Your shop runs - but it runs because you constantly:

• jump between tasks
• fix small issues on the fly
• personally control buying, production, replies, and decisions

This creates a feeling of being busy all the time, while profit and stability don’t improve as fast as effort. This is not a failure. It’s a classic operations bottleneck.

What this diagnosis really means.

You’re not overwhelmed because there’s too much demand. You’re overwhelmed because the system isn’t protecting you from chaos.

Typical signs at this stage:

• flowers stay longer than planned
• waste feels “manageable” but constant
• staff can’t fully replace you
• response speed depends on whether you’re available

The business works — but it’s fragile.
The goal here is not marketing or scaling.
The goal is stability and repeatability.

The 3 operational numbers that matter most (and how to calculate them)

1. Response Time - how fast orders are handled. This shows how efficiently demand turns into money.

How to calculate it:

• check message timestamp
• check time payment or confirmation was sent
• calculate the difference

What to look for:

• under 5 minutes → excellent
• 5–20 minutes → okay
• 30+ minutes → lost orders

Slow responses don’t feel dramatic - but they quietly kill conversion.

2. Shrink (Waste %) - how much money goes to the trash. Shrink shows how much of your flower budget is never sold.

How to calculate it (weekly):
Value of flowers thrown away
÷ Value of flowers bought
= Shrink %

Example:

• Bought flowers for $8,000
• Threw away $960

Shrink = 12%

What to look for:

• 5–8% → normal
• 10–12% → warning
• 15%+ → serious profit leak

Shrink is not a moral failure. It’s a signal.

3. Days to Sell - how fast flowers move through your shop. This shows how long flowers sit before being sold or wasted.

How to calculate it:

• Write down purchase date
• Write down sale or discard date
• Count the days in between

What to look for:

• 1–2 days → excellent
• 3 days → acceptable
• 4+ days → danger zone

Slow inventory increases waste and kills cash flow.

Your 14-day focus: stabilize operations and reduce chaos

Days 1–2:
Make flow visibleTrack days-to-sell for key flowers

• Calculate weekly shrink
• Measure average response time

You’re not fixing yet — just observing where pressure builds.

Days 3–5:
Identify friction pointsStart noting:

• where flowers get stuck
• when replies are delayed
• which tasks always require you personally

Patterns appear quickly. These are system problems, not people problems.

Days 6–8:
Introduce simple rulesExamples:

• limit how long any flower can stay on display
• define when slow-moving stock must be repackaged or promoted
• set response-time standards during open hours

Rules remove pressure from your head and put it into the system.

Days 9–11:
Reduce owner dependencyYou’ll start:

• using checklists instead of memory
• standardizing common bouquets
• defining “good enough” execution

This doesn’t lower quality — it protects consistency.

Days 12–14:
Lock in routinesshort daily operational check

• one weekly improvement decision
• clear responsibility per shift

This is how the business starts working with you, not against you.

• What success feels like after 14 daysfewer emergencies
• faster inventory movement
• less waste
• less need to personally control everything

The shop feels calmer — even on busy days. Not because demand dropped. But because operations became predictable.