Name of your website?AC Bouquet Candy Bouquets & Gift Baskets
Your name?
Susan Allred
Your Location (city, etc)
Spokane Valley
Brief Description of Website
Offering 100's of candy bouquets, cookie bouquets, and gift baskets for all occasions, tastes, and budgets.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
My parents had a website that they ran their business off of. I figured if they could do it, so could I!!!
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
April of 2000. It was AC Bouquet.com and it's been a work in progress ever since!
How did you decide on a name for your website?
I started the business with my sister. Her last name was Cady. My last name was Allred. So, we Chose AC (A was first purely for alphabetical reasons) and bouquet was because we were making bouquets - originally they were going to be gumpaste bouquets, but we decided on candy instead.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
We think that AC Bouquet is different for several reasons. First off, we try to put in as much candy as we possibly can to make it worth our customer's while. Secondly, we are willing to show others how to make our candy bouquets. If they want to start their own business, or want to learn it for the sake of making crafts, that's OK! We have videos and candy bouquet kits that can help them achieve their goals.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I think ultimately we'll sell the business. It was supposed to be more of a hobby, and now that it's flourished into a full-blown business, I'm not quite sure what to do with myself! :)
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
The more time I put into my website and promoting it almost directly correlates into how much income we get, and ultimately how successful the business is. I can always tell when I've let my internet time slip because sales go down.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I think I'd streamline more, and hire more 'tech' guys to do more computer stuff.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Corporate accounts and growing too quickly.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Learning the business side of running a company. AC Bouquet was supposed to be a hobby, so we didn't have any business plan, budgets, etc. Having to learn all of that on the fly has been an experience.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Word of mouth.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
The site has been up 7 years now, and we'll keep it up until someone tells us to take it down! :)
What is your website address?
AC Bouquet Candy Bouquets & Gift Baskets
No trackbacks.
Comments
