Beyond the Roses: Navigating the Post-Valentine's Business Boom
You made it. The clickers made it. Valentine's Day 2024 is in the books — Mark even remembered this year, arriving with a heart-shaped pizza and the pickleball set from Lori's 2024 goal list. After a little Lent talk (neither host is a give-up-chocolate person; Vonda is adding outreach to neglected family members, Lori is working on her recreational cursing), the episode gets down to business: what a flower shop should do in the days right after the biggest holiday of the year. Consider it your reset checklist.
Debrief while it's fresh — and take notes
Reading through the members-only Facebook group, the hosts saw mostly success — some shops flat, some up 10%, a couple slightly down. The fascinating part was how inconsistent the details were: some pockets sold huge numbers of red roses while others sold almost none and moved colors instead; some shops sold out of trendy designs first while others couldn't give them away next to traditional. There's no universal answer — which is exactly why Vonda insists you document your own holiday now: what was hot, delivery counts, the weather, all of it. Those notes are invaluable next January.
Then hold the staff meeting. Lori's agenda: decompress, ask what went well, what the challenges were, and what people would like to see done differently — and make sure everyone feels heard. Vonda adds the framework she learned from Dan Fisher of Fitz Design: what we did right, what we can do better, and what we should do next year — in that order, starting with the wins. And give shout-outs to every single person, down to the drivers and flower processors. It takes the whole team to survive this holiday.
Flip the store and aim at what's next
Get the hearts out and the spring in — a fresh store resets the team's mood as much as the customers'. Refresh green plants and permanent botanicals (Sarah Botchick's recent episode is full of ideas there), and move your gifts around even if you don't buy new ones; every store has a hot spot. Then build vignettes for what's coming: weddings — Valentine's Day is reportedly the number-one engagement day of the year, so brides are thinking about flowers right now — plus prom and Easter. Lori went to Target on Valentine's afternoon and found a full row of Easter already set. That's thinking ahead.
For prom specifically, now is the moment to decide: will you run a corsage bar? How will you market it? Are you contacting the high schools? If you've never navigated school outreach, ask on the florist social accounts — plenty of shops have done it and will share. Check inventory while suppliers are running sales, and get organized early, because prom season often lands right on top of Mother's Day.
Attitude, rest, and the junk-food reset
The post-Valentine crash is real — that adrenaline high ends and everyone drops. The hosts' reminder: positive attitude starts at the top. Your team follows your mood, so if you need to pout, do it in the office for a minute, then come out ready. That doesn't mean skipping rest: Vonda knows friends leaving on week-long cruises, and some members simply closed the day after Valentine's — announced by email, staff rested, and as a bonus, no day-after complaint calls. Your staff earned it.
Healthy habits need a reset too. Holiday weeks run on stress-eating — brownies, chips, cheese, whatever delivers quick energy — and both hosts freely admit they'd gravitate to the same table. Nobody's judging the Valentine's-week menu; the point is to consciously get back to real food and real self-care now that the rush is over.
Appreciation is why people stay
The deepest thread comes from research Lori has been doing for an upcoming presentation on empathy: across corporate exit interviews, employees who leave almost never cite money — they say they didn't feel valued or appreciated. The employees who feel appreciated are the ones who stay. Meanwhile, a Forbes article found bosses worry that being too empathetic will make them look soft — a disconnect psychologists say will take years to balance out. Lori's personal connection runs deep: she grew up being labeled "just sensitive," and only in college psychology classes discovered the word empath — and that she wasn't alone or weird. The good news for every shop owner: empathy can be learned, with self-awareness and practice, and it shapes your entire shop culture. A full episode on the topic is coming.
On the road
Lori and Ellie head to San Diego for SAF NextGen — Lori presenting on empathy, Ellie on a marketing panel — then straight to the Great Lakes Floral Expo in Grand Rapids to teach their leadership-style session plus a photography-and-Canva class. After that: Des Moines in April for a photo shoot and education program. If you're near any of them, it's not too late to register.
Key takeaways
- Document this Valentine's Day now — sales mix, deliveries, weather — because what sold varied wildly shop to shop.
- Run a debrief meeting: what we did right, what we can do better, what we'll do next year — and recognize every single team member.
- Flip the store fast: spring, wedding vignettes (engagement season just started), prom, and Easter.
- Protect rest — closing the day after a major holiday is a legitimate, even smart, choice.
- Appreciation is retention: employees leave over feeling unvalued far more often than over pay.