Women Helping Women Event at the Hingham Gift Company

Ladies' Night Out for Charity... 2 WEEKS FROM NOW!

Hingham Gift Company

88 North Street

Hingham, MA 02043

781-740-4222

Join us for... wine, cheese, shopping, fun, and be sure to bring your gently worn (or new) professional attire/accessories for donation.

WHEN? Thursday, October 1st, 5-8pm (drop-in.)
Donations will also be accepted for one week following the event, during store hours.

WHY/HOW? The Hingham Gift Company plans to donate your professional attire to Dress for Success Boston, a nonprofit organization working to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women in our area. Today's job market is challenging for all of us, and even more so for disadvantaged women. Let's get some great professional clothes and accessories together to help other women put their best foot forward. And we all know our closets could use some cleaning out.

DONATION GUIDELINES

If both you and your best friend would wear the item to a job interview tomorrow, it should be fine.

Bring your current-in-style, clean, ready to wear:
SUITS (all sizes, esp. 0, 10, 12, 18+)
HOSIERY (all new/unopened, esp. ankle and knee-high)
HANDBAGS, SATCHELS, PORTFOLIOS
SHOES (all sizes, esp. 8-12 and wides)
OTHER CLOTHING (pants, skirts, jackets/blazers, and esp. blouses/tops)
ACCESSORIES (scarves, belts, and esp. work-appropriate costume jewelry)
COATS (work appropriate, including winter wool)

No undergarments, camisoles, formal wear, or denim/leather/suede/corduroy/linen please. Non-approved items may be donated to another charity or returned to you. Receipts will be provided during event.

ALSO, SHOP OUR STORE DURING THE EVENT AND TAKE 15% OFF YOUR PURCHASE. Hope to see you there!

TGIS (Thank God It's Saturday!)

TGIF means absolutely nothing to me, except that Friday is the glorious end of the work-week for lots of people. Just not for me. In fact, for many shopkeepers like myself, Saturday can be the busiest day of the week. If you want to be here for the action, or if it's a fiscal challenge to pay someone else, well, Friday won't be much cause for celebration.


As those of you out there who work Saturdays can probably attest, no matter how much you enjoy your job, (and believe me, I love, love, love my job,) it, um, stinks (in lieu of a much less tasteful verb) to work on a Saturday. I do have two days off most weeks, Sundays and Mondays... having a weekday off can be an advantage because it's a great time for taking care of personal business/errands... I always hope for a beautiful Sunday ('cause that's my funday.)


On busy Saturdays, you can work so hard that you forget you're actually working on a Saturday. But on slow Saturdays like today, when everybody's out, not shopping, but at beaches and friends' houses and on vacation enjoying the nice weather on this last weekend before the back-to-school preparations begin, I want to just close up shop and head to the local Saturday farmers market that I've never even been to.


One particularly lovely Saturday a customer said to me, "I'll be sure to go to the beach for you today." Hmm... I think that was supposed to make me feel better?


Now don't get me wrong, it's not as if I don't have an extremely long to-do list, and of course I'm procrastinating on certain projects (things I will just never enjoy like accounting and getting rid of things I don't need anymore).
Tuesday through Friday, it's a different playing field. After all, it seems like everyone else is at work then, like we're all in it together, like I'm connected to a larger work continuum.
Well, I'll get back to my chocolate (another bad thing about slow Saturdays) and my to-do list. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. TGIS!


P.S. I'm eating the best chocolate cookie right now! It's called a "Ladybug" and it's like a giant fresh raspberry creme filled oreo cookie triple dipped in dark chocolate. One cookie is so substantial that it's all you need to eat at one time. It's all-natural by Nikki's Cookies, and yes, I sell them in my store so check it out!

Networking: A Relationship Business

As I blogged about earlier, one of my professional goals this year is to do more networking. And you know what? Networking can be fun, even for introverts like me. Really. Take yesterday's Downtown Women's Club event at the South Shore Natural Science Center, for example.

Once I freshened my makeup, consolidated my essentials and business cards/literature into one easy-to-carry wristlet, hit the road and drove right past the location, did a U-turn, found parking, got over the butterflies, put a big smile on my face and affixed my nametag, I was ready to network (the embarassment of ordering a glass of wine at the cash bar and then realizing I did not have any cash not withstanding).

Wine certainly boosts the fun factor, but it's also nice to get out of the office and see new things. I never even realized we had a science center nearby! But upon entering the room filled with people (and mounted animal heads) I began to worry: how will I possibly get around to meet with enough (of the "right") people in the next hour to make the evening away from home worthwhile? How do I prioritize? Who do I talk with first?

Wine in one hand and wristlet in the other, I walked (hurriedly) around trying to catch glimpses of company names on nametags to find those people most likely to buy my products and services. Finding the nametag strategy futile (shortsighted and left my glasses in the car) I finally inserted myself into a conversation with two people who were in my path. One was an insurance agent and the other a retired furniture maker, and after getting to know them a bit I remembered something important that I had learned earlier in my career; that networking is really about building relationships (and trust) with people who are more than just sales targets. They are businesspeople, but they are also mothers, fathers, yoga enthusiasts, musicians, sisters, brothers, animal lovers, grandparents, cancer survivors, nonprofit board members, folks who've just lost their jobs, the list goes on...

Whew! What a relief. I could just relax and enjoy meeting new people and making meaningful connections with a cross-section of professionals who are also trying to develop their businesses. And we surely have even more in common.

During the event, I wound up re-connecting with folks I've met at other events plus meeting some great new people, having stimulating conversations, and receiving some helpful business advice and sales leads... and yes, having fun! I'm sure I will see many of these folks again at future events, and in the meantime we'll keep in touch through LinkedIn.

Whatever their profession or current situation, each person there last night is connected to hundreds of other people in some way through their complex lives. The moral of this story? Build meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships and your sales will grow organically. Beautiful!

I can't wait for my next networking event.

Check out the Downtown Women's Club, there are chapters in many cities around the US:
http://downtownwomensclub.com

The South Shore Natural Science Center in Norwell is worth discovering with your family!
http://www.ssnsc.org

Local Natural Bodycare Line

Here at the store, we cannot claim to carry only 100% natural bodycare products, although natural products are a personal interest of mine. Our product mix/spectrum features both long-time gift-industry standards and newer brands from smaller companies. When we first opened the store, one of the first bodycare lines we picked up was Plum Island Soap Company, a small natural bodycare product and soap maker in Newburyport, MA.


Maybe my own Plum Island Soap Company "rituals" will help illustrate why we love this line. Every night I apply their rich Lavender Hand Butter before going to bed, which is especially great at keeping hands soft during a harsh winter. When I want lip gloss, I reach for their Pink Grapefruit Lip Balm. In a heat wave (like the one we're having now!) I carry their Cool as a Cucumber spray to the beach or keep it with me when I'm gardening. Occasionally, I pamper my feet with their peppermint footcare line: Soothing Foot Soak, Salt and Sand Foot Scrub and Peppermint Foot Butter. When I want a little extra exfoliation in the shower, I reach for their Sweet Citrus Body Scrub. In the winter, when my skin is super dry, I like their Lavender Body Butter.

These products are long-lasting, nice-smelling, reasonably priced, and (in my experience) do what they say they will, but more importantly, I can read the ingredient list in 2 seconds and recognize all of it. From their website... The Plum Island Soap Co. offers a full line of naturally scented soaps and more than 20 different skin care products for bath, beauty & baby. It's products are made from only vegetable-based ingredients, herbs, pure essential oils & minerals.

Stop by our store and give it a try or call to order!

Health care bill is as murky as product ingredients.

As a person in the US, but more specifically, as a small business owner who currently relies on my husband's health insurance coverage, I am interested in the health care system (well "interested" is probably putting it mildly). To me, the health care debate raging around us today is just another bit of debris in the murky waters our American society is currently swimming in. Think about it: in our sea of information, there is some great stuff, but much of it is either undecipherable or hidden beneath biased, sensational or downright misleading news bytes. I suppose you can think of us as a bunch of fish from different schools, and the most sensational or misleading information sources as sharks. Many of us feed the sharks with our money, viewership and readership. Of course, the sharks stimulate us and get us moving, for better or worse. Many of us would disagree about who is and who isn't a shark.

But why?

The reasons are just as murky. To me it comes down to our lifestyles, our level of engagement, and the quality of available news (not to mention our polarized political parties). In our great country of many choices we're able to build our own futures and to form our own opinions and then voice them and use them to affect policy, but many of us are just too darn busy with all the choices and future-building to conduct in-depth research on important policy matters. So we rely on our representatives, our chosen news sources, maybe we feed the sharks, or maybe we tune out altogether. It's a real challenge for Joe the Plumber (couldn't resist) to spend the extra time to find the GOOD information (I've been researching the healthcare bill and boy would I need a lot more time and expertise than I currently have to get to the bottom of it). Sometimes we consume junk information via pop culture mags and tabloids. I admit I'm a fan, but there is a real opportunity cost here; after all, we have limited time each day to find and consume information. TV news outlets are popular for getting the news quickly but they're iffy in terms of quality. I usually find the regular non-cable nightly news, any network, to be helpful, starting with the local about-town/regional news and followed by the world news. Some cable news also contains "real" news, if you can find it between the political bias and shouting matches (er, roundtables and interviews). Newspapers online are good reading. The Internet has a wealth of information if you can sort through it all, but I guarantee that everything you read will be contradicted somewhere else. The key is to evaluate the source of the information as you read and to cross-check against the most neutral sources you can find.

Personally, I think National Public Radio is a superior news source because that is where I feel that I get the least-biased reporting and best coverage of both the national and global level. Not to say that I haven't seen some bias a time or two in a certain NPR talk show. Just my opinion, folks.

So, is there a right answer? I wish I had it. It seems to my probably naive self that ethics and integrity must rise above (at the news outlets). Perhaps our leaders/representatives could find a better way to communicate the information to us. And we need to spend more time, no matter how tough it is, to get informed, doing a little research and digesting all the different perspectives available in this great country so we can truly form sound opinions. I'm just sayin'.

Inevitably, sometimes we just want to believe what we want to believe, so we bias our own information consumption. This is a tough one -- it can be hard to realize you're doing it and actually thinking about this deeply kind of makes my head hurt.

So after all that, how does this tie into my gift business? Well, our sea of information, murky as it is, includes product labeling, specifically, ingredient labels. And believe me, if you've never read one, it can be a real eye-opener, or a source of complete befuddlement. The amount of government oversight and labeling requirements vary depending on the product and situation, for example, it appears there is more oversight of ingredients and labels for food products than cosmetics. And here we have another navigational challenge. As an above-average (but not rigid) consumer of natural and organic products, and a pretty avid reader of all the information floating around out there, I think twice about the ingredients before I purchase a bodycare or food/beverage gift item for resale in my store. There is a lot of debate about the safety of ingredients in many of the products we've known and loved for all these years. However, like the health care debate, product/ingredient safety is an abyss. The deeper I delve into the research, opinions, and databases, the more questions I have. And it seems that companies also face their own share of challenges developing new products in an evolving industry. Should products be all-natural? Are some synthetic ingredients okay?? For example, one of my vendors states on their website that they've had issues with natural preservatives and have instead chosen chemical preservatives because they feel the chemical preservative's greater effectiveness trumps it's synthetic origin. Other companies seem to do just fine with the natural variety. Many natural products still contain synthetic fragrance, perhaps because it is cheaper than natural essential oil? Is "parfum" bad for us? I sure do spray it on myself every day and have done for years. I'm still reading up on all of this.

Until I have further/better information (ha!) I've adopted a temporary position:
-The products I choose for the store must strike a balance between having natural ingredients and being "giftable" and affordable.
-I believe that "less" and "clear" is the way to go in terms of product ingredients. I love companies that translate the scientific names of ingredients into layman's terms, and I like products that clearly omit the biggest known offenders. The fewer ingredients, the better.

Historically I have tended toward an "everything in moderation" approach to natural products. It's inevitable that we're going to be exposed on a daily basis to toxins (we do breathe the air!), but minimizing toxin exposure certainly can't hurt us, and we can also minimize toxic and persistent waste in our environment. To be honest, from what I can tell, some of the natural ingredients being commonly used haven't been rigorously evaluated for safety/sensitivity, but I still feel better with "lavender essential oil" instead of "synthetic parfum." There are new natural/eco-friendly products hitting the market all the time, and some major companies are getting on board which drives the prices down (yay!) And these days I feel I'm moving more toward being a tee-totaler. Just the other day I was shocked by the ingredients on the back of my ice cream package (a friend's child who has a specific allergy was asking for the ice cream, but after reading the label the child's father refused to serve it, the allergen in question turning out to be the least of his concerns.) It's one of my favorite low-calorie ice cream treats but boy will I think twice about buying it again. Of course, I suppose I could do things the old-fashioned way and make my own natural ice cream at home, but probably not. We're moving forward but it still takes more effort and more money for consumers and companies to switch to natural products.

Today's blog is my segue into a series of highlights of products I think are pretty darn great in the natural/organic arena. And this will most likely lead to some writing on organic gardening and lawncare. So stay tuned!

A Great Recycled/Repurposed Product

Happy Friday!!
Introducing a great new product here at the Hingham Gift Company, "Downeast Doormats" by the Maine Float Rope Company. These stylish doormats are actually recycled/repurposed lobster trap rope, which is great because...
-this rope was harmful to whales so it is no longer allowed
-lobstermen are required to replace this rope with more expensive sink-rope, so a government funded program pays Maine lobstermen for their turned-in float-rope and helps offset their financial burden
-instead of going into landfills, the rope is hand-woven into stylish, colorful doormats that look great outside of the beautiful houses on the South Shore.
Enjoy the weekend :)

Trouble on the Farm or The Customer is Always Right (Part 2)

I will admit, I was a bad shopkeeper this morning: I was late opening the store. If there is one characteristic I'd like to change about myself it would have to be my general tardiness. And my lateness is positively correlated with my husband being out of town, i.e. Joel takes the structure of my life with him and I am left to veg on the couch, overeat and watch as many Season 2 episodes of Mad Men as I can fit into one night (only after watching So You Think You Can Dance and feeling really sorry for Evan!) Not to mention that now empty bottle of wine I put in the recycling this morning.

But I digress.

Following on my previous blog, I received an email from the farm owner last night which poked as many holes as it could in my story, did not actually offer an apology, and in essence accused me of lying and trespassing. Aside from being a generally angry person, this guy just doesn't know me and so doesn't see how unlikely it is that I would purposely evade an entry fee to a farm. As my friends know, I'm a big fan of nonprofits, organic farming and animals!! It is also apparent that this fellow is a workaholic whose entrenchment in his own farm has resulted in a myopic view of the world (a lot of us small business owners are guilty of this.) For example, Joel and I have been to numerous farms around New England over the years (albeit smaller farms with less to see) that did not have any formal structure or admission charge. But this fellow seems to think it's a given that we should expect to pay to see his farm. Also, in his favor, the small stairway we walked down apparently normally has a locked gate that reads "no entry," but of course the gate happened to be open when we were there (we don't even remember seeing a gate at this stairway). The "perfect storm" I suppose. In the owner's response, I also see a common tendency to make assumptions about consumer behavior that aren't always valid, like assuming the customer reads all the stuff the owner and his staff write on their websites and signage. I can tell you that I can put a clearance/sale sign right in front of someone who walks into my store and 3 out of 5 people will not even notice it. We all walk around in our own little worlds with our own expectations and agendas, and some of us are more or less observant or inquisitive.

The bottom line and moral of this story continues to be that no matter how annoyed you get with poor behavior from others, you cannot let that create an emotionally charged and negative environment or you will lose customers. I guarantee that most people who've read this blog will think twice before visiting this farm next time they're on the Cape. And it's a shame because it is a really beautiful farm, and a great place for kids! (God forbid I had kids and had brought them with me to the farm to experience this incident, though... how awful it would have been for kids to see their parents treated this way).

The customer is always right.

One rule of thumb I have in my store is the old adage, "the customer is always right." Customers have a range of interpersonal and shopping styles. Many are bubbly and enjoy browsing and chatting with whomever is around. Others are quiet and really want to be left to shop in peace (I fall into this category myself). Some customers are on a mission, with little time to spare, and really, they needed the perfect purchase yesterday, so you have to try not to stress and instead provide fast and efficient help.

Occasionally you get someone who is downright rude. It is tough but you can't take it personally, nor can you let it harden you and your approach to future customers.

My approach is to let the customer's style come out naturally and then to cater to that style. I wait for the customer to shop a bit and then I offer to help, and at that time I assess their needs. I help if it's wanted, otherwise, I leave them alone but stay within earshot in case they need me. I avoid hovering, even if I am nervous about shoplifting... I'd rather have some merchandise walk out the door here and there than offend a potential paying (and maybe long-term repeat) customer. In the defense of stores where salespeople do stay closer, I can say that my moderately priced specialty giftware isn't exactly hot on the street so I don't have to worry as much as some other stores might. Cameras also help to reduce the risk of shoplifting in my store. And I know police recommend staying closer where shoplifting is a concern.

Anyhoo... I attempt to solve whatever problem a customer presents me with, and if I don't agree with something, say, a gift basket design choice or a tissue color choice for a gift bag, I gently offer my opinion but let the customer have the final say. I refer customers to other stores if I can't meet their need. Occasionally I've had customers take advantage of my offerings, but I figure it's all worth it as they leave the store and go into their own social networks and spread the word about the good service they received.

Now, this is not to say that we are perfect here at the Hingham Gift Company. I am sure we have not always satisfied every customer who has visited us, but I can honestly say we've done our best. I have made some great acquaintances and even friends in the store. If someone isn't very nice I still face them with a smile and a helping hand. Of course, if someone crosses the line into downright rudeness, I would try to find a professional way to see them to the door. But luckily for me that hasn't really happened yet (I've had some less than perfect interactions, but really, overall I have had great experiences in the store!)

I will say that I don't always have this same experience when the tables are turned and I am the customer in another store or venue. I will spend a lot less time in a store where I feel the salesperson is hovering over or following me around. I will not return to places with surly, condescending and/or unhelpful salespeople if I don't absolutely have to. Of course, every business and every person working for a business has their "off" days... and some business owners are good managers but can seem a bit standoffish on the interpersonal front... but these days, with social networking being what it is, and with all the websites that offer reviews of businesses where anyone can write in regarding their experiences, it can be a very big deal to offend a single customer.

Case in point: My recent trip to Cape Cod and the emotional landmine we walked into at "XX" Farm (After publishing and sharing this, I have made the decision to remove the name of the farm, replacing it with "XX", due to my being linked to numerous networks and, as a small business owner myself, thinking it just isn't worth it to continue a battle with this place -- however if you want to know the name of the farm just send me an email at emily@hinghamgiftcompany.com and I will gladly tell you). Following is a letter of complaint I forwarded to the owner and board members yesterday evening.


*******
August 4, 2009

To the Owners and Board of Directors of XX Farm and the XX Farm Foundation:

I am writing to you regarding the terrible experience I had earlier today at your farm. I should start by giving you some context to help you understand my position and feelings on this incident.

Over the past few weeks, I spent several hours planning a long-weekend trip to Cape Cod, which was to be the first Cape visit for my mother who recently moved to Massachusetts. I used the Internet and advice of friends to research inns, attractions and shopping ideas, since I myself had not been to the Cape for several years and needed some help finding places to visit. One of the places I came across was XX Farm. I looked at some of the information on the website briefly and noted the farm on my list of possible things to do. Well, after a lovely visit to Dennisport, Chatham, and Falmouth, we decided to stop by the farm this morning on our way back home. And this is where I will recount my experience at your farm.

We pulled our car into the parking lot around 11:30am. As we pulled into the parking lot, we observed the main XX Farm sign. After parking, we got out of the car and looked ahead where we saw the main building which I assume was the store that I had seen mentioned while doing my research on the Web. We approached the store, and then looked to the right where we saw the bunnies, so we proceeded down the stone stairway and began looking at the animals. We spent the next half hour or so walking all over the farm, enjoying the animals and gardens. As we were on our way back to the “store” (I can only assume it was the store since we never made it inside, which I will explain shortly), a gentleman (or should I just say a man) on a golf cart pulled up alongside us and inquired if we were members of the farm. I said no, we weren’t, and the man explained that this was a “members-only” farm. I said that we didn’t realize this, and he became a bit impatient and said “there are signs everywhere, where did you come in?” We mentioned where we had entered and he said again, with escalated emotion that this was a members-only farm and this was how the farm survived. Now at this time I was holding my mother’s hand as she is older and has trouble walking, and she whispered to me how embarrassed she was and that we should just leave, and the gentleman in the golf cart proceeded to follow us, in effect “running us” off the farm. As we re-entered the parking lot he said again in an angry voice and in front of several other farm visitors that there were signs everywhere. Needless to say we didn’t spend much time looking for signs, as we were upset and embarrassed, but my husband did a quick glance around and there were no obvious signs that we could see. I only figured out after leaving the farm and re-visiting the website later this afternoon that, apparently, day passes were available, though the angry man on the golf cart didn’t mention this.

Perhaps the farm has issues with people taking advantage of it and the fellow who approached us was feeling frustrated. Regardless, this treatment was absolutely unacceptable and incredibly unprofessional. I am a small business owner in the town of Hingham, MA, and I can’t imagine treating someone this way. My husband and I are business professionals and we are also supporters and members of nonprofits both nationally and in MA. (Trustees of Reservations, WBUR/NPR, Consumers Union, etc.) We certainly had no idea of the admission or day pass required or we would have gladly paid it… I assume, had we made it into the store, that we would have finally seen the signs and paid our entry then. We may have even spent some money in the store, or stopped for a bite of lunch (I read on the Web that the farm also has a restaurant, which we also didn’t get to see).

I am also a blogger, and this incident fits very nicely into my upcoming blog about customer service today and the old adage “the customer is always right.” We really enjoyed walking around the farm, but for me, this one incident actually put a damper on my whole trip. I am sorry we visited your farm and we’ll be sure not to do it again.

Emily, (Joel and Pat)
Hingham, MA

Online Social Networking, Summer SALE

I've had a Facebook account for awhile, mostly for personal use. A colleague created a Facebook page for the store, and we had some success getting a group together for that. But yesterday, I really took the plunge. I began tweeting (via Twitter of course) and I set up my LinkedIn account. I contacted all of the people in my store and personal networks and quickly developed robust LinkedIn and Twitter networks. Then I connected Twitter with Facebook (though I'm still figuring that one out). One useful feature of LinkedIn is the option to "recommend" businesses and people you've had good experiences with, so I spent some time going through my contacts and giving recommendations where they were due. And in return, I got some recommendations of my own. Perhaps the best thing is I can now communicate with customers, potential customers and business partners more often and more efficiently. I'll let you know if this actually pays off in terms of new business. I imagine this is a longer-term process like most networking.

On another note we've extended our summer SALE through this SAT only -- 50% off gourmet gifts, 30% off spa gifts and Spartina handbags and beach accessories, 20% off gifts for babies and kids. We're getting ready for the new holiday inventory, folks, so take advantage of these great prices while the existing inventory lasts!!!

Random news from a rainy Thursday...

I have reheated my coffee and I am ready to blog (yes, I am turning into my mother, not quite at the point of having coffee with my afternoon or evening meal but definitely needing the coffee to be oh-so-hot when I am drinking it).

This morning I networked. Deep down I hate networking events. I'm always running late, I get anxious on my way there, and I usually have difficulty inserting myself into conversations with lots of people so I make a connection with maybe one or two people in the room which makes the event rather inefficient. However, I did enjoy today's event. I made 4-5 meaningful connections (networking is really a longer-term process, right?) and the speaker did a good job of reminding me how my communication skills impact my business (hopefully she wouldn't cringe if she read my blog.) It also felt good to get out there with other business people, something I need to do more often. Working alone all the time makes one a little neurotic (as if I wasn't neurotic enough before). On occasion, my doorbell fails, and customers have walked in and caught me in a complete two-way conversation with myself more than once.

So now I'm in the store, alone... it's almost noon yet outside it is dark enough to be 8pm. And it's raining. And the street leading to my parking lot is closed due to the road basically being completely removed and resurfaced. And I want to tear my hair out because my surroundings aren't exactly inviting customers in today. So to distract myself I peruse the Globe headlines. Terrible things are happening to people, great things are happening to people, the Gates aftermath continues, some people are apparently building business empires against the current odds, Giselle B. has a baby bump, lobstermen in Maine have gone all old west on us and pulled guns to settle territory disputes (think about that next time you have a lobster roll!), and the New England economy is apparently coming back (feeling a little skeptical about this, but okay, I'll take it). So I take heart in this last bit of news and get off the Globe site so I can get some real work done.

And in walks a customer. She eyes the Harbor Sweets line of chocolates, one of my top-selling gourmet lines. I suddenly remember that all "gourmet" items in the store are 50% off through Saturday (during slower months before the holiday inventory starts rolling in you really want to move existing food and beverage inventory), and then I realize, belatedly, that this deep discount probably shouldn't have applied to a strong performing line like Harbor Sweets. So she decides to buy much of my H.S. inventory. Not that this is a bad thing, it's just not the most saavy approach I could have taken. But even Harbor Sweets will expire and it is preferable to recoup the expense and move on vs. pulling unsold but expired inventory from the floor!

Here is my list of "to-do's" for the rest of the day, in case you were wondering :)
-Design ice cream sundae basket for customer
-Wrap and pack for shipping a new baby gift box
-Reschedule a dental appointment
-Add contacts to my new corporate marketing database
-Log my Weight Watcher's points online
-Order new recycled paper shopping bags
-Update press section on the store website
-Re-price rack of earrings
-Re-organize back office and stock room (or at least start the reorg) so we can (1) most importantly, move around back there! (2) get files in order to complete Quickbooks entries for quarters 1 and 2, (3) set up new photo station for new "basket menu" project, and (4) create organized intake system for new holiday inventory shipping coming soon.

Cheers,
Emily

Branding Issue

I've learned a lot over the past two years, but the most salient issue for me today (other than the economy and the poor weather in our area this summer) is the fact that consumers appear to have a psychological barrier between the concepts of "gifts" and "gift baskets". "Traditional" gift baskets can carry a bit of a stigma, and I've tried to "reeducate" the local consumer market with my special brand of gift baskets, mixing some of the best giftware on the market today with a build-a-basket concept and the opportunity to create perfectly tailored, one of a kind baskets, carefully designed by yours truly.

To build a broad inventory base and supplement my revenues throughout the year, I decided to market both specialty gifts and gift baskets in the same store. Well, marketing does not appear to help join these two concepts in the consumer psyche. Most PR about the store has also perpetuated this dual concept/branding. The PR seems great, especially since it has mostly been free in the form of great articles and product spotlights in local press. However, these days I keep hearing the same thing day in and day out from people who venture into the store: "So isn't this a gift basket store?", or, similarly, "I never came in before because I figured it was just gift baskets", or, "I love this store!! I thought it was just gift baskets." Yes, an unknown (and probably large) number of people have simply not ventured into the store because they haven't had the occasion or desire to buy a gift basket. And the fact is that we carry some of the premier gift lines on the market, with over 1200 gift items/SKU's.

I can't switch to 100% gift baskets because that would temporarily shut down my daily "general gift" revenues (not to mention not jive with my strong desire to have the dual biz) and I don't see any reason to get rid of the gift basket component. So I've decided to play down the gift baskets. I just hope I can recover the missed customers soon enough to keep things afloat. I'm starting a new push to market my gift baskets to corporate customers, who are traditionally a strong gift basket market, and dreaming of the day when I have the perfect balance between corporate revenues and in-store business so I can fully enjoy my two passions, running the store and designing the baskets!

Welcome to my diary!

Hello.

Since I was little I've enjoyed writing.

Also, I meet people every day who say "I've always wanted to start a business like this," or, "So how is business?"

So I figured I'd start blogging about my gift business. Basically I'm planning to talk about what it's like each day (for me) to work in and run a gift store. Some posts will be very serious and others, hopefully, will be somewhat humorous. I hope my blog is meaningful, educational, and entertaining, even if not all at the same time. And I suppose the little extra spotlight on my store can't hurt from a marketing perspective. I will certainly share some of my favorite products and gift ideas with you.

Cheers,
Emily