The Gifted Retailer: Bumble B Design
GDA Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 9/17/2010 4:24:43 PM
Gifts & Decorative Accessories: What do you like best about being a retailer?
Bevin Cooper Farkas: I love interacting with customers to create the perfect gift, whether it's a custom calligraphy piece or a distinctive gift basket, bag or box. I enjoy working with a diverse customer base, from small business owners who want to do something nice for their clients, to people marking life's celebrations or passages, to corporations that need to express gratitude to a large group of people. Using my artistry to create just the right sentiment through distinctive, personalized gifts and calligraphy is very rewarding. In essence, I am the messenger of emotions that I highly value: gratitude, joy, love, condolence, passion and care. The retail environment is the bridge for my creative and collaborative skills to reach people who need what I offer.
G&DA: What was the most valuable piece of business advice that you ever received?
BCF: "You are so much more about creating cool gifts than selling furniture!" was the comment my husband made while I pondered whether to stay put as a retail employee at an Indonesian furniture import store here in Seattle, or start my own gift business. Despite my concern about both my husband and I being self-employed, his advice helped give me the courage to launch out on my own, creating bumble B design in 2001.
G&DA: What is/was your most successful promotion?
BCF: Offering free shipping and free delivery specials to our client base is always a big hit. We also have done well offering free, hand-calligraphed cards for our clients and Facebook Fans.
G&DA: What three products/lines are you best sellers?
BCF: Our best sellers include: our regional gifts (Pacific NW Snack Basket, Seattle Box, West Coast Basket), our ever-popular Munch Box and Office Nibbler Basket, and our Eiffel Tower cake-topper.
G&DA: What are you doing to attract new custo
mers?
BCF: To attract new customers, we encourage referral marketing by keeping our current clients very satisfied, offer Free-Bs on Facebook, network, twitter, make cold calls, and advertise in local publications, Google and Facebook.
G&DA: How do you find your best employees?
BCF: Luck and word of mouth. Awesome employees have a knack of finding bumble B. Our best worker B found us in a wedding magazine and asked for a job. Much of our work is seasonal, so we often rely on high school or college students to help out in the hive with our holiday gifts.
G&DA: What was your biggest retail problem and how did you solve it?
BCF: Cash flow is often the biggest challenge. Having a good understanding of our sales cycle to determine when we need the most money helps cash flow planning. Attracting new customers is also a challenge we continually work on through various marketing tactics.
We would love your feedback!
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