Working with flowers can be a great flexi-time profession if you love them and are creative enough.

Shobna Vyas, who has been arranging flowers and marketing them for the last 17 years says, "You need to use your imagination to your fullest and come up with something new and exciting all the time."

Getting Started

Firstly, flower arrangement and flower making are two different things. Flower arrangement means the use of fresh flowers and flower making involves the use of artificial flowers and flowers made of bread, clay, etc.

So how do you start with it?

You can go for a basic course that would teach you the basic arrangements like hand bouquets and basket ones.

This costs about Rs.1000 for a day. "But you need to put in at least four days in all to get a good hang of it," says Shobna.

The advanced course would cost you about Rs.2000 and more, depending on the flowers. This ideally should be given a month of practise if you want to start out on your own.

The advanced level will teach you about chocolate bouquets, usage of dried flowers and how to preserve them, artificial flowers, etc.

"Different people teach different things, and not all may have knowledge about everything. For example, you can learn crystal bouquets, zardosi bouquets, silk, tissue, foil ones from someone, and the rest from elsewhere," adds Shobna.

These are an expensive affair and are usually meant for occasions like birthdays or sent to someone special on special days.

Also, baskets and vases are an important part of flower arrangement. There are plastic and cane baskets and wooden pieces as well. Glass and ceramic vases are often used for these arrangements.

You need to know how to use these well. Thus, give yourself some time before you branch out on your own.

Also Read: What it Takes to Freelance

Investment Needed

If you are starting out on a small scale (which you will have to initially), the maximum you need to invest is Rs.5000. This is when you are operating only amidst friends and family.

Also, the space you would need would be very less. A 2X4 table space is enough initially, but if you expand a little, a 10X10 room is enough.

Here you can add and store other materials like ribbons, sticks, baskets and even cards.

If you want to expand your business to include flower making, you will obviously need more space. This again depends on your expansion plans.