For many people, a career as a florist is one that they would love to get into but don't know how. Some people take evening classes and it starts as a hobby and others start in a casual position in a florist to see if they can make it as an international florist.
Some people do take qualifications in order to become a florist, and there are various certifications that can be taken such as City and Guilds. For the really dedicated people, who want to become a top florist, they go on to take a related degree although this is less common.
The qualities needed to become a good florist are patience and above all a flair for design and colour. You need to be able to turn single stem flowers into a work of art and you need to understand the seasonality of flowers and which ones are suitable for flower arrangements.
If you end up owning your own florist you will need other business skills too such as good customer service and maybe doing your own accounts. Many of the smaller florists are one man bands, so you have to run all aspects of the business yourself from finance to marketing.
Being a florist can be a competitive business so you really need to stand out from the crowd to make a good living at it.
