The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1916-04-29

The Business Opportunities Offered
coIored Women in the Florist Busi.
ness.
I haye' been so busy out there on
the floor of the convention trying to
get life and annual memberships, as
you requested Dr. Washington, that
have almost forgotten the few words
intended to say on this important
subject. l want briefly to speak of
the opportunities offered the women
of our race in the florist business
This is a big, undeveloped field, which
should especially appeal to a woman
and it is one of the most profitable
enterprises a woman can engage in
| have found it to be very interesting
work and as healthful as it is interest
ing. Be it said to the credit of our
race, our people have always been
lovers of music and flowers. They
buy lots of flowers, especially for
funeral purposes, to say nothing of
weddings, entertainments, table deco
rations, yard and garden use in the
matter of bulbs and plants, graduating
exercises and for a number of other
purposes that will easily occur to you.
When I made my first report to you
at the Philadelphia meeting was the
only Negro florist in Kansas City,
Missouri, but since that time there
| have been two other ladies engaged in
| the same line of work. And we are
succeeding in educating and inducing
| our people as well as others to buy
! flowers for Christmas gatherings and
entertainments, Easter greetings,
Mothers Day, flowers to be used in
the home, in the church, in the Sun
day school, in the hospitals, at wed
dings, as we'll as for funeral designs.
So you see this is a business that can
| be pTofitably conducted the year
round, and the nature of which is ad-
mira bly, suited to womanly endeavor.
! Here in Boston there is a splendid
opportunity, indeed there is an oppor-
tunity for us in any section of this
country for pretty, well grown flowers
never draw the color line. The bust.
| ness requires comparatively small
capital start for as DR.. Washington
! has said you can begin at the bot
tom" and gradually increase your
stock and equipment until you are well
established. Another feature of this
business which is not true of the aver
age mercantile venture and that is
your flowers grow even while you are
asleep and the forces of nature are
in league with you in your endeavor
to succeed; when the men, when the
merchant closes his doors for the
night his income ceases, his stock is
depreciating in value; the air and
sunshine and moisture and the gentle
rain from Heaven mean but little to
him as an asset, but to the florist they
mean much, and even when the florist
retires, the buds will. burst forth and
blossom in the night. In connection
with my florist establishment l con
Quoted laundry agency which helped
to tide me over the operating expenses
and enabled me to make money from
the very beginning. / would not eX
aggerate the profits to be made in this
business at first for it takes time tC
grow plants and flowers, there are eX
penses to be met, and it also takes
time to win trade and build up any
kind of lucrative business but know
of no business more suited to women
and which promises an almost certain
profit if rightly conducted than the
florist business. The propagation OF
plants enables you to take one plant
for instance a geranium, and from
that one plant you can root a dozen
or more potted plants after little in
struction. Many florists of this coun
try have grown rich in the business
owning greenhouses and equipments
that run up into the hundreds of thou
sands of dollars and a large number
of them l can name started in
very humble way. Why can't we dc
likewise?s (Applause) Now I hope
when this league meets in Kansas City
next year (applause) we will be able
to hear reports from quite a number
of our young women to the effect thai
they have embarked and are succeed
ing in this same line of work. Yor
have a crowded program and there
fore l shall not detain you further.
, thank you" (Hearty applause).
: Mrs. Cox of Boston, Mass, said; :"
t want to correct Mrs. Weaver by say
ing that we have young woman wh'
: is in the florist business right here il
Cambridge
Mrs Weaver replied; 81 am delight
4 ed to know that"
}, 1t also developed that young co
ored women were engaged in the flol