Tim Huckabee has been working since 30 years in the floral industry. With The Profitable Florist, he trains florists to help them increase their sales and run their business. Let’s learn more about him.

Hi Tim, Can you describe your background in a few words?

The ‘cliff notes’ version is that I have a background in marketing and have spent my entire career focused on helping companies to expand and improve their customer experience. I am proud to be celebrating my 30th year in the floral industry. After living in New York City for decades I recently moved to Amsterdam.

Can you tell us the story behind The Profitable Florist? 

The concept evolved when I was working at Surroundings Flowers in New York City in the early 90s. Part of my job was calling florists when we had out of town orders. In so many of those casual conversations I realized that I was working at a very organized and prosperous shop - and that we were operating in a way many shops were not. That was the genesis of my idea to package all of our best practices, along with sales and customer care, and literally bring it to the industry one shop at a time

What services do you provide in the US?

We offer retail florists a host of options including live workshops for their team on sales and service, one-on-one business coaching with owners, a Mystery Shopper Call program, a monthly LIVE design workshop series and an online library of dozens of pre-recorded workshops. Additionally, I still make occasional on-site training visits. 

What do you like about SecondFlor?

That’s an easy question, the product is amazing. When I toured the headquarters in southern France I was astonished to see, touch and smell such true works of art. I really do think it’s done with magic! Also, I was impressed with the attention to detail on packaging, shipping and customer service, all just as important as having a great product.

What would be 3 ingredients for a profitable business in the flower industry?

1. Have a passion for the business since it’s not easy, you work very hard and you’re not going to get rich!

2. Hire the right people, treat them well, pay them fairly and invest in their professional growth, 

3. Don’t worry about the competition, instead, stay focused on giving customers the best experience when they call, visit or shop your store online. 

What projects do you have for the future?

We are very excited for 2024 since we are evolving our brand by launching a new app for the industry that will revolutionize the way orders are filled by designers,  enabling them to save time and money on every order while improving their accuracy.

Enjoy free tips from Tim Huckabee every month in our newsletters. If you want to learn more about his training workshop, visit The Profitable Florist’s website.