What inspired you to begin your business?
As a realtor working with a large group of builders at the time, I would attend closings, and noticed that selling agents were providing gifts for their buyers at the closing table. I went back to my builders and told them that they should be doing some type of gifts for me to bring, and they said “Great, put something together for us!” Since I had always been a creative person, I thought that surely, I could do something interesting for them, so I started putting together gift baskets with their builder promo products and other goodies inside. They became a huge hit, and I decided that this could be a nice little side business.
Who was your first client?
As previously mentioned, I started with my home builder clients that I was selling new homes for, but this soon spread to all their vendors, including mortgage brokers, title companies, attorneys, etc.
Where did you begin your business? In your basement, at your home? How has that changed from your location today?
My business was started in my 1700 square foot basement….When my husband saw how serious I was about doing this as a business, he finished off a really nice area for me as my original studio, which housed most of my products, and a huge work station.
What piece of advice would you tell your self when you started out? Any success tips you want to share?
Marketing is EVERYTHING! You can create the most amazing products, but if no one know about them, you won’t have many sales and this will just become an expensive hobby! Getting out and networking with as many people as you can is also paramount to building a successful business! Your networking circle becomes your best sales tool, because they can connect you to even more people. At the Gwinnett Chamber, I have met the most amazing and professional people, who have also become great friends! Everyone there is more than willing to help your business become a success and we are always promoting each other, every chance we get! The After Hours events and classes that are offered provide us with additional exposure and education that helps promote our businesses in fun, and engaging ways! Joining the Gwinnett Chamber was the best decision that I have made for my business!
What are you most proud of?
I have won several national design awards and have been nominated for several business awards. I’ve also been featured in several national magazines and have had the opportunity to travel to multiple conventions around the country as a trainer and speaker for the gift industry. but what I’m most proud of with this business is the fact that it allows me to contribute to my community both monetarily, and in person as a volunteer! Every year, we contribute a percentage of net proceeds to local non-profits, and last year, when the Covid pandemic started, we had to make a huge pivot, and that helped us create a new product, called the “Send a Hug” box, which was filled with lots of goodies and sent out to nursing homes, assisted living homes, and college campuses all across the country, for families who couldn’t visit their loved one due to the lockdown. We happily donated all the product for those gifts, and it was a HUGE success, and much appreciated by the families!
Anything else interesting that you want to share?
Our main goal at Cachet is to teach businesses the value of expressing AUTHENTIC appreciation to their clients, customers, and employees through our creative , custom gifting programs., and showing them how this builds better relationships, which, in turn, results in repeat business and more referrals. We like to say, ” It’s OUR business to make YOUR business look great!”
“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest of intentions”—–Khalil Gibran