How We Bloom

From 'Vase to Venue' - Delivery Solutions w/ Christine Foley

• Sharon McGukin • Season 3 • Episode 30

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Every florist knows the struggle, designing the perfect arrangement, then stressing over how it’s delivered. Frustrated by last-minute disasters that can turn a beautiful creation into a logistical nightmare. Say goodbye to delivery stress! Christine Foley, of Caddy Up Solutions, designed The Flower Caddy to transport floral arrangements safely, efficiently, and stress-free. Learn how she turned a common floral frustration into an eco-friendly, Made-in-USA solution that saves time and money. A solution created by a florist, for florists – assisted by the National Inventors Club. Chris offers ideas for identifying problems and creating solutions in your floral business. She also includes helpful money saving tips for wedding prep. Read the blog or listen to the podcast to learn more.
 

How we Bloom podcast is an oasis of flower ideas. Host Sharon McGukin of Smithers-Oasis North America interviews floral guests who dare to do things differently. We listen, learn, explore new opportunities and that's how we bloom!

Christine Foley:

life is amazing and great and you could have anything you want in life. It all starts with a conversation.

Sharon McGukin:

Every florist knows the struggle, designing the perfect arrangement, and then stressing over how it can survive delivery. Wobbly vases, shifting centerpieces and last minute disasters can turn a beautiful creation into a logistical nightmare. What if there was a better way? We all face challenges in our daily work, but inventive floral designers create their own solutions. Christine Foley, founder of Caddy Up Solutions, often felt frustrated that despite endless hours of pre-planning and production delivery could feel like a last minute scramble. knew there had to be a better way to get flowers from vase to venue while managing In Full Bloom, a Long Island florist, Chris applied her design skills to solving delivery Having spent over 40 years in the floral industry, she's always done whatever it takes to make things happen. Like selling her car to open her first flower shop. Through decades of experience and an entrepreneurial mindset, Chris realized that one of the biggest challenges in floristry isn't just creating flowers, it's delivering them. Determined to find a floral delivery solution for flower transportation. Chris invented the flower caddy, a game changing echo friendly, lightweight, and durable product designed to transport flower arrangements safely and stress-free. A solution created by a florist, for a florist. Chris joins us to share how she transformed a common floral frustration. Into an innovative solution and to encourage each of you to identify problems and create solutions with your own game changing ideas.

Christine Foley:

Thank you. Thank you, Sharon. I appreciate that. That's a beautiful acknowledgement thank you for that

Sharon McGukin:

that bringing a product to market is a lot like I felt about when I brought a book to life by self-publishing. It's sort of like giving birth to a baby. It's a lot of planning,

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

a lot

Sharon McGukin:

of work, and a lot of nurturing that goes on, I would suppose.

Christine Foley:

absolutely. And you know, to do all that, keeping your eye on the vision and the purpose. And that's exactly. You know, You hit hiccups along the way, but you know what it's going to do to help others, and that's, you know, purpose.

Sharon McGukin:

brings that passion for the product, knowing that this is something that's really needed. And florist are very inventive. Trained to look for solutions.

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

Yeah, yeah, yeah,

Christine Foley:

Agreed.

Sharon McGukin:

sitting with one of the flower caddies, and what I is it fits a lot of different sizes of containers, like six inch, nine inch, and 11 inch Lomey dishes, along with

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

a variety

Christine Foley:

Yep.

Sharon McGukin:

Tell me what made you choose to create something. You can do it from one side and it has the, the Lomeys or another round container, and then flip it over and you can do the cylinders. What brought you to this? I.

Christine Foley:

That's a great,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

um,

Christine Foley:

question. And I have to say, the

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

you know,

Christine Foley:

when I started, you know, after having my flower shops,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

you know,

Christine Foley:

I was raising my kids I went through some life changes, went through a divorce. And this woman asked me to come and help her develop her store for the wedding and event business close to home. I could be there for my kids. And, as we were that, What I found every time I put flowers in the refrigerator, I would be popping off, at that time, Polo Roses, which were like the new Playa Bianca, that it is today. They would just. Pop off because we would put'em in the refrigerator and moving the flowers, you know, you never have the right space. You think the space is big enough, but then you say, oh, I forgot we have to do the escort piece. So we have to always jostle and move product. So I always felt we were losing so much dollars with the heads being damaged and bruised.

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

um,

Christine Foley:

I just quick grabbed a piece of styrofoam at the time and put it on there and that worked. But then our pieces got grander then,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

you know,

Christine Foley:

I doubled up the styrofoam and then I used. Wooden picks and then the picks broke. So what am I to do? So just being innovative and everybody thought it was a great idea. You should do oh wow. You didn't know how much work and time and effort was it really came back. I'm be,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

um,

Christine Foley:

really transparent here, is that. I'm a person that say what you do, do what you say and follow through with it. And my boys said to me, mom, what happened to that idea you had? I thought you were gonna do something with it. And I said to myself, well, I don't really know how. So what do we do when we don't really know how to do something? You become an advocate and do your own research. So I joined an Inventors club. And I shared the idea with like-minded people, and from that it just pivoted and I just got more questions and things answered for me and brought it back to my team. And through that we wanted to come up because I know florist is stingy. We always wanna give, I wanted to give florist when they're

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

um,

Christine Foley:

the value. So how can I make this product so great and how can we look at it and critique it in many ways? So it

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

um,

Christine Foley:

gives them the value and

Sharon McGukin:

You mentioned the Inventors Club. How do our listeners find an inventors club? Do they go online?

Christine Foley:

Yeah, that's what exactly what I did.

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

uh uh,

Christine Foley:

inventors club and actually. I went to my local college, which Farmingdale University here on Long Island is an agricultural college and they happen to have someone with that does

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

um,

Christine Foley:

who is actually doing a Invention club type of meeting. So I just went and there I met patent attorneys. I met other people that they don't look at you like you have three heads'cause you have an idea. Right? So from that,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

you know,

Christine Foley:

when I first went to, it was a winter night, it was raining and I'm like, what am I doing here? But I knew. That I followed my gut. I went there, I met a patent attorney and,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

it

Christine Foley:

was canceled that meeting. And I did go we went to another meeting, spoke with more people and just got more inspiration. And then I joined the man who was leading it, which is Brian Fried. He's a wonderful man. He invents the National Inventors Club, and I implore anybody in this industry that has an idea, they have, Once a month, it's a free membership. You could go on NIC National Inventors Club. And the more you ask questions. The more you'll get your answers. So don't be so caught up in your idea and not be open to suggestions

Sharon McGukin:

the product is a great 15"x by 15" x3.5" inches so that carries a number of arrangements potentially.

Christine Foley:

the way I got that answer was I went to a busy florist who does, you know, 3, 4, 5, 6 weddings a weekend. And I said, Hey, what do you think? He said, Chris, it's a little too high for me. I. My shelves were already designed, could be a little lower, and I said, oh, that's not bad. But also with my manufacturing, when I spoke to them, when you to do this and

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

the

Christine Foley:

the, the mold has to be made. It's a bigger mold, so cost effectively for the product. So I said, well listen, if they need a bigger they could stack. And then my product developing people, you know, I said, well, we are so tight on space in a florist, they don't want more stuff around. How can I solve that problem? And then it was just one day I saw Legos and I said, what if they could be stacked that's, you know, it's just innovation, sitting with it, you know, leaving it on the coffee table, having my co coffee in the morning looking at it to say, what else could I put in this area? What else could it fit? Because I know if it doesn't do what it says, I'm gonna hear about it.

Sharon McGukin:

you want to

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

hear about

Sharon McGukin:

it if it's not

Christine Foley:

Right,

Sharon McGukin:

When you're testing in the marketplace, you want both the good and the bad suggestions. I.

Christine Foley:

right, right. And that's, that was exactly it. And when I said, Hey, this is gonna be a big investment for me, but I want, like, goes back to my kids and following up, following through, if I really am strong. So I could say this to other florists out there, if you have an idea. Feel free to reach out to me. I'll support you in any way I can, but if you have an idea, really optimize and sit with yourself to say, could I live without this in my industry? Could I get through the day or will it make my life and everybody else's life easier? And The biggest thing we have in industry, we, it's a hard business. We spend a lot of time and a lot of energy. And if I could take a little bit of that way, then I've felt that I've done my and, and serving the people in the industry.

Sharon McGukin:

secret it was your idea, but basically you are designing it for other people. Let's think

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

about weddings for example.

Sharon McGukin:

You've done so much work to prepare for that wedding. Then you're loading to carry, and I know you filled your share of delivery vans too,

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

you're carrying

Christine Foley:

it Mm-hmm. then you want to protect those flowers. Because flowers are expensive Just like eggs, just like everything else, right? The flowers Lisanthus could be. You know, when I started it was 10,$11 a bunch. Now it's up to 35, right? So that's$3.50 cents a stem. There's no room for compromising. Most of all. I don't want the stress of the logistics, especially for the new florists that are out there that aren't so familiar, like. I want them to work and optimize and measure the way they do things when it comes to wedding and events.

Sharon McGukin:

You are having to replace bruised flowers from their travel in the van, that money that you're replacing, those lilies, those roses, things that become broken or bruised. Could instead be invested in a good, stable delivery item.

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

like the flower

Christine Foley:

Product.

Sharon McGukin:

You mentioned the patent lawyer, I assume that's how you got through patenting. How did you find your manufacturer?

Christine Foley:

Through the Inventors Club,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

you know,

Christine Foley:

I worked with a coach there that really kind of guided me, but I'm a really a person that, I inspect what I expect, I just don't take someone's word for it. I do my own homework. So I found a company out in Iowa that, Made my prototypes and they would send it back to me I wanted to make it for the 11 inch dish. So I'd like it to be custom designed for that. My hands are a little larger, but I like where you could put your hand to grab the dish. Because as a designer, when we're moving those dishes in the refrigerator, in a large$300,$400 centerpiece. We're trying to dig for the dish and were bruising and compromising. wanted the caddy to be designed there. So. When I came to that, everybody was about, oh, go overseas. It's cheaper, it's cost effective. But guess what? That was during Covid, that's when this started. And to get things from Malaysia and China were quite like$15K,$17K,$18,000 to get a cargo in here. And the biggest thing for me when I was on Zooms with factories there. Is for them to get the idea of exactly what this product has to be made. It was a language barrier, so I felt more confident in going the US route because I wanna be proud to say it's made in the US. Sure, it may cost more, but I wanted to know where it is, know how I could get it, and walk into the factory at any time to see it being done

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

hundred

Sharon McGukin:

percent.

Christine Foley:

And.

Sharon McGukin:

development in, Asia, and you're exactly right. The understanding is very different They do a great job, but it's not as

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

easy as

Sharon McGukin:

everybody

Christine Foley:

right.

Sharon McGukin:

is To do product development with a company in Asia.

Christine Foley:

And, and plus you know, basically, well, once it gets to the port, it's not our responsibility. Well, you know, you say that to me and. You're not the person I wanna do business with because I can't, I can't sleep at night knowing that, you know, you just washed your hands of what I just invested in. But that is the way. Then I have to know the tariff laws and then I have to know the cargo laws, and that is something that you pick and choose. Where you like to be. And when I went to the, my factory here in the United States, they were wonderful. I sat down with the product development and at the round table, they still weren't getting it. I said, I have to make them a centerpiece for them to really get it." And that's what I did. I made a beautiful centerpiece, came in the next day, put it on the table for the designers to understand when they're developing this product, how it has to fit. it's just a conversation. And that's another thing strong about. Sharon life is amazing and great and you could have anything you want in life. It all starts with a conversation. It. may not be, You may have a conversation and no one's on your side, but you have to believe in yourself. You have to believe in yourself and your vision. And your purpose to move forward. Don't look for your cheerleaders. Stay focused, stay grounded, look forward and just do your homework. And if that conversation doesn't go in the direction to support your vision and your mission, you have another conversation. And that's really what life is to me about.

Sharon McGukin:

Your network, your team, your group of supporters, whatever you would like to call them, major. Because those are the people who will guide you in the process, and I think you had a little help in the promotion

Christine Foley:

yes, when I, had the pleasure of doing some of the shows to introduce my product shared it with Smithers. To have them to see, to show florists, to see what they don't see what's available for them. They were just very taken with it, and they said, wow, we need a product like this for our

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

and you could, you know,

Christine Foley:

We could compare it to what's out there and what's not. But there's nothing out there that supports those dishes that we design on a vase that we take to the venue.

Sharon McGukin:

also I think your

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

So,

Sharon McGukin:

helped you with a lot of your promotion.

Christine Foley:

yes, my son Michael,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

um,

Christine Foley:

a great inspiration. We learn from our children. You know, you know, we definitely learn, you know, he's innovative. He, you know, does graphic, he does designing, he does,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

um,

Christine Foley:

product development as And,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

um,

Christine Foley:

he's been a great source and a great support. You know, and he's the one to say, Hey, what about that idea? I have two sons, but they both got on me to say, you know, I'm all about, you know, follow up, follow through, right? And, and here I am. So it's, it is truly a blessing to be here and having this conversation with you

Sharon McGukin:

us.

Christine Foley:

and.

Sharon McGukin:

There were so many questions I wanted to ask you. Once I had the product and was able to look at, it's lightweight, as you said. It's stackable, it's easy to to manage, and I was very impressed with it. Then you had to learn about selling and shipping and all those things as well, didn't you?

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

I sure did.

Christine Foley:

I sure did. But again, it's just about a know.

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

I bet,

Christine Foley:

I bet. The question you want to ask me is why eight in a box?

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

Right.

Christine Foley:

Like why eight in a box? Because the average wedding today we book, We sit with a bride is 15 wedding centerpieces, right? 15. They have to guarantee 150 people. So a minimum of 15 tables. So the average florist would get you, we always wanna bring in extra right? In case they add on a table. So that's how up with, Two cases. Would, I would say for an average florist to start with, us at the store we have 60 because sometimes our pieces are grand and we use two caddies. So it's really in the purpose of, wow, I never have to think when I design a centerpiece, whether it's a low$200 piece or$150 piece for a low centerpiece to use one caddy, or it's a brand$400 piece,

Sharon McGukin:

two caddies? One above the other.

Christine Foley:

Yes. You know how you got the when you got them in the box. Tell me what your experience was when you opened that box. Like

Sharon McGukin:

I personally believe presentation is everything. So when I opened the box, you had them nicely tied together with a beautiful green ribbon, and I was

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

able to pick

Sharon McGukin:

them up both at the same time. And I surmised that if you had a larger arrangement that had draping materials, you would. Stack them accordingly, however, the height you needed. Then I took them apart to see what it felt like individually and then looked to see how many different containers the product fit and it was impressive.

Christine Foley:

Thank you. Yeah, so you know when you say that too, so it's not only do I use them for centerpieces, like you said in the beginning, Hey, what about. When you flip it over. So I wanted to give that value to my, manufacturer to say,"Hey, could we make this hollow that put a, A cylinder in there?" Because when it's warm out and we have to pull our bridal bouquets. I put the cylinders there and then I pull the recipe for my bouquets and put them in the cylinders. Then I take the whole caddy, I color code it and put it in the refrigerator. So there again, I'm optimizing. I'm measuring. No waste of time. So when my designers come in, they go to the refrigerator, they pull out the caddy and, oh, the Smith wedding. Oh, let's get to it. All the flowers are pulled.

Sharon McGukin:

I firmly believe in. That's how I did it when I had a flower shop. As we were processing, the person processing, had the list and could go ahead and divide out the flowers. Just as you say, because the lesser number of times you touch a flower, the more money you make from it. If you're constantly changing the flower from this bucket to that and you lose money in it.

Christine Foley:

Sharon, I can't believe you just said that because think about six different ways of Flowers transported. Right. It goes through from the vase to the caddy, and if it wasn't on the caddy, it would go into the refrigerator. It goes on a cart, it goes in the van, and then we have to get to the venue. How many times do you get to the venue and they're just either cleaning from the previous wedding? Or the tables aren't set up, but you're blocking and you have to move your vehicle, so you have to unload those centerpieces. Now, if you didn't bring a table to put them on, you're putting'em on the floor that the wedding just danced on. And if you know this, that when you go to a wedding and you're sitting at the table, it's the bottom of that centerpiece that your guests are looking at. So why would you want to compromise that?

Sharon McGukin:

Do you consider the number of weddings you have in a year and the number of times you use the flower caddy divide it out and say it actually cost about this much per wedding? I.

Christine Foley:

That is excellent. Yes. Uh, That is absolutely because I like most florists, we prepare, we do product costs and evaluation, and I build it into my bouquets. If I'm breaking, you know, flowers and centerpieces and all the breakage and the damage, absolutely. I don't know if you're aware, but there's 156 wedding days in a And that's just a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And you know, in today's world we're having weddings on a Monday, a Thursday, just one a day. So if you do the math 156, just taking that and you use it and you're just a florist that does well, I don't really do a lot of weddings, so maybe I do 10 a year. You just break down that value that you don't have to worry and, and just build it back in your product and it saves you from Joe, the driver going to get boxes, going to get buckets, the stacking of them. It saves you, Joe, the driver going to the van, fixing those sloppy wet blankets that we. Maneuver with, and nothing's dripping all over. We're looking professional. When we walk into the venue, whether they're on a cart or whether you're holding them, it's about your image too. In the industry, when people are going in looking at a venue, That's right. You've given a lot of great advice, but if you were giving advice to florists who think, know, I have this idea and I'm not sure about it, I think it would be a great solution to a problem that I have. What would be your first step? I know you say sit with it, but when you're sitting with it, what are you imagining the product or developing the idea, or do you start with reassessing what the problems are to lead you in a direction of coming up with a solution? When I said I sit with it, I already had the product I sat with it in the sense to say, how much more value, what else could I do to this square? In Tennessee that texted me and I didn't even think of this. He said,"Chris, really get out of it. It's easy on our You know, When you're picking up those centerpieces on the dish, you know your wrist really takes a beating where the leverage with caddy, is better support. And he brought that to my attention and he's a young guy. So that. was pretty nice to hear that. right, that's right. So what I would say is this, work backwards. Work with your vision. First, sit down and write down your vision and then implement the steps on Like, you know, what do you, what do you see in your vision? Like, I saw this, so who would I need to speak to? And I, and I'm gonna say this, don't get to discouraged, when my staff would say to me, Chris. You,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

you know, you

Christine Foley:

really gonna do this? And I said, well, listen, if I don't do this, tell me how we're getting those centerpieces there. You have another idea. You have something that we're gonna get these, we have three weddings this weekend. We have a lot to move around. Tell me how we're doing it. And they just looked and I said, this is why I'm gonna go ahead and go full arm with that and just have conversations. So I'd say sit down, write, write your vision down how you see it, and then just break it down. Break little and have conversations. You know, go to the Inventors club, you know, share your there. and you'll get a lot of great feedback actually. Just even go on the website, National Inventors Club. That's where you look and get started, and any way I could support you, I will just reach out to me. I'd be happy to guide you

Sharon McGukin:

that. One thing I always think also, whenever I'm addressing a problem, one of my first thoughts is someone that I know has information or can help me with this. And I always try to start out thinking who would have the best input. So when you are discussing a problem for the first times, you're getting valuable input. But we usually know somebody that could help us.

Christine Foley:

And if not somebody, somebody knows somebody. It's,

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

it's all

Christine Foley:

about those conversations and not being stuck. In just one way to do it right, because you're gonna have people that aren't floists, that's they either roll their eyes or I don't know, that's cri because remember, people don't see what they don't see if they can't see themselves doing it. They're not always gonna inspire you to do it, so you really have to be your own advocate and believe what's within you and how strong your passion is for your vision, mission, purpose, and

Sharon McGukin:

think you

Christine Foley:

yeah.

Sharon McGukin:

and say, what problem do I wish I had a solution for? a list of those items also. And what takes the most of your time, the most of your energy? Needs, the most inspiration to be accomplished.

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

a, you know,

Christine Foley:

This wedding season, sit down with your team. What's working, what's not? And how can we optimize, measure, and really look at our efficiency and how we could work better as a team and bring ideas and support each other in those

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

That and,

Christine Foley:

And try it, even if you're not really gung-ho on one of your lead designers ideas, just to empower him, say, you know what? Sure, let's give that a try because you just never know what could.

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

and you know,

Christine Foley:

all that morale when, when we're just approaching wedding season, really truly makes a difference.

Sharon McGukin:

Because it's continual, it goes from one wedding to the next. There's not really a reevaluation time unless you make your self do it like January and June are a good time to look at your pricing, look at what's working, what's not working, and also when you really have a challenging wedding is a good time to look at it too. I know for myself, you had to sit down and make a time to reevaluate everything, to check the accuracy of your prices for each year.'cause sometimes it slides in there and you're not making the money that you think you are because things have gone up and you haven't I personally came in from a wedding that was really challenging. It was cold, it was raining, it was a miserable night, and I sat down and made myself realign my pricing right then when I was miserable before I allowed myself a hot shower. We want to be so gracious to the people that we serve that sometimes we're a little over gracious to them. So you need to set a time period like again, January and June are really good to look at your pricing, your structure, your service, what's working, what's not working, or do like I did do it when you're really miserable because that makes you a lot more alert to what has changed and maybe I haven't.

Christine Foley:

Perhaps you should look at after that wedding, after that crazy weekend, have an eight o'clock meeting on Tuesday while it's fresh in your mind to really sit down to say, oh, you know, we did that wedding and the ceremony was supposed to be outside, and then they called it off last minute'cause of the rain. And now we had to all do it inside. Did we allocate for that? Did we that? You know, We had to keep four crew members back because we had to do breakdown. You know, These are all different things that you have to measure and monitor that. In the store we have all our weddings for May, all our weddings for April, all our weddings for March, even little events to say, okay, how are we going into this next third week? How prepared are we? All our setups done? Are things color coded? What will we start on a Monday to a Wednesday to execution on Thursday? And you could see, and you can implement things as the months progress in the season to see what's working what's not. It's just a conversation with your team and ask the questions. oh, I didn't know that it was going into overtime after 12 o'clock. To one o'clock, all the cocktail hours, an hour and a half, you know, things like that that really shift when you're setting up for wedding and events. Get used to using the same mechanics, like for example. In the delivery van, the way that we position flowers to deliver them, or certain vases that we are using on a regular basis, or just any of the materials that we become ingrained in using them, we need to stop and look and see are there new products that work better? Do I need to upgrade the look of this, that it's not just the pricing that needs an upgrade, but the materials that you work with and products you work with. And also the way that you work a wedding. Absolutely. You know When your team comes in, right? You have four or five employees there, you figure you know what you're paying them an hour times six because there's six people in an hour and they want production, and one may be quicker than other. You know, you have to think who's doing what job to say. Well, who's pulling the flowers? It's taken them so long to pull all the flowers. If you had a system, you had to, flip the Caddy over, put your cylinders in it and pull all your blossoms, that you're not waiting to do that on the day before game day to pull your blossoms to realize inferior or to realize. You never ordered that and now all the tension erupts, right? And we've all been there. So it's really about seeing how you could be more efficient in what you're doing to save time and money and energy with your staff. Does that make sense?

Sharon McGukin:

think our listeners inherently know these things, but you don't stop to say, I need to analyze how I'm employing these.

Christine Foley:

right. right. Or what, what exactly are you doing to make a better workflow during wedding week? Because you're stressed Because you know, you sat with the bride, you told them what you were gonna do, and now you just have to execute that and have it arrive as pristine as perhaps when you made a sample of your centerpiece, or when you show them blossoms and there's things that you know pop up that. You know, they didn't arrive right or on time, but it's really in the projection of how you create your week and set the team up for success through each day of the week. And I bet if you just took your first wedding season or the first month of your wedding season and said, you know what, I'm gonna go into measure and monitor and optimize how we're gonna do things from Joe, the driver, setting up the trucks to setting up the refrigerator. And putting the workload on the board how we're going to do it differently and use the tools and do some research. Is there anything else out there to make me do my job better

Sharon McGukin:

I think also it's very important to do as many of the wedding tasks in the early parts of the week, or slow days of a different instead of waiting till its prime over time, pay. If a lot of those jobs are already accomplished when it comes to the week of the wedding, or they are accomplished in the first two days of the wedding, then you're less likely to have to pay overtime when you have the whole wedding team in place because you've done a lot of the work in advance. Florists Go from one crisis to another. One holiday, one event, one wedding, but they sometimes get a little behind in prepping ahead of time. But that's one way to save money is to prepare everything that can be prepared in advance. For example, when you are processing the flowers, you know what's going into the centerpieces. We've already talked about what's going in the bouquets and divide that out. But you can also bucket those flowers together. So you bring out the centerpiece buckets, you, bring out the outdoor arrangement buckets. Instead of putting them all in separate buckets and then having to take all the buckets and count the stems out. Count the stems

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

as you're processing.

Christine Foley:

that's why they give us January and that's why us, after Valentine's Day for us to say,"Hey, we have weddings coming up in April and May. Did we, did we Oasis up the Lomey dishes?

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

Right.

Christine Foley:

So they're already done. Yeah. So pull, all the different things that we need, the cylinders and the hard goods that they're already pulled and tagged for the weddings that when that week comes, we just have to focus on processing the flowers. And

Sharon McGukin:

of your products

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

also

Sharon McGukin:

in advance because if you can't run to the wholesaler and pick something up, perhaps they're out of it also, then you should have placed that order in advance so you know you have it in shop.

Christine Foley:

Correct. And that is where you develop your relationships You have those conversations so they like

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

our

Christine Foley:

our store is not the same as

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

Yes.

Christine Foley:

store around the corner, you know, everybody's different level of quality is different, but long as you

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

art

Christine Foley:

articulate that and really share that with who your sales rep is, they know what they have to look at and you share with what's coming up. It's all inspect what you expect, You know, you have that wedding, you know what you need. Have those conversations once again.

Sharon McGukin:

to be productive, not to wait to be rescued.

Christine Foley:

Absolutely. You have to be your own advocate and be a stand for what you say

Sharon McGukin:

I

Christine Foley:

Yeah.

Sharon McGukin:

much for being with us. Congratulations. It's a great product and

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

I wish you.

Sharon McGukin:

much

Christine Foley:

I thank you.

Sharon McGukin:

it. And then we'll look to see what you come up with next.

chris-foley_1_02-28-2025_112529:

I appreciate you and I appreciate the Smithers team and it's been a pleasure and I'm here for any florist out there who needs any support in any way I could help them and support them. I thank you. I appreciate your time.

Sharon McGukin:

with Floral Hub on the oasisfloralproducts.com website can find the you that accompanies this podcast.

sharon--_1_02-28-2025_112530:

You'll

Sharon McGukin:

Be able to see some photographs there that obviously we can't share here. We appreciate you very much, Christine.

Christine Foley:

Thank you.

Sharon McGukin:

Smithers-Oasis, North America, Chris and I want to thank you for joining us today. If you've enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and be sure to hit subscribe. You don't want to miss the inspired solutions our upcoming guests will share with you for your personal or business growth. next time, I'm Sharon McGukin reminding you that like the unfurling petals of a flower, we grow by changing form, inspiration in like raindrops, absorbing energy from others, like warmth from the sun. growth opens us up to new ideas and that's How we Bloom...........

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Sharon McGukin AIFD, AAF, PFCI

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Sharon McGukin AIFD, AAF, PFCI

Host