Where is Gift Rep Sandy Heading with Her Business?
After several months of posting about selling wholesale to gift shops, I thought you might like to know more about my business.
Currently, I am a semi-retired sales rep – semi-retired because I have limited my road travel and moved most of my business on-line. I starting my rep business, Idaho Gifts Wholesale in 2001 (originally Lewis Clark Gifts – until the Bicentennial celebration was over when I changed my business name to reflect my new niche ). From the start, I traveled three weeks a month from early March to late November. I loved my work! Traveling around Idaho and Washington, visiting gift shops and working with producers was my life.
Then things changed for me …. I developed several annoying health issues!! First, I sprained my ankle severely early in the spring taking me off the road for about eight weeks (and limping along for the balance of the spring season!). Then I started forgetting too many things and dropping too many balls because I was too tired to make it through the day. Seems like everything relating to my business went crazy after that: Gas prices began soaring, the economy began its ‘bust’, gift shops in Idaho were struggling, I got in my first car accident in nearly 25 years … and my health continued to decline.
It didn’t take me long to ‘see the writing on the wall’ and I began beefing up my website and on-line presence. If I couldn’t travel in the manner I and my buyers were accustom, I would need to use other avenues to maintain my business.
As it turned out, I found lots of different ways to promote gifts and network with other folks to maintain my business. This blog is one of the off-shoots of the many brainstorming sessions my husband and I had looking for ways to use my knowledge and connections.
In case you were wondering, after nearly two years of doctoring, I was recently diagnosed with celiac disease (gluten-intolerance), and allergies to dairy and eggs as well! Dealing with those changes has certainly turned my world upside down!!
Over the next weeks, I would like to share with you some of the resources I have found during my search that helped me and, hopefully, will help you to grow your business and market your products.
Sandy, Sorry tohear about your health issues. Now we have the opportunity to see your creative ablity flowing on the internet.
Thanks Chuck! At least now I know what is going on with me!! For two years, I was beginning to wonder if I was developing Alzheimer or worse!
Sandy, my daughter in law Sandy inspired me to start a business at 68 years old and now you are another Sandy giving me inspiration. I saved up money and am having a product manufactured and ready to take my show on the road starting Nov. 21, starting out at a local holiday gift show. Everytime Sandy came to visit me, she would say, I want this scoop someday. I had it for 45 years, a gift from my mom, and took it for granted. I still used it even with a broken handle. It was our ladle of choice. After a year long search on the internet and in stores, I could not find another ladle like it so I went about getting a design for my Soup Saver Scoop. It is fantastic! It gets all the chili and soup out of the pot and I use it as a food scraper too inside my cake pans and soup pots. My samples came last week and my order will be here soon. Like you, I want to sell online but I would also like to wholesale and have a rep in mind. If it takes off, I also have a similar spoon design ready to go. In the meantime I am working on my website and networking. Thanks for your wonderful website. It’s good to see you are not giving up in spite of some health issues. I will continue to follow your website.
Thanks Sharon and congratulations on starting your business at 68! Please make sure to email me your website when it is up and going: giftrepsandy@gmail.com. My husband and I are “foodprenours” and are interested in seeing your spoon!