Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Christina Xiong, Owner of Sumptuous Gifts, located in St. Paul, MN, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My business is making customized and personalized bouquets of candy. It may seem simple at first, but adding the touch of personalization brings life to all of the bouquets I make. Being able to say happy birthday to a loved one far away, get well soon to your cousin who is sick in bed, or even give a valentine's present to that special someone is what I believe brings many smiles to customers who have purchased from me. Not everyone has the time to send a meaningful gift, let alone the tools to create them, and distance can create all sorts of trials when you want to send anything. I help by creating and sending affordable gifts and customizing them to whatever color or candy the customer would like for a recipient. I personalize the recipient's name on the bouquet and the occasion's theme. Not only are my bouquets eye candy, but they are also literally candy and a sweet treat for that special someone.
Tell us about yourself
I always had a creative knack and wanted to be a florist. While I love flowers, balancing the cost of living with what I love to do was tough. Running a home floral business is very pricey, and the lifespan of flowers doesn't always cooperate with the speed of a brand new business. I wanted to incorporate the idea of flower bouquets into something that lasted longer, so I decided to try candy. It wasn't easy to make all the mechanics work, but I ended up making a long line of products of different variations that follow the design elements of flower bouquets.
What motivates me is being able to create and design gifts for customers and hearing a bit of their story, and sometimes seeing their smiles nothing is more precious than seeing a smiling little boy or girl graduating 5th grade holding a bouquet I made.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner would have to be how my life as the mother of a newborn daughter grew alongside my business. My business launched in the summer of 2020, but I didn't hit it off until the start of 2021, a month after my daughter was born. My first year of business without any promotion to hit it off felt nothing short of a miracle, and my 2nd year is nearly tripling the business of my first year. Raising my daughter and having all this work with my business has been quite the journey watching both grow up so fast.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest thing I had to deal with as a business owner was the uncertainty of the rise and fall of sales throughout the year. It can feel like nothing is happening at all, and at other times it can be overwhelmingly busy. To gauge exactly what is going to happen is tough being a new business owner, and I haven't developed enough yearly trends to predict how and when the ups and downs will happen. I always want to know these things to improve my business. Not knowing what will happen makes it hard to know if I am doing everything that works toward success.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
The biggest tip is to be patient with your business; it will always feel like an uphill battle that you cannot win, but don't give in to the feeling of futility. Just keep moving forward and do whatever it takes to improve because hard work always pays off in some form.
Another great tip would be to stay flexible with your ideas. Don't always assume that you have the final product; always strive to improve and expand on those ideas. I have had countless products that were born from that and even unexpected yet very successful ones that I never thought would do well.
Lastly, don't be afraid to start a business. This may seem like an obvious idea, but you would be surprised at how many people won't take that first step and continue pushing through the first couple of years. Many people think that having almost no sales for a couple of years means you failed, and they give up. You don't need to be successful to become a business; the work and effort you put into your business create that success. Giving up would put all that effort in vain. Looking back, it felt like I was going nowhere, and I felt that feeling all the time. I sometimes feel that today, but seeing how far I've come reminds me that I need to continue pushing forward as it has and will pay off.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
I love making my bouquets, so after all my experiences, I came up with the idea to help customers also create their bouquets. Using all the techniques and tricks I learned to make my products. I wanted to give that experience to others. While the product isn't quite finished yet, it is still in the prototype phase; it would allow anyone to make a fabulous bouquet with their selection of candy using the tools and materials I provide. This will be a great safe activity for kids and adults and doesn't require you to go material hunting for anything other than candy. Like I said before, sometimes it can be tough to make a customized gift for someone. With this DIY kit, a child can make a gift for his friend at school, or a parent can even make their child a yummy bouquet with their favorite candy.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SumptuousGift
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SumptuousGifts
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumptuousgifts/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Christi45856180
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3OPqnp0
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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