We are pleased to introduce you to your speakers for FloriCon 2023!
Over the 14th and 15th October there will be 3 sessions of speakers each day, aimed at inspiring you in your work and reigniting your enthusiasm for maintaining a healthy business. The Stevenson theatre holds around 200 people so pick the session you’d like to attend and head on over at the right time to claim your spot. It will be a first come first served scenario and these topics are not to be missed!
Saturday 14th October: Stephenson Theatre
11-12pm Queen Bee: Blossoming with AI: 10 ways it can help your marketing flourish
We’ve all sat in front of a blank screen waiting for inspiration to strike or struggled to put into words what we want to say to our customers; that’s where Artificial Intelligence comes in to save the day!
As well as being a great time saving tool it can also provide inspiration when you need that creative spark. We’ll be sharing our top 10 ways you can use AI right NOW to help with everything from your blogs, to email writing, and social media captions…to name a few! Whether you’re an AI newbie or would like some extra tips and tricks to improve the output we’ll be covering all the dos and don’ts, giving you an AI freebie and opening the floor to your questions. We’ve also got something exciting up our sleeves, which will be exclusive to those attending FloriCon, so make sure you come along!
1-2pm Google Digital Garage: Google Analytics
Rikesh Valand and Ann-Marie Ivanova are both digital skills trainers, Their presentation will take us on an in-depth tour of Google analytics to help you understand and use the information available to you effectively.
3-4pm 93ft Design Studio: SEO for a flourishing business
Joe Lane, Eleanor O’Connor and Robin Eyre, SEO Specialists
93 are an independent creative design studio with a collective passion for storytelling. They collaborate, create and build holistic brand experiences.
Joining creative strategy, 2D, digital, interior design and architecture together to bring brands to life and help build meaningful connections to audiences.
93 will be taking to us about SEO for flourishing floral businesses.
Sunday 15th October: Stevenson Theatre
11-12pm Andy Willcox: Having a successful business and a motivated team.
The 7-11-4 Proven Success Formula to Grow Your Florist Business
Andy Willcox from the Entrepreneurs Circle has helped thousands of businesses from across the country with their marketing as well as sourcing and retaining customers. Being a marketer for many years and running his own businesses too, you can be sure he’s sharing tried and tested techniques. Bring a notepad and pen as you’ll go away with practical nuggets that you can implement into your business tomorrow.
In this high-energy session, Andy will be sharing real life stories from florists and the tactics that they used to grow their own florist businesses and motivate their team.
1-2pm Paul Ince: Social Media, The things to know right now.
Paul Ince is the CEO of LikeMind Media. He has helped a range of industries create, develop and implement marketing strategies that will help them to succeed.
In this session Paul will talk us through some important things to know right now for a successful social media strategy. In an ever changing world of algorithms and platforms Paul will guide us and help us to see what is most important for your business. In this talk we’ll have a good amount of time for Q and A so get your most perplexing questions at the ready. All the sharing and discussing is bound to leave you full of new strategies and creative social media ideas…. Bring your note pad!
3pm-4pm Queen Bee: Blossoming with AI: 10 ways it can help your marketing flourish
We’ve all sat in front of a blank screen waiting for inspiration to strike or struggled to put into words what we want to say to our customers; that’s where Artificial Intelligence comes in to save the day!
As well as being a great time saving tool it can also provide inspiration when you need that creative spark. We’ll be sharing our top 10 ways you can use AI right NOW to help with everything from your blogs, to email writing, and social media captions…to name a few! Whether you’re an AI newbie or would like some extra tips and tricks to improve the output we’ll be covering all the dos and don’ts, giving you an AI freebie and opening the floor to your questions. We’ve also got something exciting up our sleeves, which will be exclusive to those attending FloriCon, so make sure you come along!
Business Drop in Sessions
Our Business drop in sessions were popular last year, allowing you to connect personally with the speakers and really interact with your peers. Sharing ideas and making new and valuable connections.
Kelvin Room
Saturday
| TIME | HOST |
| 10.30-11am | Claire Foster: Working Smarter – Oasis Floral Products |
| 12.15-12.45pm | Nikki Meader: Revamp & Bloom – A 12-month journey of floral shop transformation. |
| 2.15-2.45pm | Corrine Heck:Details Flowers, How software can streamline your business. |
Claire Foster: Working Smarter – Oasis Floral Products
!At Smithers Oasis we are very focused on empowering florists to work smarter and make more money, and to educate on how FloraLife products can help, so I will be touching on the 3 Step Care Plan as well as lots of helpful tips for florists.
Nikki Meader: Revamp & Bloom – A 12-month journey of floral shop transformation.
Your BFA Chair hosts a business drop in to connect with our members. Nikki will be discussing and engaging on these 5 points so come along and learn from each other.
- Offering Unique Experiences to build loyalty around your brand.
- Sustainable Practices
- Collaboration & Partnerships
- Trend Awareness
- Data Driven Decisions utilise analytics.
Corrine Heck: Details Flowers, How software can streamline your business.
Corrine Heck founded Details Flowers Software to help event florists manage and scale their businesses effortlessly. Over the past 20+ years, she’s had experience in just about every part of the floral industry — transitioning from event designer to software developer to CEO along the way.
Corrine’s Details Flowers Software has grown from an idea hatched almost a decade ago into a robust solution with thousands of users spanning the globe.
After winning the Rollins College Sponsored Venture Pitch Grand Prize in 2016, Corrine used that momentum to continue her mission: helping event florists grow their bottom line with custom-designed automation software. From there, she hasn’t stopped improving Details. Every update and every feature rollout is thoughtfully designed and implemented by her in-house, completely U.S.-based, female-led team to help florists run their businesses successfully each and every day.
The Society of American Florists recognised Corrine’s tireless dedication to the floral industry and inducted her into the Professional Floral Communicators International. In 2022, Details Flowers Software was recognised as one of GrowFL’s Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies. Corrine was awarded the Most Charitable Woman in Volusia County, one of Inc Magazine’s Top 200 Female Entrepreneurs 2023, and received the University of Florida’s Gator100 Award distinction in 2023.
Details Flowers Software is the official software and essential procurement tool for the American Institute of Floral Designers annual symposium. Details’ is headquartered in Ormond Beach, Florida, where Corrine lives with her husband of 22 years and their three children.
Sunday
| TIME | HOST |
| 10.30-11am | Jo Biddle: Which qualifications will benefit you and your team. |
| 12.15-12.45pm | Duncan Gates: Flower sustainability and Fair trade Certification |
| 2.15-2.45pm | Helen: Perennial |
Jo Biddle
Training and Education director for the BFA, Jo is an established floral industry tutor with a solid 10 year+ commercial background. Understanding which qualifications will benefit you personally or that of your staff can be confusing. Does investing in training really work? It’s a question many florists ask themselves, but it is vital to the survival of our industry. Jo will let you know in this session all about up to date qualifications available to you, how to support your staff and/or how to manage an advanced course to further your own knowledge.
Duncan Gates
Duncan Gates has worked in the Fairtrade Foundations operations team for many years, helping UK businesses of all kinds to establish and grow Fairtrade commitments. He will be covering the benefits and impact of working with Fairtrade, and the ways in which independent florists can get involved.
Helen: Perennial
Perennial the trade charity for everyone working in the industry, join us to tell you all that is available from this amazing charity.
The challenges and pressures facing people in horticulture are very real and today, so the session will be concentrating on wellbeing.
- Financial wellbeing
- Physical wellbeing
- Mental wellbeing
Helen Waddington is the Head of Development at Perennial, joining in 2001 she helped develop the client-facing services that Perennial offers today.
As Head of Development, she works directly with the industry and stakeholders to not only take part in service activities but to influence and shape our future service.
Helen has always worked within the Advice Sector with Degrees in Advice Law and Employment and Social Studies, she has previously worked with Central and Local Government within disability, welfare benefit specialist, supporting the self-employed and refugees. Additionally, she comes from a family who work within the horticultural industry, including Gardeners, Landscape Architects and Green Keepers, so has a personal understanding of the industry.
Pascal Room
Saturday and Sunday
| TIME | HOST |
| 10-4pm | Google Digital Garage: A google surgery to answer all your questions. Google business, Google maps, analytics, SEO and more! |
Arkwright Room
Saturday and Sunday
| TIME | HOST |
| 10-4pm | Good Florist Guide: Canva tips, Mailchimp made easy and how to make pocketierres. |
Mental Health
PERENNIAL
Our partner perennial will be on hand in the restaurant area of the show (Just off the coffee and tea station area) to talk to you. Perennial are a charity set up to help people and families in our industry. They can help you with financial worries or overwhelming feelings. Drop in to see them at anytime during the show!
