Are you really too small to invest in your floristry business?

Any of these sound familiar?

“I’d love to do that, but I’m not big enough yet.”

“I’ll invest in my marketing when I’ve got more customers.”

“I’ll look at better systems when I’m busier.”

“I’ll spend money on that when the business has grown a bit.”

As fellow small business owners, we completely understand where that thinking comes from. When you run a small floristry business, every pound matters and investing in something new can feel like a much bigger decision than it does for a business with deeper pockets.

But there’s a  flip side to this. You won’t get to the next stage of growth without investing in the things that help you get there.

That investment might be in your marketing. It might be better systems, new products, training, tools, equipment or something that frees up your time. It doesn’t have to mean spending thousands, and it certainly doesn’t mean saying yes to everything that promises to grow your business.

It means learning to make considered decisions about where an investment could help you work smarter, reach more customers, make more sales or become more profitable.

And that is exactly what The Glow Up at FleurEx is designed to get you thinking about...but with a fun twist.

Welcome to Glow Up: The Game!

This year at FleurEx, we’re teaming up with Strelitzia Software, OASIS® Floral Products, Vianen Flowers and Floralife, with the support of the British Florist Association, to bring you an exciting and interactive floristry business game with a difference.

You’ll make your way through different parts of running a floristry business, making choices along the way.

Spend here? Save there? Invest in this? Give that one a miss? Each decision has a potential impact on your business and ultimately, on your profits. And yes, Queen Bee will be eagerly waiting for you at the marketing stage.

We’ll be challenging you to think about whether investing in your marketing could help you sell more effectively and make more from the customers you already have, rather than simply hoping that word of mouth and a good wind will do all the heavy lifting.

The aim isn’t to tell you that spending money automatically equals success. Far from it. It’s to show how careful, considered investment can create a return and help you think about where that investment might make most sense for your business.

But here’s the bit we really like…

You don’t have to play The Glow Up Game just once. In fact, we’d actively encourage you not to.

Go through once and frivolously invest in everything. What happens?

Then go again and invest in nothing. How does that affect your final profit?

Then play it as you genuinely run your business now. Which decisions feel familiar? Where do you spend? Where do you hold back?

And then perhaps try it one more time, changing just one or two things. What happens if you invest in your marketing for the first time? What if you choose a better business system? What if you put some money behind something you’ve always thought, “Maybe one day…”?

Suddenly, you’re not just playing a fun game. You’re experimenting with different versions of your business without any of the real-world risk. You can test, compare, change your mind and step slightly outside your comfort zone. And see how a different decision at one point in the journey can affect what happens further down the line.

We think that’s where The Glow Up Game could get really interesting…and competitive!!

Because “not yet” can become a habit

There will always be sensible reasons not to spend money. And we’d never advocate investing in something simply because somebody tells you that you “should.” But there’s also a point where continually waiting until your business is bigger can become the very thing that stops it getting bigger.

Maybe you don’t need to invest in five new things this year. Perhaps there’s just one thing that could make a noticeable difference. The Glow Up Game gives you the chance to play around with those possibilities before deciding what, if anything, feels right for you.

And we suspect there may be a few moments along the way where we hear a penny drop.

Come and have a go at FleurEx

You’ll find The Glow Up Game at FleurEx 2026, taking place on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October 2026 at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham. The British Florist Association’s annual weekend brings together florists, suppliers and industry names for flowers, business, learning and connection.

And importantly, The Glow Up Game is completely FREE with your general FleurEx admission!

Come and play it once. Play it four times. Make some wildly uncharacteristic business decisions just to see what happens. Then have another go and make the choices that feel much more like you. You might leave with a different view of where your next bit of business investment could take you.

Buy your FleurEx tickets via the British Florist Association.