 Everybody
likes the idea, but the reality requires a special kind of self-discipline.
A View From the Tub defines
the personality/aptitude that is most conducive to success, whether you
are working at home on behalf of the company that hired you or have your
own business This book takes you through the entire process, tells you
what to do and how to do it in the shortest possible time. The author flags
all the common pitfalls that trip most start-ups.
Adriana Copaceanu, an Entrepreneur
and Corporate Gift Strategist, who knows the value of freedom and the sacrifice
that it takes to achieve the American Dream. As a young woman living
in Romania, she was nearly expelled from high school because of her religious
beliefs and had to work double time to make up for not going to work on
Saturdays. Here is her story:
In 1990, my husband and I, tearfully left our then-19 month
old son in the care of my parents and began the journey to America with
one piece of luggage and $95 dollars in our pocket. Six years later,
after much sacrifice and heartache, we were reunited with our son, Val.
Together with my son and husband, I set up roots in Massachusetts and then
on the West Coast in California. When my next child, Ana, arrived, I realized
that while I loved my job, my current responsibilities of managing 35 people,
handling customer service, meeting deadlines and working under pressure
in a growing company did not provide me with enough flex time to spend
with my young children.
We decided to make another sacrifice and relocate back to the East
Coast where we thought the family could survive on just the income from
my husband's job. In July 2000, we settled in New Market, VA, a small town
of 1,400 known for the Civil War Battle of New Market, just 95 miles from
Washington, DC. With my children in school and my husband busy with his
flourishing real estate business, I quickly realized that I needed an outlet
for my high-energy business skills and creativity.
After nine months of research, I selected corporate gifts and gift
baskets as my niche -- with the goal in mind to help companies achieve
their Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) goals. This appealed to my
creative spirit as well as business acumen. In October 2000, I launched
ABC Gifts and Baskets. This way, I could be home with my children when
they needed me, while serving my clientele and providing a creative outlet
for me.
In the early weeks, I made a sales call to a company that had been
preparing their own holiday fruit gift baskets to give clients. While the
company had finished all of its baskets for the season and did not need
my help, I sent the owner a "Thank You" themed box to thank her for the
potential sales opportunity. The day she received my package, she called
to let me know she needed 100 baskets. I ended up doing 150 baskets for
this company and signed my first corporate client 60 days after I opened
my doors.
People love gifts, but not too many businesses know how to use gifts
to build those important relationships. It is important to keep your company
name in front of your clients. Gift giving and relationship building is
something people tend to neglect, but once they test the powerful effects
of a program well designed, they are convinced for life. And the beauty
of using a gift program is that it can be done on a small scale in slower
economic times, as well as more expensive when the times are better. My
job is to meet the challenge of fulfilling the client's expectations and
have the gift produce the desired marketing results.
On top of being an Entrepreneur and Corporate Gift
Strategist, I
enjoy research, marketing, and helping women achieve their dreams.
For the last few months,
I've been involved in launching the International
Virtual Women's Chamber of
Commerce (http://www.ivwcc.com),
and I belong to the Board of Directors.
Also, I just finished an
online marketing campaign of The African American Women In Business
Conference (http://www.aawibc.com).
ABC Gifts and Baskets can be found
online at www.abcgiftsandbaskets.com
or by telephone at
866-740-8678.
* * *
Kathy Lindberg writes:
I
began my home based gift basket
company in the Fall of 1997. I began very slowly, offering a
small line of baskets. Over the past 2.5 years I have found marketing
to be my biggest challenge. I did not have a marketing background
at all and simply began to learn as I went along. I had the
benefit of being able to network daily with others in my industry via the
Internet. The information that I learned with these communities was invaluable.
After getting my company web site up and running I found many of the women
in business lists I am on today. I can't tell you the wealth of knowledge
that was shared with me from all these wonderful women. It was and
still is the best education I could ask for in terms of how to run my business.
In terms of financial assistance I used money from another job
I was working at the time I began. I continued to work at my other
career--music therapist--as I started up my business and simply shoveled
those moneys into my gift basket company. I didn't even think about
getting a business loan, out of naiveté and out of a fear that no
one would give me money. It worked out. After awhile I was
able to quit my other career and concentrate 100% on my business.
It has now been about 2.5 years since I began. My business
has had ups and downs over the years. There are definite slow times
during the year which are difficult, but I have seen steady growth throughout
my business. While at times I get blue about the fact that my business
is not as busy as I would like throughout the year, overall I am happy
with it's growth. A major reason for beginning my business was to
be able to be home with my children. I remind myself that in a couple
of years they will both be in school full time and I will have more time
to market my business. Until then I do what I can and try to
enjoy every minute.
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