Episode 14: Interview with Bill LaFever: Effects of Covid 19 on the floral industry and benefits of CARES Act
With shutdown rules changing by the county and shop owners drowning in questions about loans and payroll, Vonda and Lori bring in a guest with a rare view of the whole industry: Bill LaFever, owner of the Bill Doran Company — a wholesale florist with 25 locations in 18 states serving 32 — past president of the Wholesale Florist and Florist Supplier Association, and current chairman of the board of the Society of American Florists. One caveat the hosts and Bill make up front: this is education, not legal or accounting advice — take it to your own accountant.
The view from the wholesale side
The good news first: flowers are still growing and still moving. Farms in California and South America kept producing, and after a roughly seven-day pause, California trucking was set to resume shipping into Bill Doran branches. The company stayed open for pickup business in every location, even while running at about 25 percent of normal volume. Bill is candid that closing entirely would have saved money — but it would have crippled the retail florists who depend on them. "We need our retail florists to be as financially healthy as possible today, tomorrow, six months down the road," he says.
On the retail side, the picture varies wildly. Some shops closed their doors completely; others, still allowed to operate, were seeing a modest resurgence — partly because grocery chains had swapped their flower displays for pallets of water. The recurring theme: whether you can do curbside or delivery comes down to your local municipality, so check your specific rules. Lori notes many Flower Clique members were pleasantly surprised to get direct answers from their state and local governments about essential-business status.
From EIDL to the CARES Act
Bill walks through the federal relief landscape in plain English. "Supplemental one" declared the pandemic a national disaster and opened the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program — but it carries a heavy paperwork burden, requiring you to prove your working capital needs line by line. Supplemental two focused on family medical leave and hospitals. The newly passed third package — the CARES Act — is the one florists should focus on, and if you already started EIDL paperwork, it can convert into the new program.
How the Paycheck Protection Program math works
The centerpiece is the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Instead of proving working capital needs, your loan amount is based on payroll — which favors an industry like ours. The general math: take your total 2019 employee compensation (wages, healthcare benefits, payroll taxes — everything declared on your company taxes), divide by 12 for a monthly average, then multiply by 2.5 to cover a ten-week window. Vonda runs a sample: a $500,000-revenue shop with payroll at 30 percent has $150,000 in annual payroll, or $12,500 a month — times 2.5, a loan of $31,250. One important assumption in that math: no individual employee's pay over $100,000 counts, so read the affidavit carefully before signing.
The forgiveness piece is the headline. Use the money on payroll, rent, and utilities, and it can be washed away — with multiple paths, such as spending it across a ten-week period or having roughly 90 percent of staff re-employed by June 30. And it's not all-or-nothing: miss the criteria by 10 percent and only 10 percent of the loan stands. Whatever isn't forgiven converts to a ten-year loan capped at 4 percent interest, with the first payment not due until a full year after disbursement and no prepayment penalties. Bill's verdict: apply for the largest amount your real numbers support — "they are being about as business friendly as you could possibly imagine."
Should you wait? Don't.
Lori asks the questions on every owner's mind. Is it first come, first served? No — and Washington was already working on further supplements, knowing more help would be needed. Will taking this program lock you out of better ones later? No — just as the $10,000 EIDL quick advance rolls into PPP, a better future program would let you roll forward. What if June 30 arrives and you still can't rehire? There are multiple forgiveness routes, and you won't have to finalize decisions until your first payment is due, twelve months out. Bill's advice: start the process now, then talk specifics with your accountant — and if you don't have one handy, your chamber of commerce and local small business associations are running walkthroughs for exactly this.
Character revealed
Asked what's giving him life, Bill shares the quote he keeps repeating to himself: "challenges don't create character — challenges reveal character." He closes with a realistic but hopeful forecast: there will be washout at the grower, wholesale, and retail levels, but those who make it through will come out leaner, smarter, and with more opportunity. "Buckle down — the other side of this will definitely be a little sunnier."
Key takeaways
- Supply chains held up: flowers kept moving, and wholesalers like Bill Doran stayed open at reduced volume to support their retail customers.
- Your ability to deliver or do curbside depends on local rules — verify with your municipality rather than assuming.
- PPP loan amount = 2019 total payroll ÷ 12 × 2.5, excluding any individual pay above $100,000.
- Spending the funds on payroll, rent, and utilities can make the loan forgivable — and forgiveness is proportional, not all-or-nothing.
- Apply early, but don't panic: funding wasn't first come, first served, and better future programs were designed to roll forward.
Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist