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Idea Cafe's Mary Marks MOM Biz Grant
Grant Winners Reports
Our Mary Marks MOM Biz Grant winners send us monthly updates on how they're doing so we can all learn from their winning biz example.
Second Place Winner Lise Schleicher of BasketWorks, Northbrook, IL, provides custom gift baskets for corporate and personal gift giving.
Looking Back on the Year After Receiving Idea Cafe's "Mary Marks MOM" Grant
Idea Cafe: What was your most important accomplishment, financially and professionally?
Lise: In the last year, my business has grown tremendously:
• My sales year-to-date are up 50% over last year.
• I have increased my staff from one part-timer to four part-timers.
• I'm working on opening a second online business.
• I have landed several major accounts.
• I'm currently seeking permanent warehouse space for additional storage and work area as I have outgrown my office and garage.
• I have been able to take money from the business for our family on a regular basis.
Idea Cafe: How do you feel you personally grew in this year of business accomplishment?
Lise: My confidence in myself has grown. I feel significantly more confident about my abilities to fulfill my clients' needs, regardless of what those needs are. I am becoming more aggressive about taking care of myself as I succeed more. I no longer feel that time taken for myself is frivolous -- usually. I have also become bolder about asking for what I need when I need it as I have added staff -- to effectively manage I need to be able to give direction and tell my staff what they are doing right -- or wrong.
Idea Cafe: How did Idea Cafe's Mary Marks MOMS Biz Grant affect your small business?
Lise: The process of applying for the grant taught me about the relationships I have created. I was amazed at the number of customers, vendors and even competitors who were willing to write letters of recommendation for me. I choose to believe that there were additional letters that I didn't even see. That alone made me feel successful!
Receiving the grant was another enormous confidence builder.
I took the initial cash award and held an open house for my clients. The clients who attended the open house placed orders that more than paid for my expenses.
I then took the cash and joined an online marketing cooperative, directed at the gift basket industry. My membership in that group has led to several accounts whose orders have more than repaid my initial costs.
I have found that the statement 'You have to spend money to make money' is truer than I ever could have believed. Having the grant gave me the courage to spend some money - and I have been repaid seven fold.
I truly believe that a significant amount of my success over the last year has flowed from the grant and my mental attitude as related to that.
Thank you all!
Summer 2002 Report
Business-related goals for Summer 2002
1. Continue marketing to apartment complexes and builders -- add a second group of 20 apartment complexes to program.
2. Upgrade computer systems to allow staff to work on computer simultaneously.
3. Attend Candy Expo. Find non-meltable, high-quality candies.
4. Continue reorganization of office and inventory.
5. Continue working on creation of office manual and procedures for employees.
6. Survive one week without nanny and one week without husband.
7. Complete two major orders for July delivery (125+ baskets total); attend convention and the summer gift show.
8. Plan for Christmas.
9. Get out newsletters.
10. Update web site with holiday designs.
11. Plan for holiday open house in October. Send out invitations and flyers; order samples.
12. Write holiday newsletter.
13. Design and print Halloween and Thanksgiving postcards.
14. Find work/storage space for the fourth quarter.
15. Cold calls to potential clients.
Business-related accomplishments for Summer 2002
1. Restructured marketing follow-up plan and created formal system. Implemented this plan.
2. Renewed marketing to apartment complexes and builders.
3. Continued working on second web business.
4. Ordered notebook computer to allow staff to work on computer while I'm on machine and to allow me to come out of the basement and still get some work done.
5. Attended Candy Expo - found an assortment of potential new products. Need to plan on two days next year.
6. July sales were four times what were budgeted for. August was almost twice what was budgeted for.
7. Created two new holiday designs, planned for several additional designs.
8. Newsletters sent out.
9. Web site updated.
Business-related lessons or problems encountered in Summer 2002
1. We still are tripping over ourselves in the office/workshop. We've started reorganizing and using our vertical space better, so hopefully that will help.
2. I need to teach my staff more of the day-to-day operations so that the business can run more smoothly without my constant input. New manual should help.
3. Still need better back-up for when I'm not available. Was quite ill and had no effective back-up support.
4. Need to continue nurturing my relationships with hotels - several large orders came from hotel contacts.
April, 2002 Report
Business-related goals for May
1. Restructure marketing follow-up plan - I need it more formalized.
2. Renew marketing to apartment complexes and builders.
3. Continue reorganization of office and inventory.
4. Continue working on creation of office manual and procedures for employees.
Business-related accomplishments for April
1. Sales are up 5% over the same period last year.
2. Attended Chicago Fancy Food Show - found several new vendors!
3. Raised funds for Crohn's & Colitis Bowl-A-Thon - $1500!
4. Learned to say "no" when asked for more than I can give - hurray for me!
5. Have sold off a fair amount of excess inventory on Ebay.
Business-related lessons or problems encountered in April
Business is still growing at a rate of 35% annually, and I'm having trouble handling the growth rate. I'm hoping that by getting the workspace more organized and having my assistant pick up more of the regular tasks, I will free my time for sales and design.
March, 2002 Report:
Business-related goals for April
1. Plan for Fancy Food show.
2. Continue marketing to apartment complexes and builders.
3. Continue reorganization of office and inventory.
4. Continue to donate excess inventory to assorted charities.
5. Raise funds for Crohn's & Colitis Bowl-A-Thon.
Business-related accomplishments for March
1. Sales are up 5% over the same period last year.
2 .Hired an assistant!
3. Wrote spring newsletter and mailed it out.
4. Landed 2 new major clients.
5. Updated website.
6. Worked on MCN assignments
Business-related lessons or problems encountered in March
1. I continue to need to reduce inventory in some areas, and increase in others -- the balancing act is very difficult.
2. I need to have a better handle on my time - I am still too pulled in different directions.
February, 2002 Report:
Business-related goals for March
1. Get office cleaned and straightened.
2. Hire an assistant. I've had a couple of interviews, and have a few more set up.
3. Write spring newsletter.
4. Design spring baskets & postcards.
5. Work on Marketing Co-operative Network assignments.
Business-related accomplishments for February
1. Sales are still above projected budgets, despite vacation week.
2. Valentines went out to all clients.
3. Website has been restructured - I will now be able to make changes very quickly.
4. Inventory in garage has been straightened and cleaned to allow for better use of the space.
Business-related lessons or problems encountered in February:
1. Finding part-time help is nearly impossible.
2. Without a better organized office space, I'll continue to use too much time to find things.
3. Too many charitable groups are calling for donations. I've had to be very firm in turning them down, which is difficult.
January, 2002 Report:
Business-related goals for February
1. Get office cleaned and straightened.
2. Hire an assistant - I'm looking for a high school student or retiree.
3. VACATION! (yeah!)
4. Write spring newsletter.
5. Design spring baskets and postcards.
6. Work on Marketing Co-operative Network assignments.
7. Have website reworked into HTML out of Publisher to allow faster response and change time.
8. Send out all client appreciation Valentines (There's over 1000!)
Business-related accomplishments for January
1. Joined Marketing Co-operative Network. (A gift basket co-op to improve marketing skills)
2. Completed all 2001 paperwork, identified problem areas, created 2002 budgets.
3. Sales are up by a huge percentage!
4. Inventory levels are down - I continue to work at reducing inventory levels
Business-related lessons learned or problems encountered in January
Part-time assistant decided not to take position, leaving me short-handed and behind. Additionally, because of illnesses, accidents and surgeries, my work hours have been somewhat curtailed this month, putting me further behind.
November, 2001 Report:
Business-related goals for December
1. Complete all the basket orders in (currently over 200).
2. Complete billing in a timely manner!
3. Use down time at end of month to clean files and office space, possibly
upgrade computer system.
Business-related accomplishments for November
1. Found an assistant - she will be starting in January.
2. Press releases sent out regarding winning Idea Cafe Grant.
3. Landed 2 large Thanksgiving clients.
Business-related lessons learned or problems encountered in November
1. Sales are down - many clients are not sending holiday baskets.
2. I need to track WHEN orders from my clients come in - I panic if I'm not
seeing them early, and most come in later than I think they do.
3. I need to re-examine my tracking methods for 2002 - I am having
difficulty determining what is and is not selling other than by gut
instinct. My gut is good, but hard numbers are better.
October, 2001 Report:
Business-related goals for November
For the month of November my goal is to prepare for December. The tasks
involved in meeting this goal include:
1. Fax gift lists to all of my clients who gave holiday gifts last year.
These lists include who we sent a gift to, what we sent, and at what pricepoint.
2. Complete Thanksgiving orders that are in
3. Follow up with clients who have not committed for December
4. Prepare my home and family for December
5. Hire an assistant for filing and data entry
6. Send Press Release about Grant to every possible media outlet. Business-related accomplishments for October
1. Won the Idea Cafe Grant!
2. Hosted my first professional open house. We invited almost 500, had
almost 50 show up - 10% isn't bad!
3. Landed 2 major jobs for November - a wedding and a Thanksgiving job.
4. Wrote my holiday newsletter and sent it out.
5. My sales were 34% over what I budgeted them to be. Business-related lessons learned or problems encountered in October
My biggest challenge in October was losing my file clerk - she found a better paying, less challenging job. It's good for her, but the timing is lousy for me. So I am brainstorming for a solution. Also working on finding extra space to use for the end of November and December. Overall, October rocked - it was a great month!
Links:
Reports from other Winners:
Winner Debra LaPorte | Winner Tina Miller
See all the great gifts for winners donated by Idea Cafe Regulars
Criteria and process for judging
Questions and instructions for applicants
Instructions for references
Meet Idea Cafe's Honorary Panel of Judges
Find out how you can contribute!
Idea Cafe's Small Business Grant Center home page
To see more grants--government grants, SBA, corporate, more private grants, enter Idea Cafe's Free Grant Center for Small Biz-a privilege for registered Idea Cafe Regulars only. GO!
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