Discover the best free marketing tools to support your small business, from email marketing and CRM to automation platforms and analytics tools. Marketing doesn’t need to be expensive to be effective. For small businesses with limited budgets, the right marketing tools can make a big impact, and many of them are free. Whether you're looking to automate tasks, manage customer relationships or monitor campaign performance, there are digital marketing tools available that cost n

How do you deal with a difficult bride without losing the contract? Karen Barnes shares her tips and explains why diplomacy is so important.

Su Whale shows how spring flowering bulbs can make profitable impulse purchases for Easter gifting.

Spring is one of the most vibrant and commercially exciting seasons for florists especially in the UK. From Mother’s Day to weddings and Easter displays, customer expectations are high and so are the stakes for freshness. As temperatures fluctuate between chilly mornings and mild afternoons, proper handling becomes critical. I have created a practical, season-focused guide to help extend vase life, reduce waste, and keep customers coming back for longer-lasting blooms. I alwa

Su Whale encourages us all to create more sales opportunities with houseplants.

Internal carbon pricing is quite a complicated concept and one which currently seems most relevant to large businesses and organisations rather than small businesses. However, it’s still important for small business owners to be aware of this aspect of sustainable operations and to have a basic understanding of its purpose and implementation. Internal carbon pricing is where a business places a monetary value on each tonne of carbon emissions it produces Calculating internal

Karen Barnes explains why PR matters and shares her tips for generating valuable free media coverage through careful planning.

Did you know that an unauthorised leave of absence could lead to disciplinary action or a misconduct claim for your employee? So what should you do if you have an employee who has taken an unauthorised leave of absence or an excessive absence from the business? In this article, we will take you through what an unauthorised leave of absence is and some of the common questions we get asked. If you require support in your legal issues and handling unauthorised absences, get in t

With the arrival of the new year, wedding consultations are beginning to pour in, signalling that this will be a busy wedding season.

Read Croner's latest guide to reporting and preventing workplace accidents and incidents.

For florists, running a successful business isn’t just about beautiful designs — it starts with smart buying. The flowers you choose, when you order them, and how you condition them all play a huge part in how happy your customers are and how profitable your shop or studio can be. That’s why we’ve created a brand-new free resource: “10 Tips for Buying Flowers Wholesale”. Wholesale flower buying can feel overwhelming at times. With hundreds of varieties available, fluctuating

Let’s take a familiar analogy, that of creating a bouquet, to explore some key steps that will support you to engage, serve & keep customers

Make the most of seasonal flowers and foliage.

When I started in this industry in the late 1980s funerals were a huge money spinner for florists, 10 tributes were not unusual, although they were mostly sprays, wreaths and posies. In the 1990s bespoke, carved and sprayed tributes became more popular and the range of bases that were available for this type of tribute expanded. There were still multiple tributes per funeral and this was an important revenue steam for every florist I ever worked for, funeral work was every

Risk assessments are an essential part of securing the health & safety of your employees.