean I’m old? he says) perspective.
The map of shops supporting FFC has increased from 140 to 240 literally overnight.
Tony is giving some praise for Tom Butler as an industry leader.
12.32
Betsy is up now. She’s telling us about the beginnings of the planning for the Vegas meeting. It started with 2, then 4 planning to come. She wanted to “think big” and talked of needing 10-20 rooms. We needed 90.
Over 140 people representing over 100 flower shops.
Many, many FTD Top 100 shops … and lots of 1-2-3 operator shops.
Betsy is now making me blush … moving on.
FFC gained 30+ fans on Facebook last night alone. The news feed has ~50,000 views!
249 florists currently registered for the newsletter.
12.34
Mike just bellowed his now-famous “Good Morning”.
I’m 4 feet away … my head hurts
Mike is stressing the need for a sustained high level of activity.
12.39
Mike is reading the drafted announcement about Florists For Change.
12.41
Mike’s old friend (that’s “old friend”, not a friend who is old!) Bonnie reminded us that we need to deal in good faith, and assume that each other are dealing in good faith. We’re in this together and can’t let suspicion or distrust impede progress.
12.42
Tony Jr just let us know that the PowerPoint presentations are now live on the Florists for Change web site.
12.43
Ryan note: I’m still hearing a little too much WS talk for my preference – I’d like to hear more about education and marketing … but that’s what is great about a deliberative meeting – different points of view.
12.43
Harold just gave us the Rotary 4-way test again
12.47
Keith is taking questions:
Harold asked: What is the process tomorrow? What do you want us to do?
Answer from Dirk: Advisory committee has to distil the abundance of information. The announcement will be adjusted into press release form. Dirk is prioritizing getting info on the web site and publishing the newsletter.
12.48
Question: Will there be a registration or commitment form that we can hand out to other florists to get them officially on board?
Answer: Great suggestion! FFC will be providing tools for members to recruit.
12.49
Question: Is there a list of members we can use for communication with each other?
Answer: The list is on the web site and will be updated.
12.51
Atlanta Oct 3 meeting: Westin Peachtree Plaza – 9 / night
Shopping trip on Oct 4 at Atlanta’s Market
Agenda will be the next steps based on the data from this meeting.
12.53
Betsy is thrilled with the feedback from the surveys yesterday. She wants more input at [email protected]
The agenda might change into 1.5 days if needed.
12.55
Keith is stressing that the planning needs to be a group effort. Not just an agenda set by a small group, but instead based on input of the membership.
12.57
Quote: “The hardest thing in the world is to get 10 florists onto 1 bus.”
12.59
Keith just gave his closing remarks – need to get the industry on the same page, overlook differences in size, style and perspective.
Betsy’s closing is more appeal for continued input. So many florists in attendance have been dreaming of something like this for years.
13.01
Mike’s turn: Thanks to a group of florists who offered advice from an outside perspective. They really helped the organizers get things refined and organized.
By Atlanta committees will be established and action started.
13.06
Dirk is giving his close: Talking about a TF rep’s cold-call. Apparently Mark Freeman was included at some point in the initial email conversation from May 2011, so TF was aware of the issues discussed. Dirk said “What we need to do is get these 30 together.”
Org committee had talked about locations and favoured Vegas. TF rep said “we have something in Vegas, maybe we can help”. Short version, TF opportunity was in the right date range and offered significant discount. Org committee wanted to keep meetings private, so TF was not allowed to pay for rooms, take people to dinner, etc. They graciously agreed.
TF did lend organizational support from their event planning staff.
13.07
And that’s a wrap! I’ll close my coverage with a quote from Dirk:
As a flower shop owner, I thank you. Because of you, I have a future.
Continue reading...
That said … I see a coffee cart in the back so I’ll return to start coverage in just a few minutes.
12.15
Just talked to Tom Butler. He wants to copy my hair
TF is invited in to hear the results of our discussion from the previous day. Tom says they are eager to begin a dialogue and hear what we the florists feel are the greatest priorities. Time will tell how that plays out, but it’s a start.
12.16
Of the 140+ florists in attendance, 90+ have volunteered to be on action committees!
Tannis from Portland is being acknowledged as a single operator shop who closed for the day and flew to Vegas for the meetings.
12.19
Toomie (man, I hope I’m spelling his name right!) is again emphasizing the need to focus on our commonality as florists. We tend to get sidetracked by the small details that individualize our shops, but we can’t let those small areas of difference interfere with achieving a common goal.
12.20
He is challenging all attendees to get 10 more shops committed by the October meeting, and 5 more each by December.
12.25
Following Toomie’s remarks (he of a big career and 130 employees), Cindy from Oregon (she of the famous legislation, and a shop with 2 employees) is giving her take on the meetings from yesterday. These two are polar opposites of the floral industry … while both worked hard from humble roots, Toomie has multiple shops and WS involvement, while Cindy is WS free and a smaller operation.
Both are fully behind this movement, and that’s a special thing to experience.
12.28
Tony Fiannaca Sr is speaking now to give a “historical” (Does that mean I’m old? he says) perspective.
The map of shops supporting FFC has increased from 140 to 240 literally overnight.
Tony is giving some praise for Tom Butler as an industry leader.
12.32
Betsy is up now. She’s telling us about the beginnings of the planning for the Vegas meeting. It started with 2, then 4 planning to come. She wanted to “think big” and talked of needing 10-20 rooms. We needed 90.
Over 140 people representing over 100 flower shops.
Many, many FTD Top 100 shops … and lots of 1-2-3 operator shops.
Betsy is now making me blush … moving on.
FFC gained 30+ fans on Facebook last night alone. The news feed has ~50,000 views!
249 florists currently registered for the newsletter.
12.34
Mike just bellowed his now-famous “Good Morning”.
I’m 4 feet away … my head hurts
Mike is stressing the need for a sustained high level of activity.
12.39
Mike is reading the drafted announcement about Florists For Change.
- Inaugural meeting Aug 17, 2011
- Will be a formalized entity by/for/of florists
- Mission is to improve economics for retail florists
- Code of ethics (summary): golden rule, no deceptive marketing
- breakout sessions lead to prioritized action items:
- Increase non-branded advertising
- encourage all florists to attain membership
- conduct meetings throughout North America
- Encourage a more equitable revenue distribution model
- Create action committees to achieve the goals of the organization – vision, operating, finance, membership, industry, assisting non-WS florists to have easy access to direct order transfer
12.41
Mike’s old friend (that’s “old friend”, not a friend who is old!) Bonnie reminded us that we need to deal in good faith, and assume that each other are dealing in good faith. We’re in this together and can’t let suspicion or distrust impede progress.
12.42
Tony Jr just let us know that the PowerPoint presentations are now live on the Florists for Change web site.
12.43
Ryan note: I’m still hearing a little too much WS talk for my preference – I’d like to hear more about education and marketing … but that’s what is great about a deliberative meeting – different points of view.
12.43
Harold just gave us the Rotary 4-way test again
12.47
Keith is taking questions:
Harold asked: What is the process tomorrow? What do you want us to do?
Answer from Dirk: Advisory committee has to distil the abundance of information. The announcement will be adjusted into press release form. Dirk is prioritizing getting info on the web site and publishing the newsletter.
12.48
Question: Will there be a registration or commitment form that we can hand out to other florists to get them officially on board?
Answer: Great suggestion! FFC will be providing tools for members to recruit.
12.49
Question: Is there a list of members we can use for communication with each other?
Answer: The list is on the web site and will be updated.
12.51
Atlanta Oct 3 meeting: Westin Peachtree Plaza – 9 / night
Shopping trip on Oct 4 at Atlanta’s Market
Agenda will be the next steps based on the data from this meeting.
12.53
Betsy is thrilled with the feedback from the surveys yesterday. She wants more input at [email protected]
The agenda might change into 1.5 days if needed.
12.55
Keith is stressing that the planning needs to be a group effort. Not just an agenda set by a small group, but instead based on input of the membership.
12.57
Quote: “The hardest thing in the world is to get 10 florists onto 1 bus.”
12.59
Keith just gave his closing remarks – need to get the industry on the same page, overlook differences in size, style and perspective.
Betsy’s closing is more appeal for continued input. So many florists in attendance have been dreaming of something like this for years.
13.01
Mike’s turn: Thanks to a group of florists who offered advice from an outside perspective. They really helped the organizers get things refined and organized.
By Atlanta committees will be established and action started.
13.06
Dirk is giving his close: Talking about a TF rep’s cold-call. Apparently Mark Freeman was included at some point in the initial email conversation from May 2011, so TF was aware of the issues discussed. Dirk said “What we need to do is get these 30 together.”
Org committee had talked about locations and favoured Vegas. TF rep said “we have something in Vegas, maybe we can help”. Short version, TF opportunity was in the right date range and offered significant discount. Org committee wanted to keep meetings private, so TF was not allowed to pay for rooms, take people to dinner, etc. They graciously agreed.
TF did lend organizational support from their event planning staff.
13.07
And that’s a wrap! I’ll close my coverage with a quote from Dirk:
As a flower shop owner, I thank you. Because of you, I have a future.
Continue reading...