Simple Pleasures Choosing not to put her profits into one basket, an entrepreneurial gourmand is now savoring the sweet taste of success.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
What: Home parties sellinggourmet food
Who: Jill Blashack of Tastefully Simple
Where: Alexandria,Minnesota
When: Started in 1995
Want to know how Jill Blashack converted her gift basketbusiness into a $100 million enterprise? She got rid of the giftbaskets.
After realizing that the products inside her gift baskets werewhat really interested customers, Blashack, 43, decided totransform her existing business into a home party opportunity thatspecializes in gourmet food.
The idea sparked after Blashack participated in the HolidayCrafters Tour, a local event that opened the doors of fancy homesto artisans and entrepreneurs wanting to show off their wares. Assoon as Blashack gave the attendees taste tests, orders for herproducts started pouring in.
An SBA LowDoc loan and a personal investment helped Blashackfinance Tastefully Simple, which features a menu with everythingfrom sauces and popcorn to beer bread and dips, most priced around$6.99. Many customers have become consultants for the company.Hoping to expand her roster of consultants to 10,000 nationwide byyear-end, Blashack says, "The best people we find are the oneswho have [experienced] a party and said 'Wow, this is cool. Icould do this.' "
On the Right Track
What: Brokering dealsbetween race cars and sponsor companies
Who: Cragg Eubanks of RaceSportLtd.
Where: Wichita Falls,Texas
When: Started in 2001
Cragg Eubanks, a 47-year-old amateur sports car aficionado, useshis expertise to broker business deals and his contacts in theprofessional racing industry to find corporate marketing partnersfor race teams nationwide. "Everybody realizes that the wholemarketing venue in sports is changing and that we have to come upwith methods to better manage these programs," says Eubanks."We have to come up with business plans to show thesecorporations what they're going to get out of it if they investthese marketing dollars in professional motor sportsteams."
He first came up with the idea for his business after realizingthat the hundreds of millions of dollars spent every year on teamsponsorships yielded few quantifiable results for the companiesthat choose to invest their marketing dollars. So he decided tochange the way sponsorships were approached.
Today, his company brokers deals that generate revenues andvalue for everyone involved. For example, RaceSport brokered alicensing deal between Lampus Racing (a major race team) andMothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), whose logos will be placed onLampus race cars. In exchange, RaceSport is seeking corporatesponsors in the non-alcoholic beverage industry for MADD, whichplans to implement a multimedia-based youth education and awarenessprogram at the race track. Having closed one deal and with anotherin the works, Eubanks is on his way to reaching sales projectionsof $400,000 by the end of the year.
Tech Tutors
What: Computer training forseniors
Who: Sarah Chapman and DevinWilliams of Spry Learning Co.
Where: Portland, Oregon
When: Started in 2000
with the belief that technology best aids those whose mobilityis limited, and with dreams of starting a business that would bringmodern innovation into the lives of older people, Sarah Chapman andDevin Williams, both 31, set out to teach seniors abouttechnology.
Although neither had teaching experience, they worked withgerontologists and instructional designers to put together thecurriculum for their courses. Chapman and Williams launched a pilotprogram at two retirement communities and also took into accounthelpful feedback from their pupils about the quality of instructionon basic computer skills and on using the Internet and moreadvanced programs.
Currently offering services only at retirement communities, SpryLearning Co. will soon offer tutorials and training manuals toenable seniors to learn from home. "The whole point is to[make it] a positive experience [as well as] something that bringsgood into their lives," says Williams, who expects sales toreach $4.2 million this year.
In the (Doggie) Bag
What: Candy and mints fordogs
Who: Sarah Speare and LesleyLutyens of Chomp Inc.
Where: Lebanon, NewJersey
When: Started in 1999
When these two sisters decided to go into business together,they knew they wanted to combine their creative skills with theirlove for dogs. Sarah Speare, a graphic designer, and LesleyLutyens, a children's clothing designer, finally got the pushthey needed when they won prize money from a business plancompetition sponsored by the Center for Women in Enterprise inBoston and received a loan from their mother.
After raising an additional $2.1 million in capital, theybrought in experienced managers and a team of food technologiststhat eventually created their innovative canine treats: Yip Yaps(bone-shaped mints for eliminating doggy breath) and Sniffers(M&M-like candies made of beef and cheese). The two productshit store shelves in 2001, quickly ringing up sales of $370,000 injust six months. Projections for 2002 are at $2 million.
"Our goal from the get-go [was] to make [these products] asavailable as human candy," says Lutyens, 39. These days, theline of dog treats is sold in Bed Bath & Beyond, Petco, grocerystores, and in vending machines along with candy for humans.Lutyens and Speare plan to release their next product, PitterPats--breath mints for cats--in 2003.
The sisters believed that they could build a successful companywith a repeat-purchase product such as food, and it turns out theywere right on the money. "They're fantastic products thatdogs can't get enough of," says Speare, 45. In fact, thetreats are so popular with their canine customers, they've evenreceived chewed-up Yip Yaps tins as testimonials.
Contact Source
- RaceSport Ltd.
www.racesportldtd.com
