Flower business students worry about unsold flowers on rainy days.

(Baonghean.vn) - The unfavorable weather in Vinh City leading up to March 8th is causing anxiety among many young people engaged in seasonal business. "Some have more than enough, while others can't find anything" is perhaps the perfect saying to describe the mood of business owners these days.

People who make millions in profit

Phan Thi Ha, a third-year student at Vinh University, was busy arranging flowers to sell to customers. She shared: "Since our first year, we've been selling flowers during holidays. We're a close group of friends who pooled our capital. In the first year, we only invested less than 2 million VND, mainly selling to other students; later, we earned over 5 million VND, and after deducting expenses, each of us made a profit of 1 million VND. In subsequent years, we invested more capital."

March 8th is an opportunity for students to start businesses together to earn extra income. (Photo: PT - QA)

Le Thi Van, a student at Nghe An College of Education, said: “Before International Women’s Day, we pooled our money to import flowers from Hanoi. The first thing we did was arrange eye-catching flower baskets and post them on Facebook groups and fan pages to introduce our products.”

When customers want to buy flowers, our delivery team will deliver them to their doorstep completely free of charge. During holidays, in years with bad weather when we can't sell on the street, we only sell online. Some years, our income is three times higher than expected.”

With the boom of the technology era, many students not only sell directly at physical locations but also sell online, offering free shipping. This business method has helped many students increase their income many times over compared to traditional sales methods.

Man proposes, God disposes.

Nguyen Thi Huong, a final-year student at Vinh University, said that selling fresh flowers means accepting a 50/50 chance of success or failure.

"Last year on March 8th, my friends and I planned to gather flowers to sell, hoping to earn a little profit for expenses. From the beginning of March, the group assigned tasks to buy wrapping paper and silk ribbons, and learned flower arranging techniques online. However, because we hadn't researched the market properly, we imported too many roses, and then we encountered prolonged rain. By the end of March 8th, more than half of the flowers were still left, so we had to sell them at a loss and divide them among ourselves to put in vases," Huong shared.

This year, Huong and her group of friends continued their flower business, but it rained for several days in a row, making it difficult to recoup their investment.

The weather was an unexpected factor, and many young people wore raincoats to stay and carry their flower baskets. (Photo by Phuong Thuy)

Tran Hong Nhung, a student at Vinh Medical University, had 1 million VND in hand and borrowed another 1.5 million VND from friends to buy flowers at the wholesale market to sell near the university.

"The seller showed me how to preserve them, and I also searched online for ways to keep the flowers fresh longer. But because there were so many sellers, and it was raining, I spent nearly 3 million VND and haven't even earned half of it. Today is the end of March 7th. I'm not even thinking about selling flowers in the coming years," Hong Nhung complained.

According to the experience of some students who have been in the flower business for many years, the important thing is to understand the market, find suitable selling locations, and know how to communicate effectively. Don't just follow the crowd; you need to plan carefully to offer a diverse range of flowers while maintaining reasonable prices.

If the flowers aren't stored properly, they'll wilt before they're sold, and customers will complain. And importantly, you need to be eloquent in your sales pitch; if you stammer during conversations, it will be very difficult to attract customers.

Many students pooled their money to sell flowers on the sidewalk in front of Vinh University during the March 8th holiday, even occupying the bus stop area. (Photo: Quang An)

It is worth noting that many young people selling flowers are encroaching on sidewalks, sometimes spilling onto the road to sell flowers and gifts, leading to a loss of urban aesthetics and affecting traffic safety and order.

Phuong Thuy - Quang An