Interview: Business Owner, Anne Warrington

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Interview with Anne Warrington www.giftsbydelivery.com

I understand you own and operate a gift basket business. Was there anything particular in your life growing up, or as an adult, that helped lead you choose this business? If so, can you explain? Both my husband and I come from large, extended families. I am the oldest of 4 children and 3 stepchildren and my husband is the youngest of 5 children. We live from coast to coast and north to south, so staying in contact with cards, letters and gifts is hard. I started purchasing gifts online in the mid 90s while at work, soon it became natural for me to purchase family gifts online. But it was always a rather disappointing experience: multiple sites, not finding what I wanted, finding it later for a lot less than I ended up paying, etc. I got better at research and better at sorting it all out, but still it wasn't how I really wanted my shopping experience to be.

When I finally figured out that I wanted to help my customers have the best online gift giving experience, it came from my own frustrated efforts. My initial gift business - Gifts By Delivery - carries a very wide range of gifts and gift baskets. We offer some of the widest and most varied gift selections available on the web.

In writing for my website, I realized that there was a great need for a free, independent gift suggestion/review website so I created one. This site - www.gift-giving-guide.com is a collaboration site with two busy entrepreneurs who bring their own gift giving experiences.

Before starting your own gift basket business, did you have an internship anywhere? (ie. Work for a particular company for a few years, take college courses, volunteer, etc.) If so, when, where, and how did it help you prepare for your own business? I have a college degree (BA Political Science) and graduate work in a related field. I also have more than 15 years real world work experience in finance, contracts and business administration. My "internship" was working for other people. I found in my career that working day in and day out for someone else's dream can sap your spirit, giving and giving (albeit for some money-called a salary) and watching someone else's dreams come true. So the idea of starting my own business was not a daunting one for me. I knew that I wanted to own my own business. It was just a matter of finding the right business—something with which I could connect deeply, something that I could truly offer the world.

I spent over a year asking myself questions, starting a new venture, changing my mind, research, more research, lots of soul searching. In the end, I sort of stumbled on this...I had bought most of our gifts, for our very extended family, online for the past several years. It was the best decision, but not always the best experience.

One day while griping about sending something, the cost and the overall experience, I realized that I could probably do it better. So I started to see if it would be possible for me to actually "do it better". And every day I commit myself and my company to "doing it better" for my customers.

Once you decided to become your own boss, how did you find the capital to start your business? I am fortunate that my husband has a steady income that covers all our living expenses with enough leftover to cover the initial outlay to start this business. Our initial outlay was not significant, but we were frugal in our spending too. We timed some expenses until after the business started cash flowing a little money. Sometimes we just sucked it up and spent the money and just tightened our belts a little if it couldn't wait.

Do you have any suggestions for new start-ups when it comes to finding the initial capital to start a small business? We are very debt wary, so we take on as little debt as possible. But sometimes a little debt makes sense. What little advice I could offer would be this: 1. Create a good sound business plan so you know what you need to spend money on, so when you spend it you know what to expect in return. Without a plan you can waste your financial resources when you can least afford it.

2. Get a mentor if you don't have a lot of business experience. Talk to a CPA about how to set up your business so you take advantage to any tax help or savings available to you. Contact the Small Business Administration, they have tons of resources, including advisors, business plan assistance, and some loan programs for which some might qualify.

Every situation is different, so there are that many solutions to financing a new business venture. Ask around, know what you want, plan for it and the right resources will make themselves known. In large part, during your planning process you will uncover the ones that are right for your situation.

With capital in hand, what was one of the first things you did to get your business off ground floor and how did it turn out? The first thing I did was purchase a website and develop a research/design plan. I was so disappointed that I immediately hired a web designer to assist me, but quickly learned that my first purchase was a poor one. So rather than cry, I made a change. It cost me a little more, but it was a decision that I have always been glad that I made. I cut the amount of time I would have to suffer from my first poor decision to a minimum. I cut my losses and I learned to do a little more research and dig a little deeper, before plunking down my hard earned money.

What was the most difficult thing about starting this particular business venture? Actually, the hardest thing has been balancing the time requirements of the initial set-up, design with being a wife and mother to 2 small children. When I first started this business, my daughter had just turned 3 and my son was 15 months. I never wanted my family to suffer, although I hoped that my business would create opportunities for us in the long run. There were lots of times I worked into the wee hours of the morning. And lots of times when I just had to repeat to myself over and over, "my family comes first" as I can be a little "obsessive" about my work sometimes.

Did you ever have a business blooper? If so, what was it, what happened, how did you resolve it, and what did you learn from it? My husband made a broad announcement to all his family, friends and co-workers about the launching of our site. I was amazed when I received an order that very first day. Uh oh, I realized that the credit card did not process because it was still on test mode. So I had an order, but it was not paid for....what do I do? Fortunately it was a dear friend so I just called him and explained. He offered to send me a check and I sent the order. I have kept that order, my very first in the queue just to remind to not get ahead of myself when making announcements, or promising something I am not prepared to deliver yet…first things first.

Having been in business for awhile now, one year with this business, what lessons can you instill in others with regards to customer service? In my business, serving my customer is the point of my business, so everything we do is about customer service in one form or another. I love the old saying: "Rule One: The customer is always right Rule Two: In the event the customer is not right, see rule one."

Although there are always situations that arise that don't fit in the customer is always right, the customer is the reason for our business and so we always choose to focus on making that customer a return customer, even if it means losing a sale now or even taking a loss on an item. Does it pay off? Not every time, but overall, I feel it's the right attitude.

Here is an example of a customer service issue I recently dealt with:

We had a large customer (with great potential to bring in lots of business in the future). He ordered two gifts (shipped from two different places) for arrival next day. He ordered after our deadline for same day shipping. We managed to ensure one gift arrived the next day and the other the following day. He was very upset because the second arrived a day later than the first. Nowhere were we at fault, our policies were very clear. And we could be right or we could possibly save a customer. So I refunded the overnight shipping charges he paid on the second gift. Did I have to? No. But we probably would not see a return customer, if I had not.

Are there any resources, books, or colleges you would recommend? I always recommend continuing your education in whatever form you can find. I have found books like Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People", Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" and "See You at the Top" by Zig Ziglar to be great references.

I believe any means you can find of motivating yourself to work harder and smarter is a great idea.

Could you take one week of your business and mix it up to give us a broad overview of what a typical day would be like as a gift website owner? Like I assume a lot of home based businesses, it is hard to separate family time from business time in defined segments, so I will just tell you what a typical day looks like for me. While each day is different, compiled together, a typical day looks like this: • We all arise about 6 am. • We shower, dress, eat and get ready for work and school. • My husband leaves about 7 am for work. • I finish getting the kids ready to leave about 8:15 am. • About 7:30-7:45 I usually have a fifteen minutes to check my email for orders, which will require processing in the morning and a thorough review of my To Do list for the day and week. My To Do list covers every outstanding item for each business and general business financial work as well. • At 8:15, we leave for school and I run whatever errands need to be done before coming home. • Back by 10 am, whatever items can be accomplished or started during the remainder of the morning I tackle. • At noon, I make lunch for my son and me. • We leave about 12:20 to pick up my daughter from school. • Back by 1:30, the kids have quiet time and I go back to my TO DO list. • At 4 pm I finish whatever project I have been working on and make note of what I need to focus my attention on after bedtime. • I start dinner by 4:45 and we eat by 5:30pm. • After dinner and our bedtime routine, I process whatever orders still need attention and then work on whatever project needs to be completed by the end of that day.

For the sake of brevity I have lumped everything into TO DO list work. My To Do list is broken down into General business issues, finances, marketing issues including advertising and public relations, products - which includes new products and new suppliers, SEO issues, images, page structure, site map, product directory, articles, and blog entries, revenue generation for the guide.

Visit her at: www.gift-giving-guide.com or www.giftsbydelivery.com

About The Author Alyice Edrich is a freelance writer specializing in helping families <a href="http://edrichcommunication.com" target="_blank">money on their cell phone bills</a>. Visit her website, edrichcommunications.com, to use her best rate calculator or learn how you can get a free cell phone.

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