There are loads and loads of courses and workshops on offer, from books to online courses, in-person workshops and 1:1 coaching. They are often advertised in the winter - especially to flower farmers and growers because this is our ‘down time’. We all have limited budget and time - so how do we decide where to spend our money?

Where to start?

Ideally, you will already have planned where you want your business to develop - in the short and longer term. A business plan is a great start. Set yourself a budget that you are comfortable with spending. I have done this for the last 4 years and it means I can confidently spend up to that amount and feel it is a sensible and proportionate, guilt-free investment. I know it’s a cliche, but it really is an investment. I am the centre of my business, so investing in my skills has been as important as investing in plants and polytunnels.

The next step is to look at yourself and what you want to learn or where you want to develop. This might be simple factual information that you could get from a book e.g. step-by-step bookkeeping, or simple techniques in flower growing, ideas for combining colours in arrangements etc. Or you may want to move on a step and learn more subtle skills eg making a bouquet, more technical growing skills, photography. Or, you may want to broaden your floral design mind, or meet some influential people, or get some great professional photos for your website. Or you might want to do something completely different (but might take your business in a different direction one day) e.g. basket-making, ceramics, calligraphy.

I try to have one or two specific things that I want to focus on each year and I’ll look for workshops to meet each of those, if I can. Last year it was photography and foam-free installations for weddings. This year it will be dyeing and more photography (esp post-production handling and video), but I also really want to get out and see some other grower-florist plots.

Me, on a workshop with Sarah Statham @simplybyarrangement, including foam-free wedding work.

How to choose?

So, you've narrowed down what you think you need. Look around for courses to meet your needs. ask people what courses they have done and how they found them. Check the websites of people you follow and admire - see what courses they offer. Look for on-line, in-person group workshops as well as one-off events and consider a 1:1 or 1:2 designed especially for you.

Criteria to weigh up:

Will the course meet your objectives? Look closely at the course content:
- How applicable is the content to you and your business? If you want to learn about growing flowers for sale, look for a course which focuses on flower growing for sale. not for photos or for garden visitors. If you want to learn how to do foam-free bowl arrangements, make sure they will not be using foam
- Is it the right level? - If you're already confident with using your digital camera, look for a styling or specialist flower photography course rather than an intro course.
- Does the course match your values - eg on sustainability, use of home-grown flowers, use of technology.
- Does the course match your conditions - eg if it’s about growing, are the conditions, varieties and timings relevant to you?
The tutor/s - do they know how to do what you want to learn?
- If you want to know how to do weddings, are they, or have they been, a successful wedding florist?
- If you want to learn how to grow flowers to make a profit, are they doing this too, or is it a hobby?
- Do they seem to love the same things as you - the same type of flowers, colours.
- Does their experience match up to what you need to learn?
- Do you value their opinions and do you think you will enjoy learning from them?
Size of group - the bigger the class size, the less personal attention you will have.
- If you want personal contact and guidance from the tutor, then a smaller class will be more likely to give you this.
- A 1:1 will give you undivided attention and coaching and guidance specifically geared to what you want to achieve.
- The smaller the class, the higher the cost will be. As I’ve moved from needing knowledge and practical skills towards much more subtle floristry skills, I prefer fewer, smaller workshops.
- Who else might be on the course? You will often learn lots from other people and courses can be a great way to meet and keep in touch with people.
Cost - This is the million-dollar question. Think of the cost as an investment of real cash but also of your time. And there may be travel and accommodation costs too. No-one can answer this for you - but try to assess the value that you will get from the course. This will depend on where you are in your business. If you are a grower, aiming to sell wholesale, then the very expensive ‘experience’ type courses with big-name floral designers might not be right for you. You might be better with on-line or group workshops. But if you want to be able to promote high end work to big budget brides and events, then this is an investment you might want to make. Be critical, ask questions and ask other people. 1:1 sessions may look expensive, but can be great value for the money and time.
Timing and location - I am much more likely to want to go on a course either in person or on-line in winter. On-line courses are great for fitting around other work - especially in the winter when the weather is variable. I can work on wet days and the long evenings, and go outside when it’s dry. But If I only did courses in winter, I would never get to see another flower farmers fields in full flow, or to use someone else’s home-grown flowers. So I will do longer courses and on-line courses in winter, and then short courses or visits in spring-autumn, so long as they are at the beginning of the week.

On-line courses mean you can fit the course around your other commitments

I hope this helps find your way through all the myriad of exciting opportunities out there. Remember that social media can be misleading - great tutors may not always have the most glamorous Instagram feeds, and vice versa, an amazing feed does not always a great Tutor make…. so find out as much as you can before making your decisions. We have a tendency to ignore our own local talent and look further afield. The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the Ocean!

Make your money count and enjoy whatever you decide to go for.

Thanks to Heather of @BorealBlooms who let me use some of her criteria