15 Gifted Women: Maxine Burton
By Meredith Schwartz -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 11/9/2009
Maxine Burton
Shonnie Bilin
Frances Gravely
Isadora Frost
Janny Hammons
Anne McGilvray
Susan Roghani
Joan Ulrich
Wendy Rosen
Anna Griffin
Barbara Baekgaard
Andrea Grossman
Andrea Sadek
Ande Rooney
Marian Sullivan
Founder, President and COO
burton + BURTON
Maxine Burton started her business journey in 1982 in the backroom of Flowers, Inc. Wholesale, a floral distributor co-owned by her husband Bob. There she realized the imprinting process for new foil balloons that were popular with customers could be used to print a message or design like a “floating greeting card.” This led her to found Flowers, Inc. Balloons, which changed its name to burton + BURTON in 2006, to represent the wider range of its offerings. In addition to running the company’s day-to-day operations, traveling extensively and creating product lines, Maxine is actively involved in many charitable, civic and community organizations, including the American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, United Way, American Red Cross, American Heart Association and 4-H. The Burtons provide free health screenings to all employees, subsidized childcare benefits and even an on-site beauty salon/spa.
Gifts & Decorative Accessories: What have your biggest challenges been?
Maxine Burton: I believe that every successful entrepreneur, male or female, faces the challenge of finding balance between their personal and business lives. Owning a family business makes it even more difficult because your work becomes your life and your life becomes your work, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our children have literally grown up in our business and are now assuming leadership roles. Their dedication to the business that shares their name is extremely rewarding to Bob and me.
G&DA: What have been your greatest successes?
MB: I believe that raising a happy, closely knit, supportive family while growing this business into the international company that it is today is a great accomplishment, but I know I cannot take full credit for that. My parents, my husband, my children and even my extended family have all stepped in to assist when it was necessary, and I believe, we are all the better for it. Occasionally one reads about those who have had to sacrifice a balanced family life for a successful business, but I feel that together we have been able to do both.
G&DA: Do you think that as a woman you approached doing business differently?
MB: I believe that sound business practices, based on the tried and true principles of honesty, frugality and integrity, are the same, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman ; no business can truly be successful without them. You also have to study the trends and stay abreast of new and innovative ideas to stay competitive, regardless of your gender. I have found over the years that when I trust my “woman’s intuition,” it usually serves me well, especially when it comes to the creative process and spotting emerging trends. I also believe that being a working woman has helped me better understand the challenges that other working women face. I believe in the importance of maintaining a “family-friendly” workplace, and with this in mind, burton + BURTON offers a strong benefits package that includes subsidized childcare, an on-site salon, free health screenings for all employees, and affordable medical coverage.
G&DA: How has being an executive affected your personal life and relationships and how do you deal with it?
MB: Owning a family business is never a 9 to 5 job. To be successful, you have to dedicate yourself to the business completely. From, the beginning, both of my parents, my husband, extended family members, and even my children devoted themselves to building the business. Long hours and hard work helped to build this company into what it is today; but these same strong work ethics also helped to bond us into a very close and supportive family unit which spends more time together than most. Working side by side with my husband, children, and mother on a daily basis is a blessing I truly cherish. I also feel that the many relationships we have built through our business have exposed us to many opportunities that we may not have had otherwise. We have traveled the world together, met many interesting people, and made numerous friends, all of which are very positive and memorable experiences.
G&DA: How and why did you get into business?
MB: Although I began my career as a teacher and enjoyed the short time that I spent teaching, I always knew I wanted to own my business and was constantly on the lookout for new and interesting ideas. At the time, my husband was part owner in a wholesale and retail floral business and I worked with him after school and on weekends to help grow the business. We tried several ideas, but when I saw a silver metallic balloon wafting over a crowd at a retail gift show, a new and interesting product, I thought it would make a great addition to a floral arrangement and began to market the idea to our floral customers. Soon we were designing our own balloons, adding phrases such as “Happy Birthday,” “Get Well Soon,” etc., and the demand began to grow. We very quickly expanded to related gift products and floral supplies, and eventually added home décor accessories. Today we are one of the largest suppliers of balloons and related gift products in the world, employing approximately 300 people and doing business in over 90 countries around the world.
G&DA: What advice would you give to a woman starting out in the business?
MB: First, know in your heart that this is what you really want to do and be ready to commit yourself entirely to the process. The second and probably most important thing is to do something that you love. I have always enjoyed the design process and find it extremely rewarding to take a new line of burton + BURTON products from an idea to the drawing board, from the drawing board to the manufacturer, from the manufacturer to our showrooms and catalogs, and finally delivering that carefully created product into the hands of a satisfied customer.
G&DA: What is the best — or most memorable — gift you ever received?
MB: My parents, my husband, my children and my grandchildren are my greatest gifts — there is no tangible gift that could ever take the place of family. However, if you are asking about that one tangible gift that thrilled me the most, I would say that the SLR digital camera that our employees gave to me and my husband for Christmas last year. This is a gift that we have truly enjoyed and it means all the more to us because it came from our wonderful extended family at burton + BURTON. The camera is great because we’ve used it to take photos of the grandchildren (who are growing up too fast!), and to bring back photos from some of the places we’ve traveled to this year.
For more interviews with the Gifted Women, please click on each woman's image at right.
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